“That was amazing!” she delighted, as a dolphin jumped high in the air next to the boat. I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of Brooke squealing with delight whenever she would see a dolphin or humpback whale break through the surface of the water. Her response was classic newbie, almost bordering on childlike, and I loved it. When I first caught her staring longingly at the sailboats from my living room window, I knew that I had to bring her here so that we could experience this together. I grew up here, so this was not my first time getting up close and personal with the aquatic life, but watching it through Brooke’s eyes somehow made it feel different, like this was my first time truly experiencing the actual beauty before me. Even though I had witnessed it before, I realized today that I had never fully appreciated it for what it was, which was amazing.

“Are you hungry?” We had been out on the water for nearly two hours, and I had just started feeling a rumbling in my stomach. I had hired a caterer to stock the galley with a spread of fresh fruits, breads, and smoked fish.

“Maybe a little. Do you want to head back?” She turned to me, and her expression did little to mask the disappointment that lay beneath the surface.

“No, we don’t have to go anywhere. There’s food down below. I’ll get it and bring it back up for us.” I kissed her on the nose and headed down to the galley.

“Wait, let me help you,” she insisted, following closely behind me. “When did you find time to organize all of this?” she asked, taking in the spread placed before us. She grabbed an end off a baguette and stuffed it into her dainty mouth. “You’re like, the best boyfriend ever,” she declared through a mouthful of bread. “You do know that you’ve ruined any other man’s chances of competing.”

“That’s the goal, sweetheart,” I growled, pulling her to me, bending down to wipe the remaining crumbs off her lips with the tip of my tongue. “Yum, that’s good bread,” I said, reaching for a piece of my own.

“Do you want to eat down here or on deck?” I could tell she was eager to get back outside, but she also wanted to please me.

“I thought we could eat upstairs. Come on, we’ll have a picnic on deck.” We carried a few items with us and sat down cross-legged, facing one another, and took turns feeding each other small bites of fruit. After she had fed me the last strawberry, I twisted my body around and leaned back on my palms. Brooke wiped the berry juices on a napkin and moved a few things out of the way before settling in with her head on my lap, looking up at me as she spoke.

“I wish I didn’t have to leave tomorrow. I’m not quite ready to go.” She sighed heavily and closed her eyes. I felt that familiar ache in my chest once again and fought the urge to rub my hand against it as if trying to wipe it away.

“I know, sweetie. I’m trying not to think about it. I know that you have to get back to your life and your work, but if you were to tell me that you wanted to stay with me a bit longer, I won’t lie, I would be a happy man. You do know that you could stay if you wanted to, don’t you?” I wound a length of her ponytail around my fingers, watching as the strands brushed over the FREE tattoo, knowing deep inside that the word would never again apply to my heart. This girl had stolen that with only one glance.

“So, when I get back home and we both settle back into our old routines, how often do you see us talking to each other? I mean, I don’t want to call you too much or smother you or something crazy like that. I’ve never done this.” She turned on her side and ran a hand up and down my torso, an act that tickled, but felt too great to ask her to stop. “I just know that with my personality I can be a bit possessive, so I don’t want to scare you off or anything stupid like that.”

“Well, I highly doubt that would happen. I could never grow tired of you. But you and I both know that once you get back home, you are going to be busy with work, and you’ll have Jade to distract you. I’ll have things with the band, and the guys and I hang out quite a bit. We’re both going to get caught back up in the routine of everyday life. I just hope that through all of that we don’t forget to make time for each other, even from afar.” I highly doubted that I would get too busy to think about her, but I didn’t want to pressure her too much. I would rather have a little bit of her than none at all.

“I would never be too busy for you, Sebastian. I know that’s what you are thinking. I want this to work. I’m in love with you, and I don’t say those words easily. I’ve known from the first moment I opened my eyes and saw you there with me, taking care of me, I knew that you were someone worth having in my life. I don’t want to lose you, ever.” She sat up and kissed my jaw, then made her way over to my ear and whispered, “I want to love you forever.” Then she pushed me gently back and covered my body with her own, kissing me passionately, showing me through her kisses just how much she meant every word. We lay there like that, kissing on the deck of that forty-foot sailboat, the colorful mast flying overhead and dolphins soaring high in the air, squealing loudly, almost as if they were cheering for us.

* * *

Later that night, after a long day on the water, we made it home, and both went to change our clothes. We had just gotten settled on the sofa when the doorbell chimed, followed up by a series of loud thumping on the door. I knew immediately it was the guys. I opened the door to find them all standing there, with Natalie and Olivia in tow.

“Sorry, guys, but Chris wanted to stop and say good-bye, and then we decided that we all wanted to see her once more before she left,” Travis announced, as they made their way through the front door. Travis wrapped her up in his strong arms, proving to me once again how well she fit in with my family.

“Oh, that’s okay. I’m glad you stopped by,” Brooke gushed, ever the sweetheart and kind soul. If I had spoken first, I might have let them all know that I wanted to be alone with her, but her response had been the right one. She always seemed to know just what to say.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Chris placed a small kiss on her cheek as he gave her a tight squeeze. “I’m going to miss this beautiful face.” He gripped either side of her mouth, causing her to make fish lips, and then gave her a quick peck. He slipped an arm around her petite shoulders, his large frame swallowing her up, and turned to me. “Now, Sebastian, I know this is your lady, and you love her and all, but I just have to tell you”—he paused as his face took on a serious expression—“this little lady is already like a sister to me, and if you hurt her, I’m going to have to do some serious damage, capiche?”

Four days ago, I probably would have gotten ticked off at his obvious affection for her, but knowing how they felt about each other, it didn’t even faze me. “Got it, dude. I promise not to hurt her.” I laughed with him, throwing out a question of my own.

“What happens if she hurts me?”

“Oh, if that happens, you’re on your own, dude. Brothers and sisters have to stick together, ain’t that right, Brooke?” They gave one another a fist bump and laughed.

“You know it!” She made her way over to me and slipped an arm around my waist. “You know that will never happen, right?” she whispered.

“I’m just messing with him,” I assured her, although part of me was trying to convince myself that it was just a joke. The truth was, I was certain that if either of us were to do unintentional damage, it would most likely be me.

* * *

BROOKE

“What happens if she hurts me?” Sebastian asked Chris. Part of me knew that he was only joking, but there was another part of me that wondered if he saw something in me that led him to believe that I could do such a thing to him. It wasn’t in my nature to be harsh or cold by any means; in fact, I was quite the opposite most of the time. I supposed it was possible that even though we both went into this with the best of intentions, there was always a chance that we could fall out of love, or we might find that we just weren’t compatible. Given the fact that we had only known each other a week, I suspected that could very well be a possibility. Sometimes, when you are in a situation like this, you can get caught up in all of the drama, and you develop feelings for that person without ever really knowing them well enough to discover if those feelings are real or just a result of being caught up in the moment. After rationalizing this in my head, I already knew the answer. My feelings were real, and if Sebastian’s actions over the course of the week were any indication, then I felt strongly that his were equally real.

“So, Brooke, when are you going to come visit us again? Have you two talked about that yet?” Travis asked as he sat down beside me, looking back and forth between Sebastian and me. “Well, if you two haven’t already made plans, I hope you know that we would love to see you again real soon. You know we have our tour starting up in six months. It would be great if you could join us when it works with your schedule.”

“That sounds great. I guess we’ll see how things go.” I looked over at Sebastian, who at this time had turned a faint shade of pink and was shaking his head. “But I would love to be there.”

“I appreciate the enthusiasm, brother, but don’t jinx the good thing we’ve got going,” Sebastian quipped as he plopped down on my lap and kissed me loudly on the cheek. “I don’t want to scare her off too soon.”

Travis chuckled and leaned over to ruffle his brother’s hair. “Don’t sweat it, little brother, this one’s a keeper. She’s not going anywhere.”

“I hope not,” Sebastian muttered, mostly to himself, but I heard it, and I gave him a gentle squeeze just to let him know that I felt the same way.

“Hey, Brooke, have you talked to your little friend lately?” Dek asked, squeezing in next to us on the sofa.

“Yes, I talked to her this morning; Sebastian talked to her as well.”

“What’d she sound like?” Dek asked, smiling broadly.

“She sounded cute. I think you’d like her.”

“Maybe I need to follow this guy out to Michigan when he comes out to visit, which I know he will as soon as our schedule will allow. Does that sound okay, Brooke?”

“Absolutely! Jade would totally flip out if you showed up at our apartment. It might help get me out of the doghouse for meeting all of you without her. She still can’t believe that, not only did I meet all of you, but managed to trick this one into falling in love with me,” I quipped smartly, jerking my thumb in Sebastian’s direction.

“No tricks were needed, baby. One look at you, and I was hooked.” He winked.

“Hey, guys, we probably should be heading out and leave these two lovebirds alone,” Natalie announced as she came over to give me a hug. I had to move Sebastian off my lap, but I finally managed to wriggle out from beneath him and stood to give her a hug. “Please promise you will come back. We all love you, girl. You’re family now. I hope you know that.”

“Thanks, Natalie, I had a great time with you. Please do me a favor and give Tracy a big hug and kiss for me. Thomas too. I will miss all of you.”

“Have a safe trip home, kiddo. Don’t worry, we’ll see you again soon. I’m counting on it,” Travis said as he hugged me tightly.

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Brooke. I promise I’ll take good care of him for you, and we’ll come see you and your cute little friend really soon.” Dek smiled and gave me a warm hug.

Then I turned and saw Chris standing there waiting, arms open wide, and tears in his eyes. I walked into his arms and gave him my best rendition of the bone crusher, which was not an easy task considering the size of his muscles.

“There’s something about you that fills my heart with happiness. I’m gonna miss you, you know that, right? Promise you’ll call me and let me know you’re home safe? Text me from time to time just to say hi, stuff like that. You know, things a kid sister might do with her long lost brother. I love you.” His hug burned right through me, in a good way, leaving a lasting impression on my heart. I had never known what it was like to have a sibling, but you could bet I wasn’t going to let go of this one; even if we weren’t related by blood, we had something special.

“I know. I love you too, big brother.” I lifted on my tiptoes to give him a kiss. “I promise I’ll call, but I need your number.” I pulled out my phone, and he quickly typed his contact information onto the screen, then sent a text to himself so that he would have my number.

I stood in the doorway, watching them walk away, and my stomach did a little flip as I thought about how quickly this family had welcomed me into their lives and loved on me. Just the fact that they made an effort to come by one last time to see me made my heart overflow with emotion. This had already been a special day, and having it end on this note made it even better.

Sebastian came up behind me, slipping his arms around my waist, and rested his chin on my shoulder.

“I love your family and friends. You’re a very lucky man, Sebastian Miles. It’s going to be even harder to leave now,” I moaned, waving one last time as they pulled away.

“I told you, they’re your family too. No matter what happens with us, they will always be there for you. That’s how they are; it’s what makes them so special. Come on, let’s go hang out and talk.”

I turned, following him toward the man cave, where we always hung out, but when we got to the door, he kept walking toward his bedroom. I stopped, pulling back on his hand.

“I thought we were just talking.”

“We are. I just want to lie down and hold you, just once more before you leave me. If I don’t get to do this, I’m not sure I can handle you leaving. Just let me have this, please,” he pleaded.

We entered his room, and he guided me over to the bed, where he sat down and patted the space next to him. I sat down tentatively; this was the first time we had been on a bed since we’d confessed our feelings for one another. He turned on his side and pulled me against him, in a spooning position. Once we were settled, he threw a quilt over us, and he buried his face in my hair, breathing deeply.

“I feel bad for Chris. He’s really taken to you. You know you’re going to have to make good on your promise to call him and check in from time to time. He always wanted a little sister. I think it’s great that you two found each other.”

“Me too. He seems like a really great guy. I’m glad it doesn’t bother you anymore. I mean, now that you know we don’t have romantic feelings for each other.” I giggled.

“I hope I’m the only man you have romantic feelings for.”

“You are.”

“Good. Now that we’ve established that…” He turned my face to his and met me with warm lips, kissing me tenderly. As the kiss deepened, I twisted my body toward him, slipping an arm around his waist. Our mouths parted, and I felt his tongue glide over mine, twisting and turning in a seemingly choreographed dance. We paused momentarily, taking a quick breath before picking right back up where we left off, caught up in the throes of a newly acquired passion that was about to end all too soon. His hand moved to cup the left side of my face as his lips moved delicately over my jaw and continued down my neck. I felt his body shifting, and soon I was pinned beneath him as his lips once again found mine. I wrapped my arms around his back, holding on for dear life, not wanting to let go, even though common sense told me I probably should before things got out of hand.

“Brooke,” he whispered breathlessly. “You know that I want you, don’t you?” His knees settled between my legs.

“Sebastian, we’d better stop before this goes too far. It’s too soon.” I panted, holding on to his biceps to steady myself. “I love you, but I need to wait.”

“Wait?” He cursed softly and lowered his head. “Oh, man.” He rolled onto his back and rubbed the heel of his hands over his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I just think we need to wait. I need to see where this goes before I give myself to you. I want something more than just sex. I need romance.

“I thought I had been romancing you. You’re leaving tomorrow. How am I supposed to romance you from afar?”

“I guess you’ll just have to be creative. You’re a bright guy. If you want it bad enough, you’ll figure it out. Besides, I think I deserve the full court press, don’t you?” I nudged him playfully.

“Actually, you’re right.” He sat up, bringing me with him as we now sat cross-legged on the bed. “You deserve that and so much more. I’m sorry, Brooke, I wasn’t thinking straight. Before you, being with a woman usually involved sex. I’m just so mixed up with you leaving. I’m scared of what will happen after you get on that plane.” He pulled my hand to his chest, splaying it out palm down over his heart. “When you leave tomorrow, you’ll be taking a huge piece of this with you. Take care of it, please. It’s pretty fragile.

“I promise to guard it with my whole heart.” We settled back against each other, my back to his front, and fell asleep together.