Tito was thankful for Joey and JD's shenanigans. Because a plunge into the water of Sam's pool was exactly what he'd needed to cool himself off.

Hot damn she looked amazing in the little bikini. And she looked like she knew it. Which was fine with him. Tito didn't have any patience with false modesty, or the other games people played.

Long legs stretching out forever on that lounge chair, ending in feet that were clearly no stranger to pampering. They had a delicate arch that made him want to run his lips along it and find out if she was ticklish. Her toes were painted a shiny red that matched the polish on her fingernails and made his gut clench.

He wanted to trail his fingers over the smooth skin of her toned abdomen and slip his hands under that tiny bikini top that didn't do much to hide the breasts he knew would fit perfectly in his hands.

And if he'd kept thinking that way much longer he would have almost certainly embarrassed himself.

A lot of women would have turned away or made some comment about a man staring so opening at them, but Caylee had stared right back, her own gaze traveling over his body.

He liked direct. And he was already starting to like Caylee Chandler, probably more than he should be.

It's not like he hadn't had a woman since he got out of prison. There'd been several, all in the nature of casual hook ups. Fast and satisfying, and no complications.

Everything about Caylee Chandler screamed complications.

And he knew already that if he got her in bed, it wouldn't be fast.

Tito swam over to the edge of the pool and treated himself to another view of Caylee in her bikini.

"Hey," he said. "Why don't you come in here?" Not that he was planning anything with people around and kids in the pool. But he wouldn't mind getting a little closer to her in the water.

She pushed her oversize sunglasses down her nose and peered at him over them.

"This bathing suit isn't intended for swimming."

Okay, that was a hot fist in his gut as he imagined the fabric coming loose and drifting away from a naked Caylee.

"Why would you wear a bathing suit that doesn't go in the water?"

"Um, because I wasn't planning on going in the water?"

"Then I guess I'll just have to come out."

He pulled himself up over the ledge and shook himself off and was halfway to her when she tossed him a towel.

"Afraid I'll drip on you?"

"Oh, I've been splashed plenty already by the cannonball crew," she said, gesturing toward Joey and JD with her head.

Tito dried himself off then spread the towel on the lounge chair next to her and sat down.

He looked her over again. "I'd say it's worth it," he commented.

"What?"

"The bikini that doesn't go in the water."

She humphed, and leaned back in her chair, sipping her iced tea through a bright plastic straw.

"Glad you approve."

"I'm looking forward to our drive tomorrow," he said.

"Well, I won't be wearing this."

"I can use my imagination."

* * *

If the man was any hotter, Caylee thought, there would be steam coming off him. She'd excused herself to use the bathroom in the pool house, and was now literally fanning herself. Wouldn't it have been interesting, she mused, if he had gotten up and followed her inside. She imagined hot kisses and what he might do with those hands during a stolen few minutes before they returned to the pool deck.

But no. He'd stayed on the chaise, stretched out with his hands folded behind his head, appearing to be thinking deep thoughts.

She hoped they were about her.

Why am I so interested in this guy, Caylee asked herself as she stared at her own reflection in the mirror. He was completely different from any other guy she had ever dated. And what was the deal with the Sunday afternoon drive? She asked him where they would be going, and he'd just given her a slow smile and said let's just see where the road takes us.

That casual disregard for planning ahead attracted her and puzzled her at the same time.

When she went back outside, she saw that Tito had abandoned his spot on the chaise and was now in the middle of a conversation with Ritchie and Maria at one end of the large table that occupied in a kind of outdoor dining area. Caylee headed over with the idea of replacing her now lukewarm iced tea with a margarita from the pitcher that was stationed there with an array of glasses. As she got closer, however, she realized it was a rather heated conversation, and started to back away.

Maria noticed her. "It's okay, Caylee, come on over. We're only have this little discuss for the 100th time." She turned back to Tito. "I'm not changing my mind."

"I'm telling you, Maria, it would do the kid good. And I'll pay him."

"Do him good? Do you know how hard I've worked to keep him away from any kind of negative influence?"

Tito's voice was cold. "OFC is not a negative influence. And I have as much right as you to have a say in how our little brother is raised."

"I'm his legal guardian. And Ritchie adopted him." She turned to her husband. "How about if you decide whether it's a good idea for your son to spend more than a week on a sailboat and in a house with a group of kids who were arrested for exactly the kind of criminal activity Joey was headed for before you stepped in and helped me put him in a better environment. You're his father now. What do you think about that plan?"

"Oh no." Ritchie held his hands up. "You're not putting this on me. You two have to work this out and reach an agreement." And with that, Ritchie headed toward the grill, glancing back at them over his shoulder as he made his retreat. "I think Sam and Jack could use some help over there."

Caylee smiled at the way everyone had started calling him Jack - her included - instead of the more formal Jonathon. All it had taken was Bailey, the girl from his past, for the last vestiges of his Northeastern monied stuffiness to disappear. Caylee, on the other hand, had been a nonconforming rebel since the day she was born.

"Coward," Maria muttered. Then she looked at Caylee who was busy pouring a margarita from the colorful pitcher, and narrowed her eyes.

"Why don't we ask Caylee for her opinion?" Maria said to Tito. "She's an objective third party."

"One who knows absolutely nothing about raising a kid," Caylee protested, but Maria was undeterred.

"Let me lay it out for you," she said, as Caylee wondered how she'd managed to find herself right in the middle of a family drama already when she'd only been in Miami for a week.

"Our little brother Joey," Maria explained, "had several brushes with the law when he was just 13, and only avoided being put in a juvenile detention facility because Ritchie intervened and put his career on the line to assume joint guardianship with me over Joey. And it all goes back to living in a bad neighborhood and associating with kids who thought stealing and vandalism and drinking and worse made them cool. Which is why we are still so careful about who Joey associates with.

"And which is why I don't think spending 24/7 with a group of 12 to 17 year olds in Tito's juvenile diversion program - some of whom were arrested for some pretty serious crimes - is the best place for Joey."

"None of them were arrested for violent crimes," Tito put in. "We'll expand to that in the future, but for now it's all nonviolent criminal behavior. The goal is to stop it from escalating while these kids still have a chance for a better life. And the kids that are going on the trip are the ones who've made real progress over the summer. It's a bonding experience, and a reward."

He looked like a man who was holding his frustration in check with an effort. "Maria, not only would Joey serve as a great example to these kids of someone their age who used to be where they are now, and instead is playing sports, getting good grades, and staying out of trouble - it would also be a good lesson for Joey, give him a new appreciation of the fact that not everyone has the family support he has. Some of these kids' stories would break your heart. And Joey needs to remember what his roots are. Where we came from before he was living in a fancy house with every possible privilege. These kids don't go home at night to a successful artist and a wealthy lawyer as their parents."

"Don't you dare think for one minute, Tito, that I forget were we came from."

Caylee could see Maria's temper rising, and wondered if it ran in the family. But when Tito spoke, his voice was calm and carefully modulated.

"I know you don't." He glanced over at Joey who had gotten out of the pool and was now hanging out with Olivia and her friends, obviously trying to impress the older teens with some fancy footwork with his soccer ball while he chatted nonchalantly, then glanced down at the waterproof smart watch on his wrist and held his arm out to show the girls something. Maria followed Tito's gaze, also studying their little brother.

"But it doesn't hurt," Tito said, turning back to her, "to remind Joey every now and then, and maybe have him give back a little by helping less fortunate kids with a hand up."

To Caylee's surprise, given that this was apparently a long-running debate, Maria actually looked like she was wavering.

"All right," Maria said, "we need that impartial opinion. Maybe I have overreacted and tried to shelter him too much. Caylee, what do you think?"

Way to put her on the spot. And if she sided with Maria against Tito, she had an idea she might be kissing that Sunday afternoon ride in a classic convertible goodbye - instead of maybe kissing its driver, who was giving her a pretty smoldering gaze right now while they waited for her answer.

Stall, was her first thought. "So," Caylee asked, "I guess my question would be, what kind of adult supervision is there going to be on this outing? If you have enough adults onboard, it would be pretty hard to get into much trouble on a sailboat in the middle of the water."

"That's an excellent point," Tito said, that intense look still in his eyes. "I think it's a great idea for you to come with us. One more adult to keep an eye on these kids. What do you think, Maria?"

"What?" Caylee stared back at him. "I wasn't suggesting that. If anything, I was going to suggest that Maria go along and keep an eye on Joey."

"Believe me, I'd love to," Maria said. "But I'm not taking a new baby on a sailing trip, and I'm certainly not going to leave him behind. But having you go along," she said, turning to Caylee, "actually makes some sense."

Maria paused. "Do you know how to sail, though?"

"Of course I know how to sail. It's de rigueur in my family."

"Then it's decided," Tito said firmly. "Let's sit down and eat - it looks like the burgers are ready."

"Thank you so much for offering to do this," Maria said, as Tito walked over to the grill to grab a platter of burgers and bring it back to the table. "It really does put my mind at rest having you there." She lowered her voice. "Honestly, Tito does have a point. It wouldn't hurt Joey to see what kind of odds some of these kids are battling against, and how he should never take the opportunities he's been given for granted."

Caylee had the crazy feeling she'd just been played, by Tito if not by Maria. But she couldn't figure out how, since she'd been the one to bring up adult supervision in the first place.

Spending serious time on a sailboat with a stopover in Bimini would be fun, and she didn't mind spending some time with a bunch of teenagers, most of whom had probably never even been on a sailboat before. It might be fun to teach them few things about sailing. And since she'd already been assigned to work with OFC, it wouldn't hurt to have a look up close and personal at what the program was really about, and get to know a little more about the kids it benefitted.

She considered as she sipped her Margarita. Although getting a week off this soon after starting a new job would ordinarily be a problem, she had an idea it wouldn't be in this case.

She'd be getting one partner - Ritchie - out of a sticky situation with his wife and his brother-in-law, and she imagined Jack would see it as a chance for her to start working on Tito's approach to business and social networking. She wasn't exactly sure how snorkeling around a coral reef and trimming sails segued into what fork to use or the art of working the room at a gala, but she had her own reasons for wanting to spend time with Tito and figure out exactly why she found him so interesting.

And it looked like he also wanted to spend some time with her.

Now she was looking forward even more to that Sunday afternoon drive tomorrow in his Mustang convertible.

What she hadn't decided yet was whether to be upfront with him about the additional little assignment Jack had given her, or to just keep that bit of information to herself for now. 

Author's Note: What do you think? Should she tell Tito about the "secret mission" or keep that to herself? How do you think he would react?