Feels Like Love by Jenna Hartley
Playlist
“Something Strange” by Vicetone, Haley Reinhart
“Only One” by Felix Cartel, Karen Harding
“Got the Feeling” by Syn Cole, kirstin
“Only Human” by Jonas Brothers
“Star Crossed” by 3LAU
“Plans” by Elephante, Brandyn Burnette
“Riptide” by Trivecta, Amidy, RORY
“Deep End” by William Black
“Walk Away” by 3LAU, LUNA AURA
“Daylight” by Maroon 5
“Happier” by Marshmello, Bastille
“Ride or Die” (featuring Phoebe Ryan) by Kaskade
“Bloom” by Dabin, Dia Frampton
“Unconditional”
by 220Kid, Brynn Christopher, Dillon Francis
“Drown” by Dabin, Mokita
“Solid Ground” by Kaskade
“Crazy” by BEAUZ, JVNA
“Deep Blue” by William Black, Monika Santucci
“Gasoline” (featuring Laura White) by Cash Cash
“Walk Through Fire” by Vicetone, MERON
“Love You Forever,”
by Nicky Romero, Stadiumx, Sam Martin
You can find this playlist and more at
https://
Chapter One
“Good set today, man,” Liam said, slapping me on the back.
“Thanks.” I took a swig of water, downing the rest of the bottle before dropping it in my bag. “Fuck, I’m tired.”
“Drinks tonight?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” I rubbed a towel over my forehead. “I’m kind of beat after that workout.”
“You can’t skip.” He shook his head. “I just got back, and it’s not like you’re on call tonight.”
“Fine,” I huffed, knowing I couldn’t get out of it. Not that I’d want to. Asher, Tristan, and Liam were my three best friends. We got together once a week—at least when Liam was in town—to drink and shoot the shit.
“How was your inspection?” I asked.
Liam was an electrical engineer, and he worked as an independent contractor for the government agency that regulated nuclear power. He traveled a fair bit for work, though not as much as he had in the past. And when he was home, he was always working on some house or garden project.
“Good,” he answered quickly. His phone buzzed, and he glanced down at the screen. His expression immediately changed, thunderclouds rolling in. “The fuck?”
“What is it?”
“Mom needs me to swing by the shop and check on something. She can’t do it since Wren asked her to babysit tonight. Because, apparently, my sister has a date.”
I clenched my jaw so hard I thought a molar might crack. A date. Wren. My vision went spotty, and I grabbed an energy bar from my bag, hoping it would help. Though I knew it wouldn’t make a damn difference. My blood sugar wasn’t the issue.
Even so, I bit off a huge chunk, mashing it like I wanted to crush Wren’s date.
“What’s the problem?” I asked, trying to sound casual when I was anything but.
“The problem—” he clenched his phone as he spoke through his teeth “—is that she’s going out with Lucas McGeary.”
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked, genuinely curious. Wren rarely went out, but when she did, Liam never seemed to approve of the men she dated. Not that I didn’t agree, but still. I wanted to know his reasons. “He’s got a good job, and he seems nice enough.”
“Oh no.” He shook his head, shoving things into his bag. “No. No. No. No. No. First of all,” he huffed. “Lucas is too old for her.”
I frowned. Lucas was thirty-two. I was thirty-two. Wren was only twenty-six. Was that really such a huge difference? Maybe when we were younger, but it didn’t matter now.
“He’s our age.”
“Exactly. Which means that I know about all the shit he pulled in high school.”
“Seriously?” I asked, laughing. “That was—what? Well over ten years ago. Pretty sure he’s matured since then. Especially if he made it through law school and passed the bar exam.” Wait. Why was I advocating for this guy?
“No. Nope.” He shook his head, and I could see the wheels turning. A plan formulating. “Nuh-uh.” He glanced at his phone again. “And they’re going to Larkspur—for a date? What is this—high school?”
“Hey! Larkspur’s nice.” White paper tablecloths, flowers, on the main street. Good food. Sounded like a pretty decent night to me. Though we had often gone there after high school games to celebrate…
“Maybe for a family night out.” He pitched his voice high and asked, “Can I bring you some crayons?”
I rolled my eyes. “Maybe he’s trying to make her comfortable. Show her that he’s a family man.”
He growled. “No. Just no. Have you forgotten that he cheated on Mindy senior year?”
I sighed. Fuck. I wanted to give Lucas the benefit of the doubt, but cheating?
“Liam,” I chided. “What do you think you’re going to do? March in and tell her that she’s forbidden from seeing him?” I laughed, imagining the scene. Because as sweet as Wren was, she would bust his ass.
“Of course not,” he scoffed. “You act as if I don’t know my own sister.”
“Okay. So, I’ll ask again. What are you going to do?”
“Have a little chat with Lucas.”
I shook my head. I might not like the idea of Wren dating Lucas, but… “You’re crossing the line. And if Wren ever finds out…”
“She’s not going to find out.” He stood, jabbing a finger in my chest. “Because you’re not going to tell her. Are you?”
“Liam…” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’m telling you—this is wrong.”
“I’m only looking out for her. Saving her heartache down the road. He’s not good enough for her.”
I didn’t disagree. I wasn’t sure there’d ever be anyone good enough for Wren. But still… “Don’t you think she should be allowed to figure that out for herself?”
“No,” he snapped and turned away. Matter closed. Discussion over.
I understood Liam’s desire to protect Wren, but still…it seemed a bit overboard. Even if I was—selfishly—silently cheering inside that the date wouldn’t happen. But then another thought occurred to me. How would Wren feel? Would she see it as a rejection? That Lucas stood her up for no apparent reason?
But when I glanced up to mention it to Liam, he was already gone. Shit.
I hurried through a shower and dressed quickly before grabbing my stuff. I jogged to my truck, a plan formulating in my mind. I didn’t know where Lucas lived, but I knew where he’d been planning to take her. If I couldn’t stop Liam, maybe I could do damage control with Wren.
Fortunately, downtown wasn’t far from the gym. I drove down historic Main Street and all the Victorian architecture, passing Bibliolater with its colorful display, currently celebrating #ownvoices. Then the florist, a few other gift shops. A clothing boutique and art gallery. Antiques. Then, finally, I made it to the corner where Larkspur was located.
I circled the block a few times, looking for a parking spot. Of all the nights… Damn tourists.
When I finally reached the restaurant, I could see Wren through one of the big picture windows. Alone. Eyes focused on her phone as she sipped her water and forced a smile.
But fuck me, she looked beautiful.
Her blond hair was curled in these big waves that cascaded over her shoulders. And even though I couldn’t see all of her, I could see enough to know that this interaction might kill me. Liam might kill you if he knew the thoughts you were having about his sister.
I opened the door to the restaurant and went inside but not before wiping my palms on my jeans. I had no plan. No idea what to say. I only knew that I didn’t want her to feel like this. Like she somehow wasn’t enough.
I greeted the hostess before going over to Wren’s table. When she glanced up from her phone and saw me, she smiled. “Hey, Bennett. What are you doing here?”
“Hey.” I shifted from one foot to the other, not sure what to do or say. I hadn’t really thought this through. But maybe Liam had changed his mind. Maybe Lucas wouldn’t be deterred by the conversation.
But then Wren’s phone vibrated on the table, and she glanced down at the screen. She picked it up and frowned, shoulders deflating.
“Figures,” she muttered before placing her phone facedown on the table.
“Everything okay?” I asked, even though I knew it wasn’t. I wished Liam could see this moment—the disappointment, the doubts. Then maybe he would think twice before threatening Lucas or whatever he’d done to scare the guy off from dating his sister.
Liam had his reasons, and he believed his actions were justified. But more often than not, they came off like the actions of a misguided superhero who leaped to fix a problem but ultimately caused more harm. His heart was in the right place, but I wondered if he’d ever stop to think before acting.
Wren lifted a shoulder. “It’s fine. I was supposed to be meeting someone, and they had to cancel.”
I was so distracted by her, I didn’t respond. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen her so dressed up apart from some of our friends’ weddings. Most days, she was sporting a ponytail and jeans or something easy to photograph in. And as hot as that was, this was…different. Her hair was down and slightly mussed, and I wanted to run my fingers through it. Her dress was more formfitting. Still colorful—Wren was always colorful and, more often than not, wearing something with flowers on it. But this was decidedly sexier.
The way the neckline dipped, giving a little tease of her full breasts. The swell of them pressing against the fabric. The birthmark near her collarbone, a port-wine stain I wanted to lick… Shit. Focus, Bennett.
I stepped closer, placing my hands on the back of the chair just to give myself something to do. “I haven’t eaten yet. Would it be okay if I joined you?”
She nodded, though I could tell she was still upset. We perused the menu, and after the waiter vanished with our orders, I asked, “How was your day?”
“Good.” She perked up, but then her expression darkened. “Or, at least, it was. I’m sorry.” She waved a hand through the air. “What about you?”
“We found a stray dog, so I’m working on locating her owner, if she even has one. And assessing her general health since she was in a sad state when we found her.”
“Oh no.” She frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“We’ll take good care of her,” I said.
“I’m sure you will. What’s her name?”
“Destiny.” I smiled just thinking about her. I had a good feeling about this one.
“That’s a sweet name.”
“She’s a sweet animal,” I said. “But she’s been through a lot. I’m hoping she’ll trust me.” For a minute, I wondered if I was talking about Destiny or the woman sitting before me. Both had been through the wringer, and both were survivors.
“I’m sure she will.” She placed her hand over mine, her smile like a punch to the gut. Fuck me, I was such a goner for this woman. And she had no idea.
The waiter arrived with our food, and Wren sat back in her chair. For a minute, I didn’t move my hand. I wanted her hand back on mine, her smile directed at me. When had I become such a fucking love-sick fool?
Oh, right. About two years ago when I’d moved home and seen the woman she’d become. I’d always had a soft spot for Wren but seeing her again after being gone for a few years—I’d been struck dumb. Gone was Liam’s little sister, replaced by a woman who was smart, kind, and sexy. Fuck me, was she sexy with those outrageous curves and sass for days. She was also a talented photographer and a fucking amazing mom.
“That looks good,” she said, reaching over with her fork to grab a bite of roasted chicken from my plate.
I chuckled when she popped it into her mouth, flashing me a wicked grin.
“Thief. Though at least you didn’t try to order a salad and then steal my fries. Because that is not cool.”
She scoffed. “Please. You know me better than that. If I want fries, I order the damn fries.”
“Even on a date?” I challenged, taking a swig of my wine.
I watched her face fall. Fuck. Wrong thing to say. Backpedal. Change the subject. “What’s River up to tonight?” I loved that kid.
She smiled, and my chest eased. “Having a sleepover with my parents.”
“Sleepover, eh?” Did that mean… I gripped my fork and knife. Did that mean she’d been planning to have sex with Lucas? On the first date?
I realized she was looking at me expectantly, as if she’d asked me a question. Shit. “What was that?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be out with the guys tonight?”
“Yeah. Um…” I grabbed my phone from my pocket to see a few missed text messages in the group chat with the guys, most of them from over an hour ago.
Was that how long I’d been here? It felt like a minute. Though, any time I spent with Wren always passed way too quickly for my liking.
“Sorry,” I said to Wren, keeping my phone beneath the table as I typed out a quick message.
Me: Something came up. I’ll catch you guys next week.
Tristan: Hope everything’s okay.
I sent a thumbs-up emoji and powered down my phone. The less I said, the better. This wasn’t a date, but it certainly looked like one. Felt like one. And if Liam knew about this, he’d kill me. Then another thought occurred to me—what if this appeared in The Vine?
“What’s wrong?” Wren asked, and I realized I’d been glancing around as if looking for the author of the gossip blog, though I had no idea who it was or what they looked like. No one seemed to, though everyone loved to speculate.
“I, um, nothing.” I smiled and smoothed my napkin in my lap.
We finished our meal, and the waiter brought the check. Wren reached for her purse, but I handed my credit card to the waiter before she could even glance at the bill.
“What? Wait.” She held up her card, but he was already gone. She turned her attention to me. “Bennett,” she chided.
“Wren,” I said, mimicking her tone.
“At least let me pay for mine.”
“Nope.” I shook my head. “It’s on me.”
“I can’t let you do that,” she said as the waiter returned with my card and the receipt.
“It’s not up to you.” I grinned and signed the copy, my body humming from the good meal and even better company. It made me happy to do something for her. To treat her to something.
“I’ll pay you back.” Like hell she would. I wouldn’t allow that to happen.
Even so, I knew I couldn’t tell her that. Wren was too strong, too independent to want to accept anyone’s charity.
“It’s the least I can do,” I said. “I know you gave me a deep discount on those photos.”
She scrunched up her nose, but she didn’t deny it. About a month ago, I’d hired her to take photos of some of the animals at the shelter in the hopes that they’d get adopted. She’d brought River, and we’d spent the day laughing and having the best fucking time. But she’d undercharged me, even if she wouldn’t admit it.
“Come on.” I stood. “You want to get out of here?”
She nodded and stood. “I have all night. I love River, but it’s so nice to have adult time sometimes.”
“And what does ‘adult time’ typically include?” I rasped, my hand on her lower back.
She leaned into me and lowered her voice. “Sometimes—I like to get really naughty and stay up past my bedtime reading.”
I chuckled. “Oh yeah? What kinds of books?”
“Psychological thrillers, end of days, post-apocalyptic–type stuff.” I wasn’t sure what I’d expected her to say, but it wasn’t that.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“No reason,” I said. “I just figured you’d prefer something lighter. Everyone around here seems obsessed with Meghan Hart.” She was a local romance writer who was famous across the world for her love stories. Though, as far as I knew, no one had ever actually seen her around town. She was reclusive, liked her privacy.
“I’m sure her books are great, but I prefer something a little more… I don’t know. Different.”
I nodded, holding the door open for her as we emerged onto the street. “Have you read One Second After?”
“Oh. My. God.” She turned to me as we strode down Main Street. “So good, right?”
“Yes. Your dad was the one who recommended it to me.” We paused on a bridge overlooking the pond, a family feeding ducks on the grass nearby. Farther down—past the gazebo—a little girl and her dad were fishing.
Wren laughed, her eyes sparkling. “Me too! That’s too funny.”
We found a bench and stayed there awhile, comparing notes on books. She’d always been a big reader—like the rest of her family. But Wren’s choice of genre surprised me.
“Want to grab some ice cream?” I finally asked, hooking my thumb over my shoulder.
“Always.” She stood, and when I held out my arm, she curled hers through it.
We stopped at Lick, where the owner, Sandra, wiped her hands on her colorful apron and gave us a wink. “Aren’t you two adorable. Out for an evening on the town. What can I get you?”
I didn’t bother to correct her, and neither did Wren. Interesting.
She ordered her usual—salted caramel—while I opted to try the new flavor, horchata. I thanked Sandra and paid, and then we took our cones outside.
“Oh damn,” I said, licking the coconut-based cream. “This is good.” It tasted like…a cinnamon roll and something else.
“Let me try,” she said, leaning closer.
I held out my cone for her, and she took a lick. I watched her tongue in fascination, drooling at the way she lapped at the cream.
“Oh wow. That’s amazing. Can you hold this?” She held out her cone, and I took it, completely distracted.
At least until she took my cone from me, making me realize she’d tricked me into swapping flavors. “What do you think you’re doing?” I narrowed my eyes at her.
“Oh, come on, Bennett. You know you really wanted the salted caramel.”
“Oh, no.” I leaned forward, grabbing for my ice cream. “We’re not trading now. If you wanted horchata, you should’ve ordered it.”
“Please? Can’t you give me this? Just tonight? It was my first date in months, and I got stood up.”
Andthere it was. The conversation I’d been hoping to avoid.
“He must have had a good reason,” I said. “Because I can’t imagine any man standing up a woman like you.”
The fact that Lucas had chickened out so easily when confronted by Liam told me he wasn’t the right guy for Wren. I watched her out of the corner of my eye as we turned down one of the tree-covered walkways and found an empty bench to sit on.
She said nothing more, but she seemed to relax. I didn’t mention the ice cream, and she dropped the date. Instead, we talked about books and River. It felt as real as any date I’d been on. Though a lot more relaxed.
When I moved to throw away the trash, she placed her hand on my forearm, and I froze. Her touch was searing, and I was momentarily at a loss for words. Her hand on my skin. The glow from the streetlight illuminating her features. Our breaths filling the air. I wanted to kiss her.
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” I smiled and headed for the trash can.
When I returned, she stood and said, “I should probably get going.”
“Where’d you park?”
“A few blocks over.” She hooked her thumb in the direction of Bibliolater.
“I’ll walk with you.”
“You don’t have to.”
I butted her shoulder with mine. “I want to. Besides, Liam would kill me if I ever let anything happen to you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sometimes he gets a little carried away with the protective-older-brother act.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yeah, well. It’s only because he cares about you. Even if he can be a bit psycho at times.” I was specifically thinking of tonight with Lucas, though I’d never tell Wren that.
“Right?” Her eyes grew wide. “Thank you! Gah. For a minute there, I thought I was going to have to remind you that you’re not my brother.”
I chuckled, mostly to hide the fact that the thoughts I had toward Wren were definitely not appropriate for a brother.
“Come on.” I held out my arm for her. Any excuse to touch her. “Let’s go.”
She slid her arm through mine but rolled her eyes all the same. “Will anyone in this town ever see me as anything other than Liam’s little sister?”
“Highly unlikely,” I joked. Did she really have no idea how I felt about her? I did my best to hide it, but still… “At least you know he loves you.”
When we reached Larkspur, she paused out front. “Thanks, but you don’t have to walk me to my car.”
“Wren, I’m walking you to your car.”
She rolled her eyes. “So bossy.”
I laughed to myself as she muttered, “Fine. Geez.” It only made me want to throw her over my shoulder and haul her home.
As we neared her car, she dug in her purse for her keys then turned to me. This part of the street wasn’t as busy since most of the shops had closed around five. It was just the two of us, and I leaned in, placing my arm on the side of her car.
Her pupils dilated, the blue blown out so much they were pools of black. The scent of her perfume mingled with the wisteria growing on the shop awning nearby, and it was intoxicating. I wanted to get drunk on her.
I wanted to kiss her senseless, tear off each other’s clothes. I wanted to spoil her, treasure her, devour her. I wanted to make her mine.
“Thank you for turning a sucky evening into a fun one.” She smiled up at me, her inky black lashes fluttering like the wings of a butterfly. If I just moved a little closer. Just a…
My breath caught at her innocent expression, at the way she was looking at me. With something a lot like desire. Did she…did she want this too? I inched closer, lust clouding my vision. I’d wanted this—her—for so long.
And then a car honked, and I remembered where we were and who she was. Liam’s sister. Your best friend’s sister.
I stepped back, not even daring to kiss her cheek, and said, “Good night, Wren.”
And then I turned and walked away, clenching my fists the entire time so I wouldn’t turn back and take what I wanted. What I so desperately desired. My body warring with my mind, battling with my heart.
I couldn’t have her. I knew this. I’d known it for years. But I wanted her all the same.
I’d never come this close to crossing that line, though. Never. Not once. But I’d let my guard down tonight, and I couldn’t let that happen again. I was just going to have to avoid her.