Chapter 217: pool party VII

Chapter 217: Chapter 217: pool party VII

Both teams pulled at once.

The rope snapped taut.

Damian tightened his grip.

For approximately three seconds, he remembered that he was supposed to be playing tug-of-war.

Then he looked at Vivienne.

She was directly in front of him.

Her ponytail swung with every movement as she leaned into the rope, her shoulders and back tensing with the effort. Her long legs were planted firmly in the sand, and standing directly behind her in line, Damian found it impossible to focus on the game.

The snug bikini bottoms strained against her skin with every pull, accentuating the full, rounded shape of her rear. Taut with exertion yet supple with every shift of her weight, the movement held his focus entirely off the opposing team.

Damian swallowed.

He looked away.

Focus.

He tightened his grip again.

The opposing team pulled.

His team resisted.

Then Vivienne shifted her footing.

Damian’s eyes followed the movement before he could stop himself.

This is ridiculous.

He was standing in the middle of a game surrounded by dozens of people, and somehow the only thing his brain seemed capable of registering was the woman directly in front of him.

Vivienne suddenly shouted,

"Harder!"

Damian froze.

His ears immediately warmed.

Oh, come on.

That was not helping.

He knew exactly what she meant.

Of course he did.

She meant the rope.

Obviously.

But hearing her say it while she was standing right in front of him was doing absolutely nothing for his ability to think sensibly.

Damian pulled harder.

"Come on!"

Vivienne laughed.

"Harder!"

He nearly lost his grip.

She has to stop saying that.

He was blushing now.

He knew he was.

And the worst part was that he couldn’t even look away because she was right there.

The rope jerked.

Their entire line shifted forward.

"Pull!"

Someone shouted.

Damian tried.

He genuinely tried.

But Vivienne was still right there.

She laughed again, completely unaware of the effect her voice was having on him.

Damian’s face grew warmer.

This is so wrong.

He should have been focused on winning.

Instead, he was thinking about her.

About how close she was.

About how easily he could reach out and steady her if she slipped.

And then—

She did.

Vivienne’s foot suddenly slid.

"Ah—!"

Damian reacted instantly.

He released the rope.

He stepped forward and caught her around the waist before she could fall.

Vivienne stumbled backward into him.

For a moment, everything stopped.

Damian’s arm was around her waist.

Vivienne’s hands caught his forearm.

Their faces were suddenly far too close.

Damian stared at her.

She stared back.

Neither of them seemed to remember the game.

Then the rope jerked violently behind them.

Their team stumbled.

The opposing side surged forward.

The marker crossed the line.

The whistle blew.

"We lost!"

The crowd erupted.

Vivienne blinked.

Then looked toward the rope.

"Oh."

Damian looked too.

They had completely lost.

Because he had let go.

Because he’d been watching her.

Because she’d slipped.

And because his first instinct had been to catch her rather than save the game.

Vivienne looked back at him.

"You let go."

"You were falling."

"I know."

She glanced around.

Only then did she seem to realize exactly how they were standing.

Her cheeks immediately warmed.

"Damian."

"What?"

"Everyone’s looking."

He glanced around.

They were.

Quite a few people were.

Damian looked back at her.

For perhaps the first time in his life, he had the opportunity to be embarrassed by something like this.

Instead, after a brief hesitation, his arm remained around her waist.

"Let them."

Vivienne’s eyes widened slightly.

"Damian."

"What?"

She couldn’t help laughing softly despite her blush.

"You can’t just—"

He finally seemed to realize what he was doing.

His face reddened.

"Oh."

He quickly released her.

"Sorry."

Vivienne smiled.

"You’re forgiven."

Damian looked at her for another moment.

He was still nervous.

Still completely out of his depth.

But beneath that nervousness was something much simpler.

He had wanted to be beside her.

Now he was.

And he didn’t particularly care who had seen it.

--

A few yards away, Julian stared at them.

Then slowly turned toward Adrian.

"That was smooth."

Adrian shrugged.

"He didn’t even mean to do that."

"Doesn’t matter."

Julian nodded toward Damian.

"He just dropped the entire game to catch her."

Adrian agreed.

"And now everyone’s looking."

Julian’s smile widened.

"He’s staking his claim without even confessing."

Damian doesn’t even have any idea or remotely even care what his friends or anyone for the matter thought.

He was still standing beside Vivienne, his attention entirely on her.

--

Across the conservatory, Anthony remained with his friends.

He hadn’t been paying much attention to the next game when one of them suddenly spoke.

"Isn’t that Blackwood?"

Anthony looked toward the pool.

Damian had just approached the line of participants. He said something to Fred, who was standing directly behind Vivienne.

Fred stepped aside.

Damian took his place.

Directly behind her.

Anthony frowned.

One of his friends gave a quiet laugh.

"Blackwood certainly moved fast."

Anthony glanced at him.

"What do you mean?"

"You really haven’t heard the rumors?"

Anthony’s expression tightened.

He had heard them.

He simply hadn’t thought much of them.

"What rumors?"

"The ones about you and Lady Beaumont."

Another friend looked toward the pool.

"People are saying you broke off the engagement because of Blackwood."

Anthony stared at him.

"Because of Damian?"

"Apparently."

His friend shrugged.

"Some people think they’ve been seeing each other behind your back."

"That’s absurd."

It was.

At least, Anthony had never had any reason to believe otherwise.

Then, unexpectedly, he remembered Friday.

Damian had approached him about Vivienne.

At the time, Anthony had assumed it was simple concern.

Damian had asked whether they had really ended things.

Whether Anthony had changed his mind.

Whether everything was all right.

Anthony had answered honestly. He hadn’t loved Vivienne. He’d never really had anything to change his mind about.

Damian had listened quietly before asking if Anthony was truly all right with it.

At the time, Anthony hadn’t thought much of the question.

Now, he looked toward his cousin.

Damian was standing directly behind Vivienne.

As though that was exactly where he wanted to be.

Anthony’s brows drew together.

Had Damian already known what he wanted then?

Had that been why he’d asked?

The thought was dismissed almost immediately.

No.

He was reading too much into an ordinary conversation simply because of what he was seeing now.

The host raised his microphone.

"Ready!"

The crowd grew louder.

The whistle blew.

Both teams pulled.

Vivienne leaned back against the rope.

Damian pulled behind her.

Anthony watched.

His cousin seemed far more interested in Vivienne than in the opposing team.

Then Vivienne slipped.

Damian released the rope without hesitation.

He stepped forward and caught her around the waist.

Their team lost.

The crowd erupted.

For a moment, Damian simply held her.

Vivienne looked up at him.

She was blushing.

And she didn’t immediately move away.

Anthony went still.

One of his friends gave a low whistle.

"Well."

Another laughed.

"That certainly doesn’t help the rumors."

Anthony said nothing.

His eyes remained on Damian’s arm around Vivienne.

Something unpleasant tightened in his chest.

It wasn’t jealousy.

It couldn’t be.

The engagement had ended nearly a week ago.

Vivienne was free.

She had been the one to tell him she wanted the freedom to choose someone else, and he had told her he had no grounds to object.

So why did this bother him?

Anthony’s jaw tightened.

Perhaps it was pride.

Perhaps his ego.

He was the heir to the Ashford duchy. He had been raised with certain expectations about dignity, propriety, and boundaries.

If Damian had truly been pursuing Vivienne while she was still his fiancée, that would have been improper.

Deeply so.

That was what offended him.

At least, that was what he told himself.

His gaze returned to the pool.

Damian was still standing close to Vivienne.

Anthony straightened.

He would not confront his cousin over a rumor.

He would not make a spectacle of himself.

And he certainly would not allow his pride to dictate his actions.

Whatever this was—

He would deal with it privately.

If he needed to at all.