“You don’t think I’m falling for that, do you? Just because you did as a kid, doesn’t mean I do now as an adult.”

  Jarrett laughed. His brother had more patience than the rest of them and could easily wait it out. Normally he didn’t care, but he did want to know what might have been said around the island.

  Couldn’t be too much if his mother didn’t know.

  “I might have heard something interesting the other day. I didn’t think much of it, but now I’m starting to.”

  “Are you going to share what you heard or are we going to gossip like chicks all night long?”

  “Speaking of chicks...have you been spending time with one?”

  “I guess we are going to be little women after all,” Alex said, taking a healthy sip of his beer. “If I brought out the pillows to have a fight, I’m sure you’d complain they were dirty.”

  “Most likely they are. You might want to wash your bedding and all before you bring someone here.”

  “Don’t be a dick. If I plan on having anyone over, I clean. I don’t know of any woman complaining. Not everyone has to be a neat freak like you.”

  “I like things tidy. Obviously you don’t if you’re barking up the tree I think you are.”

  “What does that mean?” he asked.

  “Dude, I know Griffin better than you. I’ve had a lot more dealings.”

  Shit. His brother knew. “What have you heard about Jennie and me?”

  Jarrett grinned at him. “That you were talking together at the hardware store.”

  “That’s it?” he asked.

  “You’re so easy. And the fact you are so easy tells me that there is definitely something going on. Normally you don’t fall that fast. Is this like some secret or something?”

  “I don’t think so. We haven’t gotten that far yet. We ran into each other at the hardware store. We talked. I went back and helped her paint in her house.”

  “Good move,” Jarrett said. “Sliding in that way and helping her.”

  “If you knew her, you’d know that isn’t easy. She doesn’t want help from anyone. Least of all her older brother.”

  “I can only imagine what it’s like having Griffin as an older brother,” Jarrett said. “Did you help her paint because you felt bad that she got hurt?”

  “She’s fine,” he said. “We spent the day together yesterday in Plymouth and I’m going to dinner tomorrow night.”

  “Two dates in a week with the same woman. Is this a record for you?”

  “Don’t be a dick,” he said. “You just got done making a comment about Griffin. Do you think I’d mess with his sister?”

  “Sorry, dude,” Jarrett said. “I’m only busting on you too. I know you’re not as bad as everyone says. Your eyes don’t wander from one woman to the next. You don’t tend to date much.”

  “I can’t find a woman I want to enough. Maybe I’ve been ready for a while to settle down and it hasn’t happened.”

  Jarrett started to laugh but stopped when he noticed Alex’s straight face. “Okay. I get it. I won’t say anything for now, but if I found out this fast, Mom is going to. Along with Griffin, if he doesn’t know already.”

  “That is for Jennie to deal with,” he said. “Not me.”

  “If you wanted to grow up and settle down then you’d know it’s for you both to deal with and not her alone,” Jarrett said.

  “I’ll live my life and you can live yours,” he said.

  12

  Your Rules

  “Does your brother know I’m here?” Alex said when he walked in Jennie’s door the next night.

  “What?” she asked. Here she’d been waiting all day for Alex to show up and those were the first words out of his mouth.

  “Griffin. Does he know I’m here?”

  “I didn’t tell him,” she said. “I don’t normally inform my brother of anything going on in my life. I haven’t in years and don’t plan on it now. I’m an adult and don’t need his approval.”

  Her arms were crossed at this point. How dare he think she needed someone to watch out for her. If he was going to be this way, he could turn around and walk right back out.

  She was going to tell him that too, but he walked closer and uncrossed her arms and laid his lips to hers. He started out slow and then deepened it to the point that she lost not only her anger but her train of thought.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered against her lips. “I’m not a controlling person. And as you’ve pointed out, you’ve had to deal with that in your life before. You’ve made your point that you can stand on your own two feet. Maybe I should have phrased my question differently.”

  “I’m not sure why you asked at all,” she said, moving back.

  He took his jacket off and hung it on the peg by the door, then slipped his sneakers off too. She tried not to laugh at the crazy multiple color socks he had on. She would have never imagined that.

  “What’s so funny? I can see it in your eyes.”

  “Your socks.”

  “Freedom of expression,” he said. “It’s not like they match my underwear.”

  She just hummed in her throat. No way she was asking what kind of underwear he had on, let alone the color. Though she wanted to know, it was too early.

  “We’ll leave that topic for another night.”

  He laughed at her. “I figured as much. So let me start over. I had dinner at my parents’ yesterday with my brothers. Jarrett came over for a beer after and started to ride my ass about being seen with a woman.”

  “Who is this woman?” she asked. “I thought we had this discussion already.”

  He tapped her on the nose. “You. Someone in the hardware store mentioned I was talking to you. They didn’t know you. They knew me. But my brother being the dick that he is, made a comment about me barking up the wrong tree with Griffin. I slipped and asked how he knew about me and you and he said it was a good guess.”

  “And what does that mean, barking up the wrong tree with Griffin?” she asked, crossing her arms again. Good lord, she was over men and she was barely getting to know this one.

  “Relax,” he said. “I’m not afraid of your brother though there are many on this island that are.”

  “No reason to be,” she said. “I don’t answer to him. He knows it.”

  “As you’ve said before,” he said.

  In her eyes her brother lost that right to tell her what to do or give her any advice years ago when he walked away and didn’t try to find her.

  Yep, she was trying to forgive him. And she was getting there. They both had major trust issues and demons in their lives. She got it. She even understood.

  But understanding and allowing him to treat her like a kid were two different things.

  She wasn’t that kid anymore and she was making sure he knew that.

  “Then why did you ask if Griffin knew?”

  “I didn’t know where we were going with this,” he said. “It’s our second date if we don’t count the painting of your house. If we do, then it’s the third.”

  “Which isn’t a sign to sleep with you,” she said, smirking at him.

  He winked. “I didn’t say it was. My point was, I’m not one for keeping secrets and on this island you can’t. People have already seen us out just talking at the hardware store. Unless we always want to spend time at each other’s house, more people will see us out. You work for my cousins. Everyone knows everyone else here.”

  “Not many know me,” she said.

  “But they might know me,” he said.

  And she knew that. They might not know Griffin was her brother, but since Griffin was so close with Eli and his family, and other Bond family members, by marriage Griffin was going to be related to Alex too. Yeah, no way to hide this.

  “Penelope was picking on me yesterday about meeting someone. She said I needed to get out and then guessed I wasn’t alone on my day off.”

  “What did she say?”

  There was no way she was bringing up how Penelope asked if the person Jennie had been with had a penis. She was positive Alex knew how Penelope was.

  “She guessed like your brother but not who. I didn’t say. She asked if it was a secret and I said no, but since it was new, there was no reason to name names.”

  “Fair point,” he said.

  “That doesn’t bother you?” she asked.

  “No. It’s new, but I don’t see it being short. Or I’m not planning that. Remember, you told me your rules. I know where I stand.”

  She grinned. “I like where you’re standing. I like how you’re looking too.”

  “Do you now?” he asked.

  “Your hair is a little windblown. Sexy,” she said. “Very sexy. You’ve got a fitted shirt on and I think you did it on purpose knowing that I’ve been looking at your biceps.”

  She watched as he flexed them a little in his shirt and then laughed. “It could be all my shirts fit like this.”

  “Something tells me that is probably the case. You’d know women would like it.”

  “All I care about is if you like it.”

  Her heart raced with those words. “I’m weak when I never thought I’d be. So the answer would be yes. But rather than go down that road, why don’t you come in and have something to drink and I’ll get the steaks going.”

  “We’re having steak?” he asked.

  “It’s fast and easy and I didn’t know when you’d be out of work. I figured you for a meat and potato kind of guy.”

  “I’ll eat anything I don’t have to cook,” he said.

  She moved to the fridge and got him a beer and handed it over. “Then you can sit at the small table and talk to me while I cook. It won’t be long.”

  “I do appreciate you cooking for me,” he said. “I wouldn’t have minded going out.”

  “And you thought because I offered to cook for you here that I didn’t want people to see us?”

  “Not really,” he said. “None of that crossed my mind until Jarrett started talking.”

  “Then don’t worry about it. I’ll let you know when my family knows so you aren’t in the dark. I’m going to Penelope’s tomorrow to talk about the wedding. I don’t like to lie, but don’t plan on saying much either.”

  “You can’t promise anything with Penelope,” he said. “She’s a wildcard and might get it out of you.”

  “I’m learning,” she said. “It won’t bother you if they know?”

  “No,” he said. “I’ll leave it up to you. As you said, this is new.”

  “But not what you want to be short,” she said. She pulled the cast iron skillet out and put it on the stove. “I made potato salad. That’s the potato part of the meal. We only have to wait for the steak to cook and that won’t take long.”

  “Potato salad sounds great,” he said. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

  “Nope,” she said. “Just keep me company.”

  She cooked their steaks on the stove, basting it in butter, then popping it in the oven to finish.

  The plates were pulled down and Alex got up and took them from her hands. “I’m good at setting the table. I did that a lot growing up.”

  She smiled and gave him a quick kiss. “I never had big family meals with anyone. In foster care we had chores, setting the table among other things, but I never considered that family.”

  “It was horrible, wasn’t it?” he asked.

  It was the first time someone said that to her. Didn’t ask how bad it was. But just made a statement. “It wasn’t great,” she said.

  “Were you always in the same home or did you move around a lot?” he asked. “We don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to.”

  “It’s fine. It’s not a secret. As I said, I don’t keep them.” At least she tried not to. Just because she didn’t want to volunteer things didn’t mean it was a secret though.

  “Okay. Well, if you want to talk about it, you can. If not, we can talk about something else.”

  She turned to look at him and leaned on the counter. “I was in four different homes. You get moved around for a lot of reasons. Sometimes it was me, but most times it was the parents. They wanted to switch things up or not get attached. You name it, it happens. As a kid in the system, your feelings, wants, or needs are never taken into consideration.”

  “Some of those homes weren’t the best, were they?”

  “No,” she said. No reason to say more.

  “But you said the last one helped you with college? Or encouraged you?”

  “They did,” she said. “They were the best, but I was there less than two years. It all worked out. I told myself that maybe I’d try to give back and be a foster parent someday.”

  “I could see you doing that,” he said.

  “Could you?” she said. “I’m not in the position to do it now. Not everyone wants to either. I feel like so much happened to me that I don’t want to see happen to others. Many had it worse. It’s the emotional toll it takes. Griffin wasn’t in a home long enough.”

  “Until he graduated, right?”

  “No,” she said. “He turned eighteen before graduation and was on his own.”

  “What?” he asked.

  “That is what happens. He’s told me recently that he couch surfed or found places to sleep, clean up and so on. He had a job and money for food.”

  “He was on the streets?” he asked.

  “For a short period of time. Until he went into the service. So yeah, neither of us had it that great and I’ve got to remember that too.”

  Her brother had his pride. He’d made a promise to her and she’d wanted him to keep it, but he couldn’t when he couldn’t care for himself.

  She knew her biggest issue was that when he finally got his life in order, he didn’t come find her. Not to take care of her. But to talk to her. To hold her. To be there for her.

  He was making up for that now and she was trying to move past the hurt, but damn, it was hard.

  13

  Slightly Jealous

  “There is Alexa slash Zandra,” Jennie said when she walked into Penelope’s house the next morning. Penelope’s sister, Emily Ackley, and their mother, Sophia Rauch, were at the table. “How is my niece doing today?” She walked over and kissed the baby on the forehead where she was sitting in her bouncy seat.

  “You do realize you’re confusing Alexandra by having her called by different names all the time,” Sophia said to Penelope.

  “You’re the only one calling her Alexandra,” Penelope said to her mother. “Everyone else calls her Zandra with the exception of people with the last name of Zale.”

  Jennie laughed. “I call her both. I don’t want to take sides.”

  “There is already an Alex in the family,” Penelope said. “No reason to have confusion there too.”

  Jennie dipped her head down and then walked to the kitchen to get a bottle of water.

  “Because so many people are going to confuse a newborn and a fireman,” Emily said, laughing.

  Jennie came back with her water and decided to change the subject. No reason to bring attention to herself. “How are you feeling, Emily?”

  “I feel great,” Emily said, her hand on her belly. She was having twins in September, so a ways to go and no sex on the babies yet. She also knew that Drew’s wife was having a baby in a few weeks. She liked Amanda. Alex had said Mac and Sidney were going to have the first grandchild in his family in August. Hunter Bond and his wife, Kayla, were expecting their second son in July.

  She found it funny that Amanda, Kayla and Sidney were all best friends and had married Bonds and had babies coming within months of each other.

  She’d never had that relationship with anyone in her life. Ever.

  She’d been a loner in foster care and wanted it that way. Never knowing how long she’d be staying somewhere was enough for her to just keep to herself and get through the best she could. Or so she learned after the first year when her temper got the better of her around other kids that wanted to start problems.

  She had her notebooks and letters she wrote to Griffin that she’d never mailed. She never would. In her mind it was almost like talking to him to give her some peace. To get her through the heartache and the pain.

  Now those notebooks were in her dresser under her bras. She’d been joking when she’d told Griffin she didn’t need him touching her clothes, but she also didn’t want anyone to know her private thoughts either.

  “It’s babies for the Bonds,” she said. “Crazy how it’s all happening at once.”

  “When you have this many relationships and marriages happening at the same time, babies are the next step,” Sophia said. “Or in Penelope’s case, the baby came first.”

  “Griffin has some mighty strong swimmers,” Penelope said. “You should take it up with him. My mother told me to always protect myself and I did.”

  She laughed at the wink Penelope sent her mother’s way. “You’ll never change, Penelope,” Emily said. “Let’s get to the good part. The wedding isn’t that far away. We all have our dresses set?”

  “Mine is,” Jennie said. She hadn’t gone for the fitting. It was only her and Emily in the wedding. Emily picked out the dress she wanted and Jennie found one in the catalog and got measured here on the island at a boutique that would do alterations. But she’d picked a dress that wouldn’t need any and had done that on purpose.

  It was clingy and stretchy to her body, fit her well without being tight and then flowed to the floor. It was the most she’d ever spent on an article of clothing in her life.

  Of course Griffin wanted to pay for it and she told him to cut it out. It wasn’t that bad. And it was for her brother’s wedding.

  She’d be paired up with Crew, since Emily was the maid of honor and Eli the best man. That worked for her. Eli made her uncomfortable even though she found him hilarious.

  Her brother’s best friend managed to bring the best out of Griffin—a side she wasn’t sure he’d ever had—and was slightly jealous that she didn’t get to see it until this point in her life.