Page 63 of Somehow You Knew

“Oh yeah,” Hazel says, voice breathy as she still recovers from that kiss. She risks a quick glance down at my hard cock pressing against my jeans that I know she felt against her body.

“I’ll see you around, Hazel,” Nathan calls out to her as he heads for the door, giving me one last side glance before he leaves.

With my fists clenched at my sides, I watch him walk down the boardwalk and climb into a ridiculously expensive car before I get on my bike and gun it toward Catch & Release for the lunch I hadn’t planned on bringing Hazel—that now I want to more than anything.

***

“Shit,” I mutter as I pull on the door handle at Catch & Release, only to find it locked. Turning back toward the parking lot, I try to think of what else Hazel might want for lunch. Not that I’d know. Since I haven’t exactly been the husband of the year, we’ve only eaten together a few times…

“Hey, Gage!”

I turn back and see Dallas standing in the doorway.

“Hey, Dallas. Sorry, I thought you were open for lunch.”

“Only on the weekends. But on Thursdays, I have lunch with the boys.” He opens the door wider. “Come join us.”

I hesitate, wary of walking into another interrogation. But since I’m hungry and still vibrating with adrenaline, I take him up on his offer. “Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

Walking into this restaurant with no people in it is a stark difference to how it felt the other night, vibrating with energy from the throngs of people. Penn and Parker are already seated at the counter, along with Grady Reynolds, a guy I know from his days on the pitching mound. They nod their heads in greeting.

“I found a plus one for our lunch date, boys,” Dallas announces as I take a seat on one of the empty stools at the counter.

“I thought we agreed no strays off the street,” Penn says. He tips his chin in my direction.

“I’m housebroken, I promise.”

Parker chuckles beside me, sliding a basket of french fries in my direction. “Didn’t expect to see you here today. How’s it going?”

I pop a fry into my mouth. “Fucking great.”

All four of them laugh.

“Uh oh, I know that tone,” Penn says. “Is our precious little sister driving you crazy?”

“Ha. Yeah, she’s definitely part of it. But it’s not her that’s got my mind spinning right now.”

Dallas hands me a glass of water. “What’s up?”

I peer up at him. “Do you know Nathan Smith?”

Penn, Parker, and Dallas all immediately go tense, their expressions darkening.

Grady, however, just blinks and asks, “Who’s that?”

Ignoring him, Dallas asks, “Why are you asking about him?”

“He showed up at Hazel’s studio today, and I instinctively got the urge to deck the asshole in the face.”

Penn crumples his napkin and tosses it onto his plate. “All right boys, which power tool should I grab?”

Dallas turns to his brother and arches a brow. “Are you suggesting we deal with him using power tools?”

“Do you not remember what that dick did to her, Dallas?”

Dallas blows out a breath and pushes a hand through his hair. “I do.”

I sit up taller on my stool, noting the concerned looks on her brothers’ faces. “What the fuck did he do?”