Chapter 19

It was a beautiful wedding. The bride had walked down the aisle with a handsome stud, and Zoe had beamed when he’d winked her way before handing Amanda off to her groom-to-be.

Hope sighed. She’d known Amanda for years, and now another of her friends had found true love and the man of her dreams, while Hope had a date who’d left early due to a problem at the office with a patient complaint.

But hey, at least she’d had a good-looking professional on her arm. Her other friends had been jealous, not realizing Mark had done her a favor for taking such good care of his aunt’s place. Thank goodness for Zoe’s gardening skills. Peggy was so thrilled she’d asked Hope to house-sit the next time she went away.

No fool, Hope had immediately agreed.

Too bad she didn’t have the hot man to go with the cool house. She liked Mark, and he was sexy and rich, but he did nothing for her. She sighed.

Men. They all sucked.

Except for her family.

She joined Gavin, now looking happier than he had in a while, as he stood with Zoe and another woman, Nicole. She held an adorable little towhead in her arms. “Mikey, say hi to your Uncle Gavin and Aunt Zoe.”

Gavin looked a little pale until Zoe wrapped her arm around his waist and smiled. “Gavin would just love to change his diapers, Nic. When can we babysit?” Then she and Nicole laughed at Gavin and told him to stop being an idiot. “I’m kidding,” Zoe said. “Baby steps, okay?”

Nicole beamed. “I’ll bother you two later. Mikey and I have to sucker Aunt Amanda and her new husband into sitting for us when they get back from Paris.”

“Good luck,” Gavin called out, then turned to Zoe, his heart in his eyes. “I love you so much, Pink Yoga Pants.”

“I love you too, Smoky.”

They kissed.

Hope wiped happy tears from her face. Another Donnigan brought down by the love of an amazing woman. Now that just left her and Theo to get out from under Linda’s fat thumb.

She stayed at the party and pretended she was having fun, then left when no one would notice her leaving early. Honestly, that one groomsman had better learn to keep his hands to himself.

She didn’t want to head back to her lonely apartment in Queen Anne, so she drove instead to Gas Works and parked, then walked to an unoccupied spot where she could look over Lake Union. The wind blew, but the warmth of the evening sun kept her comfortable enough. She didn’t much care about the state of her outfit, the pink cocktail dress pretty but too trendy to keep.

Hope sighed. She was twenty-nine years old. Old enough to have a life, a relationship, a great job. So why was she still hopelessly single, living in just an okay place, and dissatisfied with life? She wasn’t her cousin’s charity case. She worked hard for Cameron’s investment firm. Had learned a lot and even started to invest her own money wisely. And her cousin—her boss—treated her like a valued employee. She’d earned her place there.

But she had no special man in her life, just an endless string of disasters behind her. She only wanted to be loved and taken seriously. Geez, her family respected Theo more than they did her, and Theo was twenty and still not sure what he wanted to do with his life.

“So. This is where you spend your time slumming now.”

Startled, she shot to her feet. “Greg?” She glanced around. Most of those who’d been milling close by were departing. She wouldn’t be noticed unless someone stood directly below the hill she was on.

He smirked. “Not so tough now without your brothers, are you, bitch?” He took a step closer. He had at least a hundred pounds on her and an attitude she’d dumped. “How about telling me I’m sorry and meaning it? Or better yet, showing me how sorry you are?” He leered at her breasts and smirked.

She didn’t wait for him to attack first. Hope punched him right in the nose, grabbed his arm and twisted, then kicked him in the side of the knee.

He went down with a startled yelp and clutched his face.

Wow! That self-defense class actually worked.

A shadow suddenly covered her, and she saw the giant behind Greg, staring at her in shock.

Oh my God, it’s him. Del’s brother. That hot hunk of man who had mistake written all over him. The gorgeous tattoo artist and possibly the worst man she should lust after, considering her track record. Also the reason she kept her distance from her McCauley cousins as best she could, Mike and Del especially.

“Ah, need some help?” J.T. Webster asked in that rich baritone that sent shivers down her spine. Between her legs. Oy.

Dark, sexy, and built. And those eyes. A dark, melty brown that seemed to invite a girl to take off her clothes before she knew what she was doing.

Hope coughed. “Nah, I’m good. Thanks.” She stepped over Greg, then turned to ask, “Greg, why are you here?”

He responded in a nasal whine, “To tell you to get your brothers to lay off.”

She frowned. “Huh?”

“They put a beatdown on him months ago.” J.T. frowned. “They’re still bugging you, douche bag?”

“Put a tire iron to my car last night,” Greg said through a bloody nose. “Wrote me a threatening note too.”

“Not my brothers. They’re too busy to deal with you, dickhead.” Hope turned on her heel and walked back down the hill, too fast, toward her car.

Just as she stumbled, J.T. grabbed her.

She clutched his thick forearm and stared at his hand, seeing his darker skin against hers. Noticing how graceful and long his fingers were. How sensual… Heat sizzled along every nerve in her body.

She refused to meet his gaze, though she felt it burning through her like a laser. He guided her down the hill, then slowly let go, his fingers trailing her arm to her wrist, then the back of her hand, a whisper of touch.

He walked her back to her car in silence.

“Th-thanks.”

He nodded. “I was passing by and saw some guy going up the hill, but the woman at the top—you—didn’t seem to know he was there. He watched you before he walked up. I didn’t get a good vibe.”

“Oh. Yeah, he’s an old ex.” She frowned. “Not sure what he’s talking about with my brothers. They wouldn’t be bothering with him. Heck, I haven’t heard from the guy in months.”

“Odd.” He nodded, looking her over. “You look pretty.”

“Thanks.” They just stared at each other. “I was at a wedding.”

He glanced at her fingers. “Obviously not yours.”

“Right. Pink dress. Not white.” She pointed to herself.

He smiled. “I like pink.”

Oh God. He was flirting with her. Danger! Danger! Everything feminine in her preened and counted down a timeline to when she could legitimately audition to be his personal mattress. First date? Third?

Just another potential bad decision on her list of bad decisions.

Nope. Not this time. Not this girl. “Thanks again.” She smiled, waved, and rushed into her car so fast he blinked and she was gone. She checked her rearview as she drove away and saw him staring after her.

Man, her mother would burst a blood vessel if Hope brought him home. J.T. Webster—a man with a questionable background, rumors of jail time, a tattoo artist, and a giant who looked like he ate mean for breakfast. Now to stop thinking how amazing it would be to flaunt him under Linda’s nose and instead focus on better life choices.

She pulled into her apartment complex and parked, then checked her phone, only to see more haranguing from Queen Linda, the Donnigan matriarch who had never made a mistake in her whole damn life.

Thoughts played through Hope’s brain, the flickering of plans made and refined. Like what kind of tattoo she planned to get the next time Linda jumped her case.

She smiled. “Bring it, Linda. And I bring him.”

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