The Vincent Boys - Abbi Glines
Abbi Glines - The Vincent Boys #1 - The Vincent Boys
To my son, Austin. The only person
who understands my love for Alabama football
because he just may love it a little more.
Seven years ago . . .
“You noticed anything different about Ash?” my cousin, Sawyer, asked as he climbed up the tree to sit beside me on our favorite limb overlooking the lake. I shrugged, not sure how to answer his question. Sure, I’d noticed things about Ash lately. Like the way her eyes kinda sparkle when she laughs and how pretty her legs look in shorts. But there’s no way I’m confessing those things to Sawyer. He’d tell Ash and they’d both laugh their butts off.
“No,” I replied, not looking at Sawyer for fear he’d be able to tell I was lying.
“I heard Mom talking to Dad the other day, saying how you and me would start noticing Ash differently real soon. She said Ash was turning into a beauty and things between the three of us would change. I don’t want things to change,” Sawyer said with a touch of concern in his voice. I couldn’t look him at him. Instead, I kept my eyes fixed on the lake.
“I wouldn’t worry about it. Ash is Ash. Sure, she’s always been pretty, I guess, but that’s not what’s important. She can climb a tree faster than either of us, she baits her own hook, and she can fill up water balloons like a pro. The three of us have been best friends since preschool. That won’t change.” I chanced a glance at Sawyer. My speech sounded pretty convincing, even to me.
Sawyer smiled and nodded. “You’re right. Who cares that she’s got hair like some kind of fairy princess? She’s Ash. Speaking of water balloons, could you two please stop sneaking out and throwing them at cars right outside my house at night. My parents are gonna catch y’all one of these days and I won’t be able to get y’all outta trouble.”
I grinned, thinking about Ash covering her mouth to silence her giggles last night when we’d snuck down here to fill up the balloons. That girl sure loved to break rules. Almost as much as I did.
“I heard my name. You two better not still be making fun of me about this stupid bra Mama’s making me wear. I’ve had it with the jokes. I’ll break both your noses if it doesn’t stop.” Ash’s voice startled me. She was standing at the bottom of the tree with a bucket of crickets in one hand and a fishing pole in the other. “Are we gonna fish or had y’all rather just stare down at me like I’ve grown another head?”
Chapter 1
Ashton
Why couldn’t I have just made it home without seeing them? I wasn’t in the mood to play good freaking Samaritan to Beau and his trashy girlfriend. Although he wasn’t here, Sawyer would expect me to stop. With a frustrated groan, I slowed down and pulled up beside Beau, who had put some distance between him and his vomiting girlfriend. Apparently throwing up wasn’t a mating call for him.
“Where’s your truck parked, Beau?” I asked in the most annoyed tone I could muster. He flashed me that stupid sexy grin he knew made every female in town melt at his feet. I’d like to believe I was immune, after all these years, but I wasn’t. Being immune to the town’s bad boy was impossible.
“Don’t tell me perfect little Ashton Gray is gonna offer to help me out,” he drawled, leaning down to stare at me through my open window.
“Sawyer’s out of town so the privilege falls to me. He wouldn’t let you drive home drunk and neither will I.”
He chuckled, sending a shiver of pleasure down my spine. God. He even laughed sexy. “Thanks, beautiful, but I can handle this. Once Nic stops puking I’ll throw her in my truck. I can drive the three miles to her house. You run on along now. Don’t you have a Bible study somewhere you should be at?”
Arguing with him was pointless. He would just start throwing out more snide comments until he had me so mad I couldn’t see straight. I pressed the gas and turned into the parking lot. Like I was going to be able to just leave and let him drive home drunk. He could infuriate me with a wink of his eye and I worked real hard at being nice to everyone. I scanned the parked cars for his