A rock with an overgrown layer of fungus would’ve made a better bed than the flimsy piece of wicker furniture Jake slept on last night. He’d pulled up one of the living room chairs to give his long legs somewhere to go, but he’d woken up stiff and sore. He was pretty sure he’d still had a more relaxing sleep than Clem, though.

Ellie and Millie were cute but they had a devil’s streak in them. He’d heard them jumping up and down on the bed while Clem begged them to be careful as he’d drifted off to sleep. At least their mischievousness came with an impeccable sense of timing. No matter how shitty his neck felt this morning, it was better than waking up with the emotional hangover from crossing the line with Clem. Her lips had been so soft, so sweet, so damn inviting. There’s no way he could have resisted what she was offering.

He got dressed in the bathroom and poked his head inside the bedroom door, catching the pair attempting to braid Clem’s hair while she was sleeping facedown on the mattress. He crooked his finger and the twins came running. “How about I walk you two back to your mom and dad and let your aunt get some rest, okay?”

“Mom’s going to be maaaad,” Ellie—or at least the one he thought was Ellie—said with just enough inflection for him to realize this wasn’t their first nighttime escape.

“I bet she’ll be even more mad if you don’t come back for breakfast.”

“Grammy Jean promised to sneak us some Lucky Charms this morning,” Millie said.

Ellie twisted her lips. The two stared at each other for a few silent seconds like they were communicating by telepathy, then simultaneously turned toward him and grabbed his hands. Christ, he’d watched horror movies less creepy than these two kids.

A few minutes later, he had the girls safely back with their mom, who couldn’t seem to decide if she wanted to scream at them or wrap them in a hug, and ended up doing both at the same time.

It was only about eight in the morning, but the Cox family was out in full force again. Even though he was pretty sure the cabin next door had a functioning kitchen, they were cooking outside, filling the crisp morning air with the irresistible scent of bacon, eggs and coffee.

Andrew and Mike were manning the bacon, which they were grilling on a cast iron skillet over the campfire. Everyone else was maintaining a healthy distance from the splatter zone, but the guys were flipping the strips while shirtless, seemingly oblivious to the angry little red burns marring their skin. Jake considered himself pretty tough—a necessary quality for someone owning a brewery—but he was starting to wonder if Clem’s brothers-in-law weren’t born without pain receptors. Or brains.

Darlene greeted him with a blinding flash right in the eyes as he approached. “Sorry, but you can never have too many happy memories.”

“Not a problem, but maybe a little warning next time? I’m going to end up looking like I swallowed a bug in all these photos.”

She patted him on the cheek. “Nonsense. A handsome man like you couldn’t look bad if you tried. Besides, it’s not like I’m taking these for a designer catalogue. It’s just about the memories. I’ll make sure to remind Clem to invite you for the slideshow when we get home.”

Family photos. Slideshows. These were things Jake thought only happened on TV. He racked his brain, but as far as he could remember, he’d never taken a single family photo—posed or otherwise—with his parents. In fact, there weren’t any photos of him anywhere on the cold gray walls of the large home he’d grown up in. Until this moment, he’d never really thought about how strange that was.

“Oh, goodness. Here I am distracting you with photos when you’re probably starving.” She handed him an honest-to-god menu printed on thick stock paper. He might not have grown up experiencing the great outdoors, but he was pretty sure this wasn’t exactly normal. “Ham and cheese omelets with your choice of vegetables, fried tomatoes, and of course, bacon. It wouldn’t be a camping breakfast without bacon.”

“This is pretty fancy,” he said, examining the embossed lettering.

“Aren’t you sweet,” Darlene beamed, patting his cheek. “It’s just a little something I made at my printing shop. It’s a family business. Clover does most of the design work, and Chastity takes care of all the finances.”

“How much would it cost to print out and laminate a hundred copies of a page this size every month?”

“Now what would an art dealer possibly need with the services of a little print shop like mine?”

“You’d be surprised.” He set the menu back on the picnic table. With the Holy Grale’s rotating selection of seasonal brews, they printed stacks of new menus every few months and the print shop they normally used had been late with their last three orders.

“Twenty-five if you use one of our templates, an extra hundred or so if you want Clover to do the design work. I’ll make sure to give you the address before the end of the week so you can come check it out for yourself.”

“Do you do T-shirts, too?” Julia had been on him about updating their branding, including selling Holy Grale themed T-shirts and other gear.

“Absolutely.” She handed him a paper plate. “So, are you going to tell me where my little Clementine is this morning?”

“Still sleeping.” He grabbed an extra plate, figuring she’d appreciate having breakfast in bed after the long night.

“Ooh, wore her out last night, huh?” Mike said, waggling his eyebrows.

Jake’s eyes darted to her folks, expecting the typical parental condemnation for the direct reference to sex and their youngest daughter in the same sentence, but Frank just laughed while Darlene smiled. “Good for her. She needs to loosen up.”

His jaw dropped. Even though his and Kelly’s parents had practically shoved them together from the time they could walk, they’d freaked out when they caught the two of them making out on Christmas Eve when he was twenty-one. Jake’s dad punished him by refusing to give him his present that year. It had pissed Jake off at the time to lose out on the Porsche his parents had bought for him, but looking back it was now just one less string around his neck for them to pull. He wasn’t rich anymore—not by any definition—but he could afford his own damn car.

He’d also long since learned that a relationship between two people who only got along when their clothes were coming off wasn’t ever going to work. He’d cared about Kelly, but they’d had nothing in common. He couldn’t imagine spending a lazy evening playing Scrabble with her. And yet, last night with Clem felt more real than anything ever had with his ex.

He forced that thought out of his head. “She’s just tired from the twins sleeping over.”

Olive turned around from the precarious tower of floatation devices she’d assembled like a giant Jenga tower on the slope of sand leading to the water. “You don’t have to be embarrassed. Our family believes open and honest communication about sex is key to reducing stigma and STDs.”

“And ensuring better orgasms,” Grandma Jean shouted from her lawn chair.

Olive nodded primly, like she was sitting in the front row of a classroom soaking up the teacher’s lesson. “And better orgasms.”

Jake considered his options. There was no clear path through this minefield, so he might as well try to achieve something before this conversation exploded in his face. “I don’t think Clem would appreciate me talking about that kind of stuff with you. Her privacy is important and I have no intention of disrespecting that.”

He let Darlene scoop a handful of fried potatoes onto each of the plates he was holding. “Well, she’s lucky to have found a man like you. We worry about her being lonely.”

A small thread of guilt pulled tight in his chest. He could see why Clem found her family’s meddling overwhelming, but it was obvious they did it out of love. “I’m the lucky one,” he said before moving on to the omelet station Chastity was manning.

“We’ve got onions, mushrooms and red peppers,” Chastity said. She was tall, like Clem, but with straight blond hair and delicate features. Clover had the same light hair, though it was curly like Clem’s. After meeting her family, it was clear Clem didn’t just stand out because of her quiet personality. She was the only one with those vibrant green eyes, full lips, and dark hair.

“Everything for me and for Clem…” he paused, trying to remember her preferences from all those times he’d served her lunch. He knew she wasn’t picky, but he’d never made her an omelet before. “The same.”

The sour face Chastity made let him know instantly he’d guessed wrong. “She hates onions.”

Shit. Even in a new relationship, a man should know his girlfriend disliked onions. He tried to cover his mistake with a warm smile. “Thanks. I’ll make sure to remember that.”

He quickly filled up the plates with the rest of the food before returning to his cabin. Once inside, he set the breakfast on the counter and hunted for the coffee filters in the small kitchen.

Clem emerged from the bedroom just as the coffeemaker dinged, and any chance of forgetting about their almost kiss disappeared the moment he saw her messy curls and sleepy smile. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head, revealing a strip of pale skin at her belly. His fingers itched to touch that skin and feel if it was as smooth as it looked.

“Is that for me?”

He nodded. “I took a gamble and poured some maple syrup over your bacon.” He might not have known she hated onions, but after serving her food for the last three years, it was impossible not to notice she had a sweet tooth.

“It’s too bad you’re a fake boyfriend because you’re a heck of a lot better than any guy I’ve ever dated for real.” A red flush swept across her cheeks and neck. “Um, I didn’t mean that. And I’m sorry about last night. The cuddling and the other stuff.”

She winced so hard, it looked like her entire body was in pain. Puffy hives formed along her skin. He didn’t like seeing her this way. Not when she hadn’t done anything wrong or embarrassing. “You don’t have to apologize. It’s not like I was running away from what you were offering.”

A shy, sweet smile spread across her lips. “Really?”

“Really. But that’s because I’m a jerk. It won’t happen again.”

The smile faded quickly. “Oh.”

“You’re a beautiful, smart woman. Too good for someone like me. I’m the kind of guy who uses women. I take what I want and then I leave. But I’m not going to do that with you, so let’s fix up that pillow barrier tonight and keep our hands off each other except for when we’re around your family, okay?”

“Right. Of course. I really didn’t bring you here because I expected anything and I appreciate everything you’re doing. I know you’re just here out of pity and—” She cut herself off with a whooshing breath.

Pity? The word triggered a rush of anger inside him. How could she think of herself in that way?

Because it’s the truth. Shit. He’d agreed to come along because he’d felt bad for her, and now instead of making things easier for her, he’d managed to hurt her feelings. Even when he tried to do the right thing, he was toxic. How the hell was he supposed to fix this without complicating things further? Admitting he was attracted to her would only make things worse. “I’m here because I want to be and I’m having a good time. But I’ll enjoy myself more once you relax and eat your breakfast.” He pulled back one of the chairs at the small, round table where the food waited. “Sit and eat before it gets cold. I’m going to pour us some coffee.”

Clem couldn’t decide if this was her best rejection or her worst. It was certainly the only time she would be stuck sharing a bed with the man after being told no. She shoved another piece of bacon into her mouth and tried not to think about how she’d thrown herself at him last night. She’d felt his hard cock pressed up against her thigh and it scrambled her ability for rational thought. She’d never acted so boldly before. So wantonly. So stupidly. An erection didn’t mean he was attracted to her. It was just a simple biological reaction. Heck, he was probably just waking from a dream about being with someone else.

Thank god he didn’t seem to find this whole thing awkward. Or if he did, he wasn’t showing it. He quietly sipped his coffee at the seat next to her, giving her the silence she needed to let her brain catch up with the day.

The front door of the cabin burst open just as she took a bite of her toast. Her mom stepped into view with a pair of hiking poles in each hand. “It’s almost nine o’clock. Why aren’t you dressed yet?”

“Oh, I didn’t check the schedule this morning.”

“Well, hurry up and get your hiking gear on. We’re heading to a lookout point on the hill over on the far side of the lake.”

Herd hiking. At least that’s what Clem had always called it when the dozen of them trampled through the woods at a snail’s pace, stopping for group photos every time they saw a flower, and scaring away the wildlife. Half the time they never even reached their destination, since someone invariably stepped in a poison ivy patch, or they got completely lost because no one could agree on how to read the map.

Then again, it wasn’t always terrible. Making a competition out of finding different types of plants could be fun, but she hadn’t had a chance to finish her coffee yet. She wanted to ease into the morning after another terrible night’s sleep, and get ahead on her work so she could relax for the rest of the day. Working on vacation was not something her family would understand.

She inhaled deeply. Putting herself on the line last night with Jake hadn’t turned out as she’d hoped, but it hadn’t killed her either. Maybe she needed to dig down to find that same confidence when it came to her family. “Mom, I don’t feel like going on a hike right now. Why don’t you tell me about it when you come back and maybe Jake and I will check it out later?”

Her mom’s eyebrows shot up like she was surprised that Clem had given an answer other than yes. “Oh, okay. Sure. Have fun and we’ll see you at 12:15 for lunch. We’re making hotdogs.” She waved goodbye and walked out of the cabin.

Clem cupped her hands around the warm, white coffee mug and waited for the other shoe to drop. There was no way her mom had accepted that answer without so much as a single attempt at pushback. She silently counted to thirty, and when she was done, she lifted her head and peered out the window. They were gone. Without her.

It was a miracle.

“You look shocked,” Jake said over his coffee.

“You would be, too, if you’d just been told the Loch Ness Monster is real and swimming in the lake outside your window. They’ve never let me say no to a preplanned family activity without at least an hour’s worth of nagging.”

“Maybe they’re not as bad as you think.”

She shook her head. “You’re the difference. If I’d have known how well a fake boyfriend would work, I’d have done this years ago.”

“How come you’ve never brought a real one home before?”

“I have, but most of them haven’t made it past the front door before reassessing the status of our relationship.” There was no length her family wouldn’t go to in order to find her an eligible bachelor, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t put that man through the wringer.

“Maybe you just haven’t met the right guy yet.”

“Well, when I do, I’ll have to send him to you for advice.”

Something flashed in his eyes, darkening them to a deep brown. For a moment, she wondered if it was jealousy, but that was absurd. She’d practically thrown herself at him last night and he’d just made it clear she wasn’t his type.

“Family approval isn’t the most important thing. You need someone who makes you feel like a queen, Clem.”

She swallowed the last sip of her coffee and stood up to refill her mug in the adjoining kitchen. The unspoken message came through loud and clear. He wasn’t that guy. The kindness he showed her, the way he made her laugh, and his supernatural ability to read her mood weren’t a sign of interest. They were fueled by pity. As long as she remembered that, she might make it through the rest of this week without embarrassing herself.

She brought the carafe over to the table and topped up his mug with the last of the coffee. “Did you get along with your ex’s family?” She knew as soon as the words left her mouth that it was a question he probably didn’t want to answer, but the instinct to shift attention off herself when things got uncomfortable was too strong.

“Yeah, though not as well as she gets on with mine.”

“Present tense?”

He nodded and stirred the cream he’d just added to his coffee with the teaspoon she’d handed him. “My parents chose her over me after we broke up. The wedding this weekend will be the first time they step foot in the Holy Grale.”

Her chest tightened with an inexplicable ache. She knew her family was on the extreme end of togetherness, but the idea of not having any support was unfathomable. “Well, they obviously suck so it serves them right for missing out on the best beer in the city.”

He tilted his head and gave her a look that made her insides feel like they’d been set on fire. “Clem.”

God, what that man could do to her just by saying her name in that deep, masculine voice. “Sorry, I meant state.”

He stood up, drained the last of his coffee and carried his dishes to the sink. “Country.”

She laughed, grateful she’d successfully distracted him from thinking about his family. “Getting a little cocky, Donovan?”

“Are you disagreeing?”

She drummed her fingers against her chin. “Hmm. I’ve only visited about a half-dozen different states, so I can’t really say with absolute certainty, but I guess your beer is pretty good.”

“You’re singlehandedly responsible for about a quarter of the business we do. Face it, you love my product.”

A thin filament sparked to life inside her mind, barely enough to illuminate her inchoate thoughts. “Say that again.”

He tossed the dishrag he’d been using to clean his mug back in the sink. “What?”

“You love my product.”

“You love my product?”

“No, not like that. The way you did before.” He probably thought she was nuts, but that didn’t matter. Nothing on earth mattered in this moment except the need to hear him repeat the damn words.

He put his hand on the back of her chair and leaned toward her. “You. Love. My. Product.”

She exhaled loudly as her body filled with excitement. “Yep, that’s it. That’s the voice.” Confident, direct, sexy-as-hell. Exactly the way the mysterious Alessandro would speak to Noelle in the bedroom.

He raised an eyebrow.

“There’s a character in the book I’m narrating who’s had me stumped all this time. I think I may have just figured out my solution.”

“You want to model a character’s voice after me?”

She nodded. “I hope that doesn’t weird you out.”

He swooped up her now empty mug and brought it to the sink. “Not at all. But for the record, are we talking about the book in your car?”

She hesitated, but decided it was silly to be embarrassed. “Yeah. I’m not satisfied with the original recording, and I’m planning to redo it when I get home. This whole week was supposed to be about getting away and finding inspiration for the voice.”

“Do I get to brag to my friends about this?”

“Absolutely.”

He flashed her the kind of smile that made her squeeze her legs together. “Then go ahead and use me all you want.”

God, what was wrong with her that her mind went straight to the dirtiest possible thoughts when he’d made it clear just a few minutes ago he wasn’t interested. “Thanks. I may just take you up on that.”