by London Hale
“Riley—”
“I’ll take a leave of absence.” I grinned when she jerked back, the idea something I hadn’t given much thought to but one that felt right. “I’ll stay home with the baby while you work. I can pick up a few construction jobs with Jackson along the way to keep making money, but we’ll schedule them when you or my mom or, hell, even my brother can watch the baby. It’s not a problem.”
She was giving me The Look again. “You’d give up your career?”
“I’d go back once the baby went to school.”
“Riley, that’s five years.”
“So?”
“So…five years is a lifetime.”
I pulled her into my arms, holding her tight and rocking her. “Five years is a blink, it’s nothing. And we’ll be together the whole time, which is all that’s important. What more could I want?”
“You’re crazy.”
“No, I’m trying to take care of you. You want to go back to work? Awesome. Don’t want to hire a nanny, though? That means I need to step up. I’ll quit my job and get all Mr. Mom up in the place. Easy.” I rolled my eyes and gave her one more smacking kiss when she still wouldn’t relax. “You go change the world, Kitten. I’ll change the diapers.”
The way she bit her lip had me wishing we were someplace where I could take advantage of her still-naked state. I tugged up the back of her paper gown and ran my hand over her hip, needing to feel her. Wanting to touch.
Kate leaned into me, her breasts pressing against my chest. “What will people say when you tell them you’re staying home with the baby?”
“They’d better say what an amazing father I am and how lucky I must be to have such a strong and successful partner.” I twirled the ring she wore. The one that tied her to me. “How lucky my wife is that she’s married to such a progressive guy.”
“I am, you know. So lucky.”
“I know, but it goes both ways.” I gave her ass a pat—how could I not?—then handed her the clothes she’d set on the chair beside me. “As much as it pains me to say it, let’s get you dressed and back to work. You’ve got a groundbreaking ceremony to get to.”
The frown she sent me was a good one. “Ugh, don’t remind me.”
Watching her slide her clothes on was almost as sexy as watching her take them off. The way the cotton and lace slipped into place, how she bent and turned to make sure everything lay just right. I could watch her put on clothes every day for the rest of our lives. And I would—though I’d also be watching her take them off. That was for sure. “You can skip it, you know.”
She patted her hair into place and grabbed her bag. “It’s the mall project. I can’t skip. This is the biggest deal of my career.”
I dropped my hand to her belly as she tried to move past me, stopping her. “For now.”
The smile she gave me lit up her face like nothing else, and her fingers were warm as they weaved with mine. “For now.”
We walked out of the office and headed for the car, me keeping Kate close to my side. I drove, holding her hand the entire way, too keyed up about her and the baby to give her the option. Thank God she understood my protectiveness. Understood it and definitely seemed to welcome it at this stage.
The drive to the mall took no time at all, and Kate was in pure business mode when we arrived. Reading over lists, checking her phone…absorbed by the logistics of the whole thing.
“Thirty minutes,” I said as I helped her out of the car. “We’re in for thirty minutes, then we’re going home.”
“Fine. Your fan club is here.” She nodded to the group of women standing at one side of the stage. Yeah, her events tended to be real fucking popular with that crowd. Popular because of me. Not that I paid any attention to them other than to be polite.
“So is yours.” I kissed her, squeezing a handful of ass to make my point. “Thirty minutes and we’re going home so you can rest.”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“You threw up three times this morning.”
“I have work to do, Riley.”
With Kate, you had to pick your battles, and this wasn’t one I was going to win. “Fine. But I’m getting you some fucking crackers and a water.”
She rose up to give me a kiss, mumbling something about silly and sweet before heading for the stage. It was time for her show, for her moment. And I was more than happy to let her shine. She had my ring on her finger and my baby in her belly. What more could I ask for?
“Everything okay over here?” Big John slipped in beside me, staring at the stage just as I’d been.
“What are you doing here, man?”
John shrugged, his eyes still on the stage. Or rather, one particular person on that stage. “Same thing you are, I suppose.”
Emery chatted with Kate, the two women oblivious to the men in the audience tracking their every move. Not all men, just me…and John.
I kept my voice down, leaning into John’s side. “You and Emery?”
John grunted. He slapped one big hand on my shoulder, harder than he needed to. Making a point, it seemed. “See you at work.”
I nodded once, grinning. “Sure will. We can have a chat.”
“Fuck your chat.” He stormed off as I laughed. Kate must have heard me because she turned, meeting my eyes for a moment before grinning. Emery turned as well, frowning after John’s retreating figure. Those two would have to work out their own stuff, though. My wife held one hundred percent of my attention. Especially as she stepped in front of the podium, her mayoral smile in place.
“Friends and neighbors, we’re here to kick off a construction project three years in the making.”
As Kate spoke about partnerships and moving the island’s economy forward, I stood and watched her shine. This was her talent, her skill—she was an awesome speaker and a thoughtful leader. Most of the residents of the island loved her. Just not as much as I did.
As I had since the first time her voice had come over my phone.
As I would for the rest of my life.
Reunion Sneak Peek
They missed their chance… Or did they?
High school reunions are a time to remember, to regret, and to take second chances. Check out a sneak peek of the next Temperance Falls book from London Hale.
She’s ready to move on
High school reunions are supposed to be fun. Unfortunately, mine starts with a storm that traps me in a house with my newly ex-boyfriend…and his hot-as-sin stepbrother. Luke kept in touch with me over the years, but not like this. Not with his hands, his fingers…his mouth. If my ex finds out, it’s more than just a friendship on the line. I could destroy a family.
He’s done holding back
Hannah’s been off limits for twelve long years, ever since my stepbrother swooped in and claimed her before I could. As if coveting from afar isn’t bad enough, now I have to suffer through our ten year reunion watching them together. But things aren’t as perfect in paradise as it would seem. One overheard conversation between them, and I’m ready to throw caution to the wind. If my stepbrother can’t make her scream, I’m more than happy to get the job done.
Chapter One
Luke
Whoever said you could never go back home again was definitely on to something. Even though I still lived in Temperance Falls, it wasn’t the place that felt off now, but the people.
I sat at a dining table, staring at two guys I’d once considered my best friends. Forcing myself to smile. Forcing myself to participate in the conversation. Talking to people I didn’t have anything in common with was something I did every night at Pops’ Hops—my brewery, my baby. This should’ve been no different.
Except I had had something in common with these people at one point—ten long years ago, when we’d been in high school. Back then, we’d been the best of friends. Hell, one of them was family. A family he no longer cared to be part of, but family nonetheless. Barry, my stepbrother, had bailed after his father had passed away. Graduat
ed then fled and never looked back, despite the fact that my mom had cared for him when he had no one left. Despite the fact that his father—a family man and the only person I’d ever called Dad—would hate Barry running out on the people my stepfather had loved with all his heart.
But Barry was an asshole. There was no getting around it. He was the kind of guy I kicked out of the brewery for getting handsy with the bartenders. The kind of guy who belittled others to make himself feel better. The kind of guy his dad would’ve been ashamed he’d turned into. Even under those circumstances, I still thought of him as family.
And that made me the most loyal dumbass in the world.
“Seriously, you should’ve seen the tits on this one!” Barry said, gesturing in front of his chest as if his words weren’t enough to get his point across. Never mind the fact that it wasn’t just a bunch of guys shooting the shit. Aaron and his wife, Jessica, sat across the table from me. She slid a look to Aaron, making her displeasure over his friends known. That’d teach him for offering up his summer home as the location for our pre-reunion barbecue tonight. Good intentions and all that, but it’d been raining too hard to do any sort of grilling. Which meant we were all stuck inside, in close quarters, with nothing much to do as we waited for one other person to join us…the only person who’d make this bearable for me.
Hannah.
The girl I’d lusted after in high school—hell, the woman who still visited me in my fantasies—and one of my best friends, despite us not having seen each other in ten years.
Barry, never knowing when to stop, continued. “More than a mouthful, if you know what I mean. Damn, haven’t seen a set that nice in a while. Fucking Hannah cockblocked me though. And I think everyone here knows she doesn’t have anything in the titty department to write home about.”
Just hearing her name from his lips had my jaw clenching, my eyes focused on the bottle of beer I was twisting in my hand, never mind the derogatory words he spewed. Even my best brew couldn’t salvage tonight. Barry’s callous disregard for Hannah grated on my nerves—had grated on my nerves since day fucking one—and made me even more frustrated that she was still with him. Or at least sort of. On-again, off-again—just like they’d been since high school. Since I’d confided in my brother that I liked a girl and wanted to ask her out. Since he’d beat me to the punch and stole her right out from under me.
Yeah, I was still bitter. Anyone would be, especially when it was someone like Hannah on the line. She was gorgeous, but it wasn’t just her looks. She was sweet and caring, compassionate and gentle—basically the opposite of Barry. I had no idea what she saw in him.
Hannah and I were long-distance friends, something I blamed Barry for. He’d always been jealous of our relationship and had done everything he could to keep us apart. So we’d text and e-mail, reply to each other on social media. We even had an occasional phone call. It was never enough, but what choice did I have? Steal my stepbrother’s girlfriend? That’d make me no better than him.
“What about you, man?” Barry clapped a hand on my shoulder, pulling me out of my thoughts. “It’s been too long. I miss swapping stories.” By stories, he meant tales of his sexual prowess, and by swapping he meant forcing me to listen to the different ways he got his dick wet all the while keeping Hannah on a leash. All the while knowing how I felt about her.
Yup. Asshole.
I shrugged. “Not many stories to swap. I keep pretty busy at the brewery.”
“A brewery, huh? Gotta hand it to you—I thought Dad’s hobby was lame as hell, but you went and turned it into a real business. Bet it gets you lots of pussy, doesn’t it?”
Jessica shoved her chair back and shot her husband a look. “I think I’ll go call Hannah and make sure she can find the house okay in all the rain.”
“Hey, will you tell her to pick me up a couple bottles of malbec?” Barry yelled to Jessica’s retreating form. “Beer’s not really my thing.” He glanced at me and gestured to his mostly-full bottle of the specialty brew I’d brought. The specialty brew I’d made. One of his dad’s recipes, actually, but I didn’t tell him that. “And, hey,” he called toward the doorway Jessica had disappeared through, “can you bring in some snacks or something? I’m fucking starving.”
“She’s not a servant, man,” Aaron said, his tone sharp. “There’s a full spread in the kitchen. Help yourself.”
Barry laughed, then saluted like a jackass. “Got it. No orders to her unless it’s in the bedroom. You can tell me all about that later.” He pushed back from the table and headed into the kitchen, smiling the whole way.
“Shit, when did he turn into such an asshole?” Aaron asked under his breath before he cringed. “Sorry.”
“For what? He is an asshole.”
Aaron chuckled then lifted his chin toward where Barry had disappeared. “Brothers and all.”
Brothers in name only. I shrugged, not wanting to get into it. Barry was staying here for the weekend because of the reunion festivities, not going back to the mainland until Sunday. And even though I had a nice little house I could flee to, we’d be around each other a lot more than we had been in ten long years. I didn’t want to open up a can of worms to deal with.
“Believe me, no offense taken,” I said, waving him off.
He smiled and tipped his beer bottle toward me. “Just be glad you can escape. I’m stuck with him all weekend. No fucking idea why I thought it’d be a good plan to offer up my house.”
“I’ll leave extra beer.”
He laughed just as the doorbell rang and Jessica rushed passed to open the front door. The porch light was on, illuminating the rain coming down in heavy sheets, bolts of lightning going off simultaneously with the nearly constant rumbles of thunder. But none of that held my attention like the woman standing in the doorway did.
“You must be Hannah,” Jessica said. “Come in, come in.” She shut the door behind Hannah then took her bag from her, setting it down on the rug while Hannah shivered in the entryway.
Even soaked to the bone, she was the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen. I hadn’t seen her in the flesh in way too long, and the pictures on her profile didn’t do her justice. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, the rain making some strands stick to her face. Her eyes looked black from here, but I knew they were what I called starburst eyes—green on the outside with a burst of brown around her pupil. She was still as petite as ever—I had at least a foot and probably close to a hundred pounds on her—but her soft curves still managed to my mouth water and my cock harden, just like always. That reaction didn’t lessen as I took in her flushed cheeks and full, pink lips. Combined with the damp hair at her temples, she looked freshly fucked.
And goddamn if I didn’t want to see that look on her face while she was in my bed.
“Hannah, hey!” Aaron said, getting up to give her a quick hug. “Haven’t seen you in years. How’ve you been?”
“I’m good, thanks. You seem to be doing well if you’re living on this side of the island. That’s wonderful, Aaron. And thank so much for having us all over.” She smiled at Aaron and Jessica, never once looking in my direction. “Though I hope no one has anywhere to be tonight. I don’t think the bridge is going to be passable.”
Before I could contemplate what that meant, Barry came strolling from the kitchen. “Banana! ’Bout time you got here. My bed’s not gonna warm itself.” He reached for her, tugging her into his side as I curled my hands into fists, my jaw clenching. The cringe I swore I saw sweep across her face had to be a trick of the light. “And no bridge, huh? You hear that, Luke? Looks like you’re stuck here for the night.”
“Luke?” She snapped her head up, looking around until her eyes landed on me. The biggest grin spread across her face, and it was a sucker punch to the stomach. Jesus, I felt like I was seventeen all over again when she looked at me like that.
She slipped out from under Barry’s arm and walked straight for me, her smile never faltering. I didn’t even have ti
me to stand before she had me enveloped in a hug, tucking herself right in between my spread legs, her arms tight around my neck, my face too close to her tits for what was acceptable friend behavior. “Hey, stranger.”
Jesus, that voice in my ear would be my undoing. The breathy whisper, the brush of her lips against my skin… Two little words that didn’t mean anything, but combined with the feel of her in my arms and her light, citrusy scent surrounding me, and it was a memory I’d definitely stroke myself off to later.
I brought my arms around her, hugging her as close as I dared. I wanted to say a hundred things to her, most of them questioning her sanity at still being involved with my asshole brother. But all that came out was, “Hey, Hannah.”
“All right, you two, break it up.” Barry laughed as he tugged Hannah away, but I could hear the strain in his voice. Mine and Hannah’s friendship had always been a thorn in his side. Probably because he knew exactly how I felt about her.
“You’re staying here, too?” she asked me, her eyes hopeful.
I shook my head. “Hadn’t planned on it. You sure the bridge is out?”
“Definitely. I almost didn’t make it across. The water’s completely over the road.”
“Well, shit.”
Aaron’s home sat on a tiny island off the western side of Temperance Falls, a short bridge connecting the two. A bridge that was my only way to the main island, and was also prone to flooding. Tomorrow was Friday, one of the busiest days at the brewery. I had shit that needed to be done, and I didn’t want to leave my partner, AJ, in the lurch. But it didn’t look like I had much of a choice.
“You can stay here,” Aaron said. “There’s a pull out couch in the basement.”
“The basement?” Barry said. “What’s he need to go to the basement for? There’s an empty room right next to mine. Hannah wouldn’t mind giving up the room for you, Luke. Besides, we all know she’ll end up in my bed anyway. Isn’t that right, Banana?” He tugged her to him, and that time I knew it wasn’t a trick of the light when she cringed and pulled away, her words only confirming my thoughts.
