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He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “I went to see the scary dude at the crash repair shop today. GI Joe. He’s actually a really nice guy. Not big on conversation, but it surprised me you never dated him. Did Mrs. Woodcock have something against his biceps? Too corrupting?”

I gave Brody a stiff nudge with my elbow. “Stop it!”

He grinned back at me. “I’ve missed the way you say that. I asked him for some yarn from his goat to make you a gift.”

“From Winston?”

“Yes. That little fella is kind of growing on me.”

I brought my brows together and smoothed out the chain against my palm to examine the stitches.

“Each link in the chain represents one year that I’ve known you.”

I tightened my eyes, running them over the yarn. There were twenty. Even though I’d known him for most of my life, Brody had moved to town after I was born. Twenty stitches, each one of a different size. I lifted the corners of my mouth. “I suggest you check your tension.”

Brody leaned further into me, bringing his lips near to my ear. The warmth of his body pulsed through the thin fabric of my T-shirt. “Believe me, I’ve been feeling nothing but tension around you, but…” He picked up the chain and took my hand again, holding it out in front of me. “Hold still,” he whispered.

Brody took the knotted links and carefully tied the chain around my middle finger.

I sucked in a wavering breath. Just this simple gesture was a promise. A bond.

He cleared his throat, the noise a low burr that made my toes curl in the water. “I know it’s not quite what I promised, but I want you to know how much I love you.”

At his words, my heart pulsed like an exploding supernova. I looked up at him, my gaze bouncing from one blue eye to the other. They were full of that special glow he always had when he looked at me. But they held something else, too. Something deeper, truer. Solid.

“I’ve loved you since I can remember, Ro, but I’ve been selfish. Please, let me make it up to you. Let me show you we’re better when we’re together. If you’ll have me, I want to stay here with you, in Tuft Swallow. I want us to grow old together, watching birds and tossing cornhole sacks until the end of our days.”

I chewed on my bottom lip. Who cared about making anything up to me? This gorgeous man. My friend. He was offering me everything I’d ever dreamed of. But there had to be a catch. Surely, he couldn’t just forget hockey like that. It’d been his life for so long. “What about...?”

Brody brought his hand to my cheek, brushing his thumb along its plane. He made a sound like he was calming a baby. “We have our whole lives to work out the details. I just care about right now. Where we are today.” The corners of his lips trembled. “And considering I’m the only single man under thirty in town who hasn’t been on a date with you. I’d kind of like to sign up for the club.”

I grinned, turning into his hand as it rested on my cheek. “I don’t know. The membership is pretty exclusive. There’s a heavy vetting process to go through.”

His smile matched my own, the corners of his eyes crinkling tight. “Oh, I think I’m ready to get heavy with you.”

With a chuckle, I shifted my body, bringing my feet out of the water. I turned into him and gripped his massive shouldersbefore pulling myself onto his lap. For the longest beat, I stayed there, straddling him, our breath mingling, until finally, I closed my eyes and kissed him.

This time, though, there was no room for gentleness or hesitation. I needed to claim him. Taste him. Own him. The second my lips crashed into his, my world erupted into stars, fireworks, and pure hunger.

Just like that night in my room, my body became its own mistress, and all I could do was hang on for dear life and follow. As our tongues played together, blood sang in my ears, and my lungs struggled to pull in enough air. A slow ache hit low in my belly, and I ground against him to satisfy the tug. The need.

I wound my arms around his neck, and he pulled me in close, his hard chest strong and protective. The skin at my fingertips prickled to touch him, and I ran my hands across his chest, finding his neck with my lips.

“Fuck, Ro,” he gasped as I shifted on top of him, his voice husky and tight. He dragged his hands down my arms to settle at my waist. “Wait. We have to wait.”

I begged to differ. “We’ve waited long enough,” I ground out, my mouth at his throat.

Brody tugged in a breath as I gently bit the soft flesh there. “Oh, believe me, I know. But I wouldn’t put it past old Mrs. Woodcock and her gang of crazed bird stalkers to have their binoculars trained on us right now.”

“I don’t care.” My fingertips were at the lean muscles of his waist. I pulled at his T-shirt, tugging it away from his jeans.

He gave the tiniest of moans, bringing his hands down to grasp mine. “Youmay not care, but according to your brother, I need to uphold your good name around town. I’m not sure open-air jetty sex is on his list of acceptable activities.”

He tensed underneath me. “Please, Ro. I really don’t want to mess up our being together in Coop’s eyes. I need to play by his rules. Just a little.”

I let out a sigh against his skin. Why, oh why, had I chosen to fall for my slightly overprotective brother’s chivalrous best friend?

I sighed. At least Brody wanted to do the right thing, no matter how frustrating. I didn’t know many men who would have such scruples in the circumstances. I pulled away from him. “You’re a cruel man, Brody Flockhart.”