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“And if that doesn’t work?” Her fast tapping foot told me she wasn’t happy about my suggestion.
“Walk away.” It was easier to say this to her, but I understood how difficult it was to put into practice. “The only time you put hands on someone else is to defend yourself. Got it?”
She nodded with a scowl firmly in place.
My kid was the best, even with her pre-teen attitude. “What do you ladies say about taking a dip in the pool?” We didn’t need to be at the bakery for a few more hours.
“Wait? Why didn’t I know about this pool?” Wren asked.
I’d had an addition put on the house and an indoor pool added before we moved in.
“We’ve been busy,” I teased her.
Her cheeks turned a fire engine red.
“I’ll meet you at the pool. I’m going to get my swimsuit.” Zoey raced out of the room.
I grabbed the dirty plates and took them to the sink to rinse. Soft hands circled around my waist to rest awfully close to my dick, which was beginning to perk up again. “So, what I heard is that all this time, we could have had pool sex.” Shetsked.
Her fingers grazed my cock. It jumped and began to push against my pants. “And a hot tub,” I got out before all the blood in my body ran south.
Thankfully, we heard Zoey’s footsteps before she appeared.
Wren stepped back and met her at the entrance to the kitchen. “Why don’t you show me the way, and your dad can join us when he’s done cleaning up breakfast?” She threw me a saucy wink, knowing I wasn’t moving from this spot until well after they were gone.
When I finally made my way to the pool, both girls were shrieking with laughter. Wren sat on the edge of the pool kicking water at Zoey, and in turn she would run her arm along the top of the water, aiming it at Wren. They were both soaked.
Upon seeing me, Wren stood up. “I think I need to get a towel while you’re defeated by your daughter, the Splashing Master.”
Zoey giggled. “There’s no such thing as a Splashing Master.” She twisted and dove into the water.
Wren snagged one of the towels set out and rubbed it through her hair as she sat on one of the lounge chairs. When her arms raised, it tightened the shirt across her chest, and my gaze zeroed in on her pebbled nipples.
I sat in the chair next to her and groaned.
She followed my hungry gaze. “Oh, I didn’t realize how wet I was.”
“Or that you were putting on a show for me?” I asked, my voice husky with desire.
She grinned. “We’ll have to finish this show later tonight.”
Her suggestive words made me shudder at the image she put in my mind. She was going to be the death of me, or at least ensure I couldn’t be in polite company for the next few years without sporting a hard-on.
She pointed to her phone. “Before I forget, I approved the festival’s last set of craft vendors. Now, we just have to wait for the remaining ad sponsors to pay, so we can close out the rest of the invoices.”
I held up my hand for a high-five. The resounding smack echoed in the cavernous room. “We’re killing this festival thing!”
She settled in her chair with the towel wrapped around her. “Right? Who would have known this insanity was the best thing to happen to us?”
I brought the back of her hand to my lips. “And now that our relationship is out to the world…” I stopped at the uncomfortable look that settled on Wren’s face.
“About that...” She bit her lip and glanced away from me.
I dropped her hand. “About what?”
“I hate how Mrs. London treated Zoey, and I was thinking we could hold off and approach the Board to change their ruling first. Maybe stay quiet until the end of the year if we need to work on making sure their decision is favorable to us.”
Ice slid through my veins. Was this really about Zoey, or was she giving herself an open door to walk away when she needed to? If we weren’t out to the public, there would be far less of a fallout if we broke up. “After everything that happened yesterday, I thought we were done hiding.”