Chapter 9

I pull into the driveway of the lakeside mansion that belongs to Duncan Armstrong. Holy shit. This place is amazing.

The house is huge and multileveled, with two big chimneys on the roof. I can see glimpses of the blue lake behind it, beyond a row of trees. I grab my duffel bag and jump out of my SUV. Army’s truck is parked there along with another SUV that has to belong to Marc Dupuis.

The door opens and Army appears with a big grin. “Hey, you found us.”

“Yeah. No problem. My GPS helped.” The hour and forty minutes or so drive from my place to Browns Lake, Wisconsin, hadn’t been bad at all.

“Come on in. I’ll show you around.”

We enter the house and I take it all in. High vaulted ceilings have fans circulating the air, and it’s nice and cool in here. There’s a two-story wall of rock that holds a fireplace as well as a big TV, with a couple big brown leather couches arranged in front of it. Arched windows look out onto a lawn that slopes down to the lake and an oak staircase climbs to a second level, which is like a loft overlooking the living room.

A scrabbling noise has my head turning, and I see a puppy half running, half skidding across the shiny wood floor toward us. His (her?) paws are too big for little legs, and a pink tongue lolls out of the pup’s mouth in a happy smile.

Amber chases behind the dog. “Ace! Come back here!”

The dog runs at Army and throws himself at Army’s legs. With a laugh, Army bends and picks up the wriggling fur bundle. “We got a dog. This is Ace.”

“Fuck, seriously?” I grin at the name and cross my arms. The little dude has white legs, a mostly brown body and a big black spot on his back and part of his pointy tail. “Isn’t that the same kind of dog that’s the Aces’ mascot?”

“No! This is a beagle. Blade is a basset hound.”

“Right, right.”

“Hi, Max!” Amber gives me a hug.

“Hi, Amber. Good to see you again.” I’ve only met her a couple times, one of them at Duper’s wedding, but I like her. She’s down-to-earth and perfect for laid-back Army.

“I was just getting things ready for dinner. You must be hungry.”

“Yeah.” I left right after my Friday workout and it’s nearly seven o’clock. “Starving.”

“We’re going to cook steaks out on the patio.” She looks at Army. “Are you going to show him to his room?”

“I was getting there. I’ll just give him a quick tour.”

Amber follows us as we walk through another huge room with another fireplace, big pool table and bar. “The decor was kind of dated.” She waves a hand. “We’ve been slowly redecorating. We haven’t done this room yet.”

“The decor’s fine,” Army mutters.

Amber grins. “Sure, if you liked the seventies.”

I eye the wood paneling on the wall and the ugly chandelier above the pool table. “It looks great.”

“The first thing we redid was the kitchen.” Amber leads us back out. “There’s a powder room here on the main floor.” She gestures. “It’s been redone as well, and the bathrooms upstairs, also.”

We head upstairs where there are four bedrooms and three bathrooms. My room isn’t huge but comfortable, with wood furniture and a big window overlooking the lake. I can see a dock extending out onto the water where a paddleboat is just pulling up.

“That’s Marc and Lovey,” Army says. “They went out for a ride before dinner. Come on down when you’re ready.”

“Thanks.”

I use the bathroom and wash up, then jog down the curved staircase. I find Amber and Army in the kitchen, big sliding doors open onto a stone patio.

“Just about to put the steaks on,” Army says. “Come on out. Drink?”

I let out a big exhale. “Just some water.”

He eyes me. “Wow.”

“I know, I know. I get one cheat day a week, so I’ll take it tomorrow. I’ll drink beer and eat whatever.”

“Is steak okay?” Amber asks, and bites her bottom lip.

“Oh, yeah, steak’s great. Protein.”

Amber hands me a bottle of cold water and we head outside to the patio. The lake sparkles in the evening sun and we can hear Duper and Lovey’s faint voices as they dock the paddleboat. I turn to check out the rest of the patio and see a woman rising from one of the big padded chairs.

Kendra.

My heart slams to a stop.

“Hi, Max.” She gives me an easy smile. She’s holding Ace the puppy and he’s clearly besotted, staring at her with adoring eyes as she cuddles him in her arms.

I blink at her. “Uh…hi.”

“You two know each other, right?” Amber says. “From the wedding?”

“Right.” I gulp down some cold water.

“You need a refill, Kendra.” Amber moves behind a bar made of rough stone and topped with granite, and pulls a bottle of wine out of a fridge. An outdoor fridge, for Chrissake.

“I do,” Kendra agrees. She sets Ace on the stone patio and he bounds off to start sniffing the shrub. Duper heads toward the pup and clips his collar to a rope that’s tethered somewhere.

Kendra slides onto a stool at the bar. I can’t believe she’s here. Wow.

She looks amazing as always, wearing a pair of dark green cotton shorts sitting low on her hips and a loose, thin T-shirt with a wide neckline. One of her bare legs swings back and forth.

Christ. I’ve thought about her so much over the last couple weeks.

I’ve tried not to. Because what’s the point? I didn’t think I’d ever see her again.

It was a lost cause, and I’m not sure why. All I can figure is, she’s the first woman I’ve had sex with. That has to be it.

But man…I’m glad to see her again. I can’t take my eyes off her and my heart is pounding.

Duper and Lovey join us with another bro shake and hug. I’m trying to act natural, still trying to get my head around the fact that Kendra’s here.

Duper and Lovey help themselves to drinks from the outdoor fridge, apparently quite comfortable here at Army’s lake cottage, and Lovey takes a seat in a big wicker chair. “It’s beautiful out there on the water.” She lifts her glass of wine to her lips. “You should go out, Kendra.”

“I want to. Maybe tomorrow. This place is amazing.” Kendra turns to Amber. “Thanks for letting me tag along with Lovey and Marc.”

“We’re happy to have you!” Amber smiles. “We have tons of room, so we often invite people out. Marc and Lovey are here all the time.”

“They should buy their own damn cottage,” Army mutters.

Duper punches his shoulder. “Why would we, when we have yours?”

I know these two guys are best buddies and Army’s just yanking Duper’s chain.

Army moves to the big grill and opens the lid, then picks up a pair of tongs to slide steaks from a platter onto the barbecue. The scent of smoke, sizzling meat, and some kind of peppery spice fills the air.

Ace is interested in this also, galloping over, his nose in the air, twitching.

“Christ, that smells good,” I say, my mouth watering as much as the dog’s. I might be drooling like him soon.

“Cheat day?” Kendra asks me with a smile.

“Actually, no.” I hold up my bottle of water, warmth filling my chest at her question. It’s like she knows me. I guess…she does. “I’m saving that for tomorrow.”

“Ah.” She nods.

“Just hungry.”

“Kale salad for lunch?”

“How did you know?”

Our eyes meet and her smile makes my heart thud even harder.

“Lucky guess,” she says softly.

“I’m just going to toss the salad.” Amber moves toward the doors. “But it’s not kale.”

“I’ll help.” Lovey goes with her.

Kendra slides off the stool. “Me, too.”

I can’t help but watch her ass and legs as she follows the other two women into the kitchen. I turn back to see Duper and Army eyeing me.

“What?” I lift my water bottle to my mouth.

Their eyes shift sideways to each other, then back to me. Army shrugs and adjusts a piece of beef on the grill. “Nothing.”

That’s bullshit but I’m not sure I want to call him on it. Do they know what’s gone down between Kendra and me? It’s possible she’s told them. Lovey and Army are her cousins, after all. But would she tell them?

So what if she did? We didn’t commit a crime. She was a willing participant. Very willing. Very enthusiastic…

Shit. I can’t be thinking about that stuff right now.

“Just say it,” I grind out.

“Not sure how to ask this.” Army focuses intently on the steak. “But…are you ready to start, uh, dating again?”

I frown. My first response is hell, no. I don’t want to date. I am ready to start fucking around again, though.

Somehow, I know that’s not the right thing to say to Kendra’s cousin.

“Not sure,” I compromise. Or wuss out, depending on your point of view.

“It was her you were with the night of the wedding, wasn’t it?”

I stare at Army, striving for a poker face. Shit. “Why do you say that?”

He shrugs. “I’m smart that way.”

“No, you’re not,” Duper says, a puzzled frown creasing his forehead. “Why do you say that?”

“I saw him leaving the hotel the next day.” Army pokes at a steak.

“Hey, don’t do that,” I say. “You need to keep the juices in the meat. Leave it alone.”

This doesn’t distract him at all, even though I’m right.

“And…” Army glances at me. “Kendra asked me about you.”

My lips tighten. “What did she ask?”

“She wanted to know what your story was. I got the feeling she was…interested. And I put two and two together. See…” He taps his head. “Smart.”

It’s hard not to smile. “Okay, yeah, we hooked up that night.”

“I knew it.” He meets my eyes, a notch between his eyebrows. “You okay with her being here?”

“Sure.” I relax a little. He doesn’t know everything, it seems. He doesn’t know that we got together again after that night. Twice. “No big deal.” I pause. “Did she know I’d be here?”

“Not until we were on our way,” Marc says. “She was in town on business today and was going to stay the weekend. She and Lovey had lunch and Lovey invited her to come with us, since we had planned to come up here for the weekend.”

She was in town and she hadn’t called me. My gut tightens and my lips tense.

She’d invited me to call her if I was in New York. Had she been just saying that to be polite? Fuck that.

“Jesus,” Duper says. “You sure you’re okay with her being here? You look like you want to punch someone.”

I relax the scowl I didn’t realize was on my face. “Yeah, yeah, it’s fine.”

“You sound pissed,” Army says.

“You know what? Fuck my cheat day. I’m having a beer.” I head toward the fridge.

“Help yourself. Just don’t want you to hate yourself in the morning.” Army snickers.

His joke actually amuses me and my tense shoulders lower. “I’ll just have one.” I pop the cap and drink from the bottle. I don’t want to even ask, but…“So what did you tell Kendra about me?”

“Ah…I told her that you’re a great guy, but your wife died last year and you were still getting over her, so…I kinda said she shouldn’t get involved with you.” He gives me a smile that almost looks like a wince.

For some reason, this pisses me off. “Well, thanks a lot.”

“I didn’t think you were seriously interested in her,” he says slowly.

“I’m not.”

Duper’s eyebrows lift. “Huh. Then why are you pissed?”

“I’m not!”

Duper and Army exchange glances. “I don’t think you’re in touch with your true feelings,” Duper says.

My mouth falls open and I stare at him. “Excuse me, ladies. What the fuck does that even mean?”

Duper’s lips twitch at the burn, but he says, “Clearly you’re angry about something. You say it’s not because Kendra’s here. You say it’s not because you’re interested in her and Army warned her off you. So why is it? Get your shit together, dude.”

Anger flares hot in my chest, and then my head drops forward. “Ugh. Okay, the truth is, I don’t even know why I’m pissed. I’m not interested in a relationship. And I was up front with her about that. She gets it. We’re totally on the same page about that.”

Army winces again. “Yeah, I’d be careful about that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Kendra’s…well, she’s had a bunch of bad relationships. She tends to get involved with losers and ends up heartbroken. That’s why I told her not to get involved with you.”

“Well, thanks a fuckin’ lot.” I glare at him.

“No! Not that you’re a loser! No offense to you, man, you’re a great guy, but…

Yeah. I know. I frown at him. “What kind of losers?”

“Gah. Well, one guy she dated was an alcoholic. Another was a gambling addict. And then there was the guy who seemed so great, but turned out to be manic-depressive.”

“Jesus.” My insides constrict. “I’m not like that.”

“No, no.” Army shakes his head. “But, uh…you know.” He holds my gaze briefly then looks away and rubs the back of his neck.

“Okay, yeah, I know. But I was honest with her. The truth is…” I pause and lower my voice. “I’m never going to love someone again the way I loved Ariana.”

They both drop their eyes and nod slowly. Army focuses again on the steaks.

“I hear you, man,” Duper says quietly.

“But I don’t want to be celibate for the rest of my life.” I close my eyes and tip my head back. “So it was just…hooking up.”

“So you used my cousin to get back in the game.”

Now I’m the one who winces. Because, yeah…maybe I did. “She knew the deal.”

Army blows out a breath and meets my eyes again. “She’s an adult, I guess. But I’m telling you…don’t fuck her over. If you’re going to have some kind of rebound affair, you should have it with someone else.”

I blink at him. Rebound affair.

Jesus Christ. As if I didn’t feel guilty enough about having sex with someone, now I’m being accused of screwing her over. “Look, she’s good with it. Seriously. Ask her.”

“Sure. Okay.” Army slams shut the lid of the barbecue.

The soft summer air has gone thick and heavy. “So how was the honeymoon?” I ask Duper, trying to change the subject since things just got super-intense.

“Great.”

Duper and Lovey spent two weeks in France after the wedding. They just got back last weekend. I listen to Duper talk about all the things they did, and when the women come back outside, Lovey joins in about the trip as Amber sets out bowls of salads and Kendra arranges plates and cutlery on the bar buffet style.

“Do you have pictures?” Kendra asks.

I press my lips together, trying not to look at her and how fucking edible she is. She was in town and she wasn’t even going to call me.

“Oh, my God, do we! After we eat, we can show you. If you’re interested,” Lovey adds. “I know vacation pics can be super-boring for other people.”

“I’d love to see them,” Kendra says. “And you’re a great photographer.”

Lovey scrunches up her face with pleasure. “Aw. Thank you. Some of them are on my blog already and I’ll add more next week.”

I recall that Lovey has some kind of mega-popular blog as well as her social media consulting business. And Kendra is sincerely interested in her cousin’s honeymoon trip, which is…kinda nice…I guess.

Ace pads across the patio and starts jumping at Kendra’s feet, emitting little whines. She smiles and bends to pick him up. “Hi, little guy. You’re so handsome, aren’t you?” She snuggles him in and lays kisses all over his head.

“You’re stealing our dog,” Army says.

She laughs. “No, I’m not. But I do love him.”

She unhooks the rope and carries Ace over to a chair where she sits with him on her lap. She strokes his back and he flips over. With a shake of her head, she rubs his pink belly.

Something in my chest goes hot and soft watching her with the little dog.

Maybe I should get a dog.

She looks up and catches me staring at her and her expression shifts, her eyes going curious, her mouth soft. She holds my gaze and sparks ignite in my veins, my groin tightening. It’s been a little over two weeks since I saw her. It’s also been a little over two weeks since I had sex.

Yeah, I thought about hooking up with other women. I had chances. I just wasn’t feeling it.

But here’s Kendra sitting across from me, and I’m immediately feeling it. Like, painfully, achingly feeling it.

I scowl at her.

Her eyebrows lift and she turns her attention back to Ace. I watch her rub his belly, remembering her hands on me everywhere. I remember her smiling at me. Hopefully I didn’t look like the dog, who’s gazing into her eyes adoringly.

“It’s because he has a micro-dick.”

My head snaps around to frown at Duper. “Who has a micro-dick?”

“You do.” He shakes his head. “Army asked you three times how you want your steak done, but you’re ignoring him.”

“Micro-dick. Jesus.” I roll my eyes. “Sure, it may only be three inches. But some women like it that thick.”

There’s a beat of silence and then everyone collapses in laughter. I guess they’re surprised I made a joke. I slide a glance Kendra and she’s giggling away.

“Besides, why are you guys always thinking about my dick?” I take a swallow of beer. “What do they call that, Dr. Armstrong?” I now give Kendra a direct look. “Projecting?”

Her smile is gorgeous. “Why, yes. People do tend to defend themselves against their own negative qualities by attributing them to others while denying their existence in themselves.” She winks at me and I know she’s assuring me I definitely don’t have a micro-dick.

My chest fills with more warmth at her supporting me in my stupid joke. “See?” I shrug.

Army moves over to slap my shoulder. “Man, it’s good to see you laughing again.”

I shake my head, smiling. “I like my steak medium, thanks.”

I glance at Kendra, but she’s looking down at the dog on her lap.

Army nods. “Okay, I think we’re about ready. I’m just going to let these babies rest for five minutes and we can eat. Who needs another drink?”