He kicked the ball up and caught it. A few steps from Noah’s pool, he gave it a gentle toss and watched the ball plop in the water when Noah missed it. Wading into the pool, Will scooped up the ball again. “Hold up your hands like this.” Noah threw out his arms in imitation. “Now get ready. I’m gonna throw it. Wait for it, wait for it—” He leaned forward, getting close, and executed a soft underhand shot right into Noah’s hands.
The guys clapped and hooted, especially Matt, who loved his kid to pieces. Harper and Paige clapped, too. Whitney, however, never even glanced up from her phone.
“That was great,” Will said. “Now throw it back to me.”
The ball flew wild again, though Will wasn’t sure exactly how that was possible since he was only two steps away. When the ball rolled over to Harper’s feet, she picked it up and tossed it back to them.
Will caught it, but even as he passed it back to Noah, he was drinking Harper in again. She was special. She was perfect. And she was too good for him.
But Will was hoping that he could forget about that last part if he tried hard enough.
* * *
Will was so good with Noah. Just the way he was with Jeremy. Always praising, complimenting, building up rather than tearing down.
He would make an awesome father someday.
Not that she had any business thinking about him that way, of course. But Harper still felt a lump of emotion well up in her throat. Emotion that grew with every kind thing the Mavericks said to Jeremy at the barbecue and the realization that Will’s closest friends had gone out of their way to make her and Jeremy feel like part of their family.
They were an amazing group. Will, of course, was totally sexy in a pair of black swim trunks. His black T-shirt emphasized his muscles, the width of his shoulders, and his broad chest. She had to repeatedly remind herself not to drool. Honestly, she was glad he was the only one wearing a shirt by the pool, because if he’d taken his off like the rest of the men, she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to control herself around him. That’s what he did to her—made her lose control again and again and again.
Noah’s dad, Matt Tremont, was a leading manufacturer of robotics equipment. He was huge with rippling muscles. And he gazed at his son with such adoration. She couldn’t help but wonder where Noah’s mother was.
Sebastian Montgomery was the TV media mogul. She’d expected some smooth-talking salesman, but Sebastian slouched in his chair, legs spread as he watched Noah and Will. “If you’re going to teach Noah, you gotta learn how to throw right,” he called out to Will. He was the tallest of them all, probably six-three, and his sable hair, chocolate-brown eyes, and chiseled features were even more mesmerizing up close than they were on camera. Still, she didn’t think he held a candle to Will.
“If you think you can do better, get over here.” Will held up the ball while Noah squealed for another free throw.
“There isn’t room enough for both of us in that pool,” Sebastian shot back.
“You’re just worried you won’t do any better,” Daniel said. He grinned at Harper and told her, “Sebastian always sucked at sports.”
Daniel Spencer owned a nationwide chain of home improvement stores and produced a TV show on do-it-yourself remodeling. With dark, wavy hair and some really impressive muscles, Daniel was a mountain-man type. Someone had mentioned during the course of the afternoon that he was building his own cabin near Tahoe.
“I didn’t suck,” Sebastian said mildly. “I just figured I might as well let you win at something.”
Daniel laughed, taking the ribbing good naturedly. “Still can’t get over that game back in high school where we all piled on you just outside the touchdown zone, can you?”
They called themselves the Mavericks, and they constantly gave each other a hard time. Yet Harper could see the incredibly strong bond between them, along with the way no offense was ever taken. Their connection went right through to the way they all looked after Noah. He wasn’t just Matt’s son, he was precious to all of them, and she had the sense they would each protect him with their lives.
Evan Collins, however, wasn’t quite like the rest. Not that he didn’t belong—he was just as handsome and big and strong as the other Mavericks—but he was quieter and didn’t always join in the banter. Harper wondered if his wife could be the reason. She’d tried to like Whitney, but it wasn’t an easy task. Evan’s wife seemed to wear her sunglasses so she wouldn’t have to waste time actually looking anyone in the eye, and her mouth didn’t seem to be made for smiling. Not even for Noah’s super cute antics.