"You know what? I think he's right," I said as I forced a smile. "I think that I'm going to go put it in the box. It's in the guest room, right?"

  Mick nodded, still busy with the coffee. I turned and headed towards the bedroom, more than happy to slip the ring from my finger when inside. In fact, I had a good mind to fling the ring across the room. Unfortunately, when I'd sold all of my things, I hadn't rid myself of my love for expensive luxuries. I frowned down at the shiny diamond, hoping the recognition of my weakness didn't make me a bad person.

  I had no more placed the ring back into the velvet box when I heard the door creek open behind me. "Griff," I said, a surprised greeting slipping from my lips. He had me on the other side of the room up against a vacant wall so quickly it made my head spin. Bringing a hand to my neck, he cupped it roughly as he tilted my head to the side, devouring my lips with his. His tongue made its way into my mouth hungrily searching, taking what it wanted…what we both wanted. My fingers wound into his hair, gripping his scalp as my tongue furiously sought to convey the things that I didn't have time to say.

  I pushed him backwards, the back of his knees hitting the bed before his backside hit the mattress. My fingers framed either side of his face, sliding behind his ears to direct his face upwards towards mine. I dipped my head low, capturing his lips again with my own.

  His hand snaked up my back, the pressure from his fingers leaving searing paths. I worked to straddle him, trying to settle my knees onto the bed without an inordinate amount of squeaking on the old bed's part. Not an easy task to do.

  There was a bang in the kitchen, catching us both off guard.

  "We need to talk," he mumbled, his voice so thick it sent chills down my spine.

  I nodded, my lips brushing over his with the action. His hands slid down to my butt, palming both cheeks in his hands possessively.

  "Of course," I agreed breathlessly.

  He placed another chaste kiss on my lips, this time more tender than the last, taking his time to nibble each corner before eventually dipping his tongue back inside. I could kiss his sweet mouth all day, and I knew the ends to which I would go to be able to do that were limitless. It was a very scary thought.

  "Not here, not now," he mumbled as he stole another kiss. "But soon." He leaned forward, placing a kiss beneath my ear. "I won't have him touching you. No damned diamond can keep you from me."

  The words curled around my spine as he untangled himself from me and stepped out into the hallway.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I lie on a raft floating across the lake's surface in a borrowed bathing suit, soaking up the Tennessee sun. My own little slice of Heaven, created specifically for me. The sounds of the grill sizzling in the distance and Hannah's squeals as she jumped from the pier met my ears. The smell of burgers tickled my nose, creating a happy anticipation as my stomach waited patiently for their completion. There wasn't a single thing that I wanted more in the moment than the peace and tranquility that I was being afforded.

  I was finally able to think. No way in hell was Mick getting away with his latest charade. I couldn't allow it to ruin the one good thing emotionally that I had working in my favor in…forever. I just needed to figure out why.

  Why would Mick do this? Golden Boy turned Nashville's notorious Bad Boy? He had been given the crown and certainly had no problem playing the role. He seemed to enjoy it, actually. So, none of his actions made sense. You couldn't expect to keep that type of crown when your whole allure stemmed from your heart's availability, which he'd just given away to me. Nashville embraced a good playboy, but the city still expected their married men to be faithful.

  What gives?

  Jealousy. The only answer that I'd been able to come up with since floating out to the center of the lake, jumped to the forefront of my mind. But even with jealousy as a motivator, he'd have to have some clue about mine and Griff's attraction, and we'd been pretty subtle about it. Or, at least, I thought we had.

  No matter how much I turned the situation over in my head, the scenarios didn't compute. There were pieces that fit into place, but never made up the entire puzzle.

  "Penny for your thoughts," Mick said, inserting himself into my thoughts even further.

  I did my best not to act surprised, certain that every wrestled demon was shamefully written on my face. "Surely due to recent mass inflation, thoughts are worth a little more than that." I still wasn't sure whether I wanted to forgive Mick or not, so my tone conveyed a little more irritation than was probably necessary.

  He paused as if to seriously ponder my statement before producing a blasé shrug. If he'd caught my tone, he didn't acknowledge it. Maybe he expected it. "Some aren't worth that."

  "Right you are," I agreed.

  Mick maneuvered himself over his raft until he straddled the center, the front and the back end sticking out of the water making a 'U'. I fought the urge to tell him there might be a snake in the water, a fear that I'd been trying to ignore throughout the day, but thought better of it. If the snake wanted to bite him, he deserved it.

  "Everything okay?" he questioned.

  How could he sound so genuine at trivial moments and so very insincere during pivotal ones? He was an enigma. But then again, so was his brother. Mick was more of your typical male though, what I was used to - all rough and ready to tumble with a splash of concern sprinkled on top for an element of surprise. Most women would kill for an opportunity to be alone with the man floating beside me. Most women hadn't had their dreams dashed because of an immature joke done admittedly out of ignorant spontaneity either.

  "Mick, I'm an unwanted guest at a family's house that I hardly know-" And you've lied to the whole world about a relationship that doesn't exit. Oh, and also, I think I'm in love with your brother.

  "Who says you're an unwanted guest?" he questioned, cutting in.

  "Mick, no one has to say it. It's how I feel," I pointed out.

  "Maybe Griff's made you feel unwelcome," he countered, "but I don't suppose a woman like you typically cares. Which brings up the more important question," he began, bringing his raft alongside mine. "What are your feelings towards him?"

  To lie or tell the truth? Which would Gruff want me to do? Which did I want to do? "Griff and I hardly know each other," I admitted. Not an outright lie. I noticed Mick's eyes had landed on pieces of skin that the bathing suit had shifted from, making me uncomfortable. I readjusted my position on the raft to mirror his, hugging the front part of the plastic to my breasts. "Just like I barely know you."

  "But the idea is to get to know me," he countered grinning, the idea of the statement obviously one that he liked.

  "No, the idea was to make a little extra money on your tour so that I could continue chasing this dream of mine," I defended, biting back shots of anger.

  I shifted uncomfortably on the raft, the thought of the snake's return not far from my mind while contemplating my directness. Maybe my reaction had been a little harsh considering his statement had been so candid. For whatever reason, his attempts to persuade me of his sincerity seemed genuine. And from the look on his face, he seemed nothing short of determined.

  Mick was a man who didn't often fail at getting what he wanted and, as I was already beginning to see, I was that current object. How much of that stemmed from the fact that he had clued into his brother's interest in me and how much of it was pure interest on his part, still remained to be revealed.

  "So you can't chase your dream while being pursued?"

  I didn't like the look that crept into his eyes. I was a challenge. One that he wasn't likely to give up on. Normally, I appreciated a good challenge, but right now, the idea seemed callous and proved that he didn't understand the gravity of his actions. Just because he’d decided to get to know me better, it didn’t erase the heartless acts that he’d committed against me.

  “I’m not interested in being pursued, Mick,” I fired back, knowing that the statement was a half-truth. The true statement would have contained the words ‘by you’ instead of his name. Because I was interested in being pursued. Very much so. By Griff.

  “You will be,” he countered.

  I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I wouldn’t be interested, ever. Mick was the furthest thing from what I wanted out of a mate and because so often my urges and impulses were completely at random, in that moment, I realized that I needed something serious or nothing at all.

  “Mick-“

  “Now, Kennedy, I don’t want to hear it,” he said cutting me off. “I know I’ve made quite a few mistakes where you’re concerned, but I’m interested and I intend on proving that to you.”

  I sat in silence, reluctant to respond. Every part of me wanted to be honest. Honesty was what I did, what I was good at. But would my admission help or hurt the situation? Would it pose an even bigger threat to mine and Griff’s yet-to-be-determined relationship? The truth was, I didn’t know for sure and because I didn’t and I so desperately wanted to protect this thing that made me feel so good, I gave a forced smile instead.

  Distance would work in my favor. He’d be gone, swept away on the tour that I was supposed to be on, and while the thought of my stolen opportunity sprang to mind making me curse the situation for the hundredth time, I knew that his absence would provide me with some time so that I could figure things out. It had to.

  “I think the burgers are ready,” I said, noticing a familiar look creep onto his face. Christ on a cracker. He was thinking about kissing me.

  “Come here,” he said softly.

  My feet started kicking beneath me, a ridiculous attempt to escape his advances. Instead of creating distance, my raft had somehow crashed into his, hurling my flailing body into his chest. His arms swept around me, trapping me into an unwanted embrace, our limbs tangling together. I flapped my arms to regain balance, hoping that the action would somehow transport me from his raft back to my own.

  It didn’t.

  Instead, my pointless flailing had landed me in too-close-for-comfort territory – cradled in his arms like a baby with his mouth already in route to mine. I tried to move my lips to say something, anything, but only managed an inaudible squelch. He locked his arms around me tighter, creating a Kennedy deathtrap of sorts. As I attempted to calculate a way out of this predicament without being attacked by Anaconda, his lips smashed onto mine. My body froze into place as I realized my defeat. Oh shit, oh shit. He pried open my lips with his tongue using some sort of celebrity tongue magic, as it began a hungry search within the confines of my mouth.

  Wanting desperately to escape his assault, in the moment, I could formulate few options beyond biting his tongue off. I couldn’t possibly take away his career because he’d attacked me with a lustful mouth. Could I? I turned to prayer instead, calling on a natural disaster. The odds of a hurricane hitting Tennessee were as small as a title wave hitting Oklahoma. But given the amount of time, it was the first natural disaster that came to mind. Well, besides this one.

  “Look Uncle Griff, Uncle Mick and Kennedy are kissing,” Hannah squealed from across the lake.

  My back stiffened, her words pouring life back into my hands. I clawed at water and air and flesh like an escapee from a psych ward. The actions served to free me from Mick, but it had sent me sprawling into the lake face-first. Not entirely what I’d been hoping for. As I resurfaced, sputtering and gasping for air, my eyes immediately sought to find Griff. Even from this distance, I could see the disapproving, death-by-mean-glare look that he was shooting towards us.

  Great. Just freaking great.

  “You okay?” I heard Mick chuckle from beside me.

  I glared over at him, wiping my eyes free of the water streaking down my forehead. “Do I look like I’m okay?” I grumbled, earning another chuckle.

  “Sugar, I’m learning very quickly that you can be as mean and as hardheaded as a rattle snake.”

  Snake! The comment reminded me of the murderous reptile, sending me swimming towards the pier. I reached the ladder in record time. Michael Phelps eat my dust. Wracked with fear and adrenaline, my body shook so badly that I caught my foot on the last rung - face, arms and legs all being catapulted onto the wooden dock. While I nursed a probable split lip, my tongue going there to assess the damage, Hannah plopped her backside down next to me.

  “Kennedy, do you liiike my Uncle Mick?” she questioned, dragging out her words in a singsong fashion.

  Griff released a frustrated growl from beside us, my eyes searching out his in an effort to convey a silent apology. I found only a cool, hard stare that left little to the imagination about his thoughts on the situation.

  “I hope so,” Mick said, climbing up the steps much more gracefully than I had.

  “I believe Hannah asked Kennedy the question, not you,” Griff pointed out, his voice expertly harnessing his animosity.

  Could this get any worse? Probably not, and judging by the look that Mick was now shooting Griff, my fears were solidified.

  I responded to Hannah’s question with a small smile, squeezing her tiny shoulder as an added gesture. “I know one thing,” I said, “I like you.”

  She grinned, my answer enough to deter her for the time being. I picked myself up off the pier and headed towards Sutter and the smell of burgers.

  The rest of the evening ticked by uneventfully, the conversations filled with recalled memories that I hadn’t been present for and inside jokes that I’d never understand. I’d done my best to find a spot next to Griff throughout the evening, as if me sitting beside him would convey some sort of loyalty, but it didn’t help much. Mick’s presence and the events that had transpired since his arrival had sent Griff’s mood back into the deep, his mind retreating to that place of darkness.

  I felt awkward and alone, and the more they shared their stories, the less I felt a part of them. I didn’t belong here, wasn’t worthy of the camaraderie that they shared. Even as much as Griff and Mick hated each other, they’d dip in and out of conversation about their childhood leisurely. There was a relaxed comfortability in those discussions. Life before their twenties seemed to be their safe zone.

  The one thing that stood out above all the rest, was the thing that made me most uncomfortable. They were a family. However complicated those relationships might be, they were a unit nonetheless, bound together by blood, by a lifetime of stories and memories. I was merely a bystander of the moment, a blip on their life radar. In a few weeks, months maybe, I’d be nothing more than an occasional brought up conversation. ‘Remember that girl?’ one of them would ask. ‘Which one?’ the other would say.

  The thought didn’t sit well with me. It was like a punch in the gut, a reminder of the family unit that I didn’t have but had always wanted. What I had was a mom who’d passed away on me and an absent father. Kole and Trent were my only family. I had never felt the closeness to Irene’ and Selene, our live-in housekeeper and her daughter, that Kole had. Sure they were a part of my life, but just a very distant extension of it.

  There was an irony in Kole beating me to the relationship finish line. Because my knowledge of dating, flirting and men had always been assets that equaled her career successes, I’d foolishly envisioned finding a life partner before her. And although I didn’t necessarily believe in the idea of love, I’d assumed that Kole would always remain the single, emotionally complicated one and I’d be forging through life, breaking one heart at a time.

  I had dated casually and often with little regard to my actions or where they’d leave me, doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted because it felt right, because living in the moment felt so much better than the suffocation I was sure playing it safe would bring me.

  Who’s the dummy now? Definitely me. My logic had gotten me nowhere. Whatever thrills living carelessly had brought me in the past, it did little to help me in the present. My shoot-from-the-hip mentality had just landed me smack-dab in the middle of Shitville.

  Mapquest couldn’t navigate me out of this mess.

  “Do you have to leave tomorrow?” Hannah drawled, sadness gathering into the depths of her baby blues. “Can’t you just stay here forever?”

  Mick held her in his arms, reluctant to let her go. His affections towards his niece were very different now than they’d been in the condo a few weeks prior. Maybe the night’s conversations had reminded him of the importance of family. Whatever the case, he didn’t want to say goodbye. You could see that written plainly on his face.

  I frowned. I could relate. My aversions to saying goodbye – or better yet, being said goodbye to – played a large part in my reasons for not allowing people to get close. Saying goodbye to my mother had been the hardest thing that I’d ever had to do, and I’d made a vow during her funeral to shield myself from that kind of hurt and pain in the future. I couldn’t stop someone from dying, but by keeping my suitors at arm’s length, I could save myself some emotional heartache.

  Maybe there were parts of me that were more like my sister than I cared to admit.

  While Kole seemed to think blocking everyone out entirely was the way to guarding herself from others, I’d willingly let people in, but never let them close. I allowed myself to fall in and out of lust, giving in to crushes, enjoying the ride while making sure to bail just before it got scary. What a pathetic façade.

  “Hannah, you know I want to,” he said soothingly while placing a kiss onto her forehead. He tucked her head underneath his chin, giving her a reassuring squeeze. “But I can’t because it’s part of the job. I’ll be back soon, okay?”

  She smiled, but it was out of necessity, to convince herself that his solution was enough. She loved her Uncle’s.

  I loved her family…and one of her Uncle’s too. The thought nearly knocked me off of my lounge chair, my mind slamming into a brick wall.

  “Hannah, come on now. Uncle Mick has to go and get some sleep. He’s got an early flight tomorrow,” Sutter said. She made her way to Mick, prying Hannah from his arms, the little girl bursting into tears as Sutter did her best to soothe her.