Mae laughed. “He’s nice. But he doesn’t have a lot of time to date, which is why I invited him here today. He could use a break.”

  “And look,” Honor said, motioning with her head to where Tanner was already in deep conversation with Owen and Finn, “now he has two new friends.”

  Mae smiled. “Good. I don’t think he gets out much. And you know what they say about all work and no play.”

  “Well, if anyone can teach him about the play part, it’s you, Mae,” Brenna said.

  “Aww, thank you. I just want him to have a fun, relaxing day on the water.”

  “I want that for all of us,” Honor said.

  “And speaking of a nice relaxing day,” Brenna said. “I made sangria. And sandwiches.”

  Honor sported a wide grin. “My favorite.”

  Mae joined her with a bright smile. “Mine, too. Oh, and I made the most amazing mango salad.”

  “I brought water and lemonade, being useless in the cooking department,” Honor said. “Oh, and chips and dip.”

  Owen walked by. “I brought beer.” He winked at Honor as he made his way to the stern. Her heart did a little leap and she smiled, this time not even attempting to hide her reaction to him.

  How refreshing.

  “We are so set for snacks and drinks,” Mae said. “See? The day is already starting off with a bang.”

  Honor put on her sunscreen and her shades, and grabbed a seat since it appeared the guys were readying the boat for takeoff. Finn got the boat started, and they headed off across the lake.

  She tilted her head back, soaking in the feel of the wind and the occasional spray of water. She’d been so wound up and tense lately with everything going on, it felt good to just . . . be.

  They stopped long enough to get the tubes and skis out. Honor was more about lazily flying across the water in a tube, though she’d grown up waterskiing and was damn good at it.

  Finn went out first on skis, and of course did great. He had amazing balance, riding the waves like he was born to water. Then again, he sort of had been, growing up in Ireland. But Honor was fairly certain waterskiing hadn’t been one of Finn’s recreational activities when he was a kid.

  After he was done, he and Brenna went out on the tube together. She could swear that despite the boat’s engine noise and the waves, she could hear her sister’s screaming laughter.

  “Those two,” Mae said, laughing, “are so in love with each other.”

  Honor watched as Finn grabbed hold of Brenna before she could fall off the tube, then planted a long kiss on her. She sighed in happiness for her sister. “They definitely are.”

  “She’s one of the lucky ones, for sure.”

  Honor looked over at Mae. “There’s someone out there for you.”

  “Oh, I’m not looking for that someone. I’m still bearing the scars after that first ‘almost.’ Never again for me, thank you.”

  Her heart hurt for Mae. It had been over a year since Isaac had blindsided her friend, and she’d backed out on the wedding only a few months before they were supposed to get married. Honor hoped Mae would eventually heal and learn to trust again. Or maybe she just needed to find the right guy who could make her believe in love.

  Of course, that would mean she’d have to go on more than one date with a man.

  Mae and Tanner went out next and did slalom skis.

  Brenna was combing through her wet hair as she stood next to Honor and watched the two. They were both in sync—and athletic, hopping over the waves as if they were nothing.

  “They’re both good at this,” Honor said.

  “Yes, they are.”

  “Maybe he’s going to be the one to help her get over Isaac.”

  Brenna shook her head. “Nah, I don’t think he’s the one.”

  Honor switched her focus to Brenna. “Why not?”

  “I don’t know. Just a feeling. She’s not ready yet, and like she said, Tanner has too many other things on his plate. She needs a man who’s going to focus all of his attention on her. She needs someone who really wants her, who has the time to shower her with love and affection, to really sweep her off her feet, you know?”

  “Hmm. You’re right about that.”

  After Mae and Tanner climbed back onto the boat, Owen turned over the steering wheel to Brenna.

  “You ready to do some tubing?”

  She nodded. “Absolutely. Unless you want to ski first. I can wait.”

  “I thought I’d go with you.”

  “Then definitely yes.”

  They got into their life jackets, then climbed into the tube together. Honor grabbed the handles, while Owen held on to one handle, using his other arm to hold on to Honor.

  “Wouldn’t wanna lose you,” he said.

  Her heart did a little tumble just as Finn started up the boat, sending them sailing across the water.

  And then her feet were flying in the air, her face was slapped with water, and it was the most exhilarated she’d felt in a long time. She kept gulping mouthfuls of water because she was laughing so hard, but she couldn’t help herself. She was having such a good time, and it didn’t hurt at all that the hottest man she knew was by her side.

  They finally slowed and when the others started to pull them toward the boat, Owen leaned over and gave her a long, hot kiss. Right there, in full view of everyone. She got lost in that kiss, leaning into him, soaking in the heat of his mouth and the feel of his body touching hers.

  “Hey, you two, get a room or take a dunk and cool off.”

  She laughed at Brenna’s voice, pulling away from Owen, who gave her a promising smile.

  “More of that later,” he said.

  By the time she climbed back into the boat, she realized it was going to take hours to get all the water out of her ears. Still, that euphoric, post-kiss feeling lingered.

  She waited for someone to mention the kiss, but no one did, which made her so happy she wanted to do a celebratory dance around the boat.

  Now if only she could get the rest of her family to realize that her being with Owen was no big deal.

  CHAPTER

  twenty-eight

  IT HAD BEEN a long, fun day out on the water, and Owen couldn’t have asked for a better first official public date with Honor. It seemed like she’d had a good time. More importantly, she’d been relaxed, and he knew that was something she needed after all the turmoil of the past couple of weeks.

  After skiing and tubing, they’d parked at a cove and everyone hung out and swam. Then they’d eaten and sat around and just talked. He only wished Erin and Jason had been there with them, but he wasn’t about to say that to Honor. It was enough that Brenna was there supporting her. That his friends were there supporting both of them. That meant more to him than anything.

  He stared out over the water and looked at Honor, her head resting on the back of the tube, her eyes shielded by her shades. She looked relaxed as she chatted with Brenna and Mae and Mae’s date, Tanner. With the sun glinting off the lake, Honor looked like a golden mermaid, her feet casually dipping in and out of the water.

  “You got it bad, friend,” Finn said, grabbing his shoulder. “You’re in love with her, then?”

  He grimaced as he screwed open the top of his bottled water. “Maybe. Probably.”

  Finn sat next to him. “And now you’re in the middle of this war between her and Erin. Yeah, you’re fucked.” Finn took a sip from his flask of whiskey.

  “Thanks, Finn. That was so helpful.”

  “Glad I could help. But seriously, you want my advice? Stay out of any argument involving the sisters. They’ll eventually work it out.”

  “Kind of hard to do that when I feel like I caused the argument in the first place.”

  Finn shrugged. “Maybe, and then again it could be part you and part somethin’ else. Who knows when they get into a row. Either way, they’ve been through big arguments before. They know how to work through it. You gettin’ in the middle of all of that will only make things worse.”

  He had a point, and it was the same thing Jason had told him.

  “You make a valid point.”

  Finn laughed. “I’ll drink to that. Now how about we get in the water and rile up our ladies?”

  “I can get into that.”

  They dove in and Owen swam over to where Honor seemed to have drifted off by herself. She seemed utterly serene. She might even be sleeping, but he couldn’t tell for sure since her sunglasses hid her eyes. All he knew was her feet had stopped flapping the water, and her arms lay still at her sides. So he crept up next to her very slowly.

  “If you dump me off this tube, I will kick your ass,” she said.

  He laughed and rested his arms on the side of the tube. “I’d be interested in seeing you try to do that.”

  She lifted her shades. “You think I can’t?”

  “As feisty as you are? I’m pretty sure you’d give me your best.”

  She slid out of the tube and went under the water, coming up on the other side so they could both hold on for balance. “Kiss me,” she said. “Since it feels so freeing to be able to say that without hiding in some corner.”

  He pulled her against him and pressed his lips to hers, pulling away just quickly enough to keep everyone from yelling at them to get a room. But it felt more like a tease, a taste of something he desperately craved and wanted to devour in its entirety.

  “Later? You and me are having some alone time.”

  Her lips curved. “Most definitely making that a priority.”

  They hung out the rest of the day and everyone had an amazing time.

  After they made their way back to the dock, Owen helped Finn pull the boat out and everyone started unpacking their things.

  “Do you want me to help you clean it up?” he asked Finn.

  Finn shook his head. “I’ll do it at the house. It’ll give Murphy a chance to cool off with the hose and water. He’ll have a blast.”

  “Okay. Thanks for being the captain of the boat today.”

  Finn laughed. “Right, like that’s a hardship.”

  They finished putting their gear into his truck, said their goodbyes, and headed off to his place.

  “That was fun,” Honor said. “I’m waterlogged and exhausted, but it was a blast. How about you?”

  “Me? I had a great time. It was good to be out with people again.”

  “I thought so, too. It was also nice to be out with you.”

  He made the turn onto the highway. Once he merged into traffic, he said, “I was wondering if you’d be disappointed we didn’t go out alone.”

  “Not at all. I think we’ve hidden out alone long enough. Today was perfect.”

  He was relieved to hear that. He’d thought that maybe a group event would make her feel more comfortable, especially if Brenna was there. He made a mental note to do it again. But first, he wanted some alone time with her.

  They stopped to pick up Bettie from the spa. The attendant said she’d had a great day. She’d gone swimming, completed the agility course, got her spa on and then played with all the other dogs and that she was likely tired out from the day.

  True to what the attendant had said, Bettie curled up on the back seat and promptly went to sleep. Once they got to the house, she looked annoyed at being woken up to go inside. She got a drink of water, went down the hall and climbed into her bed.

  “Seems like she had fun today,” Owen said.

  Honor smiled. “Good for her. It seems like a great place.”

  “Yeah, it does. I’ll have to take her back, maybe a couple of days a week or something so she can run off a bit of her energy. Though she does plenty of that here.”

  “Hey, someone has to manage the cattle.”

  He laughed. “True.”

  They took everything inside and Owen rinsed out the coolers, turning them upside down to dry in the driveway while Honor put things away in the fridge. When he came into the kitchen, she was washing some food containers.

  “You want something to drink?” he asked.

  “Just some water for me.”

  He fixed two glasses of ice water.

  “What I really need is a shower,” she said.

  “Same here.”

  She leaned against the counter, took a couple sips from her glass and slanted a heated look at him. “We could save water by showering together.”

  He set his glass down. “I’m all about the environment. Let’s go.”

  It took all the restraint he had in him not to drag her into the bedroom at breakneck speed. Instead, he took her hand and led her down the hall.

  “You’re awfully slow, ya know,” she said, pulling him along.

  He shrugged as they entered the bathroom. “I was trying not to appear too eager.”

  She slipped the straps of her cover-up down her arms, letting the dress pool at her feet. “I’m all about eager.”

  While she got out of her bikini, he turned on the shower and dropped his board shorts. He opened the door and a naked Honor stepped in. He followed, closing the door behind them.

  She moved under the spray, wetting herself down from her hair to her toes.

  “Oh, this feels good,” she said.

  He grabbed the body wash and poured some into his hand. “Step out of the spray and I’ll wash you.”

  She turned around and moved out of the water and he lathered her up, enjoying the feel of her skin against his hands. He soaped up her neck and back, letting his fingers slide over her butt cheeks before bending down to soap up her legs and feet.

  “Okay,” he said. “Turn around.”

  She did, and he soaped up the front of her, standing to do her stomach, and breasts. Of course, he lingered there. How could he not when her nipples turned to tight points of arousal, causing his dick to harden. Not that he wasn’t hard already, after having had his hands all over her.

  She rinsed, then washed her hair while he stepped into the spray to get wet. After she finished with her hair, she poured some body wash on her hands.

  “My turn,” she said, circling his back, sliding her fingers over his shoulders, down his arms and around to the front of him.

  He turned around, letting her have her way. Soap trailed down and she followed its path, but her eyes stayed locked on his as her fingers snaked over his stomach and then even lower, circling his cock.

  He sucked in a breath as she began to stroke him. Unable to just stand there, he slipped his fingers between her legs, stroking the silken wet heat of her. And then he took her mouth in a blistering hot kiss, pushing her against the wall of the shower as he slid his fingers inside her and began to pump.

  She moaned against his mouth and squeezed his cock, stroking faster, making his balls tremor with impending release.

  He was close, so close, but he wanted to go with her, and he rubbed against her clit as he moved his fingers within her, feeling her tighten.

  And then suddenly, she burst, her orgasm making her rock against him in spasms. He deepened the kiss and came in uncontrollable spurts that left him dizzy and holding on to the wall for support.

  He gentled the kiss, giving her small nips across her lips, her response little mmms.

  “Yeah,” he said. “Now I’m hot.”

  “You were hot before.”

  He laughed. They finished rinsing and he shut the water off. They towel-dried and then Honor disappeared from the bathroom. When he walked out to the bedroom, she was sitting naked on his bed, brushing out her wet hair.

  “I hope you weren’t planning to get rid of me,” she said. “Because I’m staying the night.”

  He flipped the light off in the bathroom and walked toward her. “I’ve already gone too long without you.” He climbed onto the bed, took the brush from her hand, and moved behind her, using it to gently brush through her hair.

  “That feels good. I don’t think anyone other than my mother has ever brushed my hair before.”

  “Not even your sisters?”

  “Oh, God, no. They tried when we played make-believe, but they’d tug and pull and it hurt, so that was the end of that.”

  He smoothed his hand down the back of her head, swept her hair to the side and kissed the nape of her neck. “Aww. You poor baby.”

  “I was. Being the youngest sucked.”

  “Being an only child, I can’t relate. But I can imagine it wasn’t fun being picked on like that.”

  “No, it wasn’t. Oh, that feels good.”

  He’d laid the brush to the side and had started kissing her neck, moving to her shoulders. She twisted around and scooted back onto the mattress, reaching for him.

  Then it was lips and tongues and his body covering hers, and a wild, untamed hunger for her that, for some reason, he could never seem to quench. Being apart from her the past couple of weeks only made the need for her that much more intense.

  He ran his hands over her body, teased her nipples, following up with his mouth, the feel of her skin like the softest silk. He kissed her, licked her, tasting her body from her rib cage and down her belly to her sex.

  She responded with moans and arches, telling him her need was just as great as his. He moved up her body and reached over to grab a condom. He quickly put it on, then lifted her leg over his hip and slid inside her, absorbing her gasp with his mouth.

  She pushed on his shoulder and he rolled over, letting her ride on top.

  Oh, hell yeah. The view of her on top of him, her hair all wild and damp, her nipples tight with desire, was his fantasy. The feel of her surrounding him, squeezing him, felt so damn good as she rocked against him and he wanted this woman every damn day and night until he died a happy man.

  She rolled forward, then back, taking things slow, making him tense underneath her, feeling that swirl of orgasm just within his reach. And then she lengthened herself on top of him, squeezing his cock between her legs until he thought he might die from that pleasure.