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| Abbi_Glines_-_Take_a_Chance
| Why was I here? What was the fucking purpose? Had I gotten this bad? Really? In the past, I’d been
| | able to shake her loose and walk away. Nannette had been my go-to fuck for years, but then she’d
gotten needy. And I’d liked it. Somehow, she had managed to get under my skin. I had wanted to be
wanted—I was that pathetic. My dad rarely called me; my mom had decided she preferred French
models over me years ago.
I was screwed the hell up.
It was time I let this go. Nan had needed me for a time when she felt like she was losing Rush, her
brother and safe place, to his new life with his wife and child. Not that Rush wouldn’t welcome her
with open arms—it was just that she was such a bitch. All she had to do was accept Rush’s wife,
Blaire. That was it. But the stubborn woman wouldn’t do it.
Mine had been the arms she’d run into, and like a fool I had opened them up for her. Now, all I had
was a lot of damn drama and a slightly damaged heart. She hadn’t claimed it. Not completely. But she
had touched a place no one else had. She had needed me. No one had ever needed me. It had made me
weak.
To prove my point, here I sat in Nan’s father’s home, looking for her, waiting on her. She was
running wild again, and Rush wasn’t coming to the rescue. He had hung up his Superman cape and
decided his days of coming to Nan’s side were over. I had wanted that. As sick as it was, I had wanted
to be her hero. Damn, I was a pussy.
“Drink, kid. Fuck knows you need it,” Kiro, Nan’s father, said as he shoved a half-empty bottle of
tequila into my hands. Kiro was the lead singer of the most legendary rock band in the world. Slacker
Demon had been around for twenty years, and their songs still skyrocketed to number one whenever
they released a new album.
I started to argue but changed my mind. He was right. I needed a drink. I didn’t think about where
the dude’s mouth had been when I touched the rim of the bottle to my lips and tipped it back.
“You’re a smart boy, Grant. What I can’t figure is why the hell you’re putting up with Nan’s shit,”
Kiro said as he sank down onto the white leather sofa across from me. He was in a pair of black skinny
jeans and a silver shirt, unbuttoned and hanging open. Tattoos covered his chest and arms. Women
still went crazy over him. It wasn’t his looks. He was too damn skinny. A diet of alcohol and drugs
would do that to you. But he was Kiro. That was all that mattered to them.
“You gonna ignore me? Hell, she’s my daughter and I can’t put up with her. Damn crazy bitch, just
like her momma,” he drawled before taking a pull off a joint.
“That’s enough, Daddy.” The musical voice that was finding its way into my fantasies lately came
from the doorway.
“There’s my baby girl. She’s come out of her room to visit,” Kiro said, grinning at the daughter he
actually loved. The one he hadn’t abandoned. Harlow Manning was breathtaking. She didn’t look like
a rock star’s kid. She looked like an innocent, sweet country girl, with long, dark hair and eyes that
made you forget your fucking name.
“I was going to see if you planned on eating dinner at home tonight or if you were going out,” she
said. I watched as she stepped into the room and purposely ignored me. That only made me smile.
She didn’t like me. I had met her at Rush and Blaire’s engagement party and then spoken to her at
their wedding reception. Both times hadn’t ended well.
|
| “I was thinkin’ of going out. I need to party a little. I’ve stayed inside this house too damn long.”
“Oh. Okay,” she said in that soft voice that I swear was intoxicating.
Kiro frowned. “You lonely? Locking yourself away in that room with your books getting to you,
baby girl?”
I couldn’t take my eyes off Harlow. She rarely came around when I was here. Nan wasn’t exactly
kind to her. I got why she didn’t like Harlow. She was eaten up with jealousy where Harlow was
concerned. Even if it wasn’t Harlow’s fault that Kiro loved her and didn’t seem to give a shit about
Nan. Harlow lit up a room when she walked into it. There was a peacefulness about her that was hard
to explain. It made you want to get close to her and see if you could soak it in. She made it easy for
someone as selfish as Kiro to love her. Nan made it hard for normal people to love her—much less
someone like Kiro Manning.
“No, I’m fine. I was just going to wait and eat with you if you planned to eat here. If not, I’ll just eat
a sandwich in my room.”
Kiro started shaking his head. “I don’t like that. You’re in there too much. I want you to stop
reading for tonight. Grant is here and he needs some company. He’s a good guy. Talk to him. You can
have dinner together while he waits for Nan to return.”
Harlow stiffened and finally glanced my way, but only for a moment. “I don’t think so.”
“Come on, don’t be a snob. Grant’s a family friend. He’s Rush’s brother. Have dinner with him.”
Harlow’s spine stiffened even straighter. She went back to not making eye contact with me. “He’s
not Rush’s brother. If he were, it would be even more disgusting that he’s sleeping with Nan.”
Kiro grinned like Harlow was the funniest person in the world and he was proud of her spunk. “My
kitten has claws, and apparently only you bring them out. Sleeping with the evil sister has put you on
my baby girl’s shit list. Now that’s funny as hell.” He looked extremely amused as he took another
long draw from his joint.
I wasn’t amused. I didn’t like the fact Harlow hated me. I wasn’t sure how the hell to fix it, though.
Turning my back on Nan wasn’t possible. She wouldn’t be able to handle someone else dropping her.
Even if her slutty ass deserved it. I wouldn’t let myself think about the boy band she was currently
sleeping with. Guess I was wrong about those guys. I thought for sure they were sleeping with each
other. Instead, they were all sleeping with Nan.
“Have a good night, Daddy,” Harlow said, then turned and walked out of the room before Kiro could
demand she stay with me.
Kiro laid his head back and closed his eyes. “Shame she hates you. She’s special. Only known one
other like her, and it was her mom. Woman stole my heart. I adored her. Worshipped the fucking
ground she walked on. I would have thrown all this shit away for her. I had planned on it. I just wanted
to wake up each morning and see her there beside me. I wanted to watch her with our baby girl and
know that they were mine. But God wanted her more. Took her the fuck away from me. I won’t ever
get over it. Never.”
This wasn’t the first time I had heard him ramble on about Harlow’s mother. He did it whenever he
got high. She was the first thing that came to his mind. I hadn’t known that kind of love. Scared the
shit out of me, though. I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to know it. Kiro had never recovered. I had met the
man when I was a kid and my dad had married Rush’s mom. Rush had begged his dad, Dean Finlay,
the drummer for Slacker Demon, to take me with them on one of his weekend visits.
I had been in awe. It had been the first of many weekends. And Kiro would always talk about “her”
and curse God for taking her. It had fascinated me, even as a child. I had never witnessed that kind of
devotion.
Even after my dad’s short marriage to Rush’s mother, Georgianna, I had remained close to Rush.
His dad still came to pick me up sometimes when he got Rush. I had grown up personally knowing the
|
| most legendary rock band in the world.
“Nan hates her. Who the hell can hate Harlow? She’s too damn sweet to hate. Girl hasn’t done
anything to Nan, yet Nan’s mean as a goddamn snake. Poor Harlow stays away from her. I hate to see
my baby girl so defenseless. She needs to toughen up. She needs a friend.” Kiro set his joint down in
an ashtray and turned his head to look at me. “Be her friend, kid. She needs one.”
I wanted to be a lot more than Harlow Manning’s friend. But she wouldn’t even look at me. I had
tried more than once to direct one of those earth-shattering smiles my way, but she hardly glanced at
me. Prove me nuts. “Not sure I can be her friend and Nan’s at the same time.”
Kiro frowned, then sat up and leaned forward. “Three kinds of women in this world. The kind that
suck you dry and leave you with nothing. The kind that only want a good time. And the kind that make
life worth a damn. That last kind . . . the right woman’s the one who gives as much as she takes, and
you can’t get enough. She’s the kind . . . if you lose her, you lose yourself.”
His bloodshot eyes told me he hadn’t just smoked a joint today. But even high, he made sense. If
anyone knew about women, it was Kiro Manning.
“I’ve had all three. Wish like hell I’d stayed away from the first. The second is all I touch anymore.
But that third one . . . I won’t ever be the same. And I wouldn’t take back one minute I had with
Harlow’s mom.”
He ran his hand through his stringy hair. “Nannette, she’s the first kind. Be careful of the first kind.
They will fuck you over and walk away laughing.”
|
| Only nine months. Just nine months. I could make it nine months. I would hide in my room and only
come out when she wasn’t here. Classes would start soon and I would have my courses to distract me.
Then Dad would be home and I’d leave this place behind me. I could do it. I had to. Dad hadn’t given
me any other option.
The house was quiet. The loud sounds of Nan having sex with some idiot had woken me up around
two this morning. I had put on my Beats and cranked up my favorite playlist. At some point I had
fallen back to sleep. Because the music had been pumping in my ears when I woke up this morning, I
wasn’t sure if I was home alone or not. It was after ten and the house was so quiet, I was pretty sure no
one was here. Besides, Nan didn’t seem like the kind to have a sleepover this late.
She screwed them then tossed them.
I threw back the covers and ran my hands through my hair to tame the tangles before stepping into
the hallway. Silence was all that met my ears. I was safe. I could eat. Nan hadn’t been here when I
arrived last night, but I knew she must have noticed my car outside. Dad had an Audi waiting on me
when I had landed at the airport.
After finding the house, I had gone to buy some groceries, then unloaded my food and luggage. Dad
had bought this house for Nan with the understanding that I would stay with her for nine months while
he was on tour with Slacker Demon. She wanted a house in Rosemary Beach, Florida. He had supplied
a big one. Dad did everything big. Which was good for me. I could hide from her more easily.
Unfortunately, there was only one kitchen.
I walked down the hallway and headed down the winding staircase, which spiraled past the top two
floors before ending at the bottom floor. My bare feet made very little noise as I walked across the
hardwood planks. I had just opened the fridge to get my organic milk when a door opened and closed
somewhere in the house.
I froze and considered shoving the milk back in the fridge and hiding. I wasn’t ready to face Nan
yet. I needed coffee before I dealt with her. The heavy footsteps on the stairs weren’t Nan’s. Which
made me even more nervous. Facing some strange man wasn’t appealing, either. I wasn’t dressed. I
still had on my pajamas. Pink satin polka-dotted shorts and a matching tank top were all I had on. I
glanced around for a hiding place, but before I could figure out what to do the footsteps landed on the
bottom floor.
I was stuck . . . unless I hid behind the counter while he escaped. Maybe he wouldn’t come this way.
The front door was past the kitchen, but the back door was just as close to the stairs. I set my milk
carton on the copper countertop and waited. The footsteps weren’t heavy anymore. I barely heard
them. Straining my ears, I tried to figure out where they were going.
It wasn’t until it was too late to hide that I realized he was barefoot and headed my way. My eyes
locked with Grant’s as he stepped into the kitchen wearing nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs. He
stopped when his eyes met mine. We stood there silently, staring at each other. The realization that he
was the one who had woken me last night made my stomach knot up. I didn’t want to think about him
in bed with Nan.
But the realization doused me like a bucket of cold water. Grant was still sleeping with Nan. All
that stuff he’d said to me was a lie. He had made me a promise, one I hadn’t asked for and he had
never intended to keep.
|
| “Harlow?” he said, his voice thick from sleep. He’d been up most of the night. He must’ve been
exhausted.
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t think of anything to say. I hadn’t expected him to even be in Rosemary
Beach. But he was here . . . and he was sleeping in Nan’s bed.
I was an idiot.
| | A knock on my bedroom door interrupted my favorite scene in a book I had read at least ten times.
Annoyed, I laid down my Kindle. “Yes?”
The door opened slowly and Grant Carter stuck his ridiculously beautiful head into my room. His
long hair, which curled at the ends and tucked neatly behind his ears, made a girl want to sit and just
play with it for hours. I often wondered if it was as soft as it looked. His eyes twinkled as if he knew
exactly what I was thinking, so I forced a scowl on my face. I never scowled, so it was a new thing that
I reserved just for him.
It wasn’t really fair. I disliked him on principle. He had been nothing but nice to me, but the fact he
was in a relationship with Nan was enough for me to not like him. If a guy could like Nan then
something was wrong with him.
“I ordered Chinese. Want to help me eat it? I got way too much.” His blue eyes were so hard to look
away from. They had been my downfall since the first time I laid eyes on him. That had been before I
knew he was Nan’s Grant.
“I’m not hungry,” I replied, hoping my stomach didn’t growl and give me away. I had been meaning
to fix myself something to eat, but the book had sucked me in. Seeing Grant always made me want to
escape into one of my stories where guys who looked like him fell in love with girls like me. Not girls
like Nan.
“I don’t believe you,” he said, pushing my door open and walking into the room with a tray covered
in boxes from the little Chinatown place my dad loved so much. “Help me eat. Just because I dated
Nan doesn’t make me tainted. You act like I’ve got a damn disease—and I’ll be honest, it hurts my
feelings.”
Really? Was I hurting his feelings? I hadn’t meant to. I didn’t think he would really care. Besides,
he was the one who ran off cursing the night we met when he found out who I was after he had made a
move on me.
“Dated?” I asked, surprised with myself. “You’re here waiting on her to show up. I don’t think
that’s past tense.” I sounded like a schoolteacher.
Grant chuckled and sat down beside me on the bed and set the tray down on the bedside table.
“She’s my friend. I’m checking in on her. Not dating her. Besides, I just got word that she’s back in
Rosemary.”
See, that. Just that. He was her friend. What normal person was Nan’s friend? None I knew of.
“She’s sleeping with the members of Naked Marathon. Surely you’ve seen her in the gossip magazines
on Sellers’s arm. Last week she made the news with Moon, and there was all kinds of talk about her
breaking up the band. Which isn’t going to happen.”
Grant opened a carton of sweet-and-sour chicken and stuck a pair of chopsticks in it, then handed it
to me. “Sweet- and-sour or honey chicken? You pick.”
I took the sweet-and-sour. “This is fine. Thank you,” I replied.
His smile grew. He hadn’t expected me to take it.
“Good, I wanted the honey,” he replied with a wink. I hated that my stomach fluttered. I didn’t need
that to start happening. Grant was on the other side of a line that I wasn’t going to cross.
|
| “It isn’t my business who Nan is screwing. That’s over between us. I’m just checking in on her.
Making sure she’s not about to go off the grid again. She’s home now, so it’s all good.”
Why would he do that? What had she done to earn that kind of protectiveness from someone like
Grant? “That’s nice of you,” I said because I didn’t know what else to say. I took a bite of my chicken.
“You’re gonna hold that against me, aren’t you?” he asked, studying me in a way that only made me
want to squirm.
“You can protect who you want, Grant. We’re just sharing some Chinese food. Doesn’t matter what
I think.” I replied before putting more chicken in my mouth.
Grant frowned and then a small smile touched his lips. “I feel like we’re doing this crazy-ass dance
around each other every time I get around you. I don’t play games. It ain’t my thing, sugar. So let me
be blunt,” he said, setting his food back down on the table and turning his body so that he faced me
completely. I tried to calm my racing heart. What was he doing? What was I going to do if he got any
closer? Guys didn’t flirt with me. They didn’t come into my room. I was Kiro’s weird, awkward
daughter. Didn’t Grant get that?
“I don’t want you to hate me,” he said, simply.
I didn’t hate him. I shook my head. “I don’t.”
“Yeah, you do. I’m not used to people hating me. Especially beautiful girls,” he said and flashed me
a wicked grin.
He had called me beautiful. Did he really think that? Or was he feeling sorry for me because I was
so socially inept?
“Harlow, do you realize that you’re breathtaking? Just looking at you can become addictive.”
Wow.
“That confused, flustered look on your face is all the answer I need. You don’t have a clue how
amazing you are. That’s a shame,” he said, reaching over and taking a strand of my hair and wrapping
it around his finger. “It’s a real shame.”
I wasn’t sure that I was breathing. My entire body had shut down. I couldn’t move. Grant was
touching me. And even though it was my hair, it felt so nice. I dropped my gaze to his hand and
watched as his thumb gently ran over the hair he was holding.
“It’s like silk,” he said in a hushed voice. Like he didn’t want anyone to hear him.
I just watched him. What was I supposed to say to him?
“Harlow,” he said, leaning closer to me. I could feel his warm breath on my skin.
“Yes,” I choked out, watching him closely as he moved toward me.
“I think about you. I dream about you,” he said in a husky whisper against my ear. I shivered and
felt my grip on my chicken loosen. God, please don’t let me dump my food on myself.
“You’re too sweet for me, but damned if I care,” he said, then pressed a kiss to the skin under my
ear. “I don’t want you to hate me. I want you to forgive me for being with Nan. It’s over.”
The reminder of Nan was enough to snap me out of my trance, and I jumped up from the bed and
walked across the room to stand far enough away that I felt safe.
I didn’t look back at Grant. I kept my back to him and stared out the window. Maybe he would just
leave. I felt my face grow hot. I had let him get so close. I had let him kiss my neck. What was I
thinking?
“I shouldn’t have said her name,” he said in a defeated tone. He was perceptive. “Will you tell me
what I can do to prove to you that I don’t want Nan? That she was a moment of insanity and
weakness? I was being a guy and she was there. I made a mistake.”
He wanted me to forgive him about as much as I wanted to be able to forget Nan. I liked Grant.
No . . . I fantasized about Grant. Since he’d cornered me at Rush and Blaire’s wedding reception he
had made it into my nightly fantasies. Even if he was someone I was afraid to trust. I liked looking at
|
| him. I liked hearing his voice. I liked the way he smelled and the sound of his laugh. The way his
mouth curled up on one side when he was amused. I also liked the tattoos I saw peeking out of the
collar of his shirt. I wanted to know what they looked like.
“Can I have a chance? One to prove I’m not like Nan. I’m a pretty damn good friend. I just need you
to give me a break.”
I was typically a forgiving person. My grandmother had taught me to forgive. She had raised me to
be a kind person and reminded me that everyone deserved a second chance. One day I might need a
second chance myself.
I turned around and looked at Grant. He was still sitting on my bed. The dark blue T-shirt he was
wearing fit his arms tightly and outlined the ripples on his chest. It also highlighted the color of his
eyes. How was someone supposed to not trust him? “I’d like to be your friend,” I said. I wasn’t sure
what else to say.
That crooked grin appeared. “You would? You’re going to forgive me?”
I nodded and made myself take a step back toward the bed. “Yes. But don’t . . . don’t . . . do that
again.” I said, reaching up and touching the skin that still tingled from his lips.
Grant let out a defeated sigh and nodded. “That’s gonna be hard, but I won’t. Not until you ask me.”
He stopped and patted the spot where I had been sitting. I walked over and sat back down. Grant
leaned forward. “But Harlow,” he said.
His sexy male scent made me want to inhale deeply. “Yes?” I asked, hoping he wasn’t about to
touch me again. I seemed to forget myself when he did.
“You will ask me,” he replied.
I opened my mouth to argue, but before I could he stuck a piece of honey chicken in my mouth.
“Don’t say it. I’ll just get to say I told you so when you ask me. And I really hate to gloat. Especially
to a girl I want to make smile, not slap me.”
I managed to chew the chicken before the laughter bubbled up and escaped. He really was adorable.
What he didn’t realize was I could never give in. It wasn’t fair to him. He didn’t know the truth and I
didn’t want him to know. It changed how people looked at me. I couldn’t stand the idea of Grant
looking at me the way others had.
|
| I hadn’t seen her since the night I got the call about Jace. The night I’d . . . the night I’d taken her
virginity. She’d been a virgin. I hadn’t expected that. It had been a first for me, too. I had never slept
with a virgin before. Something about it affected me deeper than I was comfortable with. Even though
I knew I wasn’t ready for commitment in any form, I had wanted to stake a claim. I often wondered if
that would have sent me running the next day, even if I hadn’t gotten the call from Tripp.
And finally, here she was. No longer kept from me by her father, or whoever else had made sure I
didn’t get near her.
“Last night. It was you,” she said, simply.
I took in her pajamas and felt like cursing and slamming my fist through the wall. I wasn’t a violent
guy. I never lost my cool, but right now I was close to it. Harlow was here. She’d heard me and Nan.
Holy hell!
“You haven’t called. I didn’t realize.” She stopped talking and shook her head. I couldn’t find the
right words. There weren’t any. I had no explanation for this that she would understand. I watched as
she put the milk back in the fridge and closed the door. She kept her head down and didn’t look up
again before walking around the counter and toward the door. I had to say something. I had to explain
myself. I had fucking called. They never let me talk to her when I called the house. She never
answered my damn calls when I called her phone. But, fuck, she didn’t deserve this. Not when she’d
trusted me with something as precious as her innocence.
“I guess it’s me who gets to say I told you so this time,” she said in a quiet voice before walking
past me. The weight on my chest felt like someone had set a thousand bricks on it. I clenched my
hands into fists and closed my eyes. What had I done? And why? Why was I letting Nan fuck up my
life?
Why the hell had I drunk so much damn whiskey last night? I would have never come here had I
been sober. And Harlow . . . Harlow . . . why was Harlow here? I turned and looked back toward the
staircase. A door clicked closed. There was no slamming or yelling with Harlow. She wasn’t that way.
Any other woman would have cursed me and possibly slapped me then stormed up the stairs and
slammed her door. But not Harlow. That made this even worse. If that was possible.
| | Two months and three and a half weeks ago . . .
| | Harlow stepped out of the house, looking unsure of herself. It had taken me twenty minutes to
convince her to swim with me. She had made up all kinds of excuses. But I was pretty damn
persuasive when I wanted to be. The oversized Slacker Demon concert T-shirt she was wearing
covered up whatever swimsuit she’d finally put on. I had been waiting on her for half an hour. I was
almost ready to go up to her room and pull her out here myself. I had just gotten back to L.A. a few
hours ago. Being in Rosemary was hard when all I could think about was Harlow’s sweet smile. I was
anxious to be near her.
“About time. I thought you were gonna make me swim alone,” I said, standing up from the lounger
I had been reclining on while waiting.
Harlow blushed. “I’m sorry it took me so long.”
As if she needed to apologize. There was no way a man could be even remotely annoyed with her. It
|
| was impossible. She was too damn sweet and innocently sexy, which was screwing with my head.
There was no way she was that innocent. She was in college. She had to have dated before. In high
school the guys would have been all over her.
“You’re here now. Let’s swim. It’s warm out here today.”
Harlow reached for the hem of her shirt and I considered diving in and not watching her take it off.
It would be the polite thing to do, but hell if I could convince my eyes that looking away was the best
idea. They were zoned in on her every move.
We had been . . . I wasn’t sure what we had been doing. This was the strangest relationship—if you
could call it that—I had ever been in. Harlow was letting me get closer every day but she still kept up
her barriers. I hadn’t managed to get my lips near her skin again.
My eyes drank in her long legs as the T-shirt slowly lifted, revealing a simple high-necked one-
piece white bathing suit. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen a girl my age in a one-piece
swimsuit. But it was white. Holy fuck. I felt myself harden as my eyes traveled up from her legs to the
nipple I could clearly see pebbled beneath the fabric.
I turned and dove into the water before I scared the hell out of her. I swam the length of the pool
before coming up for air and turning to look at her. She was walking down into the pool through the
sloping entrance. Damn, she was perfect. She lifted her eyes and smiled at me. It was a good thing my
reaction to her was hidden under the water.
Once she was far enough in that the water touched her shoulders, she seemed to relax. Having her
body on display made her nervous. It had been all over her face. I couldn’t figure out why. It was like
throwing me a challenge. I wanted her body completely on display for me. And I wanted her to like it.
To want it.
“Come on, pretty girl. Come swim with the big boys,” I teased. Her mouth puckered up in a frown.
She didn’t like me calling her pretty girl. Her reaction to it only made me want to do it more.
“I don’t trust the big boys,” she replied. Her head tilted to the side and she raised one eyebrow.
Chuckling to myself, I couldn’t remember a time in my life that one female had entertained me so
much. “Are you scared?”
Her eyebrows snapped together this time and I laughed harder. If you wanted Harlow to do
something, then taunting her was the way to go. She didn’t back down from a dare or a threat. There
was a silent toughness in her that you didn’t know existed until you spent time with her. “My pretty
girl is getting all fired up. Come get me.”
Harlow let out a small growl of frustration. “Stop calling me that.”
“No,” was my only reply.
“You drive me crazy.”
I closed some of the space between us. “I drive most girls crazy, babe. It’s what I do. And they like
it.”
A grin tugged at her lips but she was trying very hard to hold her frown. “I can’t imagine why they
would like it.”
I stopped when I got a couple of inches from her body. “Same reason you like it. I’m so damn sexy,
you can’t stay away.”
Harlow let out a laugh this time. “Is that so? If I recall, it’s you who keeps showing up at my house.
I’m not the one unable to stay away.”
She had a point. I had just flown all the way back here from Florida just to see her. I reached out
and rested my hand on her hip. Her whole body went rigid under my touch. “Okay, so maybe I can’t
seem to stay away, but you keep letting me in the house, pretty girl.”
Harlow sighed. “Guess you got me there.”
“So, see, I’m sexy and irresistible.”
|
| Harlow started to say something then stopped.
“You decide not to argue with me?” I asked, stepping close enough to her that our bodies were
almost touching. One move and her breasts would brush up against my chest.
“What are you doing?” she asked. Her breathing was fast, and the nervous look in her eyes
reminded me of a frightened deer.
“Just getting closer. You make me want to get closer.”
Harlow took a deep breath and she glanced down at our bodies before looking back up at me. “I
don’t think friends do this,” she said.
I pulled her up against my body, holding her hips firmly in both my hands. “They don’t. But I don’t
think about my friends the way I think about you, either. Tell me you aren’t attracted to me. Tell me
you don’t think about touching me or getting close to me.”
If she said she didn’t, I would back away. It would be hard, but I’d back away. I would give her the
room she needed. I just wanted to hear her say she didn’t want me, because I damn well wanted her.
“I’m not sure . . . I don’t think . . . what I want is irrelevant. You and Nan . . .”
“Me and Nan are over. There is no me and Nan. But there is a me and you. Even if you don’t want to
admit it, it’s there.”
“I’m nothing like Nan.”
“You think I don’t know that? Damn, girl, if you were like Nan I wouldn’t be here. I ended things
with Nan because she’s poison. You’re everything she isn’t.”
Harlow’s body began to slowly ease under my touch. I moved my thumbs against her waist in small
circles, gently. “Most guys like me because of my dad. I keep my distance. I don’t want to be a status
symbol.”
A sharp pain shot through my chest at her vulnerable words. Damn. Rush had lived with this same
problem, but he hadn’t been a girl. He’d been a guy who didn’t care. He hadn’t been looking for
someone to want him just for him. Not until Blaire. Thinking about a guy using sweet Harlow just to
get near her father pissed me off. If I could hunt down every bastard that had hurt her I would.
I lifted my hand and tilted her chin up so that she was looking me directly in the eyes. I wanted her
to see I was serious. I wanted her to believe me. “Never would I use you to get near your dad. I’ve
known Kiro all my life. Rush is my best friend. I’m not starstruck by the members or lifestyle of
Slacker Demon. This is all about you. I want you. Just you, Harlow. Just you.”
Tears prickled her big hazel eyes and she blinked rapidly. Had no one ever told her that?
“Will you kiss me now?” she whispered.
Damn. I felt like I was in junior high school again with my first crush. Five simple words from her
and she had my hands trembling. I never expected her to ask me that. I wasn’t giving her time to
change her mind, either. Covering her soft lips with mine was like nirvana. She tasted so damn sweet.
It was one of the reasons I’d started calling her sweet girl.
I licked her bottom lip because I couldn’t get enough of her before exploring her mouth. Taking in
her heat. Feeling her press her body against mine and her hands tangle in my hair. I was keeping her. I
would do whatever I had to do to keep her. Hell, I’d move to L.A. if I had to. I wasn’t letting her go.
For the first time in my life I felt home.
“I told you so,” I whispered against her lips before claiming her mouth again.
|
| He had only called once after his friend had drowned. He’d been drunk and hadn’t made much sense. I
had hoped he would call again the next day, but he hadn’t. I knew he was grieving and I decided it was
a sign from God that he was fixing things. I had messed it up and allowed Grant to get close to me,
and I hadn’t told him. I was lucky he never really cared for me. I had thought he did, and for a moment
I let myself live in that fantasy.
I knew better now. The sweet words he’d spoken had all been a ploy, and they had all worked on
me. I had taken them hook, line, and sinker. If I could take back that night, I would. I wasn’t going to
romanticize it anymore. I had given him a part of myself I couldn’t get back. He had taken my
virginity and run. For once I had let myself pretend.
I sat on the bed and stared out the window at the gulf outside. This was going to be an even tougher
nine months than I’d first imagined. Not only did I have to deal with Nan, but I had to deal with Grant
and Nan. I wouldn’t let it hurt me. I was stronger than that. Grant had taken my virginity but I had
already been robbed of my innocence. Loving Jeremiah Duke had done that to me. I’d thought he
loved me; I had thought he was my forever. He was so attentive and sweet. He carried my books at
school and treated me with such care. I had told him the truth and he had pretended it didn’t matter.
Then I’d found him behind the bleachers after his football practice with Nikki Sharp’s cheerleading
skirt pulled up and his shorts pulled down as he screwed her up against the cement wall. That had been
it for me. I realized then that I was just Kiro’s daughter, and I was broken. I was only wanted for my
social status. Nothing about me was special. That’s all guys saw when they looked at me.
Except Grant.
He had been different. I hadn’t been Kiro’s daughter to him. I’d just been a challenge. Once he got
the goods, he was done. My grandmama had always warned me about guys like him. She’d be so let
down if she could see me now. I shook my head. I couldn’t think about that. It only made me feel
worse. I was a survivor and I didn’t dwell on things. Feeling sorry for myself never got me anywhere.
It wasn’t something I did. Wherever I was and whatever situation I was put in, I survived. I was good
at it. Grandmama always said, “Girl, you better hold that head up high and don’t let ’em see you fall.
You show ’em the steel in that spine. I ain’t raisin’ a spoiled princess. I’m raisin’ a woman. A hard-
working, self-sufficient, ‘don’t need no man’ woman. You hear me?” Never once did she act like there
was anything wrong with me. She believed I was whole. I was fine. And at times I believed it, too.
Standing back up, I went to take a shower. I would get ready and go to the club and play tennis.
They had a tennis pro there whom I could work with. Then I would play a round of golf. I would fill
my days with things I could do without friends. Maybe even lie out at the club’s pool. I was going to
make it through this.
| | Two months and three weeks ago . . .
| | The morning after Grant had kissed me in the pool, he was gone. The way he’d acted after kissing me
had been strange. I wasn’t sure what was wrong or if he had just regretted it and didn’t know how to
get away from me. Waking up the next morning without Grant there had answered that question.
Dad was also gone. He hadn’t come home from his latest party binge, but then I wasn’t surprised by
that. Grant’s running off had hurt me. I hated that I felt anything for him. Kissing him had been a
|
| mistake. I wasn’t his type. I never wanted to be his type. Nan was not someone a sane person would
desire to be with.
Locking myself up in my room to read didn’t sound as appealing as it had before Grant. Instead, I
threw myself into tennis and swimming. I pushed all thoughts of Grant’s face out of my mind the best
that I could. Someone should’ve put a warning label on his lips: Beware, don’t touch . They were hard
to forget.
Three days after Grant had disappeared, I was outside swimming. Today I had successfully
managed to push all thoughts of Grant to the back of my mind. So when my head broke the water to
find Grant Carter standing there, looking down at me, I wasn’t sure if I was imagining things or if he
was really there.
I pushed my wet hair back and wiped the water from my eyes. Then I opened them again, and there
he stood. Still there.
“Hey,” he said with his sexy grin. I wanted to hurl something at him to make that smile go away. It
needed a warning label, too.
I wasn’t in the mood to talk to him. “Nan isn’t here,” I replied. She hadn’t been back since she’d
left for Rosemary the last time. I was sure that was where Grant had run off to as well. He had gone to
find her. Like he always did.
“Yeah, I know,” he replied.
I really should’ve gone back to swimming and ignored him. It was the smart thing to do. But then
he could possibly take that as an invitation to join me. “What do you need?” I asked, in the most
annoyed tone I could muster.
“I came to see you. It seems once a guy kisses you, you’re hard to forget,” he replied.
Not what I had been expecting. I swallowed the nervous knot in my throat. I would cave and forgive
him too easily if he started saying things like that. Where had my backbone gone? I used to be
stronger than this.
“You’re mad because I left,” he said.
I thought about retorting and changed my mind. That would only give him more power. He didn’t
need to know he affected me at all.
“It was a jackass thing to do. But you scared me. I like to flirt with beautiful girls, but I don’t
handle it well when one simple kiss makes my fucking head spin. You make me want things and feel a
certain way. I’m not ready for that.”
I was expecting a lame I’m sorry; not that. “Oh,” was the only thing I could come up with. What did
it mean, exactly, that our kiss made his head spin? Was that a good thing? It sounded like it . . .
maybe.
Grant ran a hand through his long, unruly hair and let out a frustrated sigh. “I shouldn’t have left
you without an explanation. It was unfair and I was only thinking of myself. I’m good at that. I just . . .
what can I do to get you to forgive me?”
He still wasn’t asking for forgiveness. He was asking how to get forgiveness. Had anyone ever
asked me how to get forgiveness before? How . . . unique.
Warning bells were going off in my head loudly, but somehow I ignored that. Because my heart
wanted to forgive him. I didn’t want to push him away. No one ever took this much time to get to
know me. Being lonely was something I had grown used to. Having someone here who wanted to get
to know me bad enough to admit he was wrong, someone who cared to ask me how he could fix it,
meant more than he realized.
“Don’t do it again,” I replied.
Grant’s eyes went wide and then a slow smile slid across his handsome face. “I won’t.”
I stepped back as he started tugging his shirt over his head. He threw it aside and slipped off his
|
| shoes, and then his eyes lifted to meet mine. “I’m not leaving this time. When you get tired of me,
you’ll have to force me out.”
I couldn’t keep the silly smile off my face.
| | Two months and two weeks ago . . .
| | When the door to my room clicked behind us, I knew this was it. For a week, we had been kissing and
touching. It was hard for us to keep our hands off each other. Grant made me feel things I didn’t know
were possible. He showed me what a real orgasm was. He had also taught me that screaming out in
pleasure was okay. He liked it when I was loud. It always made him more frantic. His breathing would
accelerate and his eyes would almost glow from excitement.
But tonight, I wanted more. I wasn’t going to stop things when they got too far. I wasn’t going to
make him keep my shirt on. I was going to let us do what we both wanted. I was twenty years old. It
was time I became a real woman and had sex. I was holding on to my virginity like some grand prize,
and I wanted to experience a total connection with another human being. I wanted to know what it felt
like to have Grant inside me. To get as close to each other as possible. I wanted this experience.
Grant’s arms wrapped around me from behind as his mouth touched my neck and began taking
small nibbles. That always made my knees a little weak. “You taste too damn good,” he whispered in
my ear, making me tremble. “I want your shirt off. I’ve been thinking about pulling one of your
nipples into my mouth all week.”
His hands found my hem and pulled my shirt up over my head, then he unsnapped my bra. He
pulled it from my body and froze. I knew he would see it. I was prepared for that. His hand reached
out and ran along the line across my chest that was so faint now, it wasn’t even very noticeable.
“What is this?” he asked.
“I was a preemie. I was born ten weeks too early. I had some surgeries before I was in the clear.” I
didn’t want to explain anymore. He didn’t need to know the truth. That was enough. He lowered his
mouth to my chest and instead of kissing my breasts he kissed the scar. I closed my eyes because it
made me feel guilty for not being completely honest. Then both his large, tanned hands covered my
breasts and I sighed from the pleasure of it.
“Does that feel good, pretty girl?”
I managed a nod as he began to kiss my neck and squeeze my nipples gently.
“That’s it, baby, arch that back for me.”
I hadn’t even realized I was doing it but I was. I couldn’t get close enough to his touch. The way he
made me feel was intoxicating. I craved it. Grant had opened up this world to me with so much
pleasure and excitement that I hadn’t realized existed.
“Lie down on your back. I want to kiss these needy little nipples.”
I didn’t argue. I wanted it, too. I climbed on the bed and lay back just in time to see Grant pull his
shirt over his head. See the tattoo on his shoulder that came down over his right pec. I wasn’t sure
what it was, but it was sexy. It looked like some sort of tribal print. Then some Chinese symbols were
on his chest just above his pecs. I planned on asking him about them, but not now.
He reached for his jeans and unbuttoned them. I was fascinated with his lower abdomen. All those
tight ripples in his stomach, the way his hipbones stuck out, and the small patch of hair that started
low, just under the band of his underwear. I wanted to see exactly what it looked like under there, but
until tonight I hadn’t gotten a chance. Grant always got my panties off but he said he needed to keep
his pants on if he was going to keep his head straight. I didn’t push. But I wanted to see.
I lay there as he crawled over me and stared down at me with a sexy, hungry look in his eyes. He
didn’t break his gaze as he lowered his mouth to my breast and pulled a nipple into his mouth. I
|
| watched him. It made my stomach quiver and I had to squeeze my legs together to ease the ache
between them.
He let it pop out of his mouth, then stuck his tongue out and flicked it with a grin before moving
over and giving the other one the same attention.
I grabbed handfuls of the covers underneath me to keep from crying out. It felt so good. The warmth
of his mouth anywhere on my body was amazing, but when he found the sensitive areas it made it
even more incredible.
When that nipple popped free of his mouth he started kissing down my stomach, and I knew his
next step would be to pull my shorts off. He would use his mouth to send me flying off into bliss. I
wanted more than that tonight.
“Take off your pants,” I said.
He froze and his eyes lifted back to me as he pressed a kiss just below my belly button. “You know
the rules. I can’t do that. I don’t trust myself.”
I swallowed against the nervous knot in my throat. “I want . . . I want you to take your pants off. I’m
not worried about keeping you from doing anything . . .” I wasn’t sure how you told a guy you were
ready. I hadn’t ever been in that position before.
Grant frowned for a moment, then his eyes flashed with that bright, excited gleam he would get
when I came down from the highs he sent me on. “Are you telling me I can finally feel just how
fucking amazing you are?”
I had been prepared for him to say fuck me or screw me but this . . . this was better. It was real.
Calling it anything more or making it romantic would cheapen it somehow. This was about mutual
attraction, and I got that. I didn’t need pretty words that he didn’t mean. I needed honesty, and he
seemed to get that.
Grant moved over me and placed a hand on each side of my head as he looked down into my eyes.
“We don’t have to do this. I’m not asking for it. If you aren’t ready, I’m good with that. I’ll wait.”
Because of that reason alone, I was ready. He meant what he was saying. He didn’t want to push me.
“I want this . . . I want you.”
“Fuck,” Grant growled and pushed himself off the bed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a
condom. I wasn’t sure what I thought about that but I was glad he was prepared, even if it bothered me
a little bit. He tossed it on the bed. Then, finally, I got to see him unzip his jeans. He let them fall to
the floor along with the white boxer briefs he was wearing. I gasped. I had felt it through his jeans
many times; once I had rubbed against it until I’d gotten off. But never had I imagined it was so . . .
big. I wasn’t sure it was going to fit.
He didn’t leave me time to get too worried about it. He reached up and pulled off my shorts and
panties with one firm tug, then he was back on the bed. His hands took both my knees and moved my
legs apart. I hadn’t been ready for him to just go at it. I needed to be eased into this . . .
Grant began kissing the inside of my leg, and he slowly made his way to where I wanted his mouth
the most. Once his kiss pressed the top of my mound and I felt his tongue take a long slow trail down
to my core, I was ready. My hands clenched the covers as I cried out in relief as he pulled my clit into
his mouth.
The first time he’d done this, I’d been embarrassed until he had me crying out and panting from the
highest level of pleasure. But he hadn’t let up—he’d done it again. When he’d left me that night I’d
been exhausted and unable to move.
I had no one to compare him to, but I was positive that Grant was an expert at this. I didn’t want to
dwell on that, either. But the fact was he knew what he was doing. He could make me lose control, and
I never lost control.
I felt the familiar building and tightening inside me and my body got excited. It knew how good it
|
| felt to reach that height that Grant took me to so easily. Then he stopped and I wanted to scream in
protest. I was almost there.
He moved up my body, pressing kisses on my warm, sensitive skin as he worked his way up to my
neck.
“I’m gonna put that condom on now,” he whispered as he moved over to grab the small packet I’d
forgotten about. He ripped it open and I took in the sight of him rolling the protective covering over
his large length.
“You look scared,” he said, not moving back to me. I lifted my eyes to look up at him.
“Will it fit?” I asked.
A crooked grin tugged at his lips. “Yes, sweet girl. It will.”
I wasn’t so sure. He seemed optimistic.
Grant went back to kissing my neck and nibbling my ear as his body lowered between my open legs.
I was going to do this. I wanted it.
“You seem tense. Have you had a bad experience?” Grant asked with a frown, puckering his brow.
He looked upset.
I shook my head. No, I hadn’t had a bad experience. I had no experience. Didn’t he know that? I
mean, we hadn’t talked about it but surely he had figured it out by now.
“It’s just, I know what to expect, I think . . . from what I’ve heard.”
His entire body went rigid as he held himself over me. His frown transformed into a look of
surprise. “What are you saying? Of course you’ve . . .”
He didn’t know. I guess he hadn’t figured it out after all. “This is my first time.”
Grant’s eyes snapped closed and he let out a muttered curse. Did he not like to do it with virgins?
Was that a bad thing? I wanted to put some distance between us. For the first time, I felt vulnerable.
He opened his eyes and stared down at me. The tenderness in them took me off guard. He tucked his
head into the curve of my neck and shoulder and drew a deep breath. I waited silently.
“You chose me” was all he said. His warm breath against my skin made me shiver, and his body
mimicked mine. He pulled back and looked at me. “I will make this good for you. I swear.”
I never doubted that he would. I knew it was going to hurt me at first. I wasn’t an idiot about how
this worked. I also knew I probably wouldn’t reach an orgasm this time, but that wasn’t what this was
about. I wanted Grant inside me. I wanted to feel closer to him than I had ever been to anyone. That
was all I wanted from this.
Grant pressed his lips to mine gently, then lowered his body until I felt the head of his cock pressing
against me. It excited me as much as it scared me. I lifted my hips to reassure him and he slid inside
me. When he reached the barrier his eyes locked on mine as he rocked his hips in one swift thrust. I
didn’t cry from the pain—it was only a burn. He had slid completely inside me and gone still.
“You’re so fucking tight,” he said in a hoarse groan. “Damn. It feels like,” he panted and ducked his
head and took a deep breath, “a hot satin glove squeezing me just right. God, baby.”
I wasn’t sure what all that meant, but the way he was panting above me sounded like this felt good
to him. It was more than I had expected. I was full. Grant was inside me and I felt complete. I wanted
him here.
“I gotta move, but damn, I’m afraid to,” he said as he slowly pulled out of me then sank back inside
me. A low sound came from his chest, which sent pleasure coursing through me. Just seeing him in
this much pleasure from being inside me was a major turn-on. I spread my knees and he sank deeper
into me and let out a curse that sounded like it had been torn from his chest.
My clit throbbed from just hearing his voice. I was climbing toward that release I recognized and it
made me want to beg him to move more. Move harder. Each time he filled me he rubbed against my
clit and massaged something inside me. I wasn’t sure what it was but it felt so good.
|
| “Fucking amazing,” he groaned before covering my mouth in a ravenous kiss. He had never kissed
me like this before. He was losing control the same way I did when he kissed between my legs. I was
reaching that point with him. Seeing him react this way was making my body respond in ways I didn’t
know it could.
“It feels good now,” I assured him.
He tensed and then moved to lower his head back to the corner of my neck and shoulder. “The pain
is completely gone?” he asked with a low, strangled moan.
“Yes,” I replied. The little sting that was still there was smothered by the pleasure.
He lifted himself up and his gaze locked with mine. His neck muscles flexed and stuck out as his
jaw went rigid, like he was holding onto something as hard as he could. “This is . . . this is more
than . . . ,” he closed his eyes and a pained look came over his face. “I can’t hold out much longer. I’m
so close.”
His words were all I needed to send me spiraling off to that place I knew he was sending me. I heard
him shout out my name as I screamed his and lifted my hips to meet his last thrust. I wrapped my legs
around his waist to keep him there. I wanted to feel each spasm of ecstasy with him inside me. I didn’t
want him to move.
I let each cry free as I clung to him.
“Never been that fucking amazing. You’ve ruined me. Fucking ruined me. I can’t not have this,” he
said in my ear as he breathed heavily and his body jerked against me.
I agreed. I wanted this. I never imagined that this was what I was missing. I wasn’t about to let this
go. I needed more. My fear of the truth was pushed aside. I couldn’t stop this. Not now.
|
| If I went upstairs after her, there was a chance that Nan would get out of bed and catch me or overhear
us. I wasn’t scared of Nan, but I was scared of what she’d do to Harlow. I was positive Harlow wasn’t
here by choice. Nan knew she was here last night when she brought me back. She was playing a game
here. There was an ulterior motive, but then there always was with Nan. And I’d walked right fucking
into it. Literally.
Kiro wasn’t a fan of Nan and he adored Harlow. I couldn’t imagine why he would send Harlow
down here to live with Nan. He owned this house, so I was sure that was the only reason Nan had let
Harlow live here. Kiro hadn’t given her an option. There was no guessing there.
“You’re still here? Why?” Nan asked as she walked past me in nothing but a pair of panties that did
nothing to cover her ass and a tiny tank top. Once, that had heated my blood. Her body would heat any
man’s blood. But not anymore. I was over that. Sex with her was empty. So incredibly empty.
“I was gonna get coffee before I left but I can leave without it,” I said, turning to head to the stairs.
“You can have some damn coffee if you want it. Then leave. I have things to do today,” she called
out behind me.
I wasn’t staying here. I’d get Harlow alone, but not here. “No thanks. You’re awake now. It’s time
to leave,” I replied.
This was the last time. She thought I was a sex toy she could pull out and play with, and the fact was
I had been. But I’d been closing my eyes and pretending like she was someone else. It never felt as
good, but it helped me deal.
The guilt had been eating me alive. Leaving Harlow only hours after I had been with her to race
home on Slacker Demon’s private jet and face the loss of a friend had broken me. Life was short. It
had never been real to me before, but watching Jace lowered into the cold, hard ground had been a
wake-up call. How long did we have? Seeing Bethy buckled over, sobbing at his loss, made me realize
that kind of pain would be unbearable. She would have to live the rest of her life without him. That
was scary as hell.
I had never loved anyone the way she had loved Jace. But I was close . . . I had been falling but then
I stepped back. I couldn’t be that open. I couldn’t do that. What if I let myself be completely owned by
Harlow? I knew now how easy it would be. She was the one for me. If I let her, she would be the one
to own my soul. I couldn’t do it.
Each heart-wrenching sob that had torn from Bethy had been like a bucket of ice water poured over
me. I had watched Rush as he held his wife, Blaire, in his arms, and she had cried silently against him.
And I’d seen it there on his face. He had given his soul. He was thinking the same thing, but it was too
late for him.
He was vulnerable. If he lost her he wouldn’t be able to survive it. She would take every ounce of
life in him with her. He couldn’t breathe without her. I’d left that day and drank until the idea of
Harlow was numb. The sweet taste of her mouth was a blur, and the way she’d felt when I’d been
inside her was a memory.
Harlow scared me. What I felt for her scared me. I had fought going back to her. I had been
tormented with the memories of how her smile made my chest swell, and the way she made those
innocent little sighs of pleasure. Then that night . . . that one incredible, mind-blowing night. I was
afraid I would never be able to wash it away and move on. That was a power I had never allowed
|
| anyone to have over me. When Harlow didn’t respond to my calls and her dad warned me to stay
away, I finally forced myself to push those memories to the back of my mind. Whiskey helped. When
I didn’t have whiskey she was hard to forget. Even with whiskey, I remembered her—it just hurt less.
My need to see her had started to control me, and I had called Dean Finlay to get some help. He had
told me that Kiro would have me arrested if I stepped foot on their property. He wasn’t happy with
how I had used Harlow. Kiro believed I had slept with Harlow while I was still sleeping with Nan. I
tried to explain and defend myself, but Dean had hung up on me.
So I’d drunk even more, because when I was sober the need for her returned. Before, I had done it to
deal with Nan’s shit. But now I needed it more. I needed to forget what I’d done to someone so
innocent and undeserving. I’d done this for two months. It helped me deal with the loss of Jace, and
the taste of something I’d had but destroyed.
After all that . . . Kiro had sent Harlow here. To sit right under my nose without his security and
protection. It was confusing as hell.
I reached Nan’s room and the sick feeling in my stomach returned. This felt dirty. Sex for fun had
never felt dirty but this . . . it felt fucking disgusting. I hated myself. I grabbed my jeans and jerked
them on and slipped my T-shirt over my head before grabbing my boots and shoving my feet into
them.
I didn’t tell Nan bye. She didn’t care and I didn’t want to. I just got the hell away from there. I
needed to get clean. I wanted to wash her off me. Then I was going to call Harlow. I had to find a way
to explain. I just hoped she’d let me.
The sporty little black Audi sitting in the driveway right beside my truck had been a kick in the gut.
Why hadn’t I noticed it last night? I should have known someone was here. Too much damn whiskey.
That’s why I didn’t notice.
Jerking the keys out of my pocket, I slammed my car door, furious with myself, and cranked the
engine. I wouldn’t be drinking today. Or any damn day from here on out. I couldn’t do that anymore. I
had to find a way to deal with Harlow being here, and get her to understand why I had backed away.
I just hoped she would understand. I didn’t want her to be hurt. But as much as I wanted her, the
fear of being that vulnerable to one person was stronger. She had trusted me and I had betrayed her. I
wouldn’t forgive myself for that.
I needed to talk to Rush. He was the only one I could talk to. We might not have been brothers by
blood, but he was my brother. He had been since I was a kid. He was the only person in my life I’d
ever let get that close. Not even my father truly knew me. He had never really tried. And my mom . . .
she was a whole other story.
I called Rush’s number before pulling out of Nan’s driveway.
“Yeah,” he said. The sound of a baby’s laughter came through on the other line.
“I need to talk. You keeping Nate today?” I asked. Rush spent more time with his son, Nate, than
any dad I knew. I would say it was because he was making sure he gave his kid something neither he
nor I’d had, but I knew better. He adored that kid. He adored his wife. Getting him away from them
wasn’t easy.
“Blaire’s here. We were headed out to the beach, but if this is important you know she won’t mind
me leaving for an hour or so.” He had picked up on the urgency in my voice.
“If she doesn’t mind. I really need to talk.”
“Let me finish putting sunblock on the little man and help her get set up outside. Then I’ll head over
to your place.”
“I’m headed to the club. Meet me there. And thanks,” I said.
“Only for you,” he replied, and I understood. He didn’t make time for anyone outside of Nate and
Blaire except for me. It was our bond.
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| “Tell Blaire thanks for me, too.”
“Okay. See you in a few.”
I hung up the phone and threw it over to the passenger’s seat and headed to the club.
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| Finding the club was easy. Rosemary Beach was a small coastal town; it couldn’t even be called a
| city. It was where the elite lived and vacationed. After driving through it and seeing the houses up and
down the gulf front, I understood why Nan wanted to live here.
Pulling up to the front gate of the club, I flashed my member’s pass that Daddy had given to me at
the gatekeeper. He opened the large iron gates for me to enter and I followed the signs toward valet
parking. I didn’t want to figure out where the parking lot was, and I could ask the valet how to get to
the tennis courts.
A young guy in a white polo and white shorts walked toward my car when I pulled up to the valet. I
reached into the backseat and grabbed my racquet before he opened my door.
“Good morning, Miss,” he said with a friendly smile. His long blond hair fell over one eye and he
tucked it back behind his ear. I imagined that he was a surfer. He looked like one.
“Good morning,” I replied, pulling my bag over my shoulder. “I’m new here. Can you tell me where
I can find the tennis courts?”
He nodded. “Go into the main entrance here. Take the first left and head to the double doors leading
out onto the back veranda. Go down the stairs then take a right. You’ll see the courts straight ahead.”
That sounded easy enough. “Thank you,” I replied, handing the young guy my keys.
“Can I see your card, Miss? I need to register your car into the system.”
I reached inside the car and got the card off my dashboard and handed
Date: 2015-04-20; view: 656
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