“Damn, those Carmichael genes are something, huh?” Parker commented from where he was leaning against Noah’s tailgate.
His eyes were on Ava, of course, but honestly, there was no way that anyone at this party—male, female, straight, single, or not—didn’t notice that there was a lot of gorgeous, blonde sexiness going on at this party. The triplets were identical, and it seemed that extended right down to how they filled out short shorts, bikini tops, and flip-flops.
“Damn right,” Evan agreed with appreciation in his tone as he watched Cori laughing and talking with a group a few feet away. He reached into the cooler on the back of Noah’s truck and pulled out a beer. “Those billionaires look damn good in blue jeans, huh?”
They weren’t really blue jeans. They had been blue jeans. But they had been cut off. Very short.
“I see Ava left her heels at home,” Evan commented to Parker.
Parker swallowed his drink of beer and shook his head. “Only because I physically took them off of her. She didn’t really understand the whole dirt and sand thing.”
“She fight you on it?” Evan asked, waggling his brows.
Parker grinned. “Just enough.”
Noah sighed. He was jealous of his friends. Very jealous. Super fucking jealous.
“Maybe we should have mentioned that they shouldn’t all wear bikinis today,” Parker said, his eyes on the girls again. “That’s kind of…a lot all at once, isn’t it?”
If he meant it was a lot of gorgeous skin and curves and distraction, then yeah, it really was.
Evan shrugged. “Just soak it up, my friend. Everyone here knows who those girls are going home with.”
Noah felt a kick in his gut. Maybe he hadn’t helped Brynn get dressed—or undressed—like Parker had with Ava, but yeah, she was going home with him. Even if that was kind of confusing and messed up since she was on a date with another guy.
“At least they all wore their hair differently and different colored bikinis.” Mitch Anderson joined them and reached for a beer. “It’d be too bad if one of you took the wrong girl home.” He popped the top.
“Yeah, I love Cori in red,” Evan said, with a wink at Parker.
“Right. Ava’s color is totally green,” Parker agreed. “Or wait, is she the one in blue? Damn, this does get complicated.”
Noah rolled his eyes. Ava almost always wore red and Cori was definitely the one in blue. Interestingly, when the sisters were together, it was easier to tell them apart. Ava was friendly, but was less exuberant than Cori, who was always smiling and laughing. Brynn hung back a little, always watching her sisters, it seemed. When she looked at them, she had an expression that was full of affection, but she didn’t jump into conversations or activities until one of them pulled her in. Noah got it. He felt the same way around Evan and Parker. But he kind of hated it when he watched Brynn. He wanted her to feel wanted. Period. Rudy had fucked up big time with her when she was a little girl, and it was easy to see the effects were still there.
Mitch chuckled. “Feel really bad for you guys having to watch those girls so carefully all the time.”
“Yeah, thanks, man. We appreciate the sympathy,” Evan said.
“So Brynn’s in green, I take it?” Mitch asked.
Noah looked over. “What do you mean?” Had he noticed how she smiled more shyly than her sisters? Or that she rolled her eyes adorably at some of the stuff Cori said?
“Well, she’s the one you can’t take your eyes off of, so I figured,” Mitch said, lifting his beer can.
Okay, so he hadn’t been as cool about that as he’d thought. He didn’t care. “Yeah, she’s the one rocking the green.” And who couldn’t get enough of me last night on the front seat of my truck so fuck off Mitch, he added silently. He tipped his own beer. She was on a date with another guy. Every male here, and possibly a female or two, were checking her out. And yet, she was going to insist on him kissing her goodnight. And more. So much more. He needed his hands really on her now.
He just needed to make it a couple more hours.
“So Tanner is number two?” Mitch asked, turning so he could watch Brynn fully.
Noah felt his hand tighten around his can. He should let Mitch think Tanner was number two. That meant it would be longer before Mitch asked her out himself. “Something like that.”
“The speed dating doesn’t count, then?” Mitch asked.
Noah looked at him. “You know about that?”
Mitch didn’t quite grin, but Noah could tell he was amused. “Hank is a chatty guy and apparently Brynn learned something about planting lemongrass as a mosquito repellent from one of her dates. Hank came in to get some pots so he could put them out on his patio.”
Noah just stared at Mitch.
“Sounds like she met some really interesting guys.”
Noah kind of wanted to punch him. “She had a good time.” That was for certain. He’d made sure of it.
Rudy wanted her happy? Noah was absolutely making her happy. At least at the end of her dates. And would do the same at the end of her date with Mitch too.
“Well, great. That means we’re on date number three then,” Mitch said.
We? We are on date number three? Noah scowled at him. “This is Tanner’s date. Hope you’re not thinking about making it awkward.”
Mitch chuckled at that. “No chance.” He pushed away from the truck and tossed his beer can into the tub where they were collecting the empties. “I don’t like to share.” Then he ambled off across the sand.
Fuck. Noah really hated that guy. Almost as much as The Guy that Brynn would eventually end up with.
Then a thought slammed him in the gut. Mitch Anderson could not be The Guy. The Guy needed to be from New York. He needed to be in New York. As did Brynn.
Stewing about Mitch, Noah didn’t notice that Tanner had joined them, until he reached for a burger from the plate next to Noah and then into the cooler for a soda.
“Hey, Noah, thanks for setting things up with Brynn,” Tanner said. “She’s awesome.”
Still irritated by the thought of Mitch and Brynn, Noah frowned at him. “Yeah, she is. She’s also brilliant. Super smart. She’s a scientist, you know.” Okay, he didn’t sound particularly brilliant or “super smart” at the moment. And no, Tanner hadn’t said anything wrong. And being brilliant was certainly part of how awesome Brynn was.
Tanner lifted a brow and Parker and Evan turned toward their conversation.
“Well, I’m sure she is brilliant,” Tanner said. “We haven’t exactly gotten into the periodic table yet, but I’m looking forward to it.”
“So what have you gotten into?” Noah asked, ignoring the cool it look he was getting from Parker.
But Tanner seemed more amused than anything. “Let’s see. We talked about how she didn’t have pets growing up but how much she loves your cat. We talked about new things we’ve recently done or learned, and she said that she thinks she can change a car tire just from watching you do it so much. We talked about what kind of music we like, and she said she didn’t realize that she liked country until she started listening to it with you. Oh, and she told me that Helen Thompson needs some pumpkins for her kindergarten classroom.” Tanner paused. “Yeah, so we’ve basically talked about you a lot. And pumpkins.”
Noah wasn’t sure what to say to that. Fuck yeah didn’t seem appropriate, but he wasn’t sure he could pull off saying something like “oh, well, that doesn’t mean anything.”
“Why would she tell you that Helen needed pumpkins for her kids?” Noah asked.
“Because I told her that I have a huge crop this year and wasn’t sure what to do with them all,” Tanner told him.
“And how does she know Helen needs them?” Brynn was now the local expert on all random trivia or something? But just before Tanner spoke, Noah realized that answer for himself. Brynn waited on people in the pie shop. She probably overheard just about everything about everyone.
“She heard Helen telling some
one at the pie shop,” Tanner confirmed.
Between the diner, the hair salon, and now the pie shop, there were no secrets in Bliss.
Noah cleared his throat and shifted his weight. Then he couldn’t help it. “She didn’t have any pets growing up?” he finally asked.
Tanner chuckled as if he’d been expecting more questions. “Nope. Guess not. I can find out anything else you want to know too.”
Out of the blue, Noah wondered what her favorite vacation spot was, what her favorite ice cream was, and if she thought presents should be opened on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Did she get bad cramps with her period? Did she ever get migraines? Did she know when her transmission needed flushed?
All of those things tripped through his mind. He wanted to know it all. And he could honestly say that he’d never wondered about a woman’s cramps before.
Brynn thought she could change a tire now? Just from watching him? He might have to quiz her on that. That was a great skill to have, and why hadn’t he thought about teaching her some basic car care? Because she didn’t seem the type? Because he wanted to be the one working on her car? Because he intended to send her back to New York where her car and its maintenance would be none of his concern?
Yes. To all of that.
“I can find the things out that I want to know,” he told Tanner with a frown.
Tanner nodded. “Yeah. That should be pretty easy, I’d think.”
It would. If he ever asked her any questions.
Noah’s eyes flickered over Tanner’s shoulder to Brynn. She was talking to her sisters, and Sarah Hanover. Then he noticed Mitch heading for her with two bottles of beer in hand. “You about done with your date?” he asked Tanner.
Tanner’s eyebrows went up. “I don’t think so, actually.”
“You have to get up early in the morning,” Noah said, meeting Tanner’s eyes.
“Yeah. But some things are worth being tired for, you know?”
Noah sighed. He really didn’t want to start hating Tanner too. “Well, you might be getting out-charmed,” he said, nodding to where Mitch was handing Brynn a beer and gesturing away from the group of women. She looked at Cori, then back to Mitch, and nodded.
Tanner glanced over to where Mitch and Brynn were walking together toward the river. He laughed. “Mitch Anderson can out-charm anyone except maybe Evan.”
Fuck. That was true.
“You’re not worried about that?” Noah asked.
Tanner shrugged. “I was told that this was a one-time date and just to be sure she had a good time.” He looked over to where she was laughing at something Mitch had said. “Looks like she is.”
Noah frowned. Damn, this dating thing sucked.
8
Brynn looked over to where Noah was standing with Evan, Parker, and Tanner. How much longer did she have to stay? Did the couple of hours she’d been here, chatting with Tanner, drinking a couple of beers and eating a burger count as a date? There was nothing in the will about how long the dates had to be.
“How are things going with Tanner?” Mitch asked, tipping his beer bottle for a drink.
She watched him, eyes narrowed. “Great. I think he might be The One.”
Mitch lowered his bottle and pinned her with a look. “He’s not The One, Brynn.”
She crossed her arms. “And how do you know that?”
“Because if he was, you wouldn’t want to sleep with Noah.”
Brynn dropped her arms and stared at him.
Mitch laughed. “Yeah, it’s obvious.”
“Noah and I are—” She glanced over at Noah. He was watching her. “Yeah, okay,” she admitted as her stomach flipped just from the look he was giving her.
Mitch nodded. “You have good taste.”
“Yeah?”
“Noah’s one of the best.”
“You’ve known him for a long time?”
“A very long time. Our whole lives.”
She regarded Mitch. “So you didn’t mean it when you invited me to your back deck?”
“Oh, I totally meant that.” Mitch lifted his beer again.
“But you changed your mind after you realized how I feel about Noah?”
He gave her a slow smile. “No, Brynn, I didn’t change my mind.”
“But…I want Noah.”
“Sure. While you’re here with Tanner. And when you were out with Sean. And while you were speed dating.”
She didn’t ask how he knew about that. Hank knew so it was hardly a secret. She arched a brow. “But I wouldn’t if I was here with you?”
Mitch turned to face her fully. “I don’t think you would, no.”
“And how can you be so sure?” It wasn’t a stomach flip, but she didn’t hate how she felt when she was flirting with Mitch. And it was more than what she felt talking to Tanner.
“Because I’ve got something Sean and Tanner and the speed dating guys don’t,” Mitch said.
There was something about his confidence that made her ask, “What’s that?”
“I want you.”
Okay, that was a little closer to the stomach flip. It wasn’t quite there, but it wasn’t nothing.
“You…” She cleared her throat. “You haven’t asked me out.”
“Nope. And I’m not going to until all this dating crap is over,” Mitch said.
Her eyes widened. “Oh.”
He gave her a nod. “Yeah. Oh. Because it’s not going to be something you just check off your list, Brynn. It’s going to be something you want to keep doing.”
She wet her lips. Wow. There were a lot of things she wasn’t used to, but confident men telling her exactly how they felt and what they wanted from her was maybe at the top of the list. “And they didn’t? Don’t want me?” she asked, glancing at Tanner.
“Sean and Tanner know that you’re not really single,” Mitch said. “And I think the guys at speed dating could probably tell too.”
She wasn’t. Sure, she was going through the motions of dating, but her heart wasn’t in it. Not that it needed to be. The intention was just to go out, have fun, meet some guys and practice. But that didn’t mean her heart wasn’t involved at all. At least with one guy. Dammit. That all probably meant she should date Mitch. He was the only one who had come even a little bit close to making her tingle.
“I’m not?” she asked, even though she knew the answer.
“Not at the moment, no,” Mitch said.
“But that doesn’t matter to you?”
“I don’t mind waiting.”
“For what?”
“For you to get over Noah.”
That made her straighten slightly. That sounded strange. Because she had just now admitted she had feelings for him? Or because getting over him didn’t seem likely?
But she had to get over him. Noah wasn’t coming with her to New York. And the last thing she needed was someone else taking care of her all the time anyway. Once she went home, she was going to be on her own. She was going to be able to eat wherever she wanted for lunch. Alone. But hey, she could take her book along. And she was never doing hot yoga again. Ever. In fact, she was going to completely quit her gym. And maybe she’d…get a cat.
Brynn pulled in a deep breath. Then nodded at Mitch and said, “Well, then, I hope you know a great place for seafood. I’ve been craving crab cakes.” She hadn’t really. But she knew they’d have to go out of town to get crab cakes, and that seemed like a great idea if she was going on a date with Mitch. She didn’t think she could actually date another guy—as in a one-on-one date without Noah around—in Bliss.
Mitch looked surprised, then his face relaxed into a smile that maybe came close to making her stomach flip. “That’s not easy in Kansas, but for you, I will do whatever I can.”
Mitch moved in a little closer. “So only two more dates to go until you’re on number six.”
“And you’re going to be number six?”
“And seven and eight and…” He trailed off, then reached up a
nd ran his finger along her jaw. “As many as you’ll let me be.”
Dammit, that was sweet. Even a little sexy. But there were no tingles from his touch.
Wow, she hated this dating thing.
Mitch’s eyes flickered to something over the top of her head, and he gave a little smile, but dropped his finger. “Looks like I poked the bear.”
And Brynn knew it wasn’t Tanner coming up behind her.
“Brynn, you ready to go?”
The much sought-after tingles came from Noah’s deep voice. Damn, she was in trouble. She took a breath, then turned to face him. He tossed her a cardigan sweater, that was clearly hers, and she assumed that she’d left it in his truck, then crossed his arms.
It was also clear from his expression that he was interrupting on purpose. So he was jealous. Well, that was something. It wasn’t true love forever, but at least he wasn’t completely resistant to everything he might feel for her.
She pulled the sweater on and noted that it had the faint scent of the garage on it along with Noah’s scent, just from being in his truck. She took a deep breath, feeling the flip in her tummy she’d been looking for.
“Yep, I’m ready,” she said. She glanced at Mitch. “I’ll see you around.”
“You most definitely will,” he said with promise.
She thought she heard Noah growl, but he simply grabbed her hand and started tugging her toward his truck.
“You can’t leave. You have all the food and coolers,” she said as she hurried to keep up with him. “It’s your party.”
“Don’t care.”
When they got to his truck, she found the coolers and portable grill had been transferred to Evan’s truck. Noah boosted her up on the seat, slamming the door behind her without a word. They drove up the slight incline from the river without talking, and Brynn figured that was how it would go all the way to her house. As usual. Unless one of them changed the usual.
“That was fun,” she commented.
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