by Emery Rose
“What do you do for a living?”
“My friend Christy and I opened a floral design studio right after we graduated from college. We mainly do weddings and special events.”
“That sounds like a cool job.”
“It is. I love it. But it’s not as cool as your job. Ugh, if I could sing like you... I can’t even imagine. I’m not just saying this, but your voice is incredible. Your vocal range... how do you hit those notes and hold them like that? I’d be gasping for breath.”
I laughed. “I didn’t used to be able to hold them that long. Before I released my solo album, I worked with a vocal coach. It made a huge difference. Before that, I didn’t even realize I wasn’t breathing properly. It also helped that I gave up smoking.”
She nodded. “Don’t ruin your voice or your health with cigarettes. They’re far too precious.”
“Yeah, I used to have a lot of bad habits. I’m working on becoming a better version of myself.”
She stood up from her seat, holding the baby against her chest and I got to my feet. “I think that’s what we all strive to do. Become the best versions of ourselves.” She put Levi back in his car seat and clipped him in then slung the diaper bag over her shoulder and lifted the seat. “But some days I call it a success when I’ve managed to shower and look halfway presentable.”
I laughed as I followed her to the door and held it open for her. Much like Brody, she refused my offer of help and told me she’s got it. Must run in the family, even though they weren’t related by blood.
“It was great meeting you,” she said after she’d gotten Levi into the back seat and handed him a rubber ring he was gnawing on.
“You too. Thanks for stopping by.”
“Why don’t you take my number? If you need anything... tacos or visits from screaming babies ... give me a call.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and entered the number she gave me then sent a quick text so she had mine too. I didn’t usually give out my number so readily, but Lila was cool, and she seemed genuine. And even though we barely knew each other, I knew I could trust her.
After she was gone, I thought about the story she’d told me. It wasn’t the craziest story I’d ever heard but it must have made for some interesting family dinners. I wondered if Brody was as cool with it as Lila seemed to be. Had he been in love with her? Was he still in love with her? That would explain a lot. But if Brody was in love with Lila, she was completely oblivious.
Chapter Eleven
Brody
I wasn’t chasing after Shiloh. That’s what I kept telling myself as my feet carried me to her door. It was ten o’clock at night. Too late for a social call. Yet here I was standing on her porch, calling her name through the screen door. Inside, the lights were blazing, so I didn’t think she was asleep but after a few minutes of waiting for her to answer, I turned away, resigned to go back home. It was for the best, I told myself. As I walked down the back porch steps, I heard a twig snapping followed by a loud curse. I trained my phone flashlight on the trees. Shiloh was hopping around on one foot.
Chuckling under my breath, I moved closer for a better look. “Having some problems there, Shy?”
I aimed my phone flashlight at her. She spun around to face me and holy shit, she was wearing a black lacy bra and a matching thong, her tits spilling out of the bra, ample cleavage on display.
“My eyes are up here, Cowboy.”
Slowly, my gaze moved up her body, over her taut, toned stomach and to her face. I leaned my shoulder against a cypress tree. “Just enjoying the view.”
“Oh. So you enjoy it now?”
I grinned. “It’ll do. It’ll do just fine.” I pushed off from the tree and moved closer until I was standing right in front of her. She didn’t try to cover up her body or look embarrassed that my eyes were roaming again. “What are you doing out here?”
“I was about to take a swim in the lake.” Her eyes roamed down my body, offering me the same courtesy I paid her and cocked a hip, putting her hand on it. “Care to join me?”
“You don’t have a swimsuit?”
“Nope. Forgot to pack one. But I don’t need one.” She looked over her shoulder at the lake. “You said this is private, right?”
I nodded.
She grinned. “That’s good. Because I’d hate for anyone to catch me swimming naked.”
“You’re going to swim naked?”
“It’s the best way to swim.” She turned her back to me and walked to the water’s edge. Unclasping her bra with one hand, she slid it down one arm before removing it and dropping it to the ground. Then she hooked her fingers on the sides of her thong and slid it down over her thighs and calves. She lifted one foot and stepped out of them then kicked it off the other, the black lacy thong landing next to her bra.
Not gonna lie. Her naked body was fucking perfect. She looked at me over her shoulder, laughter on her lips before she faced forward and waded right the fuck into the water, gingerly stepping over the loose gravel and rocks at the bottom. Guess I should have mentioned there was a dock not far from here that would have made it a hell of a lot easier to get in. But nah, I kept my mouth shut, enjoying the view and her struggle. When the water reached mid-thigh, she dove all the way in as if the lake was bathwater warm.
Well, fuck. I couldn’t just let her swim on her own now, could I?
Grabbing the lone towel and gathering up her clothes from the ground, I carried them to the dock hidden in the trees and turned on the portable camping lanterns I’d set up for Walt. He used to swim in this lake every night, regardless of the season, and claimed it was the fountain of youth. I toed off my high-tops, stripped naked and dove in.
Fuck. It was cold. Pretty sure my dick had shriveled to the size of a walnut.
Now where the hell was she?
I spun in a slow circle, searching for her in the light of the moon. I heard a splash followed by laughter. “Catch me if you can.” Her voice echoed across the lake.
Guess who was doing the chasing now? Fully aware that I was playing right into her hands but not really caring enough to stop, I swam in the direction of her voice.
“Marco,” she called out, laughing. I stopped swimming and spun around again. The witchy woman was outwitting me and had me going in circles. I could see her from here, her teeth so white in the darkness, her black hair slicked back and the moonlight glowing on her face. It looked like she was carved from marble.
“Polo,” I said, playing her little game.
Neither of us made a move to bridge the distance. I could stay in this exact spot, treading water until my legs grew numb and I caught hypothermia, but I’d much rather have my arms wrapped around her and her legs wrapped around my waist. “Let’s meet in the middle.”
She hesitated, and you would think she was contemplating doing something crazy like jumping into a lake naked. Finally, she agreed and inched forward. At this rate, it would take all night to reach each other. But let’s face it, the chase was the fun part. So, we moved closer and closer, neither of us giving an inch, until finally we were at arms-length.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi.”
“You could have told me there was a dock.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
She reached over and smacked my arm. I grabbed her hand and tugged her closer. “Cold?”
“Nope.” Her teeth were chattering, and when I released her hand, she wrapped her arms around herself.
“Liar. Your lips are blue.”
“You can’t see that in the dark. We need to swim. Get our circulation going.” I had a different plan. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her against me. “And then the water won’t seem as—”
I kissed her cold lips and she gasped as my tongue slid inside her warm mouth. She wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist and I held onto her, treading water while we kissed in a cold lake under a springtime moon.
Were all her kisses this hungry or just the ones she
reserved for me?
She was shivering in my arms, her naked breasts pressed against my chest. Skin to skin. And even though the water was ice-cold, my dick was getting hard and prodding her stomach. Like the witchy woman she was, she rocked her hips, and rubbed her body against me just right, creating friction that zinged up my spine and made my balls tighten.
She pulled away and gave me a devious smile. “Race you back to the house.”
“I moved your stuff to the dock.”
“Perfect. When I win, I get the towel.”
“This feels like old times,” I said without thinking.
“Old times?” Her brows furrowed, and I realized my mistake. “With who? Lila?”
I’d never mentioned Lila to her. “How do you know about Lila?”
“She stopped by to visit me this afternoon. We had lunch together and it was highly informative.” She smirked.
I could only imagine how that had gone down. Knowing Lila, she’d told Shiloh the whole story. “I’ll bet it was.”
Without another word, she started swimming toward the dock, her strokes strong and sure. I gave her a head start and waited a couple minutes before I set off. One thing was clear. She was a faster, more focused swimmer than Lila had ever been. Growing up, I’d always beaten Lila, but I’d never managed to beat Jude. Not a single fucking time. He’d always been better at every sport, but he steered clear of horses. The few times I’d seen him ride, he was total shit at it. Used to piss him off that the horse never did as he commanded.
I beat Shiloh to the dock but just barely. We were both hanging onto the ladder, neither of us making a move to get out of the water.
“Ladies first,” I said.
“But I lost.”
I shrugged. “You can have the towel.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
Still, she hesitated.
“I’m freezing my balls off so if you don’t mind, I’d like to get out of here before they shrivel into raisins.”
That made her laugh. “Okay. In the interest of protecting your manhood, move aside.”
I moved aside, and she pulled herself out of the water. I watched her climb the ladder, giving me the perfect view of her bare ass. She wrapped herself in the towel and then it was my turn to climb out. Not gonna lie. I would have loved to protect my manhood right now. But of course, her eyes lowered, and I couldn’t tell her not to look or make excuses for how inadequate it looked after the equivalent of a cold shower.
“You’re still pretty impressive. But not quite as impressive as my big boy.”
I growled and stalked toward her. She let out a little yelp then turned and ran, her clothes clutched to her chest. I was buck naked, chasing after a girl and I wasn’t even mad about it. I caught her around the waist, spun her around and tossed her over my shoulder. She weighed next to nothing and she was laughing so hard, her whole body was shaking.
I ran her up to the cabin, leaving a trail of water across the hardwood floors and into the small laundry room off the kitchen. Depositing her on top of the washing machine, I grabbed a towel from the shelf behind her.
“Helps to have local knowledge,” she observed when I wrapped the towel around my waist because like a dumb shit, I’d left my clothes at the dock.
“You still cold?” I asked, rubbing her upper arms with my hands. She was still shivering, and goosebumps covered her skin.
“I’m warming up.” She smiled when I grabbed another dry towel from the shelf, and wrapped it around her shoulders, putting a layer of cotton between her skin and dripping wet hair. “It’s been so long since I’ve had so much fun doing stupid things. Didn’t that make you feel so alive?”
I nodded and flattened a palm on either side of her. “Yeah, it did. You should have fun more often.”
“I know. I really should.” She traced a bead of water down my chest with her finger. “For the past few years... for a long time, really, it just feels like everything’s gotten so heavy. And it feels like I haven’t had time for anything but my music. Not that I’m complaining. I love what I do, and I know I’m incredibly fortunate but sometimes...”
“You just want to let your guard down and have some fun.”
She nodded. “Yeah. That’s exactly it.” She leaned back on her hands and pinned me with a look. “Why didn’t you mention you had a son?”
I straightened up and ran a hand through my wet hair. “Didn’t really come up.”
“That’s such bullshit. You can do better than that.”
I shrugged one shoulder. “I always try to keep that part of my life separate.”
“Separate from what? You keep it a secret from your friends?” she teased, but she sounded hurt like I’d intentionally kept a big part of my life hidden from her.
“We’re not friends, Shy. We barely know each other.”
“Funny. I feel like we were becoming friends. And we do know each other.” She hooked her legs around my waist and locked her ankles, slamming me up against the washing machine. Feisty. “I know what makes you want to cry.”
“Well, now you know. I have a son. And my son’s mother is married to my cousin.”
“Are you still in love with her?”
I didn’t want to talk about this with her. Or anyone. I shook my head. “It wasn’t like that.”
“Maybe not for her but what about for you?”
It wasn’t something I’d ever told anyone. Not Lila. And not Jude when he questioned me. I’d lied to protect everyone involved. Whether I’d liked it or not, Lila had always belonged to Jude. He had staked his claim from the start, never questioning whether it was his right to do so. Maybe in another lifetime Lila could have fallen in love with me. But nah, I was too fucked up to be with Lila and she’d never had the same feelings for me.
Sometimes you had to accept your losses, know when you were beaten, and move on. Which was what I’d done a long time ago. Not just with Lila, but with so many other things in my life that I’d wanted but could never have. Add Shiloh to that list. Because this girl sure as hell wasn’t going to stick around for long.
“Doesn’t matter,” I said, my hand coasting up her thigh. “It’s ancient history.”
“Okay.”
I gave her thigh a little squeeze then unhooked her legs from my waist and backed away a few steps. She was studying my face a little too closely and even though the lights were out in the laundry room, I could see her just fine in the light coming in from the kitchen. “I need to go and get my clothes. Catch you later, Shy.”
She opened her mouth as if to say something then shut it again and nodded.
“Hey Brody.”
She always seemed to wait until I was walking away before she called my name. I stopped in the kitchen. “Yeah?”
“You’re so much better than you think you are.”
Where the hell had that come from? Maybe she really was a mind reader. So are you, Shiloh. So are you.
Once again, I left her when all I’d really wanted to do was stay. Typical Brody move. But in my experience, if something seemed too good to be true, it usually was.
Chapter Twelve
Shiloh
On Tuesdays, Hayley took a gymnastics class in a small shopping complex a few miles from the elementary school. So I was parked in front of an ice cream parlor, sipping an iced coffee I’d gotten from the drive-thru while I watched her through my rearview mirror. Stalker central. It made me feel dirty. Hayley and her mom disappeared behind the plate glass door and I slumped in my seat. How many times was I going to put myself through this torture?
“Hi Viv!”
I jumped in my seat, my hand flying to my heart. Noah was standing outside my open window, an enormous ice cream cone in his hand. He grinned. “I told Daddy that was you.”
I smiled. Brody’s son was adorable, with thick wavy dirty blond hair to the nape of his neck and a smattering of freckles on his nose.
But even though I was wearing a ball cap and sunglasse
s, he’d noticed me right away. Which was kind of worrying. Kids were observant. “Hi Noah.” I leaned out my open window. “How are you doing today?”
“Real good. I got two scoops.” He held up his waffle cone to show me. It was so big he had to hold it with two hands.
“That’s enough to make anyone smile.”
Chocolate ice cream dripped down his hand and he let go of the cone with one hand to wipe it on his green T-shirt. I winced. He looked down at the chocolate ice cream smeared across the front of his shirt. “Oops.” He shrugged one shoulder, unconcerned. “Oh well. Mommy can wash it.”
Brody appeared next to him, took Noah’s hand and wiped it with the napkins then tried to clean off his T-shirt. When he realized it was hopeless, he stuffed the napkins into his jeans pocket. “Viv. How’s it going?”
“Yeah.” I cleared my throat, trying to erase the image of Brody naked. “It’s all good.”
“What are you doing here?”
I lifted my iced coffee. “Just hanging out. Drinking my iced coffee.”
He squinted at the shops I was parked in front of then returned his gaze to me. “Not much of a view.”
“I don’t know.” I took a moment to appreciate the sight of Brody in a white T-shirt and faded denim. Now I knew what he was hiding in those jeans and despite the cold water, he was more than ample. “From where I’m sitting, my view’s pretty good.”
He gave me that slow, lazy grin of his. “Mine’s not so bad either. It was better last night though.”
My cheeks heated. Wasn’t I the one who claimed I didn’t blush like a schoolgirl? I dragged my gaze away from Brody and focused on Noah which was far safer. “What are you guys up to today?”
“Daddy picked me up from school. He’s gonna take me horse riding.”
“That sounds like fun.”
Noah took a few more licks of his ice cream. “Yep. It’s a whole lotta fun. Daddy’s the best rider in Texas. Probably the whole world.” I stifled a laugh. “I’m really good too.”