The twenty minutes it took to get to the bakery were glorious. Her arms wrapped around his waist. Her head pressed against his back. Him cradled between her open thighs. He hated dropping her off.

Once she walked inside, he took off for home with a promise of later. Her last words to him were, “Don’t shave.”

A girl like Katie should be with a banker or businessman. What she wanted with someone like him was beyond imagination. He had nothing to offer her. Seeing as she was a grown-up, he decided not to question it.

They’d talked about a lot of things on the boat when they weren’t kissing. How she’d worked as a data entry clerk for her dad’s insurance company. How her parents didn’t give her much space to make choices, and why coming to Aspen Cove had been the scariest and best decision of her life.

He’d shared some things about himself. Never before had he offered information about that day. His heart and lungs ceased when he looked across the lake to where it all happened, then he looked at Katie and everything loosened up. She was human Xanax.

Just as he arrived at home, his father walked out the door. The smell of aftershave hit Bowie head on. “Got another date?” He couldn’t fault him for wanting to share his life with someone.

Ben shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know what’s wrong with Maisey, but she’s good to me.” He pulled out his wallet and looked through his bills.

“You got enough money?” It was funny how the tables had turned. Once upon a time, it was Bowie standing in front of his father with his empty wallet open.

“I do. Enough for a dinner and a movie.” His dad put his wallet away. His head dropped to look at the ground. “I may not be home tonight. Will that bother you?”

Bowie stood a foot taller than his dad and leaned down to look him in the eye. “I want you to be happy. Does Maisey make you happy?”

Ben’s head rose. “I’m happier than I’ve been in a while. You’re home. Your brother’s got a good woman. I’ve got a job I like. Katie is special.” He looked at the motorcycle sitting in the driveway. “Was that her I saw on the back of your bike?”

His dad didn’t miss a thing. “I took her for a ride to the lake. She wanted to row a boat.”

Ben laughed. “‘Special’ might not be the right word. She’s quirky, but she’s cute. Don’t hurt her, Bowie. I have a feeling she’s been through a lot already.”

Bowie looked past his dad to B’s Bed and Breakfast. “Haven’t we all?”

Ben pulled his son in for a hug. He’d been uncharacteristically touchy-feely since Bowie had come home. “I love you, son. It’s time for you to be happy, too.”

Bowie nodded and walked backwards toward the house. “Have a good time. Glove it before you love it.”

“Get in the house,” his father said with mock sternness.

Bowie headed straight for the shower. When he emerged smelling like soap instead of sweat, he ran into Cannon.

“Coming to the bar tonight?” his brother asked.

“I’ll be there. I’m meeting Katie for a drink.”

“Is that right? You got the hots for her?”

“She’s hot, but it’s not like that.” It was exactly like that, but he wasn’t fessing up. “We’re friends. That’s all.”

Cannon stood in his doorway, buttoning his shirt. “Don’t mess with her. I don’t want Sage mad at me because you screwed with her best friend.”

Bowie threw his hands in the air. “Why does everyone think I’m going to hurt her?”

Cannon shrugged. “Because you might. But don’t. I’ll kick your ass if you do.” He brushed past Bowie. “I’m running late. I’ll see you there.”

He heard the front door close before he entered his room. While everyone around him had changed, his space had remained the same. Stuck in a time warp. The dresser was covered with memories, from the wheat back pennies Brandy gave him to movie stubs and brochures for wedding venues.

He picked up the advertisement for a place called The Chateau. It sat on the edge of Silver Springs. A cross between a dude ranch and a spa, it had been Brandy’s top choice.

He picked up the trash can and with one swipe threw it all away. There was no use holding on to the past. It never made him feel good about the future. There was another “never” for him to consider.

Could he have a future? Would his heart ever soften enough to let someone in? He couldn’t see a time when that would happen. His future didn’t hold a place for love, but it had a slice of time where he could hold Katie.

* * *

He watched the door for over thirty minutes, but she didn’t show.

“Got a date?” Doc asked from the stool next to him. “You’re watching that door like you’re waiting for someone.”

“No, not a date, but Katie’s coming by to have a drink with me.”

Doc folded his napkin into a grid of nine. He was on his second beer, which meant he’d be playing tic-tac-toe with Cannon to see who paid.

“Back in my day, if a girl said she’d meet you for a drink, that was considered a date. You youngsters are confusing.”

“I’m not the dating type.” He pulled the beer to his lips and took a drink. The cold carbonation helped tamp down the fire he’d built inside. Just thinking about Katie made him smolder.

“She’s a good girl, that Katie. She’s—”

Having heard it before, Bowie finished the sentence. “I know, she’s special, and if I hurt her, you’re going to kick my ass.” He tipped back his frosted mug and took another drink.

Doc looked at him, perplexed. “I was going to say she’s a blessing to Aspen Cove, but you’re right, she is special. I’m too old to kick your ass, but there’s a dozen people around her who will if you hurt her.” He laughed and finished his beer.

Cannon walked over and started with an O in the center of the grid. Bowie ignored the rest of the game and kept his eyes on the door. A few minutes later, she walked inside. Dressed in tight blue jeans and those damn red boots, every eye in the place was on her.

For a Sunday, the bar was full, but it was tourist season and the people of Aspen Cove financed their entire year on the months of May through October.

He hadn’t noticed before, but the idiots from earlier were playing pool. The stupid blonde guy whispered to his friends until they all turned to stare at Katie.

She paid no attention to them. Her eyes were on him, and he’d be damned if that didn’t feel good. He was broken and damaged and scarred and ugly, but she looked at him like he was a prince.

“Hey,” she said. She climbed onto the seat next to him and smiled. “You beat me here.”

He turned to her. She was stunning. Her hair was the lightest blonde, it looked white under the lights. Her skin flawless. Her lips plump and kissable. She smelled like strawberries and honey. He wanted to pull her into his arms and taste that sweet mouth of hers, but that would be like claiming her as his own. She wasn’t his. He wasn’t hers.

“You want the usual?” Cannon asked.

It bit at him that his brother knew what her usual was. Bowie knew very little about this woman except she was beautiful and kind. She had been sickly as a child. Had overprotective parents and few life experiences. He knew her skin felt like satin. Her mouth tasted like honey. Her desire for him was as strong as his for her. She had curves that fit against him like a laser-cut puzzle piece. Her touch calmed him. That southern twang in her voice was like music to his ears.

Cannon placed a soda on the counter in front of her.

“Soda?” Bowie asked. She looked more like a wine girl; then again, who knew? He didn’t really know her.

“I love the bubbly water.”

She was a puzzle. “So let’s play a game.”

She clapped her hands. “I love games.” She looked past him to where Cannon stood losing a game of tic-tac-toe. “You want to play that?”

“Hell no. I want to get to know you,” Bowie moved closer and whispered in her ear. “Before I get to know you.” He pulled back.

An appealing blush highlighted her cheekbones. He liked knowing he put it there.

“What do you want to know?”

He reached up and brushed a piece of hair away from her eyes—those beautiful, soulful blue eyes. “I want to know everything, so let’s play a game I call truth or lie.”

“I know this game. You want to go first?”

“Ladies first, Duchess.”

Katie sipped her soda water. “I’m turning eighteen next month.”

Bowie choked on his beer. “I pray that’s a lie because if it isn’t, I’m going to jail tomorrow.”

She laughed. “I’m twenty-eight, but my birthday is next month. Your turn.”

“I’ve been shot seven times.”

She chewed her cheek and stared at him. “I’d say that’s the truth. Do I get to kiss your scars?” Her voice was soft and low and seductive.

“I’d love to feel your lips on me.”

Doc rose from his stool and gave a wave goodbye. Cannon brought another pitcher of beer to the jerks at the pool table.

“I recorded a record when I was fifteen.” She sat there with a straight face.

Bowie wasn’t fooled because even though her face was solid serious, her hands tapped nervously on her knee. That was her tell. She was a terrible liar.

“Lie.”

“How did you know?”

He leaned back against the counter. “I’m intuitive.” He fed her the same words she’d given him the day they met.

Over the course of the next hour, they learned a lot about each other.

She ran three times a week.

He spent three months in a hospital after his last injury.

She had a younger brother and sister.

He had Cannon.

She loved sweet potatoes.

He loved eggplant.

She’d always wanted a dog.

He wanted a new Harley.

She loved lip gloss.

So did he when he tasted it on her lips.

She loved reading about romance.

He loved penthouse.

She liked bad boys like him.

He liked her.

When the jukebox played, she pulled him to his feet. “Dance with me. I love this song.”

He didn’t recognize it, but she told him an artist named Indigo sang it. They found an empty piece of floor, and she fell into his arms while the moving voice of the artist sang about unfulfilled wishes and dreams.

Moments later, the blond idiot poked him in the shoulder. “Mind if I cut in?”

Bowie laughed. “You really have a death wish, don’t you?”

“I’m just asking you for a minute with a pretty girl.” He looked at Bowie’s scarred face.

“I don’t mind stepping aside as long as you don’t mind castration.” Bowie looked down on the man. He was stupid but brave. “You come near her again—in fact, if you even look at her, I’ll rip your gonads free and feed them to you. Got it?” He pulled Katie into his arms. He loved the way she naturally curled into his side. “Let me give you some advice. Here in Aspen Cove, there are rules. You don’t jump on someone else’s ride. You don’t fish in another man’s pond. You don’t touch another man’s woman. This one is mine.”

He nodded toward his brother, who was watching from behind the bar, then led Katie out the door.

What the hell did I just do?

He’d claimed her.