Page 2 of Decidedly Off Limits

“It’s nice to meet you, too.” Was I supposed to say that Trent had told me so much about her? And maybe he would have if I hadn’t spent the last ten years avoiding him. Which, I should point out, wasn’t easy when his family was pretty much the only family I had left, other than my older brother Liam.

“So what’s the deal with your car?” Trent asked.

I shrugged. “No idea. She started making funny noises and died.”

“What kind of funny noises?” Holly said.

I described them as best as I could, not that it mattered if I was correct or not. It wasn’t as if she could tell me what was wrong with the car.

“Sounds like a broken fan belt.”

I stared at her. “How do you know that?”

She laughed like a hyena in heat and I mentally did a happy dance. At least there was one not-so-perfect aspect about her. “When you have two brothers who are obsessed with cars, you learn a thing or two.”

If Holly’s interesting laugh bothered Trent, he didn’t show it. He was too busy nodding at what she had said, even though he wouldn’t know what it meant any more than I did. Cars had never been his passion. Not like with some guys. I suspected he only had a BMW because of the status associated with owning one. Which was kind of funny. The Trent I remembered couldn’t have cared less about status.

“Have you called for help yet?” he asked.

“Yep. They should be here in about four hours.” I glanced down the street, as if that would magically speed up the tow truck’s arrival.

“In that case, you can come with us. I’ll drive you back before they get here.”Without waiting for a response, he headed for his car. That was Trent for you. Once he made up his mind, end of discussion.

Holly flashed me another friendly smile, then followed him.

I looked back and forth between the two cars. I didn’t like the idea of abandoning my poor baby—but I didn’t have much choice.

“C’mon, Kels,” Trent said, his smooth, deep voice causing the ache between my legs to let out another dreamy sigh. “Erin will skin me alive and feed my carcass to a pack of wild dogs if we’re late.”

Even though my fate wouldn’t be quite as dramatic, I grabbed my purse from my car, locked the doors, and joined Trent and his…girlfriend? Erin hadn’t mentioned that he had a girlfriend, or maybe she didn’t know about her yet. Or she didn’t think I’d care either way, since I wasn’t supposed to be lusting after her brother.

As we drove toward Trent’s old home, Holly twisted around in her seat to talk to me. “How long have you two known each other?”

“Since we were kids,” I said. “Our families used to live near each other. I spent as much time at his house as he did at mine.”

“Kelsey’s brother, Liam, has been my best friend since fifth grade,” Trent explained. “You’ll meet him at the party.”

“Will your parents be there too?” she asked me.

The car accident that stole my parents from me and tore my life apart happened when I was eighteen, but even though I had long since moved on, a flash of pain in my heart stirred at her question. “No. They’re dead.”

Her face twisted into the pitying look I was more than familiar with. I missed it as much as I missed writing exams. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s okay. They died ten years ago.”

“What does your brother do?”

“He’s a Navy SEAL.”

Deep furrows formed across Holly’s forehead. She understood what most women chose to ignore when they fantasized about the heroes in romance novels—that my brother’s career was damn dangerous.

“He’s a hero,” Trent added and a small smile graced my lips at that truth. “He once saved my brother’s life when they were on a mission together.”

Holly’s gaze shot to Trent. “Your brother’s a SEAL, too?”

“Not anymore. He was injured and honorably discharged from the military. Now he works in Silicon Valley.”

“Will I get to meet him today?”