by Mari Carr
“Come on, man,” Finn said. “You don’t need to guard the door.”
Landon stood up slowly. He’d debated all night about whether he should tell Finn about the kiss. In the end, he had decided not to. The kiss had been impulsive, ill-timed, and something Sunnie appeared to want to forget.
Landon should probably do the same. But he wasn’t going to. He couldn’t.
“Okay.”
Finn remained at the foot of the stairs that led to the landing outside his attic bedroom. “You saved her.”
Landon shook his head, but Finn wouldn’t let him shrug off what he’d done.
“You were there. You saved her. I’m never going to forget that, brother.”
His peace spoken, Finn climbed the stairs.
Landon was slower to follow.
He’d spent most of his childhood wishing he’d been born into this family, a brother, a cousin, a son.
Landon adored his mother, but without a father or siblings of his own, he’d reached out and grabbed hold of Finn and Aaron, Darcy…and Sunnie.
Tonight, Aaron had called him son. And Finn, brother.
Those words felt like a dream come true.
Until he considered Sunnie…and that kiss.
Chapter Five
Sunnie trudged down the hallway toward the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. They felt gritty and dry from too little sleep. She’d heard Yvonne get up about an hour earlier, knew her cousin had peeked into Sunnie’s room to check on her, but she’d pretended to still be asleep, unwilling to deal with everyone giving her hell for last night. At the moment, Landon appeared to be the only one who’d forgiven her stupidity. Which only left seven hundred and thirty-seven Collins family members to go.
When she entered the kitchen, it was close to noon. She was surprised to find not only Yvonne and Finn there, but her sister, Darcy, as well. Typically when there were three or more of her family members in a room, the noise rose to ungodly levels. Hell, even their whispers were loud.
This morning, they were silent, and until she saw all of them there, she’d thought everyone had headed out for the day and she was alone in the apartment.
They turned to look at her, and she prepared for the onslaught.
“Wow,” she said sardonically. “Sort of disappointed by the turnout. Only three of you here to lecture me?” she asked. “Couldn’t get Fergus home from overseas? Fiona over from California?”
Yvonne laughed. “We thought we’d take it in shifts. Landon’s grabbing a quick shower and there are quite a few others waiting downstairs in the pub.”
“Landon spent the night,” Finn said. “He was worried about you.”
She waited for him to say more, wondering if Landon had confessed about the kiss. When Finn didn’t say anything about it, she knew Landon had kept that tidbit to himself.
“Okay,” she replied, shrugging one shoulder casually. Landon stayed over two or three nights a month. Given everything that had happened last night, she wasn’t surprised he’d wanted to stay close. His cop instincts had been working overtime.
If she was being completely honest, she was glad he was still there. She wasn’t sure why, but with him around, she felt…
She felt horny.
Which was the completely wrong emotion—was horniness an emotion?—for this situation.
Finn still looked miffed, and she knew he had every reason to be angry. She had put herself in danger. However, she had to admit she was a bit surprised by the level of his anger at the moment. Finn, like Landon, was usually very good at letting things slide off his back.
“Landon told me why you were on that street alone. Please stop dating shitheads, Sunnie.”
Then she realized Finn was in bulldog mode and not ready to settle down over Derek dropping her off in a sketchy area.
In truth, she’d already forgotten about Derek, too distracted by Landon’s kiss to give a shit about the ex-boyfriend.
She took a deep breath, smiling at Darcy. “I guess Dad’s probably losing his shit. I’d promised to go in this morning and make a statement.” She was in her pajamas and dreading the thought of going to the precinct. As if she didn’t have enough overprotective males in her family, she figured that number was easily doubled when she added in her dad’s fellow cops, a lot of whom she’d known for most of her life.
Maybe she could talk Darcy into going with her. Darcy was bubbly, sweet and adorable. They could stop off for a couple dozen doughnuts, then go in and try to buy their dad’s forgiveness with sweets.
Darcy shook her head. “No need to bother. Dad called a little while ago. Said Landon could just take your statement here.”
Finn poured a glass of orange juice and handed it to her, then poured one for himself.
“Cool,” she said. At least Landon had calmed down, unlike her brother. It would be easy to talk to him about what had happened because he’d seen most of it.
As if summoned, Landon appeared in the kitchen, his hair wet from the shower. He’d borrowed jeans and a T-shirt from Finn. Sunnie recognized Finn’s beloved retro Van Halen shirt.
“Hey, Sunshine. You slept late.”
“Yeah, I did.”
They heard voices coming from the stairs, and Sunnie sighed.
“They’ve been downstairs in the pub since eight o’clock this morning,” Finn told her as the sound of her mom and Bubbles’s loud voices drifted to them from the living room. “I told them you needed the sleep.”
“Thanks,” she murmured to her brother mere seconds before Mom walked into the kitchen, crossing the room to pull her into a big hug.
“I’m okay, Mom,” Sunnie said, wondering if that statement would hold true when Bubbles engulfed her from behind, the two women squeezing her with the combined strength of a boa constrictor. “Um…I can’t breathe.”
“Hush,” Bubbles said, clenching even tighter. “I swear to God, Riley and I both lost ten years off our lives last night when your dad told us what happened.”
Mom released her first. “Finn said Derek left you alone on the street.”
“We had a fight. I broke things off. Probably should have waited to tell him what an asshole he was until I was closer to home.” It was a weak-hearted attempt at a joke, but Sunnie was struggling to find her footing.
She and Derek were hardly a serious item. They’d gone out half a dozen times in the past month or two, and she hadn’t even slept with the guy because…she just hadn’t been feeling it.
“I’m going to kill that son of a bitch,” Bubbles declared menacingly.
Finn and Landon said in unison, “Get in line.”
“This isn’t really Derek’s fault. I should have found a café and called an Uber. Instead, I was pissed off and started walking, even though it was getting dark. It was a really stupid thing to do.”
“Damn right it was. Child, your mother and me did not raise you to act like a damn fool,” Bubbles said.
Sunnie laughed. She adored her “aunt” Bubbles. Loved the woman’s straight-shooting ways, her foul language and her extremely inappropriate stories about when she was a ’ho back in Vegas.
Mom shook her head. “Don’t take up for the man, Sunnie. A nice guy would have driven you home no matter what. I think Bubbles and I might pay him a visit and educate him about that.”
Sunnie suspected Derek might prefer an ass-whooping from Finn and Landon over a tongue-lashing from Bubbles and Mom, but she didn’t bother to try to talk her mom out of it. It would be a pointless battle to wage. Riley Young protected her children more fiercely than a lioness. She’d give Derek a piece of her mind, no matter what Sunnie said.
“I’m fine,” Sunnie stressed. “Honest.” Then she looked at Landon, anxious for a chance to escape them. “Finn said you’re supposed to take my statement.”
He nodded.
“Not yet,” Mom said. “There’s someone else waiting to talk to you.”
“Who?”
Mom pointed down. “Pop’s in the pub. He’s fretting an
d won’t feel a moment’s peace until he sees you. Go talk to him.”
Sunnie wasted no time, racing back to her room to don a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She threw her hair up in a ponytail, thinking it was good enough. Then she glanced in the mirror—and spotted the baseball-sized bruise on her cheek.
There was no way she’d let Pop Pop see that.
Grabbing some foundation and powder, she did her best to conceal it, then headed downstairs.
Pop Pop was sitting at his usual place at the bar. It was lunchtime, so there weren’t more than a dozen or so folks scattered around the pub, grabbing an early afternoon drink. Sunday’s Side, the restaurant, was busier with the lunch rush.
He smiled when he saw her, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. She walked straight into his outstretched arms.
“I’m okay, Pop Pop,” she whispered to her beloved grandfather.
“Lie to the others all you want, lass. But you don’t have to say those words on my account. I know you’re not. Just sit here and stop pretending so hard.”
“You’re not going to yell at me too?” she asked.
Pop Pop shook his head. “I suspect Aaron, Finn, and Landon have handled that well enough.”
She giggled. “You forgot Mom and Bubbles.”
“So we’ll skip the lecture and move on to the feelings. How are you feeling?”
“I…” She wasn’t sure what to say. When the guy first grabbed for her purse, she was furious at Derek, pissed beyond belief and, honestly, sort of looking for a fight. She’d spun around swinging, taking the guy by surprise—for a split second. They’d both kept hold of the purse strap, doing some silly tug-of-war over it for a few seconds before he swung at her, the back of his closed hand striking her cheek with enough force that she saw stars.
And yet she still wouldn’t let go of the purse. She had no idea what the guy would have done next because that was when Landon showed up, the police lights scaring the guy off. He’d let go of the bag, shoving her down as he took off in the opposite direction. Off-balance, she’d twisted her ankle on the way down.
At least she’d been right about one thing last night. Her ankle was much better this morning, stiff but not sore.
“You what?” Pop Pop prompted when she didn’t respond right away, reclaiming his seat and patting the one next to him.
She shrugged as she sat down.
“Should I take a stab at it?” he asked.
She smiled and nodded.
“You’re scared. No, I wager you’re terrified out of your wits, now that you’ve had some time to think about it all. You’re upset about putting yourself in danger—walking alone and fighting back. You’re a smart girl who’s feeling stupid for believing her beloved hometown could hold such evil people.”
Most of his assessment was true, which only made her feel even dumber. “We live in Baltimore, Pop Pop. My dad is a cop. I have no illusions about what’s lurking out there.”
“Yet it’s never touched you. And that gave you a sense of misguided security.”
She nodded. That was definitely true. Sunnie had lived in a bubble of safety and love, surrounded by Collins men and her father’s police buddies.
“You’ve also never been hit. That will take you some time to bounce back from. You need to give yourself that time. Don’t pretend for my sake or anyone else’s.”
As always, Pop Pop gave the best advice.
Before they could say more, Dad entered the pub. He walked directly to her, tugging her down from the barstool and into his arms. Her dad gave the best hugs.
Although, Landon’s last night had been pretty amazing too.
They were both pretty big guys, so when they engulfed her in their arms, she felt it. Before last night, she always appreciated the warmth and affection in Dad’s hugs, but today, it was more than that. It made her feel safe, and it was hard for her to let go. Not that that was a problem. Her dad wasn’t letting go either.
“If you ever walk down a dark street alone at night again, I swear to God, I’ll take you over my knee and spank your ass. I don’t care how old you are.”
She laughed at the threat, trying to hold her tears at bay. Considering her father had never spanked her as a child—and God knew she’d tested his patience—she understood exactly how serious he was now.
“Never again,” she promised, and she meant it.
“And next time,” he continued, “let go of the damn purse.”
“But it was a Louis Vuitton.” Sunnie figured it was too soon to joke with him, but she had to try.
Dad narrowed his eyes, and she held her hands up in surrender.
“I’ll let go next time.”
Her response didn’t help. “There’d better not be a next time. Not sure my heart can handle it. When your name came through dispatch as a mugging victim…” He shook his head.
“I’m okay, Dad.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Landon take your statement yet?”
She shook her head. “No. I just got out of bed. He’s waiting for me upstairs. I should probably get up there in case he has something else to do today. I got a sleepy start.”
Dad gave her a kiss on the forehead, and then she gave Pop Pop another hug.
“Love you, lass,” Pop Pop murmured.
As she dashed upstairs, she passed everyone else on the stairs.
“Landon’s waiting for you,” Finn said.
“Mom’s got shepherd’s pie, Sunnie,” Darcy said. “Wanna have lunch with us after you talk to Landon?”
“No, I’m not hungry.”
She continued on, finding Landon sitting on the edge of the couch, flipping through the TV channels. He turned it off when she walked in and started to rise. She gestured for him to stay where he was.
“So, what do we need to do for this?”
Landon picked up a notebook from the end table and asked her a series of questions. She told him everything as it had happened, step by step. She tried to describe the guy, though she really hadn’t gotten a great look at him—he’d had a ball cap pulled low on his face. Landon wrote it all down, and then put the notebook aside.
Everything he did and said was typical Landon, yet Sunnie couldn’t stop the butterflies in her stomach that made this feel different.
Exciting.
Then he broke the pattern.
He picked up her legs, tugged off her sandals and rested her feet on his lap, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. She was about to pull them back when he gripped one firmly, rubbing it so perfectly, she closed her eyes in absolute bliss.
Landon pushed his thumb into one arch with more pressure, and Sunnie tried to come to grips with the way it was making her feel.
Shit. She was totally getting turned on.
She needed to stop this.
Then he dug his thumb in harder, and she moaned.
She thought her response would make him stop, but it didn’t.
Instead, he did it again.
She opened her eyes and found him looking at her, studying her face.
“What are you doing?”
“Foot rub.”
She narrowed her eyes. It felt like more than that.
Landon’s hands moved from one foot to the other, treating it to the same amazing rub, and she stopped resisting, lying back on the couch and enjoying it.
“How’s your ankle?” he asked.
“Fine. Just a little bit stiff.” She sighed, happy and relaxed from his foot rub. “I think Dad and Finn are still pretty ticked off at me.”
He nodded. “They’ll settle down soon enough. You know Finn. He’s always been over-the-top when it comes to his kid sisters. It’s going to take him a little while to land.”
Landon was right. Sometimes it felt as if he and Finn shared a hive mind.
Landon had grown up with his single mother, who’d worked two jobs to make ends meet, which meant Landon had spent as much time with her family as he did in his own home.
&nb
sp; “So, you and Derek are over?”
She nodded. “Oh yeah.”
“What was the fight about?”
“Same old, same old.”
Landon chuckled. “Jesus. Not again.”
Sunnie rolled her eyes. Ever since her first official boyfriend sophomore year, right down the line to Derek, her breakups had always been some variation of the same theme. A few months of dating, maybe some hot and heavy, and then boom!
The guy got serious, and she started looking for the exit.
“He wanted to be exclusive. Oh, and sleep with me.”
“You and Derek never slept together?”
She shook her head. “No. Finn was right. He was a douchebag.”
“Then why did you keep dating him?”
Sunnie shrugged. “Because it was easy. We’d go to the movies or dancing. He didn’t want a relationship and neither did I. Truth of the matter was, we didn’t even talk that much. Just sort of hung out. And he wasn’t hard to look at.”
Landon pushed her feet off his lap and reached for her hand, pulling her until she was sitting up. “Why are you so against relationships, Sunnie?”
“I’m not against them at all. I only graduated from college last month and I want to focus on my career, want to take some time to be a nurse. Look at my family, Landon. You know as well as I do how this is going to go down.”
“Go down?” he repeated, confused.
“I’m a Collins. There’s a curse. We fall in love and that’s it. Game over. Marriage, kids, forever. I’m not ready for that. I just want to be a nurse for now, sow a few wild oats, have a good time. I’m only twenty-five, for heaven’s sake.”
“Okay. I get that. Actually, that makes a lot of sense. I always thought you were anti-marriage.”
She didn’t realize that was the vibe she’d been sending out. “Of course I’m not. I come from a great family and my parents are an amazing couple. Why wouldn’t I want that? Eventually,” she added. “I’m just not super mushy-gushy about romance, like you.”
He rolled his eyes, used to her teasing him. “Very funny.”
“Actually, I think it’s sweet that you keep trying to make every woman you date ‘the one’.”