“Carry-on, ladies.” Then he headed to the group of guys.
When he got there, he said something to all of them and they all whipped their heads in our direction.
Patience giggled. “Looks like you all might be feeling it on your backsides tonight.”
She’d been fairly quiet all day so I was shocked to hear her say what she had. The other ladies almost looked relieved that she spoke and I wondered what that was about, but then we all burst into a fit of laughter.
“I see you girls are up to trouble,” came another voice. “Good for you, it keeps your men on their toes,” Ruby’s Gramps said before making his way toward the kids.
That man was something else and Ruby was lucky to have him still in her life. Jurnee’s parents had stopped by for a bit and they were wonderful too. A touch of melancholy hit me thinking about the loss of the amazing parents that took me in the day I was born.
I was lucky to be alive, left at birth in a basket by the lake. But I’d also been fortunate to have two of the kindest souls find me and love me like they had. Thinking of them also brought memories of two other people that had been my rocks growling up. Bronson and his father. And with that came guilt. I hadn’t told Bronson I was sorry about his father’s passing. All I had done was yell at him.
Emotions were a bitch.
Looking over at Bronson again, our eyes met and I felt the same pull he always had on me down to my toes. He was amazing to look at as a boy, but all grown up, he was drool-worthy for sure.
I’d already noticed the increase in muscles that I was sure would be even more breathtaking if he wasn’t wearing clothes. Just at the thought, my cheeks heated and I saw Bronson raise a brow as if he noticed. That made them flame more.
I looked away for a second but then as if a beacon, my gaze zeroed back in on him. His tanned skin, dark hair, masculine face splattered with sexy scruff, and those warm, hypnotizing, green eyes were reeling me in like a fish caught on the end of a line. And the tats. Oh my, those were hot. He glanced at something the guys were saying and I sighed.
“Girl, you may be angry and I don’t blame you after what you told us, but it’s clear you really like what you see,” Capri said. “My guess is your lady bits are tingling.”
I’d just taken a sip of a much-needed drink of soda after taking in Bronson but spit it everywhere at her words. In a very non-ladylike way, it sprayed from my mouth like a sprinkler and right out my nose as well.
She wasn’t wrong about the lady bits, but I didn’t expect someone to call me on it. Capri slapped my back a couple of times as I choked and the others who overheard cackled. I looked up at Bronson who had a knowing smile on his face. Could he really tell how he was affecting me?
And damn him for that smile that was always hard to resist.
I was holding onto my anger whether he liked it or not.
Quickly, I turned away and looked at Capri to give her shit. She was studying me closely, her laughter dying all of a sudden. Did I have something on my face? What the heck?
“I’ve been trying to figure out all day why you seemed so familiar and I should have noticed it from the start, but it just hit me.”
I was thoroughly confused.
“From the hospital maybe?” I asked her.
“Nope, that’s not it. You look like my therapist, River.”
River? That was weird. Capri must have thought so too because then she said what I was thinking.
“It’s so strange the similarities and don’t you think it’s odd that you both have bodies of water for a name? Don’t get me wrong, I love your names, but what are the chances of such a coincidence and looking alike too?”
That was very strange. “Umm, I’m not sure but I was adopted and don’t have a biological family.” Even while I said it, my mind was racing with questions and surprise that I’d felt comfortable enough to divulge something personal about myself.
Capri opened her mouth but my phone rang and she stopped what she was about to say.
“Sorry it’s work, I need to grab this,” I announced after pulling my cell from my shorts pocket and glancing at the screen.
I hit the button to accept and put the phone to my ear. “Hey, Dave, is everything okay?”
When he told me why he called, an unnerving sensation rippled through me.
Not again.
Chapter Four
