Free Hit & Run Bride (Hit & Run Bride Contemporary Romance Series) by Nana Malone, Misty Evans

instructor. They could go back to a professional relationship. One where she didn’t think about his tongue teasing her lips apart.
    When she got to the pool, Liam was already in the water doing laps. She watched, mesmerized, as the muscles in his back bunched and flexed. His powerful arms sluiced through the water with every stroke. And his strong legs propelled him forward with the force of a rocket. Wow . He was really good.
    She didn’t know how long she stood there watching him, but eventually, he swam back and popped his head up out of the water. He startled when he saw her. “Becca.” He licked his lips. “Hi.”
    “Hi, Liam.”
    His smile was quick. “Ready to swim?”
    She nodded. “As ready as I ever am.”
    His chuckle was as soft and as sweet as the whipped cream on her daily iced mocha. He pushed himself up out of the water and onto the ledge. “Good. Put on your flippers, and I’ll get the kickboard.”
    Okay, words were appropriate here, right? Problem was, all her brain power was focused on staring at his chest and shoulders.
    “Becca?” he asked, “Did you hear me?”
    “Yep, sorry. Flippers. On it.” Head in the game, Becca. Focus. Professional. Learn to swim. Do not fantasize about him.
    She sat on the bench and slipped on the flippers. Then she tried to walk in them. She was pretty sure she looked like a drunken penguin as she shuffle-stepped to the stairs.
    Liam stopped her. “Jump in. It’ll be safer with the flippers.”
    She licked her lips. “Uhm, jump?”
    He nodded. “Yep. You can do it. I’ll be right here.” His smile was warm, but there was no heat or hint of teasing in his gaze. Had she imagined the other day? Maybe fabricated the whole thing in her head?
    She shuffled to the edge of the pool and sat. It was only a couple of feet deep. She could hop in. Liam was here, and she was pretty sure he wouldn’t let her drown. Focus, Becca. You need to do this, so cut the bullshit .
    She closed her eyes tight and hopped in.
    The good news—she was in the water. The bad news—she made a hell of a splash and got water up her nose that resulted in some very unattractive hacking coughs. Terrific. More bad news…she literally landed on Liam. Though as bad news went, her body wasn’t entirely displeased about it.
    His arms snapped around her like a vise. “It’s okay, I’ve got you. Relax.”
    Relax. Sure. Her hands clutched his biceps tight, and she blinked up at him. It was a far too familiar position, and she immediately let go. “Yeah, thanks. I guess I need to get used to doing that.”
    “It’ll come with time. You ready to work with the kickboard again? Normally, I’d take you back to basics and start you with bubbles, but I know you want to move quickly, so we’ll start with this, okay?”
    She nodded mutely and took the kickboard from him. She was desperate for the feeling of freedom she’d experienced the other day. She wanted to shut off her brain and not deal with the steaming pile of craptastic argument she’d had with Holden. She also wanted to shut out the myriad questions she wanted to ask Liam, like, did I imagine that kiss ? Did you feel that electricity too ? Are you pretending, like I am, that none of it happened ?
    He frowned and sighed. “Are you okay, Becca? You look tense.”
    She nodded once. “Yep, fine.”
    A crease formed on his forehead. “Look...the other night...I didn’t mean—”
    She put a hand on his chest. Then realizing what she’d done, she snatched it back, feeling the burn from the heat of his skin. “Liam, stop. I’m not...I mean, that was my fault. And we don’t have to...shit. I had a crappy day and want to pour some of my annoyance into this lesson.”
    He hesitated. “Do you want to talk about it?”
    Yes . “No.” Talking to him wouldn’t help. She’d only end up thinking about how sexy he sounded. This was all Van’s fault. If she hadn’t told Becca it was perfectly normal to have a crush, Becca wouldn’t be in