Honey stared at the other two women, unsure how to proceed.

There was another light knock.

“Go open the door,” Addy said, sitting back with her drink. “Before he changes his mind.”

Honey headed for the screen door. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Nikki give her curls a fluff.

The light inside the cabin made it hard to see outside, but the size of the silhouette told her their guest was a man, and a big one.

She pushed it open and sure enough, there was Kitt.

He gazed down at her and she was nearly lost in his gray eyes again. Something about him reminded her of the beach at dawn, the peace of the unblemished sand and the threat of the coming tide.

“Hello, Honey,” he said solemnly.

“Hello, Kitt,” she whispered. “Would you like to come in and meet my friends?”

He nodded and she escorted him into the room.

“Hey guys,” she said, feeling more awkward by the moment. “This is Kitt.”

“Hi, I’m Nikki.” Her friend smiled, stood, and extended a hand.

“Pleased to meet you,” Kitt said, shaking her hand briskly as if they had just made a deal on a reliable used car.

Nikki looked surprised and a little disappointed as she watched Kitt’s hand pumping hers up and down vigorously.

“Addy,” Addy nodded from her place on the couch.

“A pleasure,” Kitt said, freeing Nikki at once and giving Addy the semblance of a bow with the inclination of his head and a quick movement of his hand.

Addy nodded, raising an eyebrow, her lips turning up at the corners.

Oh man, Addy was going to have a field day with this. Well, there was nothing Honey could do about it now. She’d meant to be clever about things and instead she’d spilled the beans immediately.

Well, if Addy got a laugh out of this at Honey’s expense, so be it. When push came to shove, she knew the laid-back swim coach would have her back.

She realized the room had gone quiet and everyone was looking at her.

“Oh, er, Kitt,” she said, “would you like a drink?”

“Yes, please,” he said.

“Have a seat,” Addy offered, indicating Honey’s spot on the sectional.

Kitt sat down and Honey was struck by how small the sofa suddenly looked with the big hunk sitting on it. Really, the whole living room seemed much tinier than it had a few moments ago.

“Ahem,” Nikki cleared her throat.

Honey realized she was just staring at Kitt.

He was eyeing her up too, a hungry expression on his gorgeous face.

She spun and dashed for the kitchenette, grabbing a mason jar and heading back to the gang in the living room.

She poured sangria into the jar slowly, willing her hand not to tremble.

“Here you go,” she said, handing it to Kitt.

“Thank you, Honey,” he replied, taking it.

Their fingers brushed as she handed off the glass and she shivered at the little shock of awareness she felt at the gentle contact.

Easy, Honey. He’s just a guy.

But that wasn’t entirely true. And she knew it.

“Are you cold, Honey?” Kitt asked attentively.

“I’m fine,” she said too quickly.

She seated herself opposite him, effectively forcing Nikki to slide closer to Addy.

They all observed the enormous man as if he were a new exhibit at the zoo.

He took a sip of his drink.

Honey watched, somehow hypnotized by the way he swirled the liquid in his mouth appraisingly, like a billionaire drinking fancy wine in a movie.

He swallowed, and she watched the fine muscles of his jaw working.

Then, he coughed, grabbed his throat with a massive hand and coughed again.

Honey shot out of her seat and began thumping him on the back.

“That’s not how you do CPR,” Addy observed lazily from the sofa.

Kitt stopped coughing and his big warm hand was splayed on her back like a giant starfish.

“I’m okay,” he told her. “I was only surprised.”

She stopped thumping him and realized their closeness - the warmth of his arm around her, the way his voice reverberated slightly through his hand and into her back. He smelled good, like he had been hiking in the woods today.

“Have you ever had alcohol before?”

Honey was grateful for Addy’s question as it awoke her from her trance. She slipped out of Kitt’s hold again and seated herself on the edge of the sofa opposite him again.

“This was alcohol?” Kitt sounded surprised.

“Well, it’s got a lot of juice and fruit and honey in it too,” Nikki amended.

“Someone spiked the punch,” Kitt said, studying his glass wonderingly. “Just like in the movies.”

“No, I did it on purpose,” Addy told him. “It’s called sangria.”

“This is blood?” Kitt asked, clearly taken aback.

“Oh, god, no,” Honey reassured him. “It’s just called that. Alcoholic drinks just have funny names sometimes. This one is juice and fruit and wine and grain alcohol.”

“I see,” Kitt said, sounding like he didn’t see at all. He didn’t put the drink down, but Honey was pretty sure he wasn’t going to be trying any more of it.

Which was probably for the best. With the sizzling heat between them, at least one of them should keep their head.

“So, you have two friends with you, right?” Nikki piping up with someone new was unusual.

Honey swallowed down a twinge of jealousy. It didn’t matter if Nikki was flirting. Kitt was not Honey’s boyfriend.

“Yes,” Kitt replied, “we are visiting from…” He trailed off and looked at Honey again.

Oh.

“They know, Kitt,” she told him. “It’s okay, they’re my friends - they’ll protect your secret.”

“Thank you, women,” he said sincerely to Addy and Nikki. He appeared to be completely at peace with the idea that they would not sell him out.

How could he trust them all so completely when they had just met?

Honey was beginning to see that being Kitt’s friend was a huge responsibility. She was almost afraid of learning too much, having too many secrets of his to keep.

Nikki, on the other hand, seemed to have no such qualms. “Why didn’t you bring your friends with you tonight?”

“Honey said that I could stop by,” he said. “She did not mention my brothers. It would be rude to bring uninvited guests when Honey has been so accommodating.”

Addy chuckled. “If you think she’s accommodating now, wait until the rest of that pitcher’s gone.”

Kitt looked confused.

Honey shot Addy a look and leaned forward. “I’m very sorry, Kitt. I should have invited you to bring your brothers.”

“That’s alright,” Kitt grinned. “I like having you all to myself.”

He had a dimple on one of his cheeks. She could see it through his five o’clock shadow - it was sexy as fuck and she felt herself gazing at him greedily, trying to memorize where the dimple was, the reddish flash in his dark hair, the perfect symmetry of those devilish gray eyes.

There was another knock on the screen door, a loud bang of a knock.

Then the door crashed open and another man let himself in.