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“I’m serious about leaving early if it gets to be too much, okay?”

“I’ll be fine, Spitfire. You sure you’re going to be able to handle this?”

She turns back to look at the house. “Honestly, I don’t know.”

Her lack of confidence doesn’t do anything to build my own, so I reach over and take her hand, lifting it to my lips and pressing a kiss to the back of it.

And fuck, was that a mistake.

When our eyes meet, Hazel’s appear darker than they were before. Her red painted lips are parted just slightly, and I swear I can see her pulse fire in her neck.

My dick sure likes the sight, and suddenly the issue I’m facing isn’t the inquisition looming from her brothers, it’s getting through this birthday party without a perpetual hard-on.

I c an’t deny that there’s chemistry between us. Hell, I felt it that day in the coffee shop and even more so when I kissed her at our wedding. But we’re only a little more than forty-eight hours into this marriage, and I’m already fighting for control of the way my body reacts to this woman.

“We’ve got this,” I manage to croak out. “We’re a team, remember?”

Hazel laughs. “Since when?”

“Since we got married. That’s how it’s supposed to be, right?”

She eyes me suspiciously. “Yes, but our marriage isn’t exactly traditional.”

“Not romantically, no,” I interject, making sure I’m being clear. “But we’re the only ones who need to be okay with our choices. Fuck what anyone else thinks, okay? If they can’t support us and understand where we’re coming from, then we don’t owe them an explanation. Right?”

Her lips spread into a soft smile. “Yeah. You’re right.” As her shoulders drop, she tilts her head to the side. “Besides, it’s not like my brothers haven’t gotten themselves into some interesting situations over the years.”

“Oh, do I hear potential blackmail?” I cup my hand around my ear, making her laugh again.

“Plenty of it, if necessary.”

Laughing, I open my door and round the car to catch Hazel’s door before she can step out.

She looks up at me, surprised. “You don’t need to do that.”

“Look, I may not be looking for romance here, but I’m still a gentleman when it counts.

” I hold out my hand, and Hazel hesitates for half a second before sliding hers into mine.

She climbs out of the car, and I shut her door behind her before leading her toward the side of the house, where sounds of the party draw us out of our bubble and into the chaos.

I don’t miss the way Hazel squeezes my hand as soon as the crowd comes into view.

“Oh my God, it’s true!” a short brunette shouts from the front yard, racing over to us in the sand. “There is a man, and you actually brought him!”

Hazel studies the woman with narrowed eyes. “Did you think I was lying?”

The woman’s eyes bounce back and forth between Hazel and me. “No, but…”

“But what?”

Before she can respond, Penn comes over and wraps his arms around the woman. I realize this must be his wife. Astrid, I think it was.

The woman leans in toward Hazel. “Well, I was a little bummed when Penn told me you already married the guy. I thought for sure we’d at least have a little girls’ night to send you off into wedded bliss.”

I can feel Hazel tense up again, so I reach out to shake her sister-in-law’s hand. “Hi, I’m Gage.”

“Astrid.” Good, I was right . She shakes my hand before Penn pulls her back into his arms. “Penn told me he met you yesterday,” she adds.

I slide my gaze over to Penn. “That he did. How’s it going?” I reach out to shake his hand, and he reciprocates, but there’s scrutiny in his gaze.

“It’s going. Surprised you two are late. Hazel is never late to anything.”

“Well, forgive us for not wanting to rush into the inevitable interrogation.” She places a hand on my shoulder, peering up at me. “Come on. Let’s go get something to drink.”

“ It was nice to meet you,” I say to Astrid as Hazel leads me toward the porch like her pants are on fire. “Hey, slow down there, Spitfire.”

“I need alcohol if I’m going to get through this.”

As we enter the house, Catherine sees us and her face lights up. She immediately makes her way over, holding a little boy I can only assume is the guest of honor.

“Well, hello there!”

“Hi, Mom,” Hazel says, kissing her mom on her cheek and then turning her attention to the child, her whole demeanor softening. “And how is the birthday boy doing today?”

The baby lets out a string of babbles, completely unintelligible, but Hazel nods like she understands every word. “Is that right?”

Catherine kisses the boy’s cheek. “He’s actually doing quite well, considering it’s past his nap time.”

Hazel looks around the room. “Where’s Dallas and…” She stops mid-sentence when her eyes land on a man headed our way. “Well, speak of the devil.”

A tall, rugged-looking guy, who I assume must be Hazel’s oldest brother, moves over to us with a beautiful blonde woman at his side, her hand tucked in his.

“Hello there, Hazelnut.” As quick as lightning, his gaze slides over to me. “And you must be her fiancé.”

“Uh, husband, actually,” Hazel mutters, barely audible.

Dallas’s eyes go wide. “I’m sorry, what?”

He, however, is so loud that several partygoers’ heads turn in our direction.

Hazel exhales sharply, then straightens, crossing her arms over her chest. “We got married this week, big brother,” she says, chin raised in defiance. Seeing as how Hazel’s father isn’t around anymore, I imagine her oldest brother has tried to take on that role.

Dal las looks to his mother. “Did you know about this?”

Catherine nods, smiling down at the baby. “Yep. I was there.”

Concern is etched in every line of Dallas’s face, but before he erupts, or worse, causes Hazel to, I step forward and offer him my hand. “I’m Gage. Nice to meet you.”

Dallas remains stiff but, thankfully, his wife steps in. “It’s nice to meet you, Gage. I’m…”

“Willow,” I finish for her. “Hazel gave me the rundown on everyone before we got here to help me keep track.”

Willow laughs. “Smart. We are a pretty big bunch now, aren’t we?” She rubs Dallas’s arm, smiling through the awkwardness, but his eyes remain locked on me.

“Newsflash, Dallas,” Hazel says dryly. “Staring at Gage isn’t going to make him vanish into thin air.”

His gaze snaps to her. “Listen, Hazelnut—”

“No, you listen for once. I am not some incompetent little girl. I didn’t fall in love with a stranger overnight like a lovesick teenager.

Diane left us over ten million dollars to split if we got married for six months—which I would have told you last week at Sunday dinner, if you’d ever listen instead of just assuming you know what’s best.”

Dallas and Willow’s eyes widen in shock just as another couple approaches—a man wearing glasses holding the hand of a petite blonde. “Oh shit,” the guy says, popping the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth. “Did I hear that right—you married some random guy for money ?”

“Shut up, Parker,” Hazel snaps.

“Oh, please,” Catherine interjects. “Are you telling me that if you had the chance to inherit over five million dollars if you got married for six months, you wouldn’t do it?”

Par ker and Dallas share a look just as Astrid and Penn enter the house.

“Hey, Penn!” Parker calls out to the other Sheppard sibling. “Did you know that Hazel married this guy for money?”

Penn stomps over to where we’re standing, eyes narrowed in anger. Even though I know she’s not the one in danger here, I pull Hazel to my side. When her arm wraps around my waist, this insane need to protect her overwhelms me.

Now I can see why she was so nervous about this.

Penn stands next to Dallas, his eyes moving between Hazel and me. “Tell me he’s joking.”

Hazel presses a palm to her forehead. “Jesus…”

Before this one-year-old’s birthday party gets out of hand, I decide to take control of the conversation. “Look, I know everyone has questions, but let’s just take a second to calm down, all right?”

Dallas pins his gaze on me again. “You have a lot of nerve acting like the peacemaker when you’re clearly taking advantage of our sister.”

My jaw tightens. “Look, buddy, I didn’t take advantage of anyone—”

Hazel steps in, shielding me from her brother and pressing a palm to his chest. “Just stop it, Dallas. Gage didn’t lure me or force me to do anything I didn’t want to do. He didn’t trick me or pressure me or whatever insane scenario you’ve cooked up in your head. We both agreed to this.”

She turns back to me and that fire in her eyes that I’ve come to appreciate is alive and well. I give her an encouraging nod before she turns to Penn and Parker.

“And before either of you start, let me save you the trouble. This is happening. It’s done. So you can either get on board, or you can keep acting like overbearing assholes. But if you do the latter, just know I’m not going to sit here and take it.”

Fuck, she’s sexy when she stands her ground.

Jesus. There goes my dick again .

“You boys need to knock it off,” Catherine interjects.

As if her voice doused the flames coming off the top of Dallas’s head, his shoulders drop and he blows out a breath. “I’m sorry. I just—”

“I get it. She’s your little sister,” I interrupt.

“But trust me when I say we knew what we were getting into. This is just temporary and we’ll go our separate ways when the time comes.

I respect her and the life she has here, which is why she wanted to be honest with you guys.

You don’t need to worry about me, though.

I have every intention of returning to Florida when this is all over. ”

Willow clears her throat, a tight-lipped smile on her face showcasing her frustration even though she’s trying to keep the peace. “Well, now that the introductions have been made, would you all mind if we got back to the reason we’re here, please? To celebrate Michael turning one, yeah?”

Hazel turns back to her sister-in-law. “Yes, please.”

Catherine bounces the birthday boy in her arms. “Yes, let’s do it! Maybe all of the men need to take a turn in the bounce house to let out some of their aggressive energy,” she suggests as Penn, Dallas, and Parker grumble.

Hazel’s brothers follow their mother outside, but not before shooting more warning looks at me over their shoulders.

“Well, that went well,” I say sarcastically.

Hazel huffs out a laugh. “Sure. Yeah. We’ll go with that.”

I look down at her. “Was that as bad as you thought it was going to be?”

“ Honestly, I thought there would be more yelling. But I think we put them in their place before they could start.” Peering up at me, she says, “Thanks for having my back.”

“I told you I would.” Our eyes remain locked as a wave of determination rolls through me. “Why don’t you go get that drink you were after?”

Hazel blinks, then nods. “Yes. Alcohol. I definitely need some of that.”

Leaning down, I whisper in her ear, “Don’t get too tipsy, Spitfire. I’d hate for the alcohol to give you the courage to tell me what you really think of me.”

Her eyes darken when I lean back, but I don’t wait for a reaction before I head toward the front door.

“What…where are you going?” she asks, stumbling over her words.

Glancing back at her, I say, “To show your brothers that I’m not the bad guy.”

With that, I head outside and make my way toward the bounce house, feeling this innate need to ease the tension with Hazel’s brothers. And I don’t dare let myself question why I care so damn much.