Emma’s smile is sly. “I bet you could go running with Chase. He goes every morning.”
I doubt he’ll want us to run together, so I hedge. “I wouldn’t want to bother him. And I’m completely out of shape. I’d only slow him down.”
“You can discuss it with Chase later.” Daisy waves away my objections. Again. “Moving on to number five: learn to pole dance.”
“Why do these involve me in various states of undress?”
“Because there are a bunch of guys here who are hungover, horny, and want to watch you doing naked-ish things. Duh,” Daisy retorts with a grin. “And now, number six is good. It’s for you to go on a really romantic date. With a hot guy. I added the hot guy part.”
“I can help with that,” Kenji says. I’ve met the guitar player several times now, and he is always very flirty. He’s hot in a tall, dark, bad-boy way.
“No, pick me!” another guy shouts. I laugh. I know it’s all in good fun, so I don’t take them seriously. The idea of these good-looking, talented musicians fighting for me is not a possibility. These guys have their pick of LA women.
“If Olivia needs help with her list, it will be me. Not any of you asses.”
I swing my head to see Chase standing in the doorway in long shorts and a T-shirt, with a towel around his neck and a glower on his face. He must have come from a workout in the gym because sweat glistens on his defined muscles, making me weak.
“Ooh, someone’s jealous,” Daisy says.
Chase glares. “I’m not jealous, but I don’t trust any of you to ensure Olivia’s safety while she’s swimming with sharks and going on dates.” He almost chokes on the word dates.
Wow. Just how much of the conversation did he overhear?
This conversation is getting far, far away from me. “Excuse me. Hello? I’m here, in front of you all. There will be no sharks. And I haven’t agreed to pole dancing.”
“Notice how she still says nothing about skinny-dipping,” Daisy whispers loudly to Emma. “She’s totally down for the skinny-dipping.”
I kinda was down for skinny-dipping. There’s a beautiful pool out there, and every night, it calls to me. I wouldn’t mind sneaking out and swimming under the stars, feeling that cool water over all parts of me. But I’m not about to tell any of them that because I don’t want an audience joining me for that particular risk.
“We’re all just trying to help you fulfill your grandma’s wishes,” Emma says. “And pole dancing is the best.”
“Since when have you done pole dancing?” Sebastian asks Emma, not sounding happy about it. “Your dad’s a minister.”
Emma puts her hands on her hips. “Says who? Just because Daddy’s a minister doesn’t mean I can’t dance. What is this? Footloose?”
“It’s not just dancing. It’s like strippers,” Sebastian hisses.
“There’s nothing wrong with being a stripper.” Emma folds her arms over her chest and glares at Sebastian.
“Your dad’s a minister?” Kenji asks. “That’s cool.”
“Her dad’s great. But she’s the meanest minister’s daughter I’ve ever met,” Sebastian elaborates.
“You know her dad?” I ask.
“That’s how Sebastian and I met,” Emma explains. “Daddy helped out at Sebastian’s rehab center.”
“Her dad suggested I hire Emma to babysit me when it was time to go back to LA. She wanted to ditch her small town. Her dad said she was perfect for the job because she was good at staying organized and keeping people from having fun.” Sebastian smirks.
Rather than be offended, Emma nods, as if proud of that particular attribute. “Sometimes, you have to be cruel to be kind,” she retorts. “You should thank me more. And my daddy.”
“Ahem,” I say to the group. All eyes turn to me. “Not that I’m not appreciative of your help, but I think I can handle making a list all on my own.”
“Nope. We’ve decided this is our job to help you. You’re stuck with us and this list,” Emma says. “Cruel to be kind, remember?”
Chase plucks the list away from Daisy. “If Olivia needs help, I’ll do it. And her list will not involve stripper poles, naked swimming, or dates. She doesn’t do things like that.”
I glare at Chase. “Why wouldn’t I? Are you trying to tell me I’m not allowed to skinny-dip or date someone?” The idea that he thinks I’m too boring to take sexy risks makes me grumpy.