Page 7

Brynn

I race into The Watershed restaurant and head straight for the back table I requested.

The mountain view out the back windows is amazing.

Almost as amazing as the view of the ridiculously muscular naked ass I left wrapped in my sheets at home.

I bite my lip, thinking of Ethan snoring softly as I slipped out the door.

"There you are! How are you feeling?" Miranda envelops me in a big hug, and something about her warmth and scent causes the prick of tears to start at the back of my eyes. By the time she pulls back, fat drops are running down my cheeks, and I can't shut off the spigot.

"Oh, no. Oh, Brynn. What's wrong? Do we need to go to the doctor?" Miranda pushes my hair off my face as I start sobbing too hard to respond.

Betty, Miranda's pseudo-grandmother who cusses like a sailor and basically runs Duhring Park, gently urges me to sit at the table next to her.

She hands me some water and rubs small circles on my back as I try to get control of myself.

"Brynn, dear. Tears like those are usually caused by one thing.

So tell me, sweetheart. What man do we need to bury before we head back? "

I finally laugh, still sniffling, and then pull back in alarm at the look on Betty's face. "Are you serious? Nobody. No!"

I turn to Miranda who simply shrugs. "She'll shank someone in the kidney for you, Brynn."

Betty nods seriously and tilts her head. "And I won't even ask if he deserved it."

I stare at Betty for a moment too long before whispering, "Please don't bury anybody for me."

"Another time, then." Betty settles her napkin on her lap and reaches for a roll.

I shake my head, glancing at Miranda's wedding planner, Violet, who looks like a deer caught in headlights. She's new to Duhring Park. I have a feeling it's growing on her, though, because she finally shrugs and says softly, "Women need to stick together."

Betty nods at her approvingly.

"Is this about a guy, Brynn?" Miranda asks gently.

"Yes. He doesn't deserve to be buried, though," I add quickly, my eyes darting to Betty to make sure she heard me. "I've met someone, and he's going to ruin everything. I need to focus on my career, and he's intense, and smart, and so very...sexy."

"Aw, don't make me bury a sexy man. What a waste." Betty grimaces.

Ignoring the casual murder comments, I look at my future-sister-in-law in a panic. "I don't have time for him, Miranda."

"Brynn, it is possible to find someone on your specific timeline.

But it is not always possible to find the one on your timeline.

" Miranda holds my hands, speaking gently but she leans down, forcing me to meet her gaze.

"If he's the right one, he'll value what you value, and if that's your career, he'll make it his priority too.

" She clears her throat before continuing.

"I'm not sure if you know this, but I didn't think I had time for your brother when he came into my life a few years ago. "

I grin at her and raise my eyes in surprise. "Cole called me the day he started his new job in Duhring Park and told me he'd found the love of his life. He didn't say you fought him on it."

"Sounds about right," Miranda laughs. "I was a fool to push him away. He's everything I needed and more."

I nod, looking out the window as I contemplate what she's said.

"Have you talked to this guy about your concerns?" Violet asks, and I shake my head.

"We haven't really had time to...talk," I admit, and my cheeks heat when Betty gives me a knowing wink.

I shake my head, suddenly embarrassed by my tears and desperate to change the topic.

"Thank you, guys. You've given me a lot to think about.

Let's eat, and then you can show me what you found for the wedding. "

A few hours later, I walk up to my cabin with Ethan's car still in my driveway, and my heart flutters.

When I open the front door, Ethan stands from my little couch, his intense gaze making it harder for me to breathe already.

"You're up," I whisper breathily.

"You left," Ethan responds, clenching his jaw even as his eyes travel down my body in a slow perusal.

No doubt about it, this man loves my curves.

"I had to meet some friends for lunch. I figured you needed to sleep." I hang my purse on one of the hooks by the front door and turn to face him.

He starts to walk toward me, but I put up a hand to stop him. "Ethan, I need to say something, and I can't have you touching me when I do."

He pauses and then gives me a sharp nod, but he doesn't sit down.

"I love my job. I want to have a career in hotels and resorts. I don't have the energy to be a random summer fling, and I don't have time for games. So, if that's what this is to you," I say, gesturing between the two of us before continuing, "you need to leave me alone."

"You done?" Ethan growls, and my stomach flutters because everything about his intense possessiveness gets me hot and bothered.

"Brynn, I'm not playing games. I'm not overthinking this.

To be honest, I'm not thinking about it at all.

It's set. I'm not an impulsive man. I'm not romantic or capricious with my feelings.

I don't flit from one woman to the next.

Hell, I sometimes take weeks to craft the perfect sentence, mulling over words like an oyster with a grain of sand before I ever put them to paper.

There's nothing to analyze here. Nothing to consider or weigh.

The second I saw you, I fell in love with you.

Simple as that." He steps toward me and cups my cheek, staring into my eyes. "I want you and only you. Forever."

My heart is about to explode. I capture his mouth with mine, and he tries to walk me backward toward the stairs to my bed, but I push him onto the couch and straddle him instead.

Kissing up his neck, I stop to whisper into his ear, "If you break my heart, Betty knows how to bury a body where nobody will find it."

"Baby, if I break your heart, I'll hire Betty myself." Ethan buries his face between my breasts and pulls the front of my dress down to suck and kiss along my cleavage.

I grip his hair, moaning from his touch, and his large hand comes between my breasts to rest across my heart.

"Mine," Ethan commands, staring at me with what I can only call the perfect mix of love and infatuation.

"Mine," I reply, placing my hand in the same position on his chest.

The grin that lights up his face is dazzling, and I know in my soul I am going to spend the rest of my life trying to make him as happy as he is today.

"Yours," Ethan whispers. And then he stands and plants me on the couch. He reaches behind his neck, removes his gray t-shirt with one hand, and lowers himself between my open legs, ready to show me what's his. Forever.