Read Online A Great Catch by Lorna Seilstad - Free Book Online

slapped his cheek so hard he saw stars.

8
    Girls screamed.
    Emily gaped at him. “Carter Stockton, what in heaven’s name are you doing?”
    Marguerite pushed her out of the doorway, and she and Lilly joined Emily outside the bathhouse before slamming its door shut.
    Carter rubbed his bright red cheek. “What are you doing in the men’s bathhouse?”
    Emily propped her hands on her hips. “From the screams of the ladies inside, clearly this is not the men’s facility.”
    Loud guffaws erupted around them as a group of men converged on Carter. A mustached man with black hair parted down the center slapped him on the back. “Good one, huh?”
    “Ducky, is this some kind of joke?”
    A freckled redhead lifted the sign reading Men from the nail on the door and replaced it with the sign reading Ladies . Holding his sides, he doubled over in laughter again. “You should have seen your face, Stockton.”
    “You know these miscreants?” Emily scowled at them.
    “They’re my teammates.” He glared at each of them. “My soon-to-be-deceased teammates.”
    “Ah, you have to admit it was funny, and no harm was done,” the red-haired man managed between chuckles.
    Marguerite giggled beside Emily and pointed to the men’s bathhouse. “If you boys don’t hurry, I think Mrs. Neville is about to get the surprise of her life.”
    Like crabs on sand, the team members scrambled to the building. Marguerite and Lilly followed to watch the show.
    Emily started to leave as well, but Carter caught her arm. His gaze swept her from head to toe, and an appreciative smile seemed to curl his lips. Heat rushed to her cheeks even as she chided herself for such foolish thoughts. Carter Stockton was not looking at her that way. Still, she pressed her hand across the exposed flesh above her white sailor collar.
    “Since I gave you that scare, Emily, maybe I can make it up to you with some ice cream after we swim. It’s the least I could do. I feel really bad about this. Between your wrist and the bad luck with Marion, you’ve had quite a week.”
    Her jaw tightened, and she glared at him. Did he feel sorry for her again? Poor Emily. The girl who couldn’t even get a man like Mr. Wormsley to be interested in her. She didn’t need his pity, she didn’t need his help, and she certainly didn’t need the questions his attentions would elicit from her friends and aunts. She jutted out her chin. “I don’t need your mercy social outing.”
    “But—”
    “Go back and play with your friends, Carter. That’s what boys do, isn’t it?”

    Carter wanted to punch something. He’d struck out, and Emily marched away as if he’d threatened to kill her firstborn. The form-fitting striped bathing costume hugged her narrow waist, and the bright yellow, pink, and red flowers on the ridiculous cap bounced with every step. What was with that woman? He’d asked her to join him for ice cream. Simple. Easy. Fun. And she’d called him a boy. A boy!
    Fine. If that’s how she wanted it. From now on, he’d keep his mouth shut.
    “What’d you do?”
    Wheeling around, Carter found the diminutive Lilly at his side. “Excuse me?”
    Lilly rolled her eyes. “Well, Emily steamed off like a hot teakettle, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out you said something.”
    “All I did was offer to take her out for ice cream.”
    “And?”
    “I said it was the least I could do. You know, to make up for my mistake after she’s had such bad luck this week with Marion Wormsley and her wrist. I feel sorry for her.”
    Lilly lobbed him on the side of his head with her palm.
    He jerked back. “What was that for?”
    “Someone needs to knock some sense into you.”
    “Why? I didn’t do anything wrong. I mean besides the door thing, which was an accident.”
    Lilly sighed. “I’m not going to spell it out.”
    “What? Why?”
    “That”—she poked him in the chest—“is what you need to discover on your own.”
    Then, for the second time in less