Flirting with Fire: A Summer Camp Swingers novel

“But Madison’s mom’s cool,” she continued. “I don’t think she’d mind. Being nude, I mean, especially around us.”

I couldn’t argue with her logic.

“So… you’ll ask her? About camp?”

“We’ll see—” I gave her a sheepish grin, and she rewarded me with a smug one. “I’ll talk to her,” I said instead. “No promises, though. And I don’t want to hear any whining if she says no. Okay?”

“Okay. Thanks, Dad.” She thought of something and changed the subject. “Do you think we can have pancakes for breakfast? Banana ones like Grandpa makes? With strawberries and bacon?”

Just to be clear, it was turkey bacon. None of the girls ate beef or pork, and Laurie claimed to be a vegetarian. In her case it had started as teenage rebellion against her mother, but lately I wasn’t so sure. Her last science fair project had been about industrial farming. Since then she’d lost her appetite for anything raised on land. I’d seen her project, and I couldn’t really blame her.

Fortunately, Emily’s metabolism couldn’t afford to be picky.

“Sure,” I said, “I think we can manage that.”

“Oh, and maybe some scrambled eggs,” she added thoughtfully. “Cheesy ones.”

“Good idea.”

“Yeah. I think I wanna be 5’3”. Just to be sure.”

* * *

My cell phone rang almost as soon as Mark left with McKenna after breakfast. At first I thought they’d forgotten something, but then I saw the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” Allie said. “How’re you?”

“I’m fine. And you?”

We made small talk for a moment before she came to the point.

“I want to apologize for last night.”

“What? Why?”

“The way I handled things,” she said. “I was annoyed at the girls, not you.”

“I kinda figured. Besides, you don’t need to explain.”

“I know, but I wanted you to know.”

“That’s cool.” I had a thought and chuckled at the way my mind worked. Maybe I was more like Christy than I wanted to admit. “Speaking of cool…,” I continued, “do you have plans today?”

“Not really,” Allie said. “Why?”

“You’re welcome to come over and hang out.”

“We couldn’t,” she said automatically.

“Why not?”

“We don’t want to wear out our welcome. And I’m sure you have things to do.”

“Not really,” I said. “And you’re welcome any time. Besides, it’s supposed to be even hotter today. I know you have to be miserable without air conditioning.”

“Last night was awful,” she admitted.

“Did you sleep at all?”

“Not really.”

I chuckled. “You can take a nap in the pool house if you want.”

“That’s tempting.”

I could join you, the little head said in his bedroom voice.

Will you stop! She isn’t interested.

“Come on over,” I said aloud. “The girls can hang out, and you can cool off.”

“If you’re sure…?”

“I’m sure. Any time.”

“Is right now too soon?” she laughed.

“Nope. I’ll tell the girls. See you when you get here.”

Chapter 4

I grinned to myself when the driveway alarm beeped twenty minutes later. Allie must have left almost as soon as we’d hung up. I yelled upstairs to the girls and then headed out to greet them.

I’m telling you, the little head insisted, that’s why she called. She wanted you to invite her over.

I couldn’t argue, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up, either.

The little head was an eternal optimist. She totally wants it, man. She wants us!

You realize there’s no such thing as “us,” right? We’re the same person.

No, you’re the person, he said pedantically. I’m a talking penis, a figment of your imagination. Dumbass.

“Ha!”

Allie stopped with one foot on the ground and the other still in the car. Her smile faded to uncertainty.

“Sorry,” I said quickly. “Random thought. Never mind.”

She couldn’t read me as well as Christy, but my sheepish expression was enough. She figured out who I’d been talking to, and her smile returned, wry this time.

Car doors slammed on the other side, and Madison and Carly appeared.

I smiled a greeting and hooked a thumb at the house. “The girls are upstairs. Go on in.”

“Thanks, Mr. H.” They disappeared inside.

“Pop the back,” I said to Allie. “I’ll grab your stuff.”

She did, and she’d brought her laptop bag in addition to her usual pool bag.

“In case you need to work,” she explained. “Then I can get some work done too.”

“You probably won’t need it. I’m on vacation. Besides, it’s Sunday.” Still, I slung the laptop bag over my shoulder, grabbed the pool bag, and closed the lift gate with my free hand. Allie frowned when I faced her again.

“Sorry, I was just thinking about your work,” I said.

“What about it?”

“You only need a laptop. I always pictured you with a big pile of manuscripts or something.”

She laughed in relief. “A slush pile? No, not me. I’m all electronic these days, emails and Word documents.”

“Oh, okay.”

“I thought you had to work, though. You have a board meeting, right? For your big foundation?”