Carly smiled widely as happiness captured her. Watching Wynn with the kids stirred something deep inside her. Wynn was full of energy, just like them, and Carly immediately wanted to go outside and be part of the fun. She’d pondered more than once how things had changed between them after the fund-raiser last year. She still had no idea why Wynn had completely disappeared from her life until after she and Jordan were married. She hadn’t even come to the wedding, which Jordan had found disappointing.
The alarm on her phone rang, and she hit the snooze button. She couldn’t go back in the pool because she was out of time. The reservation she’d made for dinner was for seven o’clock, and she still had to shower and get ready. Any other day she’d have canceled and told Jordan to come here instead, and they’d spend the evening with her family. But she’d planned the whole night to perfection. She stood at the window and watched Wynn interact with the kids, standing in the shallow end while picking each one up and tossing them into the water like they were as light as beach balls. The strength in her arms made it look so easy. It had taken all Carly’s strength to pick up Julianna earlier. The kids loved Wynn and she loved them back, seeming totally in her element with them. Did Wynn ever think about having kids of her own? She seemed to be a natural with Julianna and Josh. Why didn’t Jordan have those same instincts?
Carly’s life would be so different now if she’d made another choice last year. She thought about what her mother-in-law had said earlier about her and Jordan’s lack of compatibility. A life with Wynn seemed so much more joyful than the one she was living now. The thought of Wynn’s arms around her, her lips pressed to hers, and body contact from head to toe floated through her mind.
Her phone alarm jolted her from her thoughts. How could she remember one kiss so vividly? She shook her head and cleared the visions from her mind. Unbidden notions like that should remain only in her dreams. Sadness swept over her as she walked into the bathroom, turned on the water, and took a gulp of wine. The woman she saw in the mirror wasn’t the woman she knew anymore. She was sad and unhappy with the way her life was now, not anything like she’d planned. She finished the rest of the wine before she peeled off her swimsuit and stepped into the shower.
The hot water felt good spraying across her shoulders. She turned around and let it wash her face, clearing her sad thoughts and replacing them with the excitement of the night ahead. It had been a while since she and Jordan had spent actual quality time together, and she’d been looking forward to it all week. The fact that it was a special night wasn’t important. She just needed some time to feel loved by Jordan without her job getting in the way. She’d always been attracted to women who knew what they wanted. She’d never thought being with someone who was so driven would be an issue, but it had certainly created a few obstacles for them to overcome.
Carly heard Jordan’s voice through the door and was happy that she’d been able to pick her up rather than meeting her at the restaurant. She stepped out of the shower, draped herself in a bath towel, and pulled open the door. She froze when her eyes locked with the electric-blue eyes staring back at her across the bedroom. The look of surprise she saw in them immediately turned to something else, and Carly fumbled with the towel beginning to come loose around her.
“Oh my God. I’m so sorry. I heard the voice through the door and thought you were Jordan.”
“No, no. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were in here. I thought you were in Jordan’s room.” Wynn’s eyes never left Carly’s as the phone slid from her ear.
“Right. This is your room.” She’d always used this room to change and had forgotten it had belonged to Wynn when she and Jordan were children.
“I’ll call you later,” Wynn said and ended the call she’d been on. “Well, technically it’s no one’s room now, but it was mine for a time.” Wynn smiled and let her eyes veer lower. “I’ll change in Jordan’s room.”
The royal-blue, two-piece sport swimsuit enhanced Wynn’s muscles perfectly. Heat rushed Carly as she stared at the water glistening all over Wynn’s face, shoulders, legs, belly. She almost couldn’t speak and had totally lost sight of the fact that she was standing in the bathroom doorway wearing only a towel. “Sure. Or I can go.”
“No.” Wynn swallowed hard and held up a hand as though afraid for Carly to come any closer. “You stay here.” She grabbed her bag from the bed and backed out of the room.
Immediately after the door closed, Carly’s phone chimed, a text from Jordan.
Looks like I’m going to be late.
What? I don’t want to drive into the city alone. Then we’ll have two cars to deal with.
Is Wynn there?
Yes. The uninterpretable look on Wynn’s face she’d seen a few moments ago flashed through her head.
Ask her to drive you. She can join us for dinner. It’s her birthday tomorrow.
She closed her eyes and let out a sigh as she dropped onto the bed. Jordan remembered Wynn’s birthday but had clearly forgotten it was their first date.
She typed a few angry responses and immediately erased them before she typed simply, Okay.
Then she tossed her phone onto the bed, not knowing what to do. Without thinking any longer, she stood, crossed the room to the door, and pulled it open, surprised to find Wynn still standing in the hallway. Once their eyes met, her decision was made. “Do you want to grab some dinner tonight?”
She couldn’t read the look on Wynn’s face. “I think Mom’s cooking.”
“I have reservations at the Waterbar. Jordan was supposed to pick me up, but she’s going to be late. If she makes it at all.” She shook her head. “Never mind.” Maybe she’d just stay and have dinner here.
Wynn stepped forward quickly. “I’d love…to have dinner with you.” She seemed to stumble over her words. “I mean, it’d be nice to catch up.”
“Okay.” An odd sense of excitement filled her. “The reservation is at seven. I’ll be ready in a half hour, give or take a few minutes.”
“Same.” Wynn smiled, backed up, and rushed down the hallway to Jordan’s room.
It seemed Carly’s evening hadn’t been ruined after all.
Chapter Five
As they walked from the parking lot to the restaurant, Wynn was having a hard time erasing the vision of Carly she’d seen earlier. Having impure thoughts about her sister’s wife was completely wrong and had to stop. She’d seen Carly in a towel before, but usually she wore a bathing suit underneath it. She’d never glimpsed her directly out of the shower looking so radiant. Sweet Lord, she was a sight. Cheeks flushed, hair wet, tanned legs peeking out from beneath the edge, not to mention the milky-white breasts exploding from the top of the tightly wrapped towel.
She stepped in front of Carly and opened the door for her. “Isn’t this the restaurant where Suzanna holds most of her fund-raisers?” A jolt coursed through her as she placed her palm on Carly’s lower back to guide her inside and felt the soft warmth of skin rather than her dress.
Carly nodded. “It’s always been one of my favorites.”