13. Dani

13

Dani

I t's a beautiful sunny day and as I glance out the passenger side window and as Conner drives Zoe and me to the resort, I almost wish it would rain. Not that I want to ruin the pool party for everyone, or Noah's turn with the cup, but a bunch of the guys and their wives are here and while I like them all, I don't like the idea of being in my bathing suit in front of them. I will not, however, be a party pooper and ruin this day for Zoe, or for Conner.

"Are you going to tell me what you said to Gina?"

My eyes go wide and I put my hand over my mouth. "You heard me?"

"No, I saw you mouth something to her, and I think it was about Ash's tools."

I work to bite back a chuckle, but it bubbles from my throat. "Don't say anything, but I'm pretty sure Gina likes him."

"Why?" He keeps his voice low so Zoe, in the back seat, can't hear. "Didn't you all call him a womanizer? Why would she want to be with a guy like that? Don't get me wrong. I love the guy. He's just not ready to settle down and I'm pretty sure he's terrified of Zoe. Did you see the way he backed up?"

"I know, it's hilarious, really. A big defenseman like him, a guy who takes down two-hundred-pound men, looking like he was about to run for the hills when she offered him a bit of her cinnamon roll. But to answer your question, he's really good looking and is in great shape." He frowns like he might be jealous, but I'm sure he's just kidding. "Besides, who says she wants anything more? From what I know about Gina, she is not looking for a man in her life. Maybe her bed, but not her life."

I glance into the back seat to make sure Zoe hadn't heard anything over the show she's watching on her children's tablet, and she begins to sing along, very badly. But good for her for having the confidence to belt out lyrics. I glance at Conner, and he winces. I chuckle, and join in. No, I can't carry a tune either, but I love everything about this. I love that I can be my goofy self with Conner, and I love how he makes me feel comfortable inside the bedroom and out.

I put my hand on my stomach, desperately wanting a child and family of my own. As I glance at Conner, I can't help but think he wants that too. There's something there, though, something holding him back and I'm not exactly sure what it is. Is it the fact that I was married to his brother, or maybe it's just the fact that we're friends and he doesn't feel anything more?

But when we're in bed, and he's taking such good care of my body, it makes me question everything. What do I know though, really? I've only been with one man, and Conner has been with lots of women. He probably worships them all between the sheets.

The song ends and Zoe yells, "Are we there yet?"

"Just about," Conner answers and flicks on his signal.

"Yay!" Zoe squeals and starts bouncing in her seat. "Can I get that drink with the umbrella in it?"

"I'm sure you can," I tell her, thinking I might need something a bit stronger to give me liquid courage.

Conner eases into the parking spot, and when I open my door, music and laughter from the rooftop pool reaches my ears. I open the back door and Zoe unbuckles herself, getting out of her booster seat. I take her hand in the busy parking lot as Conner grabs her backpack as well as our bag.

"Do you need to get changed?" I ask as she jumps from one foot to the other, so excited.

"I already have my suit on." She lifts her shirt to show me her pretty pink bathing suit. Conner follows behind with the bags as I lead her to the stairs. We hurry up them and when we reach the top, we're greeted with hugs.

"Zoe, come in," Camryn yells from the pool.

She starts stripping off her clothes, and I help when she gets her shirt all twisted up in the excitement. "You need your water wings first," I say.

"Are you getting in too?" Melanie asks me as she comes over to greet us. Conner pulls Zoe's water wings from the bag and blows them up.

A couple of the guys at the bar call Conner over.

"I am. Can you watch her so I can get changed?"

"I can get in with her," Conner tells me.

"Yeah, but go have a drink with the guys first. They seem eager to tell you something. I'm going to get changed and get in. I'm hot."

He leans in and kisses me. "Yeah, you are," he murmurs and everything in the way he's looking at me makes me feel a little bit less self-conscious.

"I got her," Melanie assures me as Zoe holds her arms out. Once Zoe has her wings on, Melanie calls her over, and Zoe jumps into her arms. I take my bag and make my way to the change room. I undress, pull on my swimsuit, and wrap myself in my coverup. Knox, who's the new rookie on the team, has his head down as he exits the men's change room and bumps into me.

"Sorry," he says quickly and puts his hands on my arms to stabilize me before I fall over.

"I'm good."

He smiles as his eyes meet mine. I don't know Knox very well. I only know that he played hockey at the university level here in Boston. He seems nice enough, and a bit quiet. I guess he's still finding his place amongst the guys.

"Want to cannon ball?" he asks me, and I laugh.

"I'm going to pass."

He looks around his gaze settling on Conner, who is watching us carefully. "You and Wood, huh?"

"Yeah, me and Wood." I scan the rooftop. "Are you here with anyone?"

"Yeah, she just ran back to the car. She forgot her sunglasses."

"I look forward to meeting her."

"I think you'll like her. I'll introduce you when she comes back. She's a professional dancer. Well, not yet anyway, she's still in college." He holds his hands up. "Don't go there, she's not as young as you think. She had to take some time off for personal reasons."

It sounds like he really likes her and he looks hopeful that we'll be friends. Wait, were the other WAGs not friendly? I seriously doubt that. That's not how things are done with this group.

"Dani, come on in!" Zoe yells.

"I am being summoned. I'll catch up with you guys later." He walks away, and I move to the end of the pool. I sit and take off my wrap, sliding right into the water. Melanie comes swimming over with Zoe.

"Did you meet Knox's girlfriend?" I ask, my conversation with Knox leaving me curious.

"No, I was in the water. I only saw her for a second. Why?"

"I don't know. He just really wanted me to like her."

"I'm sure she's lovely."

I spot Noah tossing Camryn into the air. "Toss me, Dani. Toss me like that."

"I don't think I can," I say, and that's when Conner gets into the pool and swims up to me. "I'll toss you."

I take one look at his face, and instantly sense something is wrong. Surely to God he wasn't jealous that I was talking to Knox. He gathers Zoe and lightly tosses her. She surfaces and he picks her up again. He slicks his hair off his face, and my heart does a little flutter. He is so damn handsome, and as far as I'm concerned, the best-looking guy here.

Brighton comes swimming over as Noah climbs from the pool. "Who wants a drink?" he asks, as the bartender starts pouring some kind of punch into the cup. I laugh as Noah starts handing out straws.

"Let's go drink," I suggest, and as I swim to the side of the pool, my gaze goes to the stairs, to the woman opening the gate. Knox walks over to the pretty blonde and puts his arm around her back. He says something to her, and she looks my way, her smile dissolving when she sees me, and the man standing close to me. Is this why the guys called him over? I spin around to see Conner.

"It's fine," he says quickly. "The guys gave me the heads up."

"Are you sure you're fine?" He actually looks a bit shocked to see Summer, his ex-girlfriend, with Knox.

He shrugs. "I just haven't seen her in a couple of years. She just disappeared from my life after…Alec. I can't blame her. I was in a bad place." She must have been in a bad place, when Conner just sort of deserted her, so lost in taking care of me after Alec. That must be why she missed a year or so of college. Damn, I really hope she's okay. "I'm happy she's with Knox. He's a good guy."

It's clear he's over her. There's nothing in his words or his expression to suggest anything else. Either that or he's a great actor.

I help Zoe from the water. "We should say hi."

"Who are we saying hi to?" Zoe asks.

"An old friend." I quickly tug on my cover up and grab a towel for Zoe. I wipe her face, and dry her off. Conner doesn't bother with a towel. Instead, he lets the sun warm his body. Knox comes our way. He opens his mouth, to no doubt introduce Summer, but she speaks first.

"Conner." She glances at me. "Dani. Nice to see you both again."

Knox's gaze goes back and forth between the three of us. "You guys know each other?"

"Yes," Conner answers. "Nice to see you too, Summer."

"Hi," Zoe chirps.

Summer frowns as she glances at Zoe. "Is she…wait…no…unless..."

Summer was still dating Conner when I lost my baby, and I can see she's struggling to put it all together. "We're babysitting for a friend. This is Zoe."

"Hi Zoe." After greeting sweet Zoe, Summer's head lifts and her gaze moves over us, a careful assessment. I consider what she sees: the close way Conner is standing beside me, the warmth between us, and likely the little sparks my body gives off whenever his fingers brush against me. While we might be pretending, faking a real relationship, there is nothing fake in the way this man affects me. Can everyone see that? Is this why everyone thinks we're good together?

Her eyes narrow and she doesn't at all look surprised as she waves a finger between Conner and me. "So, you two…"

Conner puts his arm around me. "Yes."

An unexpected, almost hurt laugh bubbles in her throat and she quickly gets control of it. Her eyes seem to hold a hint of pain as she averts her gaze. "Always wanting what the other has," she murmurs under her breath. At least I think that's what she said.

"I'm sorry. What was that?" I ask as Conner's brow knits together, like he's searching for a response at her unexpected reaction.

"Oh, we should go get a straw and get a drink," Summer says quietly, a sadness about her as she loops her arm in Knox's. He has a worried look on his face. I guess he thought things would go down differently.

"I want to drink from the big cup, Dani," Zoe says as Summer and Knox walk away, Knox saying something into Summer's ear. Something he doesn't want anyone else to hear. I'm not sure how long that relationship is going to last. Come to think of it, I really never was much of a Summer fan. I think Conner dodged a bullet there. But people change and grow, and she's likely a different person than she was two years ago.

With his arm still around me, and his eyes on me, not his ex, who happens to be showcasing her entire backside in a thong—yes, she looks gorgeous, just ask any of the single guys ogling her—Conner reaches for my hand.

"Drink?"

Noah hands straws to the kids. "Preferably one with alcohol."

"Agreed," he says. "But we do need to drink from the cup first."

"Is that even sanitary?"

He laughs. "No, but we do what the cup holder wants us to do."

"What are you going to do when it's your turn?"

"I'll probably just take it over to Mom and Dad's for a picture. I bet your folks would like a picture too."

"They would love that, Conner. That's so thoughtful. Although." He eyes me. "Dad might want to do something weird with it."

"Weird?"

"Yeah, you know he's huge into fishing these days and I can only imagine he'd want to make a fishbowl."

"That would be fine."

"Really?"

"Sure, one for the records because I'm sure no one has used it as a fishbowl before. We'll ask Phil later, he'd know."

I'm laughing by the time we reach the bar, and the tension inside me has eased. Honestly, why should I give Summer's presence here another thought? We don't mean anything to each other anymore. Why then is she staring at Conner, with a new kind of interest in her eyes? Dammit.