Pushing His Luck - Rhyannon Byrd Page 0,9

her ex, the way a lot of people did if they’d been fucked over. Then again, Karin was pretty private, so maybe she kept her complaints about the guy to herself.

“You don’t know?” Sean asked, sounding surprised.

“If I knew,” he growled, “would I be asking?”

“Yeah, okay, makes sense. And long story short, the guy was scum.”

“And that tells me shit, man.”

His brother gave a harsh laugh. “And I’m not going to gossip like a teenage girl. If you want to know the details, talk to Karin.”

Paul cursed under his breath, the idea of facing her after the embarrassing crap he’d pulled making sweat break out over his brow.

“Look,” Sean murmured, “why don’t you come over tonight when you get off work? Apologize to Natalie, we’ll grab some dinner, and then hit the waves.”

He debated, knowing there was a strong chance that Sean was just inviting him over so he could grill him some more about the shit going down in his life. Hell, he was also likely to get Natalie’s hand slapped across his face, or her knee in his nuts, which was no less than he deserved. And there was an equally strong chance that he might run into Karin, seeing as how she was one of their neighbors. His dick actually tingled at that last thought and his heart gave a hard thump, which was reason enough to stay the hell away from the place. But, damn it, he needed to make things right with Natalie and Sean, so he was just going to have to suck it up and act like a fucking grownup. “What time?”

“Six.”

“And what kind of flowers does Nat like?” he asked, figuring there was going to need to be some serious ass-kissing taking place if he was going to even make it into their condo.

Sean gave a low laugh. “Bring her some Godiva chocolates, and she just might let you past the door.”

A wry smile kicked up the edge of his mouth, the first one he’d cracked in days. “Okay, man. I’ll see you then.”

Chapter Three

Late April

If there was one thing that Karin believed with all her heart, it was that holding a grudge never benefited anyone—especially not the person who’d been wronged. So when she’d heard, through Natalie, that Sean and his brother were hanging out again, she hadn’t been resentful. Just because she wanted nothing to do with him didn’t mean she expected one of her best friends and his own brother not to spend time with him. But Paul was thankfully still giving her and Chris a wide berth, and she hoped it stayed that way. At least when it came to her. Chris was going to have to forgive the jerk eventually, because she hated that he was missing out on hitting the evening waves with the Cartwright brothers, which had become a thing for the three of them after they’d all become friends. Instead, Sophie had told her he was waking up at the crack of dawn to get his surfing time in before work.

She loved her cousin like a brother, but she wasn’t about to let his protectiveness toward her ruin a friendship for him, and so she made a mental note to corner the guy in the morning for a long heart-to-heart. She would have done it right then, but Sophie had dragged him out for a meal at one of the amazing seafood restaurants down by the harbor, and she hoped they were having an awesome time.

After making dinner for her and Jase once they got home from his soccer practice, and reading him a bedtime story, she’d thought about curling up in front of the TV for a while, but then Natalie called to see if she wanted to chill out with some wine on her balcony while Sean surfed. So here they were, cuddled up on the pretty, comfortable rattan chairs Karin had bought for her balcony last summer, drinking their wine while they chatted about the vacation Natalie and Sean were planning for the summer.

“I’m so jealous you guys are going to Bora-Bora,” she murmured, taking a sip of her wine. “I’ve always wanted to go.”

“Me too,” Natalie said, stretching out her legs and resting her cute feet on the wrought-iron railing. “It’s been a dream of mine ever since I was a little girl. I swear I nearly died when Sean booked the trip for my Valentine’s present. I mean, what kind of guy does that?”

Karin gave a soft laugh. “Um,