“Doesn’t mean you can’t look.”

“It means there’s absolutely nothing about the man that I like.”

“I liked his ass,” teased Lexi.

“Then you are a cougar.”

“And I am sorely disappointed to hear that,” came a drawling voice, a clear thread of amusement running through it.

Devin glanced up to see Byron, arms crossed over his chest, feet planted firmly apart, staring openly at Lexi while she sunbathed. He wore faded blue jeans, a denim shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of brown cowboy boots.

“Eyes front, old man,” said Lexi with a waggle of her finger. “I’m not here for your visual entertainment.”

Byron didn’t look away.

Devin lifted Amelia from the water and cradled her cool body against her chest. “Byron, this is my friend Lexi. Lexi, Byron is Lucas’s…what do I call you? Widowed stepfather?”

“I’d say we can go with ‘friend’,” Byron responded, still staring openly at Lexi where she lay on the air mattress.

Lexi pushed her sunglasses back up to the top of her head and propped herself on one elbow. “Do you have a reason for being here?”

Devin coughed out a laugh at Lexi’s blunt manner.

“I believe I do.” He turned his attention to Devin. “I was hoping to have a little talk with you, young lady.”

Devin hesitated, not really anxious to be grilled by Byron. “About…?” she asked.

“Come on up here, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Devin stayed put.

“I’m not gonna bite you,” he assured her with a grin.

She glanced down at Amelia and saw that the tiny girl was worn out. They were going to have to get out of the water soon anyway. And she had a feeling Byron would wait.

“Why not?” she muttered. The man clearly had something to say. She might as well get this over with. She made her way toward the wide staircase at the end of the pool.

She took a butter-yellow towel from the rack at the edge of the pool deck and wrapped it around Amelia to keep her from getting chilled.