CHAPTER THIRTEEN

VALERIE

We swam and lounged. Keeping space between us was probably a smart thing to do in a pool, even if all I wanted to do was cling to his body like some kind of spider monkey to a tree.

Drying off, I pulled up my shorts and threw back on my tank top despite Bryan arguing that I shouldn’t.

Laughing, I reminded him that his brother was home, and he muttered something about grabbing me a sweater as well. Hand in hand, we went to check on the laundry, switching loads into the dryers and heading into the kitchen, where Garrett was making lunch.

The three of us sat and talked and laughed.

Garrett was pretty easy-going and cool to be around. It was great to see the interaction between eldest and youngest, and I wondered what the three brothers were like when they were together. Something inside me hoped they got along. I had always thought people with siblings were lucky, though it might have been because I had been an only child. As we were finishing up lunch, another tall, broad-shouldered guy in a suit with short, fair-colored hair and sunglasses walked in.

“I’m so fucking tired of this heat,” he complained, not looking at anyone.

“Maybe if you loosened up your tie once in a while, your skin would be able to breathe,” Garrett suggested sarcastically. The guy threw his briefcase on the couch, taking off his sunglasses and flipping the bird over his shoulder.

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Someone’s in a mood,” Bryan added.

“You have no idea. I’m so fucking done with this studio. What the fuck are you doing here anyhow?” he asked Bryan, obviously recognizing his voice, and I looked toward Bryan, who looked more than amused.

“Laundry.”

“I heard you have a sexy little roomie. You could probably talk her into washing your—“ Just then, he turned, our eyes connecting immediately, and he stopped talking.

“Hi.” I said with a small, shy wave.

“Shit. Sorry. Hi,” he stuttered, looking more than embarrassed as Bryan and Garrett muffled their own chuckles.

“Donnie, meet Valerie Duncan, my gorgeous roommate. Val, this is the dufus I grew up with and friend, Donnie Bosco.”

“Bryan.” I looked at him and heard Donnie’s deep laughter.

“I am really sorry. Hey, at least I wasn’t a complete jackass like Garrett was with Grace,” Donnie weirdly shared, and the other two men nodded.

“No worries.” I shrugged, and he came over and sat in front of us.

“Wow. So, you are this guy’s roommate, huh?” he asked, looking at me. I stared back. If he was trying to intimidate me, it was going to take more than a pretty boy in a suit to do it.

“Yeah.”

“No wonder I haven’t gotten an invite over,” Donnie said with conviction, and my lips twitched wondering what he was up to.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Because Bryan knows I can out charm him in my sleep.” He winked at me, making me laugh.

Bryan’s arm came around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. “You wish, Ken doll,” Bryan muttered before kissing my forehead as if staking his claim on me.

A caveman act that with any other guy would have pissed me off; instead, I found myself enjoying Bryan’s possessiveness of me. If anything, I found myself falling harder for him.

***

The sun was too unbearable to go back out, so we found ourselves hanging out with Garrett and Donnie. The three of them together were hilarious. Bryan and Garrett ganged up on Donnie over the fact that he was too prim and proper, never even rolling up his sleeves. Donnie shrugged them off and rolled his eyes.

Hanging out with them, watching the way they interacted and brought me into the fold was a lot like the night I had hung out with Garrett, Bryan, and Bryan’s colleagues. I liked it. I liked the easiness of being around people I felt I could trust, even if that in itself was something I was sadly unaccustomed to.

Once we finished the last load of laundry, Bryan insisted on me sitting down with the guys, while he took our stuff to his car.

“So, what do you do, Val?” Garrett asked as he lounged on the couch watching the Dodgers play on the big flat screen.

“I’m an emergency room nurse.”

“Really?” His attention came to me. I nodded. “That can be intense,” he stated and then shrugged. “I mean, I can imagine.”

“It is.” I smiled softly, remembering that Bryan had mentioned Garrett had infantry training. “Bryan mentioned you—“

“I was,” he cut me off then looked away toward the TV. I felt bad for having brought up a touchy subject.

“I should probably…” At a loss for words, I noticed how he ran his fingers through his too long hair and sighed.

“You see a lot of shit on the front lines.”

“I can imagine,” I said gently, glancing at Donnie, who looked surprised at Garrett talking.

“At least you get them cleaned up by the time they get to you.” He shrugged, taking a swig of his beer.

“I did a ride-along or three on an ambulance,” I shared. “So I understand what you mean.”

“Yeah.” He turned and looked at me. I didn’t shy away from his stare. “Even in the ER, I bet things get kinda…”

“Hairy?” I guessed.

His lips twitched and he shook his head. “I like you, Duncan,” he murmured his approval, and for some reason, though I didn’t know him very well, it meant a lot to have the big brother seal of approval.

“Have you met Marcus yet?” Donnie asked. I shook my head.

“No.”

“You watch his movies?” Something about the way he asked it made me feel a little cautious.

“Umm…”

“What are you doing?” Garrett asked semi-defensively, glaring at Don.

“I’m just curious.”

“I have watched, like, one, I think. On Netflix.” I didn’t shy away from Donnie.

“What?”

“On Netflix, you know that program you pay monthly to stream—”

“I know what Netflix is. I just meant, you haven’t seen him at the movies?”

“I don’t really go to the movies,” I told him honestly.

“Oh. What do you do for fun?” Donnie asked just as Bryan walked in and came right toward me.

“I, umm…” My cheeks grew warm. “Work on the house and my car.”

“Car?” Don asked, looking confused and as if he didn’t believe me. I knew the look. I’d seen it many times before and it didn’t surprise me coming from him.

“Yeah, my car.” I shrugged and looked at Bryan, then I stood. “We ready to go?”

“Yeah.” Bryan nodded, his hand wrapping around my waist as he stood by my side.

“What kind of car? Like a bucket?” Donnie asked, and the other two men laughed.

“Oh, no, she’s not a bucket,” Bryan chimed in.

“She?” Donnie asked, frowning.

“She used to be, but not anymore.”

“I can’t even imagine that car being a bucket,” Garrett told me. I smiled.

“Thanks, but she was. I’ll show you pictures of her next time you come over.”

“Don, you gotta see this car. Fucking beauty, it’s a Woody! If you don’t mind me saying, Val, that baby’s fucking gorgeous. And I would love to see the pictures, maybe a ride?” Garrett requested. I giggled at the possessive growl that escaped Bryan’s lips, his hold tightening, closing me in.

“Come on, let’s go home. Leave these idiots to their lame lives,” Bryan said, smiling, and I shook my head at his jab at two guys who were obviously important to him.

I liked the easy way they teased one another without anyone taking things too seriously, and tried to brush off the way Donnie’s closed-mindedness rubbed me the wrong way.

Just as I started to walk toward Garrett to say good-bye, the front door opened and a beautiful, curvy, Hispanic woman who looked vaguely familiar came in with the cutest little girl. Right behind her was a tall, movie-star-handsome man.

I might not have been a movie buff, but you literally had to hide under a rock to not know who Marcus Wright was. Magazines all donned his face. In real life, he was bigger and more than a little intimidating than you would imagine watching him on a TV screen.

Without realizing it, I moved closer to Garrett, and his hand fell over my shoulder.

“Hey, guys!” the woman smiled, waving, the little girl running in, obviously familiar with the layout of the home, only to stop right in front of me with wide green eyes staring back at me.

“Hi! I’m Lexie!” she beamed, making her eyes sparkle like emeralds.

“Hi. I’m Valerie.”

“Oh, my God! Valerie!” The woman cried out excitedly as she moved in closer. “I’ve heard so much about you.” Garrett muffled his laughter, and Bryan came over, grabbing me into his hold, making sure his oldest brother wasn’t touching me.

“Let go of my woman,” he muttered as everyone around us ignored him.

“I’m Grace and that’s my daughter Lexie.”

“I’m Marcus.” Bryan’s brother introduced himself as if he was ever not recognized. “This lug’s big brother.”

“Hi,” I said, suddenly feeling a little intimidated as reality hit. I was a girl from a trailer park hanging out in an internationally known movie star’s mini-mansion.

I really don’t belong here.

Marcus held his hand out to shake mine, and I took it. “It’s great to meet you. Bryan has told us nothing but great things about you.” I looked at Bryan, who was obviously annoyed.

“He has, huh?” I asked, completely amused.

“On that note, we were just leaving,” he gruffed, and I laughed.

“But Uncle Bryan! We brought ice cream! Do you like ice cream, Valerie?” Lexie asked, giving me puppy dog eyes. I couldn’t lie.

“I love ice cream,” I answered, hearing Bryan curse as Garrett and Donnie chuckled behind me.

With her hand in mine, Lexie led me to the kitchen with Grace right behind us.

BRYAN

They had no chance of leaving early.

He should have realized that the moment Donnie came home.

But he didn’t.

He didn’t think twice about the way Donnie kept texting and emailing God only knew who. That was normal. More than normal behavior for Don.

Being around Val, watching her interact with his brothers, blood or not, was something he’d enjoyed. A lot. Sure, his ex-wife, Courtney, had gotten along with them, but this was different. They were all meeting as grown adults versus all of them growing up together.

Then there was how relaxed Val was with them and how relaxed they seemed to be around her. Trying not to push his luck, he had packed up the car, all the while thinking about what he was going to do to her the second they got home.

Stepping back into the house, he knew something was up with the way Valerie was suddenly ready to go. Something he was going to ask her about.

About to leave, he was once again cock blocked by one of his older brothers. This time, it was Marcus and the two new beautiful women in his life. Lexie ran into the house, and something about the way the guys all looked like they were holding in deep laughter gave away the fact that he had been set up.

The assholes.

But at least he was lucky, considering it hadn’t been his mom and crazy grandmother who stopped by.

Watching Lexie drag his sexy goddess away into the kitchen struck something deep in his soul. Val was good with the kid. He watched from the kitchen island as she got down to Lexie’s level, much like he had seen Grace and her sisters do in the past.

Mine, his mind reminded him, and he worried as he watched the interaction.

What if that is something she wants? Shrugging the thought off, he observed as the three women talked and laughed while serving everyone ice cream sundaes.

He really liked how great she fit with all of the important people in his life.

But as the clock ticked away after ice cream and the longest game of SORRY known to man, all he wanted to do was get her home. Even if he knew there was no chance in hell of them continuing their earlier one-on-one activities.

They both worked stressful jobs and needed their rest. Yet, even knowing that, he just wanted to be alone with her.

He was done sharing her with his family.

He opened his mouth to suggest a movie when Grace beat him to it and brought up watching an early copy of Marcus’ upcoming release.

***

Two and a half hours later, they were finally slipping into his car. The moment he started the car and his hand moved over the stick shift, her hand covered his.

In that minute, it was like everything between them shifted into place. Her eyes were on him when he glanced at her. She smiled and it shifted the ground below him, the look settling into his chest.

Before he could say anything, she let out a breathy sigh and with sleepy eyes told him, “Take us home, handsome.”

The last couple of years, he hadn’t had a home.

Hell, even before his divorce was finalized, he hadn’t had a home. Not really. Not in the way a home was supposed to be a home. Sure, he’d had a roof over his head and had lived with his brothers, but with those words, she was giving him something more.

A place where he belonged.

A home in the way it mattered.

He did have a home now.

So, he took them home.

He unlocked the door and turned on the light before she stepped into their space. He went back to the car, insisting she let him bring in their clothes, reminding her that his mother and grandmother had raised him to be a gentleman. And she had graciously let him, giving him a small peck on the lips before retreating into the kitchen.

Bringing the last basket in, his eyes fixed on the tiny pink scrap of material that laid on top. A thong. A lacey, bright pink thong.

“I’m making lunch for tomorrow. Do you want me to—“

“You don’t have to do that.” He swallowed trying hard not to imagine what she would look like in that and only that. Is that what she wears under her scrubs at work?

She peeked out and smiled. “I don’t mind.”

“You don’t mind?” he asked, his mind more than busy with how little the lacey material would cover.

“Lunch. Unless that’s weird. Do cops not take lunch to work?”

“Why wouldn’t we?” he asked, not that he took his own. He never remembered to make it.

“I don’t know, you could stop and buy food. Is that what you do?”

“Not usually,” he lied. He bought food all the time.

“So…”

“So?”

“So, why don’t you want me to make you lunch?” she asked, giving him lip. He shook his head. Who would have thought I’d like that? Courtney had been far from being a doormat or a pushover, but she hadn’t been sassy. Not like Valerie.

“Come here,” he ordered her and watched her pretty face scrunch up slightly.

“What?”

“Come here,” he repeated himself, fighting a smile.

“Bryan, I’m making lunches and—“

“Fine.” He dropped the basket of folded laundry onto the floor next to him, her green eyes wide as he walked toward her.

With every step she retreated, he took one toward her until her back hit the counter and he had her pinned against it. Without a thought, his hands went to her waist, hers on his shoulders, and he lifted her up onto the counter.

“What are you—“

“I like you,” he announced.

“Okay,” she said slowly, swallowing.

“You like me.” He didn’t ask.

“Okay. Sure, you’re not bad to look at and—“ she started up with her smart little mouth, but he shook his head, his finger covering her lips.

“You like me,” he repeated, again a statement, not a question. He didn’t have to ask. He knew.

“I guess.” She rolled her eyes, and he couldn’t help himself.

“You do.” He grinned, his hand caressing the side of her face, and she tilted into his touch. “There is something going on between us. Even if there shouldn’t be.”

Her smile faded away and she stiffened under his touch. He knew why and wasn’t the kind of man to let her get lost in her own thoughts, especially if he could clear up what he meant.

He pulled her chin up so she would look at him. “I’m not talking about your past.”

“It would make sense for that to be an issue with—“

“It isn’t.” And it wasn’t. “The past is just that, Blondie, the past. We both have one. There is no point in looking back—“

“Are you serious right now?” she asked him incredulously. He must have hit his head before moving into the beach house, because he fucking liked it. No. He loved it. He loved her fire. He loved her wit. I love her. The thought didn’t frighten him. Mine.

“I am completely serious, Valerie.”

“But I went to—“

“I know and it sucks. You were a kid who trusted someone who took advantage of that. What you did, Shine, you did it so you could reach a destination. It wasn’t your final landing spot, babe.”

“But you come from good people, Bryan. I’m just—“

“Wonderful,” he cut her off. “And funny and beautiful and sassy.”

“You think I’m sassy?”

“Yeah. I do.” His nose grazed hers.

“So, why shouldn’t we do this?” she asked.

“We live together and…“

“And?” He couldn’t look away from the jade-like depths of her eyes.

He lost himself.

His hand slid from her face and into her soft hair, gently and smoothly taking it out of its holder. Then he kissed her. Hard. Demanding. She opened for him, and he tasted. He could get drunk off her kiss.

Her hands wrapped around him. He felt her long fingers running through his hair as she tugged, making his scalp tingle. “Bryan, wait, wait, baby…”

“What?” Their faces were close, they were breathing heavily, his body was amped and ready to go. He wanted her more than he wanted his next breath.

“Casual,” she weirdly stated, her tongue peeking out, licking the very center of her top lip.

“What?” he asked trying to pay attention and ignore the need driving through him.

“If we do this”—her lips touched his chastely, but nothing about them was chaste, it only helped bubble a further need—“Us. You just said we’re probably a bad—“

“Blondie.” He had done a shit job explaining.

“We probably are,” she said, and he hated it, because she was wrong. “But we can’t seem to not get ourselves into these situations.” Isn’t that the fucking truth?

“Situations?” His lips twitched and he knew he was fighting an uphill battle not to grin like an idiot.

“Situations. You know, where I end up wrapped up in your arms and on your lap!” Oh yeah, he was straight out grinning now.

“Just saying, babe, you’re not fighting me,” he pointed out that it wasn’t only him who got them into situations.

“I know, it’s like trying to stop gravity,” she muttered, clearly annoyed by it. He found he liked her not being able to fight the pull they had. “We do this, we need to go into it clearheaded.”

“Blondie—“

“We’ve both admitted to being bad at this.”

“I know.” He looked into eyes and couldn’t imagine not looking at them on a daily basis. Eyes he wanted to be the first and last thing he stared at every day for the rest of his life.