Irresistible Bachelors: Books 1-5 by Landish, Lauren (bts books to read TXT) 📕

Breaking the surface of the water is like being reborn. Sweet air rushes into my lungs and the sun is dazzling bright as Tony and I hold each other. Cassie and Caleb cheer at us from the shore, waving their canisters at us.

“What took you so long?” they yell. “Y’all need a minute?”

Grinning, we swim in, Tony tossing the package to Cassie before pulling me into his arms and giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. I wish we could go further, but there’s a time and a place. We’ve got a challenge to take care of.

We quickly get our shoes on, the four of us heading back to the house. Wesley is waiting for us, and he claps his hands gleefully, jumping a little bit like a kid on Christmas morning. “Ah, I’m so glad to see you all worked together. Very telling and wise of you, but it’s time for the puzzle. I have two tables set up just outside the house for you to use. You may begin.”

Cassie rushes over to our table, while I exchange a glance with Tony before joining her. Cassie’s already gotten three of the canisters open, and we see that it is literally pieces of a puzzle. “Oh, fuck, I suck at puzzles,” Cassie grumbles. “Shit!”

“That would be this canister,” Caleb says, tossing over their empty metal tin. Cassie squeals and knocks the thing to the ground while Caleb laughs. “And no cheating!”

“No cheating! Big booty ho!” Mo Mo squawks, and it feels like the metal canister is just the right weight to throw, even if I don’t hit anything but air.

Taunts and banter go quiet as we all focus. We sort out the edges and get the corners when suddenly, Tony yells, “Yes!”

“What?” I ask, feeling desperate. Did they finish already?

“It’s the resort!” Tony says before realizing he may have made a mistake. He glowers and stares at his puzzle while Cassie and I start to see what we’re missing. I go quickly, seeing chunks of pieces fall together while Cassie starts to work methodically. Finally, I see the last piece, the flag on the top of the yacht in the water, and slide it home.

“Done!” I yell.

Tony looks up in shock, his fingers holding a piece. Wesley comes over, checks, and nods. “A win for the ladies. The score is tied for tomorrow’s finale.”

Cassie hugs me, but I see nothing but the disappointment in Tony’s eyes as he comes over. He sees our puzzle, then shakes his head. “It’s not the same.”

“Of course not,” Wesley says, chuckling. “I wanted to make sure it was fair, so each team’s picture was different. So your comment about it being a resort didn’t help the ladies.”

“How close were you?” I ask, and Tony shrugs. It doesn’t matter. He turns and goes inside, and I walk around to look at Tony’s puzzle. One piece is missing . . . it was that close.

Wesley looks at me as I pick up Tony’s piece and slip it into place, completing his puzzle. “So, what did you learn today?”

I glance up at him, not ready for another of his speeches. “The property, this place . . . it’s special. It’s more than beautiful scenery. It’s a living, breathing entity. The oceans, the forests, and even the giant pile of cow shit—they’re all connected.”

“True, but you knew that before the challenge,” Wesley says. “What did you learn today?”

I swallow and think about the look in Tony’s eyes as I finished. “I learned . . . I learned that sometimes, winning really doesn’t feel like winning at all.”

“How true,” Wesley says. “Go relax. There is a festival in the village tonight, very special. You should see it, and you should be able to prepare for tomorrow’s finale. Enjoy it, for tomorrow, you’re right—the friendships you’ve built these past few days may very well be undone.”Anthony

“You know, man, I can’t believe we lost that,” Caleb says as I clean up my stubble with a razor. The air in the bathroom is still steamy. I just got out after an incredibly long shower where I scrubbed myself thoroughly. It took me three scrubs and a thorough jet spraying with the shower head over every inch of my body before I finally felt like I was cow shit-free and clean. “I gotta give you props for digging through that shit, though.”

“There was a reason I did it,” I say, scraping the last spot on my left cheek smooth. “Because I know it will go toward what Wesley thinks of me. I took one for the team.”

“I didn’t think about it that way,” Caleb says, grinning. I hear him slapping his cheeks. He’s probably put on a little aftershave. A regular Hai Karate man, Caleb is. God knows why. When I come out of the bathroom, he’s already got his button-down shirt on. We’re dressing up a little tonight for the festival. “I guess you’re right, but there’s one problem with that. Wes wasn’t there.”

“It doesn’t seem like much that happens here gets by that man,” I tell him. “No way was he going to let the four of us go after that cliffside canister or dive for that last one without someone nearby just in case something went bad. Not to mention, I’m sure he could fucking smell me.”

“Well, let’s go have some fun. Let it be our rally before we pull off the big win tomorrow!” Caleb says. I can't share in his enthusiasm though. I don’t even know what I want anymore. I don’t want to let anyone down, but I don’t want to do that at Hannah’s expense. One thing’s for sure—I know I want her. And tonight, I’m going to show her something special.

Caleb notices my silence. “What’s the matter, dude? And don’t say you’re tired because today wasn’t even that bad.”

“A lot on my mind,” I say, putting on some fresh underwear.