just as Zevy had fallen from hers. Hearing her sweet, breathless voice after nearly a decade had left him momentarily numb. She’d been carrying a tray of chocolate desserts, following Cutter Long, a real-life fucking cowboy who Zev knew was one of Charlotte’s closest friends. Cutter had barely left Carly’s side since the ceremony, and now Carly was holding his arm, laughing at something he’d said. Zev had once been the guy by her side. They’d even attended the same college. But that was a long time ago.
He couldn’t look away from her. She was even more beautiful than he had remembered. Her hair was a lighter blond now, but even after all this time he could still feel the silky strands trailing through his fingers. He could still see her big blue eyes sparking with heat and playfulness as they rolled around in the grass or treaded water in the ocean.
He gritted his teeth, struggling to push away the happier memories he’d held on to like lifelines since the day he’d broken up with her and left their hometown of Pleasant Hill, Maryland, two days after her best friend, and Beau’s then-girlfriend, Tory Raznick, had been killed in a car accident. Tory had been visiting a girlfriend and she’d flown home early without telling anyone. She’d wanted to surprise Beau, but Zev had taken him out to a party. When she’d texted from the airport, they’d been drinking, and Beau hadn’t heard the phone. She’d called several other people looking for a ride home, but in the end, she’d taken a cab. It was a stormy night, and the driver lost control of the car less than three miles from the airport. Zev knew it wasn’t his fault Tory had been killed, but guilt from taking Beau out that night, and the realization that someone they loved could be torn from their lives at any second, had tipped an iceberg that had crushed him.
Nick nudged Zev’s arm, jerking him from his thoughts, and said, “Dude, Carly’s looking hotter than ever. If I’d known she was into cowboys—”
“Shut the fuck up.” Zev took another swig of tequila.
Nick chuckled and tipped his hat. He was a horse trainer with a body built for a fight and an attitude that always seemed to be begging for one.
Zev had seen Nick knock a man out with a single punch, but that wouldn’t stop Zev from going after him if he continued pushing his buttons. He might be leaner than his massive brother, but his nomadic treasure-hunting lifestyle had also made him quicker. Fearless and fast was a dangerous combination when frustrations burned through Zev’s veins, as they were now. But he didn’t give Nick a chance to get any deeper under his skin. Instead, he set an angry stare on Beau and said, “Why didn’t you tell me she was coming?” He eyed his other brothers. “You all knew she lived here, and nobody clued me in. What the hell is up with that?”
Beau rolled his shoulders back and said, “The last time I brought up Carly, you said you’d slaughter me if I ever mentioned her name again.”
“You did, bro,” Graham agreed. “Remember? We were at Mom and Dad’s last Fourth of July, when Beau and Char got engaged.”
How could he ever forget the day he’d never seen coming?
After Tory died, the pain and guilt had been so overwhelming that Zev and Beau had both needed to get the hell away from Pleasant Hill. Beau hadn’t been able to even be in the same room with his childhood best friend, Tory’s older brother, Duncan, without wanting to tear something apart. Although Zev had rarely returned home, he’d kept up with his family and had known about the ever-growing rift between Beau and Duncan. Which was why when Duncan had walked into their parents’ house the night Beau had gotten engaged, Zev had been ready to take him down—until he’d learned that Beau had found a way to move past Tory’s death and had made amends with Duncan.
That was the day that had made Zev wonder if he could find a way to move past all that had happened, too. But the only person he wanted to move forward with was Carly, and before the wedding, he’d seen her only once since they’d broken up, and she’d made it clear she was over him.
“I know what I said.” Zev leveled Beau with a serious stare and said, “But come on, man. You couldn’t