The doorbell had caught Sienna by surprise. Nash had pulled his gun and Sophie had quietly slipped her hand to the small of her back as she went with Nash to open the door. A deliveryman stood holding a massive bouquet of red roses.
“Sienna Ashton?”
Sienna had stood and signed for the delivery, her friends clustered around while she read the card. A rose for every year I have loved you.
“There are twenty-eight roses here.” Sophie smiled.
“That’s sweet.” Riley sighed.
“I want someone to send me flowers,” Reagan grumbled as she took another sip of wine.
“Maybe you should stop gloating every time you beat them, and maybe you’ll get flowers from a guy once in a while,” Piper teased.
Fifteen minutes later Sienna found herself signing for another package. She ripped open the wrapping paper and found a two-pound box of chocolates with a note attached. To eat while discussing how stupid men are with my cousins, the traitors.
“Traitors,” Layne laughed as each girl grabbed a piece of chocolate.
“When will he ever learn we women have to stick together? Isn’t that right, Nash?” Reagan asked, biting into a creamy melt-in-your-mouth truffle.
Nash just smiled and kept leaning against the wall with his muscled arms crossed over his broad chest.
Sienna sat back and let the conversation surround her. Ryan loved her. He admitted he had been stupid. Should she forgive him? Or the better question was, would he do this again? If he believed in her, it should never have come up. She didn’t know what was worse, having love outside her grasp all these years or being loved, but not unconditionally.
The doorbell rang again, and Hooch finally lifted his head. Nash pushed himself from the wall and headed for the door. Sophie stood between Sienna and the door.
“Who are you?” Nash asked in a not-so-friendly tone and the room went quiet.
“I’m Sienna’s date, Seth. Who are you?”
Annoyance filled Sienna. But Sophie kept her view of Seth blocked.
“I think you got the wrong night. And I’m pretty sure you’re the wrong guy,” Sophie said with her arms crossed.
“Who’s that?” Piper whispered.
Sienna leaned forward. “I dated him before Ryan got into town. He’s a sports agent.”
“Do you still want to date him?” Riley asked.
Sienna shook her head in the negative.
“Is this the guy? You know, the one who Ryan went all caveman about?” Reagan whispered.
Sienna nodded her head in the affirmative.
“Look, I’d like to see Sienna. We have a date. I’m her boyfriend, and you still haven’t told me who you are.” Seth tried to push past Nash, but in a split-second ended up on his butt on the porch.
“Wait here.” Nash closed the door and turned to Sienna. “What do you want me to do, Sienna? Is it Ryan or this guy?”
Sienna looked between the cards in her lap and the door. “Ryan. It will always be Ryan.”
Nash opened the door. Sienna stood to tell Seth herself, but Nash spoke first. “She doesn’t want to see you.”
He went to close the door, and Seth shot his hand out. Sienna hurried forward. Nash’s whole body had done the opposite of what she had expected. She had expected him to tense, but instead he had relaxed and a slow smile spread over his face. A smile that sent shivers down her back.
“I got this, Nash,” Sienna called out and pushed forward with all of her girlfriends standing behind her. She heard Hooch growling from the living room. The thought that her big lump of a dog would move off the couch and do anything was laughable.
Nash didn’t budge from his spot at the door.
“Down boy, woof,” Seth barked with a cocky grin on his face.
Nash just smiled as the group sucked in air. Seth took a step back and his smile faltered. Sienna pushed past Nash onto the porch.
“That’s no way to talk to a friend of mine.” She was furious. How had she not noticed how arrogant he was?
“Relax. It was a joke. Sienna, what’s going on? Some neighbor boy comes home, and suddenly what we had is gone? I can’t even come over without being accosted.” Seth's eyes darted at Nash.
“My friends are only worried about me because of what happened to Malik and Jaylen. Aren’t you worried?” Sienna asked.
Seth put on puppy dog eyes, and Sienna felt as if she were seeing him clearly for the first time. Everything was an act.
“It’s horrible what’s happened, but it doesn’t affect us.”
“You’re their agent. It affects you greatly,” Sienna pointed out. How could he be so cold about the murder of a longtime client?
“What affects me is the way you’re acting. Stop playing hard to get. I know women like to make men jealous, but, babe, in the end I always win. Look at me; this is a five-hundred-dollar shirt. I drive a Bentley. I have a house in the Hamptons, condos in L.A. and New York, and a beach house in Miami. Guys like me always get the girl.”
Reagan snorted. “He’s a guy with a banged-up Bentley.”
Seth stiffened and in his righteous indignation didn’t pay attention to the expensive sleek SUV pulling to a stop behind him. The doors opened as Zain, Gabe, and Ryan stepped out. Sienna wanted to scream. Could there be any worse timing?
Seth’s nostrils flared. “My car is worth more than that man will make in ten years. I know it’s hard for you country girls to understand how much money I’m worth, but trust me, it’s enough to keep you very well.”
“Keep me?” Sienna’s temper flared. “That’s all you want, isn’t it? Some woman to keep like a pet. Dress her up and parade her around all your friends. Well, I’m not that girl, and I don’t give a shit about your car or your money.”
“You will care when you’re stuck on a government salary because you’re unemployable. I’m very powerful, and I’ll have you fired from every sports team you can imagine.”
“First, she’ll have love, and that’ll keep her warm at night,” Ryan said from behind Seth.
Seth’s eyes rolled. “You’re like her watchdog. It’s pathetic. When she tells you to jump, will you do it?”
“Among other things that I’ll be doing for her,” Ryan smiled, “and to her.”
“T-M-I,” Sophie groaned.
Sienna felt the situation deteriorating and stepped forward, getting Seth’s attention again. “Seth, you’re a fun guy, and someday you’ll find someone who is interested in being a trophy for you. But I’m not her.”
Seth turned red, and his whole body tensed. “No one says no to me.”
“Are you threatening her?” Ryan asked. He came to stand behind Seth, making him choose between looking at him or her.
“I don’t have to resort to threats. I’ll just have her fired. Her father is only the minority owner after all.” Seth shot her a triumphant grin. “I’ll talk to the other owners, and you’ll be sorry you didn’t take what I offered.”
“Oh, you want to talk to the majority owner, do you?” Zain asked casually even though his dark brown eyes had turned almost black in controlled anger.
“I’m so tired of all this hired help butting in,” Seth complained. “I’m leaving. This is your last chance. Come with me, and I’ll forget about this momentary lapse of yours.”
Sienna stood with her arms crossed. “I’ll never go with you.”
“Then don’t bother showing up at work tomorrow,” Seth spat as he turned away from her.
Ryan stepped in front of him and stopped his descent down the steps. “No one talks with such disrespect to the woman I love.”
“Want to hit me? Go ahead. I dare you. Then I can have you fired, too.”
Zain’s fist lashed out so fast Seth never saw it coming. Seth spun and lost his balance. Sienna gasped as Seth and his five-hundred-dollar shirt fell down the steps and landed with a thud on the stone pathway. Hooch ambled past Sienna and down the steps. With a groan, he shook his droopy jowls and covered Seth in slobber, sauntering over to the bright yellow sports car and lifting his leg.
“I’m calling the police. I’m having you arrested!” Seth screamed almost joyfully.
“Go ahead. In fact, there’s a state trooper right now,” Zain said, gesturing to the cruiser flying up the driveway.
Ryan left Seth in Zain, Gabe, and Nash’s capable hands and took Sienna’s hands in his. Sienna's face alternated between anger and fear, and he wanted—no, he needed—to be there next to her to offer any kind of support she might need.
“I’m so sorry,” Ryan whispered, wrapping his arms around her. He pulled her close and rested his chin on the top of her head. “I was so jealous. I forgot to be the man I want to always be for you. Instead I acted as if I were an undisciplined child. You’re not a toy to be fought over. You’re a woman who deserves to be loved unconditionally.”
Once Ryan started, he couldn’t seem to stop. He saw Matt’s cruiser come to a stop and was glad he’d texted him as soon as he saw the neon yellow sports car in Sienna’s driveway. He pulled back and looked into Sienna’s eyes.
“Let me be that man. I will never have as much money as Seth, but I guarantee I will love you better than any man ever could. Please forgive me, Sienna. Say you’ll give me another chance.”
Ryan held his breath and waited for Sienna’s answer. He silently pleaded with her to take him back.
“Oh, Ryan. Why have we always been at odds? First it was you chasing me. Then it was me chasing you,” Sienna said.
Ryan felt as if a fist has knocked him in the heart. He was losing her, and that terrified him more now than it had when he was a cocky teenager, thinking he could forget her. “I’m done chasing, Sienna. It’s you. It’s always been you, and I’ll be right here waiting for you if you need time.”
“Did you really think I was part of some grand terrorist scheme?” Sienna asked. He heard the hurt in her voice and felt it like a stab wound.
He shook his head. “No. I lashed out because I thought I might lose you to Seth. It was a stupid case of Manleus Stupidious.” When Sienna laughed, his heart soared. “Do you forgive me?”
Sienna nodded, and he crushed her to his chest. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
“You’re still not forgiven. I believe jewelry is next in the man playbook,” she joked before rising up on her toes and tilting her head back to look him in the eyes. “I love you, too.”
“And this lowlife punched me! I want him arrested!” Seth’s screaming interrupted their moment. Ryan put his arm around Sienna’s shoulder and pulled her tight against his side as they enjoyed the show.
Matt held up his hands to calm Seth. “I’m sorry, sir. I can’t arrest him.”
“You hillbillies are all the same. Everyone’s in each other’s pocket and related to each other.” Seth snorted. “Well, clearly you two aren’t related, so arrest him or I’ll report you to your superior.”
“Go ahead, sir. But I can’t arrest someone with diplomatic immunity, and my boss can’t either,” Matt said with infinite patience. By the way his eye started ticking, Ryan could tell the patience was wearing thin.
“Diplomatic immunity? Him? He’s in jeans and cowboy boots. What kind of immunity does he have?”
“You didn’t tell him, Zain?” Matt asked, turning away from a disbelieving Seth.
“Tell me what?” Seth demanded.
“I can’t arrest him because he is His Royal Highness Zain Ali Rahman, Prince of Rahmi.”
Seth stammered the word prince a couple of times before it hit him why the name Ali Rahman sounded familiar. “The majority owner,” was all Seth could get out.
Zain grinned in response.
“I’m sorry to have misread the situation,” Seth said slowly as he hurried to his car. Ryan watched him give Hooch a wide berth and speed off.
“That was the dick you thought Sienna was sleeping with?” Matt asked into the silence as everyone stood on the porch, watching the bright yellow car race off.
“Matt has a point,” Layne said and crossed her arms. Great, now even his cousins were against him. Good thing he snuck in while Seth was distracting them all to get Sienna to forgive him.
Sophie shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I might want to be a kept woman.”
Nash made a strangled sound from behind Ryan. He didn’t want to think about what that meant. Right now he only wanted to think about the woman he loved in his arms and how to get rid of the way-too-many people around them. Where was Hooch and one of his room-clearing farts when he needed him?
“Sophie, when did you get back?” Ryan asked. He winked at his cousin, hoping she’d get the hint to leave.
“Just a while ago. Imagine me getting home from China to find you home. It’s so good to see you, cousin. I feel like we should spend the whole night catching up.”
He hated his cousin. Sophie’s lips quirked in mock innocence.
It only took a second for the others to catch on. “That sounds divine, Soph. Why didn’t I think of that?” Layne asked and came up and laced her arm through Ryan’s.
“An all-night slumber party!” Reagan cheered.
“Just like old times when we would all spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa Davies’s home.” Riley actually clapped like an excited schoolgirl. Oh, he would get them back somehow.
“And we would stay up. All. Night. Long. Together.” Piper smirked. “Doesn’t that sound fun?”
He felt Sienna’s shoulders begin to shake as she buried her head in his chest and laughed. He was going to have to suffer, but Sienna was worth it.
“That sounds great. Sophie, why don’t you and Nash share a sleeping bag? And the twins should be with another set of twins. Let’s see—I’m with Sienna, so, Matt, I bet you and Piper could fit on the couch together. That just leaves you, Layne. I could call Seth back so you won’t be alone, just in case we pair off to play hide and seek.”
Ryan was attacked all at once by laughing women, smacking him on his arm.
“Fine. We’ll take the hint.” Sophie laughed.
Gabe looked around at everyone and frowned. “So, we’re not hanging out?”
His brother elbowed him. “Ladies, can we offer you a ride?”
“Yeah, a ride.” Gabe smiled.
Nash made another strangled sound behind him.
“Let’s go to the water tower. We haven’t hung out there in years,” Reagan suggested.
“Great idea. Hey, Gabe, does that thing come loaded with a bar?” Riley asked as Gabe and Zain opened the door for the ladies.
“This will make work so much fun tomorrow,” Layne said sarcastically and climbed in.
Nash stepped forward after the SUV took off. “Call me if you need me. I’m happy for you both.”
Sienna leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek. Ryan reined in his jealousy and waited for her to return to his arms.
“Thank you for tonight,” Sienna told Nash. “You’re a good friend.”
Ryan held out his hand. “I couldn’t agree more,” he said, shaking Nash’s hand.
Nash smiled and disappeared into the shadows of the backyard. A minute later the sound of an ATV taking off was their cue they were finally alone.
Sienna kept her head against Ryan’s chest as they watched Nash disappear into the moonless night. The wind rustled the leaves and the smell of the approaching fall triggered images of her and Ryan next to a fire. Very quickly, those images turned to something as hot as the fire, and Sienna shifted closer to Ryan.
“Ryan?” she asked quietly.
“Yes, sweetheart?” His warm lips brushed the smooth skin of her forehead in a gentle kiss.
“What’s going to happen to us?”
“What do you mean?” Ryan asked softly.
“We love each other, but what’s next? What happens when the case is solved and I’m no longer in danger?”
Sienna felt Ryan hold his breath for just a second. Instead of answering, his fingers ran a tender trail down her spine while his lips kissed her forehead, her eyebrow, the tip of her nose, the path of her jaw, and finally her lips. Her breathing hitched as she melted into him. His hand slid under the waistband of her skirt and squeezed her ass at the same time his tongue grew urgent inside her mouth. Sienna thought he might not have heard her.
Ryan pulled her against him, and she couldn’t help pressing herself against his erection. How many years had they wasted when they could have been doing this the whole time? Sienna felt her heart hitch as her movements became urgent. She had to be with him on a completely different level that was far beyond the physical. She gripped the front of his shirt and ripped. Hooch howled, buttons tinkled like raindrops on the porch, and their breath thundered between frantic kisses.
Ryan pulled her back toward the swinging bench as he pushed down her skirt and panties. Sienna stepped out of them and reached for his zipper. Nash’s advice to read Ryan’s actions fluttered through her mind. And by the desperate way he was preying on her mouth, and the way his hands were memorizing her body, she was afraid she had her answer.
Her heart wept for him, for what might have been, as she pushed him down on the swing and straddled him. And together they cried out into the night. They cried their pleasure, their pain, and their knowledge that this was not meant to be.