As she tried to get her breath back, he lifted his head and shoulders, which, of course, contracted his abs into the gold standard of six-packs. “Why’s your face so red?” he said.

“S-sunburn.” She knew how vulnerable she was, and she should have thrown herself in the lake to cool off before she came back here.

“That’s not sunburn.” He swung his feet to the floor, and she noticed his hair was damp. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing!” She began inching away. It meant taking the long route around, but she wasn’t turning her back on him. “You took another shower.”

“So?”

“You showered after you swam. What are you, some kind of clean freak?”

“Ron and I went for a run after dinner. Why do you care?”

Oh, God, that chest, that mouth …those green eyes that saw everything. Except her naked. They’d never seen that. “I’m…going to bed now.”

“Was it something I said?”

“Don’t be cute. Please.”

“I’ll do my best.” He gave her a crooked smile. “But me being me…”

“Stop it!” She didn’t intend to quit moving, but her feet went on some kind of labor strike.

“You need warm milk or something?”

“No, I definitely don’t need anything hot.”

“I said warm. I didn’t say anything about hot.” He set down his papers.

“I—I know that.”

She might be standing still, but he wasn’t, and he took in her damp, rumpled dress as he approached. “What’s going on?”

She couldn’t take her eyes off his mouth. It brought to mind all the mouths she’d seen on that small television screen so recently and exactly what they’d been doing. Damn Krystal and her movie. “I’m just tired,” she managed.

“You don’t look tired. Your lips are sort of puffy, like you’ve been chewing on them, and you’re breathing hard. Frankly, you look turned on. Or is that my one-track mind taking over again?”

“Let it go, okay?” He had a small scar on one rib, probably a knife wound from a spurned girlfriend.

“What the hell did you women do tonight?”

“It wasn’t my idea!” She sounded guilty, and her flush deepened.

“I’ll find out. One of the guys will tell me, so you might as well fill me in now.”

“I don’t think the men will be talking about this. Or maybe they will. I don’t know. I have no idea how much you men talk.”

“Not as much as you women do, that’s for damn sure.” He inclined his head toward the kitchen. “Do you want something to drink? There’s a bottle of wine in the refrigerator.”

“Oh, yeah …Wine’s exactly what I don’t need right now.”

“A mystery just waiting to be solved…” He’d clearly begun to enjoy himself.

“Leave it alone, will you?”

“Exactly what a nice guy would do.” He leaned down and picked up his cell. “Janine’ll tell me what happened. She seems like an up-front lady.”

“She’s at the B&B. She doesn’t have a phone in her room.”