openly attempted to charm him.
Suddenly the idea of a casual hookup with some other woman didn’t interest him. Nope.
Adam wanted to seduce Ms. Issy.
Once decided, he didn’t question himself. Why bother? The thought of having her was far more exciting than anything else had been in months. He felt more alive, and the sweltering summer heat had nothing on his rising internal temp.
His gaze tracked over her face to her throat, now looking dewy. “You want my help?” The second he made the offer, his heart started thumping hard.
He ignored it. This had nothing to do with his heart.
She took him off guard by stretching out next to him on her side, her head propped on a fist as she studied him. “Interestin’,” she mused. “How exactly would you assist?”
Damn, when Isabella decided to flirt, she excelled. He should have expected that because everything she did, she did with perfection. It wasn’t what she said, but how she said it.
How she looked while saying it. Sort of interested and amused and a little turned on.
Crowds milled past them only a few feet away. He felt the curious stares, heard the whispers.
And flat-out didn’t care.
Visually tracing the curvy line of her body, he took in the shape of her slim thighs, the rise of her hip and contrasting dip of her waist, up to her creamy bare shoulders exposed by the narrow straps of her sundress.
Freckles had never looked more enticing.
“You have on sunscreen?” Even here in the cool, lush grass with the elm leaves shading them, she could easily burn.
After a priceless look, Issy blinked, then dropped to her back laughing. Not a loud or harsh laugh, but not a ridiculous twitter either. She sounded husky and sincere.
Enjoying her, Adam loomed over her. “You expected something more intimate from me?”
Eyes twinkling, she whispered with a smile, “Silly me.”
How had he missed the length and thickness of her dark brown lashes, or the faint sprinkling of freckles over the bridge of her nose, or how her mouth, always free of lipstick, looked so full and soft? “Maybe I should explain the path of my thoughts.”
“The path that led to sunscreen? Oh, I can’t wait to hear it.”
The ever-stirring breeze carried a baby soft tendril of fiery hair across her face. Without giving it enough thought, Adam used one fingertip to brush it back, tucking it behind her small ear.
Isabella’s gaze smoldered.
From such a simple touch? And if so, how would she be when he had her naked and touched her all over? He gave a low growl that she answered with fast blinking, as if coming out of a spell.
Breathless, she asked, “What was that?”
He knew what she meant, of course, but said only, “What?”
“That macho sound you made.” No hesitation from Isabella.
As if unsure, he suggested, “Reaction?”
Excited by the prospect, she came up to her elbow again. “You growled at me.”
“I growled at my unruly imagination.”
Her eyebrow lifted. She glanced at his mouth then back to his eyes, and breathed, “Tell me.”
Tell her that he’d visualized her naked, in bed—with him?
Not a great idea. Yet. Shoot, they’d only just started the whole flirting business.
Twirling one finger, Adam took the safer route. “Let’s rewind to my thoughts.”
She made a face. “You gonna ask me about my last dental appointment?”
Damn, but she confused him.
“You know, since staring down at me made you wonder about sunscreen?” She flapped a hand. “There’s no tellin’ what you’re thinkin’ now.”
He trailed a finger over her silky shoulder, across to her collarbone, then up to lift her stubborn chin so those pretty blue eyes focused on him. “I was thinking about this soft, pale skin of yours. How fair and delicate you are. That’s what made me worry about the sun.”
Dubious, she shifted her gaze to her own shoulder, rolled it, and said, “I don’t know about delicate, but I do burn easily. So yes to the sunscreen. And now...about that wicked imagination of yours?”
A shadow fell across them and Adam looked up to see his cousin, Amber, staring down at them. Hands on her hips, a frown on her face, she chastised him with nothing more than a look of extreme disappointment.
Knowing he was caught, Adam sat up, winced at the new tightness in his shorts, and dropped his elbows to his knees. “What’s up, Amber?”
“You’re causing a spectacle.”
Issy, too, sat up. “We are?”
“He is.”
“I’m with him.” She gave a slow smile. “And honestly, Amber, I sort of like the idea of bein’ a spectacle for once.”
ADAM PACED IN front of the grill where fresh corn on the cob filled the air with mouth-watering scents. People lined up twenty deep, waiting to buy an ear. His cousins Shohn and Garrett ran the grill, but in five minutes he’d take over for Shohn.
Where was Isabella?
He’d had to leave her alone with Amber, and God knew no good would come from that. He adored Amber, everyone did, but the girl did like to meddle. Big time. And she’d looked disapproving, so heaven only knew where her unwelcome meddling would lead this time.
Naturally he knew why she’d been disapproving. Amber had a favorite, very insulting narrative she used to describe his preference for variety.
“You skate through women like it’s a sport.”
How many times had she given him that complaint? Usually he laughed at her.
He didn’t feel like laughing this time.
Would she encourage Isabella to find a different guy? One more settled? A man who’d be better relationship material?
If Issy even wanted that.
Picking up a leftover guy at a town carnival didn’t sound like anything serious to him. But he’d never gotten the impression that Issy was the “fast and easy” type, either. Everything about her screamed “nice girl,” the type you brought home to meet your mom.
Adam knew his mom would love her.
He
