Page 25 of Blue Sky

French Toast

Saturday morning I woke with a hard-on and a mission.

To see Paloma in her bikini.

Ever since she had bought that damn thing, I couldn’t stop fantasizing about seeing her in it. And today was the day.

I took a quick shower and threw on my board shorts and a T-shirt. I never even woke during the night anymore to take care of Sky. I would’ve been happy to on my nights off, but Paloma would always grab her before I woke. And I was so well rested, my flying drills had been as tight as ever. I couldn’t thank Paloma enough.

How would I live without her?

Her sisters had kept to themselves and had been quiet since they moved in a few days ago. But that bothered me. They were almost too good. As if they didn’t consider this to be their home. Today I wanted to see their personalities. I wanted them to feel comfortable around me.

I opened the door, and the smell of cinnamon and vanilla overtook me.

Sure enough, Paloma was in the kitchen, and Mónica was playing with Sky on the living room floor.

My coffee was already waiting for me. “Morning. I made French Toast. It will be ready in a minute.”

“Morning.” I resisted the urge to kiss her on her cheek. It would’ve seemed so natural, so innocent.

Paloma was always cheerful, but I knew that she hid pain behind her bright eyes. I wanted her to cry in front of me, be vulnerable, trust me. I would have to earn her trust.

I scooped up Sky and kissed her. Her goofy smile brightened my world.

“Girls, do you want to go to the pool today?”

Mónica’s eyes widened. “Yes. We would love to! Paloma, can we go to the pool?”

Paloma shot me a pointed glare. “After you do your chores. Breakfast is ready.”

I strapped Sky into a baby bouncer and sat at the table.

Paloma handed me a plate of thick French toast. But it wasn’t any old French toast. I took one bite and my taste buds danced. The whipped cream was infused with cinnamon and the minute my fork sliced into the bread, thick chocolate oozed out. I couldn’t believe I was eating like this every day. Man, I hope Sawyer never comes over here. Even the womanizing confirmed bachelor would take one look at her and one bite of this food and would sweep her off her feet.

But I wanted to keep her to myself.

“This is delicious. If you keep cooking like this, I won’t fit into my flight suit.”

Paloma smiled. “Please, you are in perfect shape. You need fuel for your body and your plane.” She paused. “Look, we all can’t swim. I’m happy to take Sky to the pool, but I’m worried about the girls. Is there a lifeguard on duty?”

She was so adorable and non-presumptuous. “Yup, but you won’t need a lifeguard. I was on the swim team at Annapolis. I’ll teach you.”

Her cheeks blushed. “Okay. Thank you.”

At least I had made progress with her. She had stopped questioning me when I offered to do something with her and the girls.

After breakfast, the girls did their chores—vacuuming and cleaning bathrooms for Mónica and dusting and putting away toys for Ana María. I bathed Sky and dressed her in a cute ruffled swimsuit with a matching bonnet. Then, I slathered her in sunscreen until her skin was opaque with lotion.

My breath hitched when Paloma walked out from her bedroom. She was wearing a tank top and shorts, but I could see the bikini underneath. I couldn’t wait to get to the pool and see even more of her incredible body.

“Let’s go.”

We walked over to the pool. I could feel all the eyes on us as I signed us in.

We placed our belongings under a cabana when Brittney, Charlie’s wife, waved over to me.

Dammit. I didn’t want to talk to her. I just wanted to watch Paloma take her clothes off.