brother. He’s the sheriff in town, and a massive pain in my ass.
He bends over, sticking his head underneath the car. Chestnut brown hair falls over his face as he gives me an absurd smirk.
I glare at him. “Aren’t you supposed to be escorting ducks across the road or something?”
“Ha ha. Hilarious. I haven’t heard you crack a joke in years. This new marriage must be working out for you.”
I grab the edge of the car and roll myself out from under. Chris looks at me with that judgmental gleam, arms crossed over his tan uniform. I stand, dusting myself off.
“I heard you had a little too much fun at the McConnelly wedding last night.”
Man, this shit is going to get old fast. “Yeah. I got myself a wife and everything. And you thought I’d never get married.”
Sighing, he shoves his hands down his pockets. “I didn’t come here to give you a hard time.”
“Really? ‘Cause it sounds like you’re gearing up for a speech. Save it, bro. I’m in no goddamn mood.”
His eyes narrow dangerously. “Tell that to Ma.’”
Ah shit. “She knows already?”
“Yep. I spent this morning trying to calm her down. She was upset you eloped without inviting her.”
“I was drunk. Didn’t you tell her it was an accident?”
He laughs dryly. “Yeah, that would’ve gone over well. I told her I didn’t know what happened, but that you got married last night.”
I can picture them in the kitchen, my brother’s arm around her, crumpled tissues everywhere. I rarely feel guilty. As far as my mom’s concerned, though, there’s a reservoir of guilt. Just waiting to be tapped at any given moment.
I rake my hand through my hair. “Fuck.”
“I would’ve thought you realized Ma has been through enough.”
Damn him and his high-mindedness. “We were wasted. If you want to blame someone, Jack was there. He didn’t do a damn thing to stop it.”
Chris’ thinned lips burn even whiter. “Fix this mess. At least invite her to dinner. Ma wants to meet her.”
I laugh at the thought of asking Olivia to meet the family. “She’s a one-night stand!”
“She’s here for a few weeks, isn’t she? Bring her over for dinner. It’ll make Ma happy.”
It’ll make her happy at the expense of my sanity. Much as I’d like to punch Chris in his smart mouth, he’s right.
I fucked up. And I’ve got to fix it.
Olivia’s in the backyard, sitting in one of the patio chairs in the grass. Her black hair is swept into a tight ponytail. A pink tank top exposes a length of creamy skin as she leans over the table, pouring over something. Work?
I walk silently, visions of last night bombarding my brain. My cock stiffens—she was amazing. She bends her neck, her ponytail swishing from side to side. And I don’t know whether I want to let her hair loose or lead her around by that tail.
She scribbling in a notebook, the pen gliding over the paper so fast, I can barely read it. She mouths the words as she writes, so absorbed that she doesn’t sense me standing behind her.
I peer at the lined notebook: He grabbed a fistful of her hair and whispered nasty into the shell of her ear as he pressed his hips against her rear. She felt it growing larger, like a steel pole in his pants. It was his
Her hand falters as she searches for something to write.
Smirking, I straighten myself. “Cock. The word you’re looking for is cock.”
The pen flies out of her hand as she whirls around, her face flushing scarlet as she holds the notebook to her chest. Damn, her tits look nice when she does that.
“Don’t you dare!”
“We’re married now. No more secrets.” I wag a finger at her.
“We’re not married and I don’t want you reading my private things!” Her fingers go white clutching the notebook.
“You were writing that porn novel out in the open, sweetheart. You can’t blame me for being curious.”
Her face darkens. “It’s not porn—it’s romance.”
I take a step forward as lust pounds through every cell of my body. She couldn’t be hotter to me if she tried. “It looked like you were in the middle of writing a dirty scene.”
“So what if I was!”
“You might appreciate some inspiration.”
“No—” she snatches her purse, cramming the notebook inside, “—thank you!”
Uptight. So goddamn uptight.
Normally, I’d steer clear of a woman like her. Especially with all the baggage she’s carrying. But my brain doesn’t work right when I’m around her.