can go home. I'm fine now. And I'm pretty sure you have work to do."
He shrugs, not looking up from his computer screen.
"Nothing that I can't do from here, and I'm not leaving until those marks on you are healed into small scars. Then I'll be able to quit worrying."
I stare at him, debating his true intentions. I realize he wants us back, but why continue to sleep in my bed? We're not kids anymore, so I really don't think this is appropriate. It's sure as hell not good on my heart. I won't mention what other parts of me feel tortured.
"Are you going to Kade's wine party?" I ask, considering his previous response didn't give me any insight as to his plans for the evening.
He smirks as though he has a secret, and then he shuts his laptop as he climbs out of bed. He walks toward me, intriguing me with his enigmatic expression.
"Yeah, but not because Kade Colton wants me there. Raya invited me."
There goes that sharp stab of jealousy. How the hell does he know Raya?
"Oh?" I muse, going for mildly interested.
"Yeah. She used to work for me."
He walks away, leaving that suspended in the air. The imagery of Raya swinging on a pole or burlesque dancing comes to mind, and I get queasy. Normally I'm not a crazy jealous person, but this is Dane. Considering Raya landed Kade—one guy I never thought would focus on anything but his vineyard—I can't help but feel intimidated.
"Raya worked... for you?" I ask, silently cursing myself for how choppy that sounded.
He laughs while nodding. "Yeah. She was a waitress. Kade caused a scene in my club one night, and I had to kick him out. I've barely seen him since then, other than at Tag's wedding, and briefly at Wren's wedding."
Tag got married. That's still shocking the hel—
Whoa. Huh? "You had to kick Kade out of your club?"
He shrugs while grabbing his phone and keys. "Yeah. Long story. Obviously things worked out for him in the end."
He heads toward the door, slips his shoes on, and then turns back to me. "I've got to run home and do some things, but I'll pick you up in two hours to drive out to the vineyard."
We're going together? When did we discuss this?
"Umm," is all I manage to get out before he disappears through the door.
I'm sure my beach neighbors are enjoying the shirtless beauty on my sandy lawn, but they're not enjoying him as much as I am. He's driving me crazy. It's probably a good thing my post-op instructions included no sex for six weeks. I'd have already thrown myself at him otherwise.
It's amazing how good at distracting me he has been. My life was sliced up and a huge chunk of my future was stolen because of my cursed genes. I expected to still be falling apart, but Dane... It's just like before; he makes everything better.
My phone rings, and I glance down to see Raya's name flash across the screen. I answer, curious as to why she's calling me.
"Hey," I say while trying to shake the scandalous thoughts of Dane from my mind.
"Can you ride with me?" she asks, sounding nervous.
"Um..." Crap. I want to ride with Dane. What's she even doing here?
"Please, Rain. Kade is so frigging nervous for some reason, and I'm on edge. If he's this nervous, then the people coming must be intimidating. I could seriously use your help. He wouldn't even let me help with the setup, which makes me feel crappy. I thought I was getting better with all you uppity people.
"I came to Sterling Shore this morning to pick my brother up from the airport, but apparently he got an earlier flight and Kade sent a car to get him. So now I'm still here, and I'm a train wreck. Please," she begs.
I can almost hear her pouting, and it forces me to stifle a laugh.
"Fine," I groan, even though I hate being around her and Kade when I'm alone. The two of them are that sweet, madly-in-love sort of couple that makes a person gag. Of course I could just be strangling on my own envy.
"Thank you," she squeals, and I actually do laugh.
"You look sore or something," Raya says as we get
He shrugs, not looking up from his computer screen.
"Nothing that I can't do from here, and I'm not leaving until those marks on you are healed into small scars. Then I'll be able to quit worrying."
I stare at him, debating his true intentions. I realize he wants us back, but why continue to sleep in my bed? We're not kids anymore, so I really don't think this is appropriate. It's sure as hell not good on my heart. I won't mention what other parts of me feel tortured.
"Are you going to Kade's wine party?" I ask, considering his previous response didn't give me any insight as to his plans for the evening.
He smirks as though he has a secret, and then he shuts his laptop as he climbs out of bed. He walks toward me, intriguing me with his enigmatic expression.
"Yeah, but not because Kade Colton wants me there. Raya invited me."
There goes that sharp stab of jealousy. How the hell does he know Raya?
"Oh?" I muse, going for mildly interested.
"Yeah. She used to work for me."
He walks away, leaving that suspended in the air. The imagery of Raya swinging on a pole or burlesque dancing comes to mind, and I get queasy. Normally I'm not a crazy jealous person, but this is Dane. Considering Raya landed Kade—one guy I never thought would focus on anything but his vineyard—I can't help but feel intimidated.
"Raya worked... for you?" I ask, silently cursing myself for how choppy that sounded.
He laughs while nodding. "Yeah. She was a waitress. Kade caused a scene in my club one night, and I had to kick him out. I've barely seen him since then, other than at Tag's wedding, and briefly at Wren's wedding."
Tag got married. That's still shocking the hel—
Whoa. Huh? "You had to kick Kade out of your club?"
He shrugs while grabbing his phone and keys. "Yeah. Long story. Obviously things worked out for him in the end."
He heads toward the door, slips his shoes on, and then turns back to me. "I've got to run home and do some things, but I'll pick you up in two hours to drive out to the vineyard."
We're going together? When did we discuss this?
"Umm," is all I manage to get out before he disappears through the door.
I'm sure my beach neighbors are enjoying the shirtless beauty on my sandy lawn, but they're not enjoying him as much as I am. He's driving me crazy. It's probably a good thing my post-op instructions included no sex for six weeks. I'd have already thrown myself at him otherwise.
It's amazing how good at distracting me he has been. My life was sliced up and a huge chunk of my future was stolen because of my cursed genes. I expected to still be falling apart, but Dane... It's just like before; he makes everything better.
My phone rings, and I glance down to see Raya's name flash across the screen. I answer, curious as to why she's calling me.
"Hey," I say while trying to shake the scandalous thoughts of Dane from my mind.
"Can you ride with me?" she asks, sounding nervous.
"Um..." Crap. I want to ride with Dane. What's she even doing here?
"Please, Rain. Kade is so frigging nervous for some reason, and I'm on edge. If he's this nervous, then the people coming must be intimidating. I could seriously use your help. He wouldn't even let me help with the setup, which makes me feel crappy. I thought I was getting better with all you uppity people.
"I came to Sterling Shore this morning to pick my brother up from the airport, but apparently he got an earlier flight and Kade sent a car to get him. So now I'm still here, and I'm a train wreck. Please," she begs.
I can almost hear her pouting, and it forces me to stifle a laugh.
"Fine," I groan, even though I hate being around her and Kade when I'm alone. The two of them are that sweet, madly-in-love sort of couple that makes a person gag. Of course I could just be strangling on my own envy.
"Thank you," she squeals, and I actually do laugh.
"You look sore or something," Raya says as we get
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