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H arlow blinked at seeing all the food Grayson took out of his refrigerator. There was a tray piled high with skewered jumbo shrimp and sliced pineapples. There were asparagus spears, red potatoes, a large bowl of Greek salad and a long loaf of French bread.

“You’ve got quite a feast there,” she said from where she sat at the kitchen island.

“Trust me, the guys will think this is just an appetizer.”

“What can I do to help?”

“Dinner ready?” a male voice said before Grayson could answer.

She glanced behind her to see two men coming in through the deck’s French doors. Cooper, the one she’d met, came in first, followed by a man she assumed was Liam. “Hello, Elmer,” she said, smiling at him. Where Grayson was clean-shaven, Cooper had scruff on his cheeks and chin, giving him a bad-boy look. With his handsome face, light brown hair and eyes the color of dark coffee, he was a man whom women would sigh over as he walked past.

“Harlow, it’s great to see you again.” He gave her shoulder a friendly pat as he walked past, straight to the refrigerator. He grabbed two bottles of beer, twisted the caps off with his bare hand, then handed one to the other man, who’d stopped next to her.

“This is Liam O’Rourke,” Grayson said.

Liam smiled. “Nice to finally meet you, Harlow.” He glanced to where Grayson and Cooper stood side by side. “Who’s Elmer?”

While Grayson explained why Cooper was Elmer, she took the opportunity to study Liam. He had dark blue eyes and jet-black hair, and like the other two men, he was tall and broad shouldered. She was surrounded by male hotness. Lucky her.

Grayson glanced at her and winked, and there was a little flutter in her stomach, as if one tiny butterfly had awoken from its long slumber and stretched its wings. Although both Cooper and Liam were as lip-licking yummy as Grayson, it was Grayson who made her stomach feel funny.

She had mixed feelings about that. The part of her that had been crushed into submission and thought she’d never be interested in a man again rejoiced that maybe Anthony hadn’t permanently killed her libido. If her sole focus wasn’t on getting back her son, she would definitely like to see where this attraction to Grayson could go.

“Get your fingers out of there,” Grayson said, slapping Cooper’s hand away from the salad bowl.

Cooper snatched an olive and popped it in his mouth as he moved next to Liam. “If you’d feed us, brother, I wouldn’t have to be stealing food.”

“He has a bottomless pit for a stomach,” Liam said.

Cooper bumped Liam with his shoulder, Liam gave Cooper a noogie and Grayson sighed. “See what I have to put up with? They’re six-year-olds walking around in big-men bodies.”

She laughed. There was affection in his voice that told her these men cared for each other. Fascinated by the dynamics of their friendship, she wondered how the three of them had come together. Grayson had been evasive when she’d asked, but maybe one day, he’d tell her their story.

Cooper grinned at her. “Run away with me, love. We’ll leave these losers behind.”

“Like she wants your ugly mug anywhere near her,” Liam said, stepping to her side. “It’s me you want to run away with, yeah?”

Grayson came around the island and bumped Liam away from her. “Clowns, the both of them.” He clapped his hands. “Children, let’s get dinner started.”

“Aw, Dad, you’re always messing with our fun,” Cooper said.

As entertaining as Cooper and Liam were, she liked Grayson’s steady calm, something she’d noticed about him. As everyone picked up a dish to take outside, it hit her that it had been years since she’d enjoyed an evening out with people she liked.

Their meal was delicious, the playful insults between the men flew, accompanied by much laughter, and all too soon, dinner was over, and it was time to talk. She wished she didn’t have to end such an enjoyable evening talking about Anthony.

“We wanted to bring you up to date on where things stand,” Grayson said. “You met Cooper, and I wanted you to meet Liam, too, because you might see both around Faberville. Liam’s spending a few days at the Pressley resort, picking up some golf games with the locals.”

“You’d be surprised at the gossip you can pick up on a golf course, especially in the clubhouse over a few beers after a game.” Liam grinned as mischief danced in his eyes. “Did you know the mayor’s having an affair with Alderman Rice’s wife?”

Harlow did not know that. “Seriously? She’s so holier-than-thou. Wow, you just never know about people, do you?”

“Truth,” Grayson said. “Anyway, if you see either of these clowns around town, pretend you don’t know them. Cooper’s looking into Dale Jenkins and his relationship to Pressley. If they’ve done to anyone else what they did to Miss Etta and George Pickens—”

“Oh, that reminds me. After you asked about them and then Dale Jenkins, I put the names together. George Pickens’s name wasn’t mentioned, but I remembered Anthony asking Dale if Etta Jankowski was going to cause them trouble. This was before we were engaged, when we had just started dating. We were at some event or another when that conversation happened.”

“Do you remember Jenkins’s answer?”

She shook her head, hating to disappoint Grayson. “I’m sorry, I don’t. We were at a fancy gala, and I was a bit overwhelmed. I’d never been to an event where everyone was so important and beautiful. My attention was more on what was going on around me than on what I probably thought then was a boring conversation.”

They’d dined outside on the deck, sitting at a round table with Grayson next to her. He put his hand on hers and squeezed. “That’s okay. It’s good to have it confirmed that Pressley and Jenkins were involved in stealing Miss Etta’s home.”

“I feel so awful about that. Do you know what happened to her?” After he told her how they’d found Miss Etta and what they were doing for her, she was blown away by these men. Because of Anthony and the kind of people he surrounded himself with, she’d forgotten there were good people in this world.

“I haven’t been able to locate George Pickens yet,” Cooper said. “Miss Etta said he moved away. She thinks to somewhere around Charlotte. I’m going through the tax records now, searching for anyone else they might have pulled this stunt on.”

“And I’m playing golf and collecting gossip on your ex, Harlow. So far, he’s not coming across as an angel from the things I’m hearing,” Liam said.

Cooper mock scowled. “Why does he get to play golf, and I’m stuck in a dusty records room?”

“Because I’m prettier than you,” Liam said. “You know it’s true, so stop your sulking.”

Cooper snorted. “I don’t sulk.”

“You sulked when the team ate those cookies you thought you’d hidden,” Grayson said. He put his hand on her arm. “Word of warning. Never mess with Cooper’s food.”

“Noted.” His hand on hers sent heat traveling along her arm, and she glanced up at him. His eyes were on hers, and in them was something she couldn’t quite place, but it seemed important to know. For a moment she got lost in those eyes and forgot they weren’t alone.

When he took his hand away, she had a sudden longing that she couldn’t explain. Anthony’s hands had been cruel on her, often leaving bruises on her arms from gripping her so hard. He’d enjoyed humiliating her with his words. Because of her husband, she’d gone years without wanting the touch of another man. Now she was hungry for it. And not with just any man, but this one. Grayson.

It was the worst possible timing for her girlie parts to be waking up. Maybe Anthony was right, and she was a hussy. She slid her chair back. “I should go home.” She’d go home and have a good talk with herself. Get her head straight.

Grayson put his hand on the arm of her chair. “We’ll go in a few minutes. I want to hear the conversations you recorded with Pressley.” He lifted his chin toward his friends. “Be gone with you.”

Cooper stood. “Up, O’Rourke. We have places to go.”

“We do?” Liam said.

Cooper rolled his eyes. “Dude’s clueless.”

“I have a clue.” Liam shot her a mischievous grin. “Let’s head to Faberville and see what trouble we can stir up.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Cooper said.

After they were gone, and she was alone with the man who was stirring up the stomach butterflies that were supposed to be dormant, she dared not look at him or those lips she’d probably dream about kissing. She got the burner phone from her purse, found the recordings she’d air-dropped from her personal phone, handed it to him and then walked down the stairs of his deck, going far enough away so that she didn’t hear Anthony’s voice again.

She didn’t need to be wanting Grayson’s mouth on hers, but as she walked along the edge of the ocean, that was all she could think about.

Some minutes later, Grayson caught up with her. He slipped his hand around hers and pulled her to a stop. He looked down at her with eyes that gleamed with emotion. “I was a SEAL. I’ve done things in the name of my country that I never want to tell you about. I never enjoyed what I had to do.” He brushed back the strands of hair that the wind was blowing across her face. “But, Harlow, I saw the photo of the bruises on your arm, and after listening to those recordings, I think I might enjoy putting a hurt on your ex. If that disturbs you, I’m sorry.”

“I wouldn’t be sorry,” she whispered, unable to tear her gaze away from his.

“Would you be sorry if I kissed you?”

“I don’t think so.” Truthfully, she couldn’t think at all, not with the way he was looking at her, as if nothing existed for him but her. She wanted to know how it would feel to be kissed by a kind, honorable man. One kiss couldn’t possibly hurt, right?

He lowered his face until his mouth was an inch from hers. “You can tell me to stop.”

She didn’t, and he closed the distance until his lips were on his. It was a soft, gentle kiss at first, but as the seconds ticked by, it became more passionate. His hands found their way to her waist, pulling her closer to him, and lost in the moment, she wrapped her arms around his neck. The rational part of her brain screamed a warning that this wasn’t a good idea, but…just a few seconds more, and she would have the memory of the best kiss she’d ever had. Then she’d stop, and this could never happen again.

Time got lost, and she didn’t know how much elapsed between thinking she needed to stop and when he lifted his head. It could have been hours for all she knew. He took a step back, taking the heat of his body with him. Even though it was a warm night, she was chilled without the warmth of his skin against hers.

He gave her one of his soft smiles. “I won’t apologize and say I’m sorry because it would be a lie. I can’t bring myself to regret that kiss. But I know you’re thinking it can’t happen again, so it won’t.” His smile grew. “Unless you ask me to kiss you.” He took her hand. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”

She wished he wasn’t a mind reader and would kiss her again without her asking. Because she wouldn’t allow herself to ask.