“Well, after I realized my coffee maker kicked the bucket this morning, I needed coffee, so I went down to Ted’s. And who should I run into—literally ran into—but Kasey fucking Corcoran. Arrogant bastard.” Jodi cackled over her coffee cup and Shaun glared at her. “It’s not funny!He spilled my coffee because he was standing so damn close!”
“I’ve never met two people that antagonize each other the way you two do,” Jodi said, still chuckling as she shook her head. “Even from two thousand miles away, he still ruffles your feathers.”
“If he everstayedtwo thousand miles away, I’d be fine,” Shaun muttered sourly, then stood to cross to the coffee pot, filling her cup and then held it up in silent inquiry. Her sister shook her head, and she slid it back onto the hot plate beforereturning to her seat. Pushing her cup out of the way, she folded her arms on the counter and buried her face in them, rolling her forehead back and forth as she let out a long, frustrated groan. Speaking into her arms, her voice was muffled as she grumbled, “Urghhh. He just drives meinsane, Jodi! And this dream! Ugh!”
Twisting her head so that her cheek lay on her folded arms, she looked up at her sister, who just smiled knowingly, her sapphire blue eyes mischievous as she took a sip of her coffee. “Is it always the same?”
“For the most part, yes. It replays that night at Shane and Cassie’s wedding. I remember seeing him across the room for the first time, and then dancing with him.” She heaved a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. “The way he held me against him while we were dancing, like he wanted to imprint his body on mine, or maybe vice versa… and then Tommy shows up and sees us—” Shaun’s voice cracked slightly as she stumbled over his name, and she swallowed past the lump of emotion in her throat before continuing, “—and I remember walking over to him and kissing him so Kasey would see it and leave me alone. But in the dream, when I pull away, it’s not Tommy who I’m lip locked with. It’s Kasey. Kasey, every single time. But the worst part is when I wake up, I hate that it ended. Like I wanted it to keep going… I can’t stand him, Jodi. I don’t get it and I don’t understand why my brain keeps doing this to me.”
“Maybe you just need to get laid,” Jodi said and shrugged, though she smiled behind another sip of her coffee.
Shaun groaned, rolling her head so she could bury her face in her arms again. Ithadbeen a very long seven months. And a vibrator only did so much. She missed thereal thing.
“I still remember the night he came up for a visit… shoot, was it New Years Eve?” Jodi asked out loud, but Shaun knew exactly what night she was referring to. “It had to be, because we were at the party out at the Mountain…”
She knew exactly when he walked in.
Shaun stood at the bar in the Snowflake Lounge at Boyne Mountain Resort a town over from Petoskey. The lounge was decorated in black and gold and silver everything, the lighting low and the music was just loud enough to make conversations difficult to hear, and the room was crowded with other New Years Eve celebrants.
But she knew the moment those gray-blue eyes landed on her from across the room.
She’d recognize him anywhere. Even if she hadn’t seen him in four months, if they’d only spent a handful of minutes together. That incredibly tall, lean body. That sandy blonde hair that always looked like it was just a tad too long. Those dangerously sexy hands with those long fingers that looked like he knew exactly what to do with them, no matter what he was doing with them.
She knew exactly what that body felt like as they danced, pressed together from thighs to chest.
He was dressed in dark navy slacks and a light, dusty blue dress shirt. There was no tie around his neck, and the top three buttons of his shirt were left undone at his throat, revealing several inches of deeply tanned skin in the V formed there. The sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, and a watch was strapped around one wide wrist where his hand dangled at his side. The other hand was tucked into his pocket as he shifted his gaze away from her.
Leaning to the side, she hissed through her clenched teeth, “You failed to mentionhewas going to be here!”
“Huh?” Jodi asked, glancing around the room, her blue eyes widening when she spotted who Shaun was talking about. “Oh. Uhh, I didn’t know either.”
While the two women waited for the bourbon neat and vodka tonic that they’d ordered, Shaun brought the champagneflute in her hand to her lips and took a long swallow, finishing what was left in it before sliding it across the lacquered bar for the bartender to refill.
Kasey made his way across the crowded room, stopping at the table where Freeman sat with several other members of her family, including Tommy Chandler. Her fiancé.
His eyes drifted back to her more than once in the time he stood there speaking to the others at the table. From where she and Jodi stood at the bar, she couldn’t hear what was being said. Tommy glared daggers up at him, though he seemed totally unaffected by it, paying the other man little to no attention.
When the bartender pushed the drinks across the bar, Jodi picked up the bourbon and her champagne, and Shaun collected her own glass of champagne and the double vodka tonic Tommy had requested before making their way back to the table. She was painfully aware of Kasey’s eyes on her, and she felt her skin growing hot. She had chosen a long sleeved, black top with a deep cowl neck that left the tops of her breasts and an eyeful of cleavage on display, paired with a dangerously short, sparkly, sequined gold skirt that hit high on her thighs. However, it was the thigh high, black high heeled boots that encased her legs and left a swath of bare skin between the tops of the boots and the hem of her short skirt that seemed to catch his attention the most.
Shaun stared stonily at Kasey as they approached, then as she handed Tommy his drink, he tugged her wrist, bringing her down so he could capture her lips with his. He hadn’t forgotten the way Kasey had been holding her at Shane and Cassie’s wedding either, apparently.
Free had risen from his seat, and he motioned around the table as he said, “Kasey, you remember Jodi—" Shaun watchedas Kasey tipped his head and grinned warmly at the tiny brunette standing beside her.
“Hiya, doll,” he said, reaching out a hand toward Jodi, and Shaun’s belly flip-flopped at hearing that drawl again. “I hear congratulations are in order.”
Jodi laughed, holding out her left hand. He examined the glittering diamond on the third finger and whistled, making Jodi blush.
“If you ever get tired of this grumpy old man, you let me know, doll,” he murmured and winked. Free elbowed Kasey in the side and they chuckled together. Tommy rose to his feet, standing close beside Shaun, sliding one hand low on her back. She leaned into him as Kasey’s eyes sliced toward the two of them.
Free continued with introductions, motioning to them as he said, “Kase, you remember Jodi’s sister, Shaun? You two met at Shane and Cassie’s wedding several months ago.” Shaun fought the urge to roll her eyes. Like any of them had forgotten they’d met before.
“Nice to see you again,” he drawled, and one side of his mouth tugged upward just the slightest, making Shaun grind her teeth together as he extended his hand to her. She placed her hand in his for the briefest shake before pulling it back. He turned those gray-blue eyes to Tommy, extending his hand. Shaun held her breath as Tommy gripped the other man’s hand, and she could see the muscles in both their forearms tensing with how tightly they were gripping.
“And this is Tommy, Shaun’s fiancé,” Free kept on, his deep voice neutral, but Shaun’s stomach felt like it had dropped out of her butt when Kasey’s face hardened. He kept his eyes on Tommy’s face as they dropped hands.
“I guess double the congratulations, then,” he murmured, though it lacked the warmth or even the arrogant teasing froma moment ago. His words were edged with a bite. He let his eyes glance over her for the sparest moment before looking toward the bar, and then said, “Nice to meet you. Excuse me, I think I’ll go grab a drink.”
As Kasey sauntered toward the bar, Free and Jodi joined him, leaving Shaun and Tommy alone at the table.
