Ford turned to beam down at his wife. “You were fantastic, Millie,” he exclaimed before hauling her into his arms for a hug. The cover-up she was wearing was thin and he could feel her soft curves against his body, causing him to thicken in his trunks. He leaned back slightly and beheld her pink cheeks. Maybe it was from the heat, or maybe she was just as affected by him as he was her.

The sound of his sister squealing in delight broke his concentration on his wife, and he peered over to see Ginny’s fiancé flipping her over his shoulder. Ford laughed because anytime his sister got dunked on was a good time. It was even better now as it distracted him from the strange reaction his body continued to have where Millie was concerned.

When his sister finally came up for some air, she called over to the woman next to him. “Mills, come on. You can’t live in a house with a pool this gorgeous and stay out on the deck.”

Millie looked up at him with a smile before turning to her friend. “I’m not a big swimmer,” she called over to Gigi as she tugged at her hooded cover-up, pulling it further down her legs.

Suddenly Millie swimming sounded like the best idea in the word. Or the worst, seeing as how he couldn’t stop getting aroused just about every time he looked at her, but Millie dressed fairly conservatively most of the time, so he never got a peek at what was hidden underneath all of her tweed skirts and fluttery blouses. Ford found that the temptation to see that outweighed his desire to tamp down his growing attraction toward her.

“C’mon, Mills,” Jo begged, splashing some water their way. “I want to see the swimsuit I made you buy at the beginning of summer.”

Millie turned to Ford. “Go ahead.” He backed toward the grill. “I need to get the food going anyhow.”

With a smile, Millie turned to the pool and shook her head. “Fine,” she called over to her friends. “Give me a minute though because I need some sunscreen.”

She walked over to one of the high top chairs at the outdoor bar and reached into her bag, pulling out a small bottle. Time seemed to slow as Ford watched her reach up to the top of her cover-up and tug on the zipper, slowly bringing it down all the way to the bottom before her hands were sliding up and parting both sides of the fabric. He closed his eyes and he took a deep breath for a second before opening them once again just in time to see her cover-up fall away from her body. Ford nearly passed out at the sight.

Millie stood not ten feet from where he did, wearing nothing but a white, string bikini that showcased her amazing body. Full, heavy breasts were barely covered by the small triangles of fabric. His eyes lingered there for a moment before wandering south over the planes of her soft, slightly rounded stomach down to her, thick juicy thighs and smooth legs. She was all soft curves, and when she turned around and displayed a good amount of ass, he almost lost it with the need to grip her hips and pull her body into his.

“Fuck,” he whispered to himself, thankful that the grill blocked anyone’s view of his erection. When she started to rub lotion all over her hot little body, Ford imagined her hands were his and he nearly shot into his swim trunks.

“Your fire’s out,” someone gruffly told him.

“Seems pretty hot to me,” he murmured as he watched Millie continue to rub sunscreen all over the body that was made perfectly just for him.

Someone chuckled next to him, and Ford turned around. It was Cooper, Gigi’s fiancé, standing there dripping pool water and sporting a very amused expression. He pointed to the grill. “I was talking about the grill,” he said with a smirk.

Ford glanced down to see that he still hadn’t turned the gas on. “Whoops,” he mumbled, his arousal gone in an instant as he tried to focus on the task at hand. He reached under the grill and turned the knobs to get the pilot going and get everything heated up.

Cooper clapped his shoulder and gave it a shake. “No one can blame you for getting distracted.” The man glanced over at Gigi. She was currently laying out on a pool float and sipping one of the hard seltzers she brought with her. Coop had a bright smile on his face as he watched his fiancée enjoying herself. “I’m finding it hard to stay focused myself.”

Ford snorted. “Dude, that’s my sister!” He shook his head, but the other man just laughed and raised his hands in supplication.

“Sorry, sorry. I’ll try to refrain from ogling Gigi while we’re at your house,” he replied.

“It’s the least you could do,” Ford insisted haughtily, grabbing the meat from the small fridge next to the grill. He glanced up to see Millie gingerly stepping into the water, her nose scrunching up at the temperature, before climbing down another step.

“Just dive in,” Jo called from the arms of her boyfriend. “It’s not cold once you get used to it.”

 “No way. I’m acclimating slowly.” Millie continued her leisurely descent until she was finally waist deep, smiling as her hands skimmed over the surface of the water. “This isn’t too bad.” Millie glanced over at Ford and waved. He couldn’t help but smile and nod at her before turning his attention back to the grill.

“Oh man. You’ve got it bad,” Cooper whispered, cracking open one of the beers he grabbed from a large bucket of ice.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Ford played dumb, finding the grill extremely fascinating all of a sudden. He didn’t want to look at Cooper because the man was surprisingly astute.

Ford had always thought Millie was cute, but the close interactions they’d shared over the last couple of weeks and that amazing body she had been hiding away had him looking at her a little differently. Now she was less “cute librarian who helped you find the book you were looking for” and more “sexy librarian who dragged you into the stacks for a quick fuck against the bookshelves.” Great. Now that image was in his brain. Erasing that little fantasy would be no easy task, and he wasn’t sure he would actually even bother. It sounded pretty hot.

Coop snorted and drank from his beer bottle. “If that’s how you want to play it, fine, but you might want to mop up the bit of drool on your face,” he jibbed, pointing at the corner of Ford’s mouth.

Ford swiped at his mouth, but it was dry. He glared at his soon-to-be brother-in-law before knocking him with his shoulder. “Dick,” he muttered.

Cooper smiled slowly and laughed. “You know you love me, bro,” he said before walking over to the side of the pool and crouching down to give Gigi a kiss.

Ford watched his sister drag her fiancé into the water, laughing and splashing him while he chased her around the pool. He turned to Millie, who was swimming off by herself while her friends and some of his colleagues laughed and played with their partners. He wanted so badly to jump in and join her, haul her into his arms for a wet kiss, and drag her around the pool with her legs wrapped around him, but that wasn’t what their arrangement was about. With that little reminder to himself, he turned back to the grill and added the meat skewers.

“Food’s ready,” he called about twenty minutes later.

Ford glanced over the grill and watched as Millie got out of the pool. Then he searched for a towel. She was sopping wet and shivering as she padded over to him, her stunning body all wet and on display. Her hands shook as she pushed her wet hair out of her face, and he finally snapped out of his trance long enough to grab a towel and open it up for her. She smiled and walked in automatically, and he felt a great sense of accomplishment and having been able to do even that small thing to take care of her. Millie was always taking care of everyone else. She deserved more than a little of that for herself.

Once she was wrapped up, Millie faced him and beamed. “Thanks. I guess I forgot a towel,” she said, rolling her eyes at herself.

“Always happy to give you what you need, Millie,” he confessed, reaching up and rubbing her arms to help her warm up. He hadn’t even thought about doing it. It just happened automatically. Now that his hands were on her, he didn’t want to take them off.

Millie’s body swayed closer to him. He caught her blushing as she looked down at his bare chest again which made him smile. Millie’s head tilted up and she licked her bottom lip, the same lip he desperately wanted to drag between his teeth before licking the sting away with his tongue. “Ford,” she whispered, her voice low and sultry, and he found himself leaning his head down to meet her. Ford wasn’t sure where this seemingly sudden attraction to her had come from, but it was one he couldn’t resist.