Free Don't Bite the Bridesmaid by Tiffany Allee Page B

elbows.
    “You did. Nice save,” he said. But his voice was low and quiet, and when she looked up, the amusement was gone from his eyes. Intensity flared, and she flashed back to the night before. He’d looked at her like that just before kissing her. She licked her lips, unable to look away. And managed not to make a face when she tasted chlorine.
    “Nice job, dear,” her mother said, voice coming from only a couple of feet away.
    Then she could feel hands at her back, leading her out of the pool. Noah’s eyes were still fixed on her, but she looked down at her suit. Thank goodness it still covered everything.
    “Thanks, Mom. Yikes. Did I leave any water in the pool?” She straightened her swimsuit and ignored the way Noah’s gaze followed her movement. A few seconds later, his attention shifted away.
    “Congratulations,” Cindy said, handing her a towel. “You two have made it to the championship.”
    Alice smiled at her sister. The dramatic way she said championship made it sound like they were in the Olympics.
    “Good job, partner.” She held up her hand for a high-five from Noah and some of the tension left his face. His hand slapped against hers, sending a tingle down her arm.
    “All right, who’re we taking down next?” she asked Cindy.
    Cindy smiled, but the expression didn’t touch her eyes. “Brent and Kristen.”
    Kristen had been, among other things, a champion high school volleyball player. And while she hadn’t pursued it as hard in college, she’d remained on the team for all four years. And Brent might have been a lot of bad things, but sucking at sports was not one of his faults.
    Brent, a competitor to his core, played hard. Alice did her best to keep up, but ball after ball escaped her, and she enviously watched her sister drink a pina colada on the side of the pool. She gasped for air and glanced at Noah. He wasn’t sweating, but he did seem a bit wearied around the eyes. His sun allergy? She didn’t see a rash, but his skin had definitely reddened. “Prepare to go down, Noah.” Brent grinned on the other side of the net.
    Noah remained silent, a strangely intense look in his eyes.
    Needing to fill the silence with something, Alice yelled. “You two are the ones going down. Prepare to eat some pool water, Brent.”
    Brent laughed, and Kristen frowned.
    “Zero serving zero,” Kristen called.
    Sweat beaded on Alice’s brow by the third volley, and she could sense the wear of the sun on Noah, too. He still moved fast, but his eyes were half closed between rounds, and his jaw tense.
    But Brent and Kristen were showing signs of wear, too. Sloshing around in a pool was hard work. Not that Brent let it show in his attitude.
    “Not getting tired over there, are you?” He rolled the ball on the surface of the pool, then pushed it under the water and caught it as if flew back up. “Come on, Alice. You’re a tougher fighter than that.” He laughed. “Remember that time in the Bahamas? We rolled over that couple.”
    She grinned before thinking better of it. It had been a fun trip. A big group of college friends, a lot of alcohol, and she’d been in love.
    Water flew from her hair as she shook herself free from the memory.
    “Thirteen serving nine,” Brent called. She looked up at him, and he paused, gave her a very distinctive wink, and then served the ball.
    Noah went stiff beside her, no doubt seeing the wink as a challenge. And as the ball flew over the net, Noah flew into action.
    It was as if something possessed him the second Brent winked at her. His speed increased, and he crossed over into her side of the court when it looked like she might not make a save. Brent and Kristen tried to keep up, but Noah was simply too quick. He moved as if on land, treading the water as if it was air. And when he hit the ball, it flew almost dangerously fast.
    Alice wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her hand and stared at Noah as he served, calling out the score.
    “Fourteen