“I’m only here for the weekend also, and it doesn’t matter to me one way or the other.” She stood on tiptoes and kissed Gavin’s cheek, right above his beard, and then asked, “Where’s my baby boy? Is he at school?” It was Friday morning.
“No. They started in early August and made today a teacher in-service for an even longer weekend. He’s upstairs.”
Ella lifted a hand to Trey, ducked under Gavin’s arm, waved to the receptionist—who was much more focused on studying the two handsome men in the foyer than doing any kind of work—and ran lightly up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, there was a large, open area with couches, fireplaces, and lounging areas. There were also conference rooms on this level. The third and fourth levels were all single hotel-style rooms, and the fifth and sixth levels were fancy suites. The main level had more lounging areas, the restaurant, and picture windows that were two stories high so they could be viewed from this lounging area as well.
It was pretty quiet this afternoon, with most people out enjoying the beautiful end of summer weather, but there was one little boy lying upside down on a leather couch, focused intently on the iPad in his hands.
“Austin!” Ella yelled. She’d missed the little squirt horribly.
Her youngest brother—ten years younger than Stetson, to be exact—looked up, and his eyes lit with excitement. He tossed the iPad on the couch, flipped onto his feet, and ran toward her. Ella picked him up and swung him around like Gavin had done to her. She kissed his soft cheek several times, then kissed the adorable freckles on his nose before he protested, “C’mon, El. I’m not supposed to like kisses.”
She giggled. “You’re supposed to like your favorite sister.”
“Well, sure, but don’t tell Cassie you’re my favorite.” He winked broadly. Cassandra was Ella’s twin, and she was so sweet and thoughtful that she was everybody’s favorite.
Ella set him down and asked, “What’ve you been up to?”
“Work, work, work, all the time.” He pushed out his bottom lip. He was so cute with those rounded cheeks and freckles, his big brown eyes, and his naturally highlighted golden hair. The rest of the family had similar eyes but dark hair. Austin was adopted, though, so it made sense he didn’t look like all of them, yet Ella had always thought he did. “I’m the only one who works in this joint,” he said with a wink.
Ella chuckled.
Gavin had climbed the stairs and now had his arms folded across his broad chest, surveying Austin. “That’s right, little man, the rest of us are slackers.” His dark eyes, so like Austin’s, always had an uncharacteristic softness when he was around the little boy. Ella still had no clue how they’d been blessed with Austin, but one day, when she was almost thirteen, her mama came home with the fattest, cutest baby boy and told the family and neighbors they had adopted him. They all fell instantly in love, and though Ella knew the rambunctious little man wore her parents out, he was the light of all their lives.
Ella tilted her head to the discarded iPad. “You playing video games now?”
“You aren’t?” Austin said in the most smart-alecky tone a ten-year-old had ever used.
“Austin,” Gavin warned.
Austin sighed. “Just kidding, sis. It’s free Friday, so I get to play today.”
“Free Friday? And you get to play video games all day if you’re not in school?”
“Anything I want. No football practice today, either, so I get to eat all the junk food I want—not just one serving—stay up late, play video games, and chase women.” Austin ticked the list off on his fingers.
“Chase women?” Ella had to fight not to giggle. She didn’t win, and laughter bubbled out.
Gavin ruffled Austin’s mop of hair. “We’ve had some issues with him wooing the women who stay here, so Mama limited him to flirting on Fridays.”
“Mama’s getting soft in her old age. Playing video games all day? Eating all the junk food he wants?”
Gavin nodded. “She’s always been soft for the little man.”
Her mama was a loving woman but very strict. She’d raised them all with lots of hugs, dedicated her life to making the resort succeed and helping her children reach their goals, but there was never any leniency on rules and family expectations. Austin, being the caboose, had a very different mother than any of them had. A very different father, too, as her daddy had been paralyzed ten years ago in a skiing accident. He was still his fun-loving, happy self, but he couldn’t get out and enjoy the slopes or the hiking or biking trails with them like he used to.
“Where is she? Where’s Papa?”
Gavin’s smile became more forced. “Papa’s not feeling so well.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s just a bad cough, but without being able to be active, it’s harder for him to exercise his heart and lungs like the doc would like, and they’re afraid it could turn to pneumonia. So Mama’s quarantined them to the house.”
“Like quarantined as in I can’t even go see them? I’m only here for the weekend.” She needed to hug them both, talk through the excitement and challenges of her new job, the boys she’d been dating this summer, the bonus she’d just earned, and the apartment and new car she was so proud she’d secured on her own. Her selfish thoughts halted, and she focused on her parents. What if this was the sickness that took her dad? He’d gone from as strong as Gavin now looked to sickly and weak over the past ten years. Part of it had to be how hard it was mentally to cope with losing your mobility and independence. Especially for someone who’d been as active as her papa.
Gavin shrugged and lifted his hands. “Mama said to keep you with us for a day or two, and she’ll come for dinner tonight; then we’ll figure out when you can see Papa and go stay in the house.”
“Keep me with you? Do you have a villa open or rooms here? On a holiday weekend?” The lodge was always booked in the summer and winter. Sometimes, in the fall or spring, they ran specials and had more openings.
Gavin smiled. “I built myself a house in the canyon by Mama and Papa’s.”
“It’s a rocking bachelor pad,” Austin put in, not even glancing up from his iPad that he’d discreetly started playing again while they chatted. “I hang out there too, and then the women just flock to my big bro.” He grinned and tilted his chin to Gavin. “I’m what you call the ultimate wingman.”
“Is he seriously only ten years old?” Ella rolled her eyes. “He acts like a teenager already.”
“You’ll all be in for it when I’m a teenager.” Austin gave her a mischievous grin, his dark eyes so big and appealing she wanted to kiss him again. “Mama tells me all the time.”
Ella gave him another squeeze, giving in to the impulse to kiss his soft cheek again. She didn’t get to be around him often enough. “Mama’s probably right, but you’re always going to be a good boy, right?”
Austin sighed. “Yes, sis. But good boys can still kiss girls, right?”
“Oh yes, they can.” Trey’s voice and its intonation brought pinpricks of awareness over Ella.
She stood and faced him as he walked toward them from the stairs. “Good boys had better be careful about kissing too many girls, or they’ll get labeled as a player,” she threw at Trey.
Gavin raised an eyebrow at the two of them.
Trey folded his arms across his chest. He’d always been tall and lean, but she didn’t remember quite so much defined muscle on his arms or his chest. Blast the man for wearing such a high-quality biking jersey that it draped just perfectly to show how built he was. He was wearing loose cargo shorts, expensive-looking ones that covered up the awkward-looking big butt pad a serious biker needed for long rides. “Is somebody jealous?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” As soon as the words were out, she felt like it was the cliché answer for a girl who absolutely was jealous. Dang it.
Trey unfolded his arms and walked closer. Instead of calling her out, he extended his hand and opened his palm. A pink-
and-green twisted bracelet was in his hand. Ella’s eyes flickered from his hand to his face in surprise.
He stepped right up to her. “Do you remember?” he asked, his voice husky and his blue eyes full of meaning.
Ella’s heart about stopped. “Of course I remember,” she whispered.
“Remember what?” Gavin growled from behind them.
“Before I left the valley at eighteen, Ella gave me a bracelet.” He spoke up for Gavin, but his gaze was all for Ella. “I still have it.”
“You do?” The bracelet had been like this one, pink and green twisted together, but she’d made it by hand. She’d told him then it was a friendship bracelet so he didn’t forget her, all the while praying he’d read through the lines and know she loved him with all of her twelve-year-old heart.
He nodded very seriously, especially for Trey. He lifted her hand and placed the bracelet in her palm, closing her fingers over it. Her hand tingled from his warm touch and the meaningful look in his eyes. He still had the bracelet? And he’d been thoughtful enough to buy her one? He must’ve gotten it from the gift shop downstairs when she’d run up to see Austin. He’d probably seen it and bought it on impulse. It shouldn’t mean so much, but it did.
“I wanted you to have one too,” he said softly.
“Thank you,” was all she could manage.
“Don’t you need to be going?” Gavin asked impatiently.
Trey arched his eyebrows, still focused on Ella and still cupping her hand with his. “I’ve got a group going out on a mountain bike ride in a little less than an hour. Do you want to come?”
He knew her so well. She absolutely wanted to come, and she absolutely wanted to spend time with him.
He released her hand and stepped back, which sadly broke the spell he had her under. “Unfortunately, that loser Marcus is in the group, but I’ll keep you safe from him,” he said.
“I don’t need your help staying safe,” she said with as much sass as she could manage, knowing it was what they’d expect from her. The bracelet was still in her hand, though, and she wanted to put it on and show him how much she cared for him, even if she couldn’t verbalize it. “I’m not only an expert at pepper spray; I took some self-defense classes in college. I could kick your trash and have you begging for mercy.”
Trey’s eyebrows lifted as Gavin laughed softly. Trey’s smoldering eyes said he not only wasn’t afraid of her; he could make her so weak with longing she’d forget all those self-defense tactics. “You always have me begging for mercy, beautiful Ella.”
Ella’s heart raced and her palms grew damp. The Trey of her childhood had never talked like this to her. He’d teased her and been her friend, but the new and—dared she hope?—meaningful look in his blue eyes and his flirtatious words were going to be the death of her susceptible heart. Was it possible for a healthy twenty-two-year-old to have a heart attack from sheer hot man factor?
“That’s enough,” Gavin growled before Ella could formulate a semi-intelligent response.
Trey simply smiled. He probably knew her gruff brother better than anyone else did and wasn’t intimidated by him like most of the world. “You in for the ride?” Trey asked, focusing on Ella.
“S-sure,” she stuttered out.
“Great. Meet you in the parking lot in forty-five minutes.”
Ella backed away. “I’d better put my stuff away and change.”
“Austin,” Gavin commanded. “Take Ella to the house and show her her room. I’ll get a bike ready for you, sis.”
“Thanks.” Ella gave him one more impulsive hug. He wasn’t a hugger, but he’d always been soft for his sisters and Austin. She figured he needed the human contact, so she always hugged him.
Releasing him, she took Austin’s outstretched hand, and with her free hand she clung to her bracelet.
“This way, my lovely lady.”
Ella laughed. They walked past Trey, and he smiled. “See you soon, my lovely lady.”
“Th-thanks.” Ella stuttered on even the simple response.
Trey chuckled and tilted his chin to her as she walked past while clinging to Austin’s hand. She could sense Trey watching her go. It was a feeling she could definitely get used to.
Chapter Two
Trey watched Ella go, feeling like he’d been hit upside the head by a two-by-four. Had she turned into an exquisite beauty overnight, or had he just been clueless about how appealing Ella Strong was before now? Her long, dark hair framed her heart-shaped face perfectly. Her dark eyes sparkled with a mixture of intelligence and humor that he found irresistible. The gentle curves of her body definitely were new, and she was now a hundred percent woman. If he remembered right, she’d graduated from Stanford in June and was living in Utah working now. He hadn’t really thought it necessary to cling to every morsel of information about his lifelong friend Ella, until he’d seen her in the parking lot flirting with that loser Marcus. His fists clenched, and jealousy rolled through him again. He’d keep her far away from the yuppy pretend millionaire. Marcus tried to put on the front of immense wealth, when in reality Trey knew his own net worth was twenty times the egomaniac’s.
A growl of frustration came from nearby. He edged away from his best friend, sensing he might get hit upside the head by something harder than a two-by-four for flirting with Gavin’s sister.
He turned to his friend and splayed his hands. “I know how Ella loves mountain biking. I just wanted to include her.”
Gavin’s dark eyes pierced him with a knowing gaze. “You were blatantly flirting with my little sister. You gave her some childish bracelet?”
Trey shrugged. When Ella had run upstairs to find Austin, all he’d known was that he wanted more time with her. He’d wandered in the gift shop trying to think of a plan, seen the bracelet, and it all came rushing back. At twelve, she’d been so adorable, giving him the bracelet before he left home to make his way in the world. He had kept the bracelet but had dismissed the longing in Ella’s eyes back then as a little-girl crush. She was all grown-up now, and he prayed she still had some kind of feelings for him, because the feelings stirring in him were new, but they were substantial. He needed a shot at her.
“Hey, I know you’ve got your brother blinders on,” Trey said, “but if you had any clue how attractive she is, you wouldn’t blame me for flirting.”
Gavin’s jaw tightened. “I’ve heard exactly how attractive she is, and I will definitely blame you if you flirt and then break her heart. She may not look it, but she’s still a child.”
It bugged Trey that Gavin was underestimating both of them. “First of all, I am not just going to flirt with her and then break her heart. Contrary to social media’s perception, I’m not a player.”
Gavin simply arched an eyebrow, which infuriated Trey more.
“You know me, bro. I wouldn’t do that to Ella. She was basically my sister growing up too and I know exactly how fun and impressive she is.” Though the beauty who’d just strode away had felt nothing like a little sister.
Gavin nodded, but his dark eyes still seemed troubled.
“Second of all, you need to accept that Ella has grown up and then some.”
Gavin growled low in his throat, and Trey would’ve laughed, but he wasn’t ready for a brotherly brawl. He had a ride to get ready for, a ride Ella was going to be on. He was going to make sure to position her close to him at all times.
“If you can’t see that she’s matured … emotionally,” Trey corrected before Gavin took a swing, “you’re way behind the game, my friend. Ella’s got enough confidence and maturity from living away from home, succeeding at a competitive school, and getting an unreal job offer few college grads secure right out of the gate.” Thank heavens he’d remembered some of Mama Strong’s bragging now that he wanted to. “She’s got the confidence, brains, and beauty. It’s me you should be worried about. She’ll probably toy with me and leave me wanting to chase after her at the end of the weekend.”
Trey could tell imme
diately that his arguments had been going okay up to that point. Gavin took a menacing step forward. Trey stood his ground, only because he knew he was an even match for his tough friend, and he knew any sign of weakness would be taken as just that.
“Neither of you will be toying with each other. Ella is your little sister and your friend.” Gavin lifted one eyebrow in a menacing gesture that most men would cower from. Trey folded his arms across his chest and matched his friend’s glower. “I expect your promise,” Gavin continued, “right here and now that you won’t try to get Ella to fall for you like one of your flunky followers, and you absolutely will not touch her or k-kiss her.” Gavin shook his head as if the very thought of Trey and Ella kissing was intolerable.
Trey’s entire body warmed at the thought of touching her, kissing her, and having her fall for him. This long weekend and trip home was suddenly full of amazing possibility. He thought he’d just come to enjoy his surrogate family, but now he had an unreal and gorgeous woman to pursue. Life was good—except for the deep furrows appearing in Gavin’s forehead.
“Bro.” Trey put a hand on his friend’s arm, which was absolutely the wrong move, as Gavin stiffened. He didn’t like anyone but his mama, sisters, and baby brother touching him. “C’mon, man, you know I’d never hurt Ella, but do you have any clue how incredible she is?” Trey rushed on before Gavin could plow his fist into his jaw. “How old are we?”
“Excuse me? What does that have to do with it?”
“Twenty-eight. We’re twenty-eight years old, and neither of us has someone to love and enjoy life with. Most of our friends have their own children by now.”
Gavin’s expression got stormier. Dang. Was this argument not going to work either? He knew Gavin had fallen in love with one of their high school friends their senior year, but Janielle had disappeared long before graduation and her name became a curse word at the Strong house. They’d all learned quickly not to ask about her, especially around Mama. Not long after that, Papa Strong had broken his neck and Gavin had given up his football scholarship and stayed in the valley. Trey had left home shortly after, but he’d learned to never bring Janielle’s name up when he talked with Gavin or Mama Strong.
The Strong Family Romance Collection Page 2
