Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 89985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
After dealing with the Finn Byrnes of the world, I knew I was going to blow her mind.
Walking around the gym at six that morning, I saw a couple of women who’d appeared. I knew I was on their radar and if needed, I had plenty of women to keep me company while I worked on winning over Niamh. For a split-second I wondered if gaining her attention would come from flirting with someone else.
I stepped into the swimming pool area and stopped, because the very woman I’d been thinking about was sitting at the edge of the pool.
The door closed behind me, but it was silent and Niamh was so lost in her own little world, that she didn’t even look up to see what had caused the noise. She kept staring down at the water below her.
I watched as she moved her feet through the water. Her lips moved, but I didn’t know what she said. Pulling her feet from the water, I watched as she squared her shoulders and then moved to the corner of the pool. She gripped the metal rail leading into the water, and slowly began to climb in.
It was then I realized what the problem was. Niamh was terrified.
She got into the water and still held onto the steps. She took several deep breaths, and I saw the fear in her eyes, and she let go of the rail and began to sink into the water. There was no one around.
I didn’t even know why she had opted to go in the swimming pool if it scared her so freaking much. I didn’t like it, though. She looked so small, so fragile. Stepping toward the pool edge where she was gripping the handle for dear life, I crouched down.
“You know, if you can’t swim, you’d be better served learning by going to the top of the pool,” I said.
“Thanks, but I’m not afraid.”
“You’ve nearly bent the handlebar,” I said.
This did get her attention. The handlebar was fine. There was no way she was going to break that, but she did loosen her grip a little.
“If you can swim, then you want to tell me what the problem is?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“You’re not afraid?”
“No, I’m not afraid.”
“Most people who come to swim don’t look like they’re afraid of the water wrapping around them and dragging them down,” I said.
“Why would you say something like that?” Niamh glanced down into the water.
The deep end was always a darker color and this made me smile, because you couldn’t see the bottom of the pool. I sighed, got to my feet, and then climbed in, fully clothed.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
I ignored her. I had a feeling that getting close to Niamh would not be smooth sailing, as I anticipated. Unlike some of the women I’d caught the eye of, Niamh didn’t like the thought of me getting too close.
Climbing into the water, I put my hand over hers, and this caused her to let go of the handle rail. It wasn’t exactly my intention to cause this.
She sunk beneath the water and on instinct, I grabbed the strap of her bathing suit, hauling her up to her feet, and keeping her head above the water. I paddled my feet and kept hold of the rail.
“You can’t swim,” I said.
“I can, and it’s not like it’s so hard.” She frowned.
The last thing I wanted to do was argue with her, so I let go of her suit and she sunk beneath the water. She screamed, so I grabbed her suit again and lifted her up.
“What the hell?” she asked, pushing her hair out of her face, but I noticed she didn’t shove at me to let her go.
“Do you want to keep arguing with me?” I asked.
“No, I don’t want to argue with you. This was a big mistake, and right now I need to go home.”
“Or, you can swallow your pride and ask me to help you.”
“What?”
I didn’t know if it was wrong to find her entertaining, but I did.
“You can say, ‘Peter, I don’t know how to swim, can you help me?’” I tempted to mock her and do it in a female voice, but instead, I decided I was already embarrassing her, and the last thing I wanted to do was make her uncomfortable.
She frowned and I saw her gaze past my shoulder. She wasn’t so stupid after all. Niamh was already planning her escape because she didn’t have a clue who I was, and she was starting to think like a survivor.
“Who is Peter?” she asked.
“Me, my name is Peter.”
“Is that your real name?”
This made me smile. “Yes, it does happen to be my real name.”
She nodded after a few seconds.
I waited.
She looked at the water, then at me, before her gaze went behind me. There she went with her deep breathing, and I waited patiently.