Chapter 1
Zane – a man who’s about to receive a package that will change everything in his life
Zane
Ahum of excitement fills me as I finish packing my bag. It’s been way too long since I’ve gotten away from my hometown island of Smuggler’s Hideaway. But the wait is over. Tomorrow I’m off on a trip to drive a motorcycle through South America.
I wish I could drive my own motorcycle, but I’ll have to settle for buying one in Colombia. My brothers would lose their collective minds if I was gone longer than the two weeks I’ve already planned, which means driving my own bike is out.
My brothers and I own and operateBuccaneer’s Whiskey & Distillery.No matter how many times I explain to them how I can do my job as marketing manager while on the road, they won’t listen. Leaving me stuck in the office way more often than I want.
The doorbell rings. I’ve been expecting my brother Miles. He’s picking me up on his way to theRumrunnerbar, where we’re going to celebrate my younger brother, Kai, and his girlfriend, Harper, being together.
I don’t understand the appeal of tying yourself to one woman for the rest of your life – I prefer a smorgasbord of women – but Kai’s happy and his happiness is what matters.
“I’m coming. Hold your smugglers!”
I fling the door open and smile at Miles. Except it’s not my brother on my doorstep. It’s a beautiful woman. I dial up the smile and flash her my dimples.
“Why, hello, beautiful.”
She rolls her eyes. “You don’t remember me, do you?”
I rake my gaze over her body. “Maybe I need a refresher.”
Forget about going toRumrunnerto watch Harper humiliate Kai. I prefer a warm, naked body in my bed. I open the door and motion her inside.
“Do you want to come in?”
“No, but she will.”
She will? My brow furrows. There’s no one else on my porch.
“She? Who?”
She reaches down to pick up her bag. Wait. This isn’t a bag. This is a baby car seat. And it isn’t empty. An actual baby is sleeping in it. The woman tries to hand the car seat to me but I toss my hands in the air and back up.
I have no idea what’s going on but I am not accepting a baby from a virtual stranger. Let’s face it. I’m not accepting ababy from anyone other than my family. And, even then, I have to be bribed. Other babies? No way. No how.
“What exactly is going on here?”
“I didn’t realize you were this slow. You certainly weren’t slow in bed.”
I scowl. I can be slow in bed. I just prefer not to. Fast and furious is way more fun in my opinion. But how does she know about my preferences in bed?
“Have we met before?”
She sighs. “It’s a good thing you’re pretty because smart you are not.”
“I’m not stupid.”
“Let me give you a refresher. Yes, we’ve met before. Yes, this is your baby. And bye-bye.”
She sets the baby car seat back on the ground and whirls around to escape. I catch her wrist before she can flee.
“What the hell? You can’t leave me a baby. I don’t even know your name.”
She spits daggers out of her eyes at me. “Do you sleep with so many women, you can’t remember all of their names?”
