He—grrr! Bran was the worst, the absolute worst!

Ireland was so angry she couldn’t see straight, which meant she couldn’t see at all because her glasses were still in her bag. She rubbed her eyes to clear them of the glassiness that had formed out of sheer irritation with the man, and shoved a cracker with cheese in her mouth, while Bran drove the boat back to Club Tahoe.

He’d been the biggest ass to her—and then he’d kissed her. And not just any kiss. It was the kind of kiss that made a woman’s belly drop and her bikini bottom wish to go in the same direction.

Bran never showed her any interest. And now he gave her the sexiest kiss of her life?

She wanted to throttle him.

No, just no. She was so sick of asshole men. How did she even get into these situations?

That darn boat wake. They’d been doing fine, until that huge lake wake had hit the boat and knocked her into Bran.

He was tall and built like a wall—a stubborn brick wall. She’d tried to dislodge herself from his person, but there were muscles and strong arms, and she might have taken a tad too long. So what did he do?

Insult her. Make fun of her. And when she’d finally managed a moment of peace, even if it had been in the icy lake water, he dove in and rounded off his insults with the most body-convulsing kiss of her life.

Bran. Was. Evil.

Ireland pulled on her shirt over her bathing suit and slipped on her white shorts. She collected her belongings, ready to leap off the boat as soon as they landed at the Club Tahoe dock. She even pulled out her glasses and shoved them on so she could make a quick getaway without stumbling and killing herself.

Who cared if Bran saw her in her glasses? She had no need to impress this man anymore. No matter what he’d done with his lips and his hands, he thought the worst of her. And she was done with men who treated her like crap. What kind of crazy fool kissed a woman he didn’t even like? Bran made no sense, and that was reason enough to cut him from her life.

Bran eased the boat to the dock, and Ireland prepared to leap off.

“Hold on,” he said. He tossed bumpers over the side of the boat then hitched the boat to the dock.

She crossed her arms and tapped her foot, refusing to look at him.

Sensing his stare, she glanced over irritably. “May I go now?”

He looked at her dumbfounded. “You wear glasses.”

“Yes, I wear glasses. Do you have a problem with that too? Because—”

Most of the time, Ireland was on the passive side. But she wasn’t incapable of the fury her red-haired brethren were known for. And Bran had a knack for bringing it out in her. She was about to unleash a beatdown the likes of which no man had seen, when he cut her off.

“You look pretty in them.”

Her lips parted and she blinked. She snapped her mouth shut and growled, “Goodbye.”

Ireland moved to climb off the boat, but Bran jumped off first, offering her his hand.

She automatically took it, because dammit, she liked it when men were gentlemen. But she dropped his strong palm as soon as she was off the boat, and stormed across the sand toward the back entrance of the hotel and casino. She couldn’t wait to get out of Club Tahoe and back to her world of quiet contemplation behind a computer screen.

She might need more adventure, and she was fully open to it, but she didn’t need Bran in her life.

Ireland sipped her chai latte as she headed into work at Blue Casino on Monday morning. She’d managed to avoid Cali’s questions yesterday about the booze cruise by saying she was hungover and that she’d fill her in later. But Ireland wouldn’t be able to hold off her persistent cousin forever.

On one hand, Cali would be excited Ireland had merged into the world of Lake Tahoe man real estate. On the other hand, Ireland and Bran’s connection had been a huge fail, and that would only encourage Cali to push Ireland to get out there again so she could wipe the slate clean. She knew how her cousin’s mind worked. It was a matchmaking machine that didn’t quit.

Ireland had a few minutes before her shift, so she headed to Hayden’s office to say hello. Hayden Cade was married to Bran’s brother, Adam, but Ireland didn’t hold that against her. Adam was a nice guy, after all, and she’d become good friends with Hayden ever since Cali had helped Ireland get the job at Blue Casino.

Ireland stood in front of Hayden’s open office door. “Knock, knock,” she said. “Am I interrupting?”

Hayden rubbed her temples, her elbows propped on her desk. She looked up and winced as though it hurt. “Come on in.”

Ireland entered the office and frowned. “You okay?”

“I went out for drinks with Adam and his brothers last night and had a few too many. If only there were pills for fog brain and a pounding skull.”

Ireland sat across from her friend. “You’d make millions with an invention like that in the college market.”

Hayden smiled. “Or with Adam and his brothers. They were in rare form. And the weirdest thing is Bran was the ringleader. I’ve never seen him like that.”

Ireland’s back stiffened. “That’s odd. Bran seems the most mellow of the guys.”

Bran had been the most discreet the few times she’d been in their company, but the booze cruise proved Bran wasn’t always mellow. Or nice. And sometimes—just sometimes—he could be too nice. With his lips and hands. And her body still hadn’t forgiven him for it.

“It was shots from the get-go.” Hayden dropped her hands from her temples. “I swear he was trying to exorcise a demon with all that liquor.”

Ireland squirmed in her seat and couldn’t look Hayden in the eye. Here she was avoiding Cali, when really, she should have been avoiding Hayden.

“Is something wrong?” Hayden said.

Ireland tried to smile. “Nope, all good.”

“How was the booze cruise? I forgot to ask Hunt about it. Did he take good care of you and Cali?”

Ugh. Ireland was honest to the bone. There was no way she’d lie to her friend. But she wasn’t about to offer up information she didn’t need to. “Not exactly. Hunt was sick. Bran hosted the cruise instead.”

Hayden tipped her head to the side. “That’s interesting. Hunt had seemed sniffly, but that didn’t seem to stop him from filling his gut with alcohol last night.” Her eyes widened. “Maybe that was why Bran was so irritable? He’s not much of an extrovert. Must have driven him crazy entertaining all those people.” Ireland squirmed more, and Hayden’s brow furrowed. “How many people were on the cruise?”

“Well, that’s the thing,” Ireland said. “Bran didn’t have others to entertain. Only me.”

Hayden raised her eyebrow. Then she stood, walked across her office, and closed the door. “Oh, I think I need to hear this.”

Crap. “I should probably get g-going,” Ireland said. “I don’t want to be late for work.”

“No way.” Hayden sat back in her chair and typed something on her phone. “You’re not leaving until I hear this story. I’m letting your boss know you’re with me in ‘a meeting’ and that you’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Hayden set her phone down and leaned across her desk. “So what happened? Obviously, something did. Bran was the wild one last night, and that just isn’t him. He still avoided women, but he was drinking like a fish and encouraging the rest of us to drink too. We joined in, because it was the only way to find out what was up. But he never budged. Instead of destroying my liver, I should have just come to you and saved myself the fog-brain double hammer to the skull this morning.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” Ireland said. “Bran doesn’t like me. He’s always given me the cold shoulder. It wasn’t any different during the cruise. Mostly.”

“Mostly? And why wouldn’t he like you? You’re my new favorite employee. What’s his problem?”

“I’m your only new employee.”

Hayden waved her off. “Minor detail.”

“Like I said, it was more of the same. I stumbled. Though this time, my eyesight wasn’t to blame.” Ireland wore her glasses at work, so it was no surprise to Hayden, or any of the other Blue employees, that she needed them. She pulled her shoulders back. “A stupid wake hit the boat. Then Bran blamed me for falling into him and holding on too long.”

“Did you hold on too long?” Hayden gave her a devilish grin.

“What do you think?”

“I think, yes.”

Ireland shrugged. “It was Bran Cade. Naturally, I held on too long. But that was no excuse for him to be mean. After he was a proper ass, I went for a dip to escape. Only that damn lake is freezing. Bran said something, but I couldn’t talk while I was in hypothermia mode. So he jumped in, the jackass, and invaded my quiet time.”

“The horror,” Hayden said, smiling. “Then what?”

“And then…”

Hayden leaned forward. “Yes?”

“He kissed me.” God, why couldn’t Ireland lie like a normal human being?

Hayden slammed her palm on the desk. “No! Bran?”

“Shhh.” Ireland swiveled her head, expecting someone to barge into the office. “Keep your voice down!” she stage-whispered. “The kiss was nothing.” Ireland felt her face heat.

“Oh, yeah.” Hayden snorted. “I can tell it was nothing. That good, huh?”

Ireland bit the inside of her lip. “Unfortunately. So, of course, I shoved him away. Well, after he…”

“You shoved him away? Are you nuts? Why would you do that?”

“Because. He pressed me to his…body.”

Hayden narrowed her eyes. “Details.”

Ireland waved in the genital region.

“He did not! The monk grinded on you?”

Ireland winced. “A little… And it was hot. Which is how I knew I was in trouble.” She scrunched her face. “I wanted to jump him—the ass—so I shoved him away. I don’t hook up with guys who are jerks. Not anymore.”

Hayden shook her head. “Holy crap, Ireland. You’re the one.”

“The one what?”

“The one who’s going to break the monk. He’s been a cyborg, rarely going out with anyone except his brothers. Adam is ready to take him to a physician. But Bran kissed you, and he was sexy about it. Hot damn!”

“Shhh! I don’t care what’s wrong with him. I’m not the one. I want nothing to do with that man.”

“Hmmm.” Hayden tapped her chin.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, nothing,” Hayden said, and checked her phone. “You’d better get going, or your boss will call and harass me about taking up your time.”

Ireland stood hesitantly. “Okay, but you promise to keep this between us?”

Hayden smiled. “My lips are sealed.”

Then why was Ireland worried?