Relentless Pursuit

He bobbed up by her, lifting her and then letting her splash down, but he held her the whole time.

“Want to do that again?” he asked her, holding her up again, and she smiled, nodding.

With a surprised expression he glanced over her head at Ava and then lifted Caroline higher to let her splash into the water again.

They played and he gave his full attention to Caroline, glancing once at Ava to say hello.

Later as Caroline splashed nearby, he swam close to Ava. When he bobbed up almost touching her, Ava’s heartbeat sped, a reaction she couldn’t control and one that happened too often with him. “Hi.”

She smiled at him. “Hi.”

“You know why I’ve been giving her all my attention.”

“Of course, and you should.”

“Caroline smiling at me like that—I think you brought that on. She hasn’t done that before with me. I was right about you. You are good with her.”

“Thank you. You may give me too much credit,” she said. “I did get her to read one word aloud today.”

Something flickered in the depths of his dark eyes. “I’m going to do some arm twisting and see if you’ll stay this coming week. We’ll talk about it later.”

“Will, the people I’m recommending will be better than I am in working with her.”

Smiling, he swam away to join Caroline, and she guessed she was in for a struggle with a man totally accustomed to getting his way.