Flynn pressed a hand to the small of Carina’s back as they carefully negotiated their way through the crowd. The street was closed off for the party, and it was packed.
He leaned his head down, almost brushing her ear with his lips. “Remember, if your knee gets sore—”
“Tell you and we rest.” She glanced up, and her smile was damn near soul-destroying. “I know. I remember from the ten times you told me on the way over.”
His hand trailed to her waist, and he playfully tickled her side. Even though the street was loud, her laugh was all he heard. It filled his head and punctured his chest.
Wrenching his gaze away, he looked up to see four members of his team standing around one of the stalls. He lowered his hand to take hers and lead her over.
The guys looked up, all smiling.
Flynn smiled back. “Hey, guys, this is Carina. Carina, this is Callum, Aidan, Jason, and you’ve met Tyler.”
She received a combination of nods and “hey” in return.
“You didn’t have to come with this guy tonight out of pity,” Tyler said to Carina.
The guys chuckled, and Flynn whacked him on the arm. “Don’t even see a woman willing to take pity on you tonight.”
Tyler laughed. “Yeah, the lucky lady hasn’t found me yet. When she does though—”
“She’ll run far and fast,” Jason finished.
Callum shook his head. “Ignore them. How are you finding Cradle Mountain?”
“Amazing,” Carina said. “So far, definitely living up to everything Joy Anderson said about it.”
“What did she say?” Jason asked.
Tyler nudged Jason’s shoulder. “Obviously, the woman told her about us—the sexy men who run the security business.”
Carina chuckled. “Well, she definitely mentioned Flynn.” Tyler scoffed, looking chagrined by her response. “And the pizza, and the coffee at The Grind, the place with the funny mugs. I’ve tried the pizza but not the coffee.”
“What the heck, Flynn?” Courtney’s voice sounded from behind him. “You haven’t taken the woman to my shop? I have the best coffee in town! How’s she been caffeinating?”
Jason’s arm slid around Courtney’s waist as she came to stand with them. He pressed a kiss to her head.
Flynn lifted a shoulder. “Plenty of time for that.”
“Plenty of time tomorrow?” Courtney asked, lifting a brow with a hint of a smile on her face.
Flynn shook his head, all too aware of how persistent the woman could be. “Maybe. Carina might want to rest tomorrow after being on her feet tonight.”
Carina shook her head. “The rest can wait. I want some of the best coffee in town in a funny mug.”
Courtney leaned forward. “I’m Courtney, the owner, and the coffee’s a-mazing.” Then she nudged Jason’s shoulder. “Tell her.”
“It’s okay,” Tyler interrupted before Jason could get a word in.
This time, Jason leaned across and whacked him on the shoulder. Tyler clutched his arm, feigning injury. “You guys are going to give me a dead arm.”
Carina’s smile broadened. “Nice to meet you, Courtney. I’m Carina, Patricia’s nurse.”
Patricia’s nurse? Sure as hell wasn’t how Flynn would have introduced her.
“How are you doing after the fall?” Aidan asked.
Carina lifted a shoulder. “I’m okay. Still some pain in my knee, but nothing some medication can’t dull. Flynn’s been a lifesaver.”
Callum smiled knowingly. “Has he now?”
Okay. Introductions were over. “Let’s get a drink, honey.”
He tugged Carina away from the group. They’d only taken a few steps when he felt her tense beside him before trying to pull her hand away.
Glancing at her, he frowned when he saw the worried look on her face. But he didn’t release her hand. Not yet. “What’s wrong?”
She turned her face toward his chest, and her words were low. “Victoria’s here. You two only just broke up. Maybe we shouldn’t be touching?”
He scanned the street, and sure enough, there she was on the other side of the road, standing with people he vaguely recognized from the hospital. The second he looked over, she looked away. But not before he saw the angry expression on her face.
His jaw firmed. “You don’t need to worry about Victoria. We broke up. She’s an adult. She’ll be okay.” And there was no part of him that wanted to stop touching Carina. He didn’t think he could if he tried. Especially not when she was wearing those tight black jeans and that knitted sweater that showed a smooth line of midriff. The second he’d seen her tonight, he’d wanted to ditch the party and stay home with the woman.
When she still hesitated, nibbling her bottom lip, he lowered his head and whispered into her ear, “I don’t want to let go of you, but if you really want me to, I will.”
He swiped the pad of his thumb across the skin of her hand in a slow caress. He wasn’t playing fair. But he didn’t want to. Not with her.
She shuddered lightly and opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Courtney was beside them, weaving an arm through Carina’s.
“If you two lovebirds are finished, I’d like to steal Carina away and introduce her to the other women.”
Flynn almost growled. “I haven’t bought her a drink yet.”
“So get her a drink. We’ll just be over there.” She nodded toward a small table, where Grace and Willow sat chatting.
Carina looked over at the table with both curiosity and longing. It suddenly dawned on him—she was new in town. Of course she would want to meet other women and make friends.
Reluctantly, he released her hand, but not before lowering his head and pressing a lingering kiss to her lips. He whispered against them, “Don’t be gone long.”
Or he’d damn well come for her. That was the pull she had on him.
He didn’t take his gaze off her until she was seated. When he finally looked away, he returned to his friends—who were staring at him. “What?”
“You’re really into her,” Aidan said. He sounded surprised.
“Yeah. I am.” There was no denying it. He knew what he wanted, and it was Carina.
Tyler shook his head. “He’s been looking at her like that since the day they met.”
Aidan frowned slightly. “Even when he thought…”
“She might be guilty?” Tyler finished. “Yep.”
“I can’t even argue with that,” Flynn said. “It’s true.”
Carina took a sip of her drink. Flynn had gotten her a sparkling red wine in a fancy little bottle. Great choice.
She shot a quick look over to where he stood with the guys. When their gazes caught, she could have sworn she saw his eyes darken. Then he winked at her, and her stomach did a little somersault.
“You moved from Michigan, right?” Willow asked.
Carina smiled. “Yeah. I grew up there. It’s a bit strange living somewhere else.”
“Good strange or bad strange?” Courtney asked.
“Definitely good strange. Like a big gulp of fresh air.”
The women chuckled. So far, they all seemed lovely. They were sitting around a small table on the side of the street. Willow seemed the nurturing-mother type. Grace was the quiet one with gentle eyes. And Courtney was the louder, more up-front personality.
“You’ll love it here,” Grace said. “Small towns are the best.”
Courtney nodded. “And the guys aren’t so bad either.”
Carina laughed. They weren’t wrong.
Willow nodded toward Flynn. “Are you guys dating?”
Carina bit her bottom lip. “Technically, I think this is actually our first date.”
She got a variety of sighs and squeals in response.
Out of nowhere, a small girl ran up to the table. She had adorable brown pigtails and a wide smile on her face. A tall guy trailed closely behind. Carina already knew the man was on Flynn’s team. He was everything Flynn and his other friends were: tall, muscular, intense.
The girl jumped onto Willow’s lap. “Mama, can I have some cotton candy? Daddy said I have to ask you.”
“Oh, did he?” Willow gave the man a pointed look , although there was a hint of a smile behind it.
The girl nodded.
“Hm. Okay. A small stick of cotton candy, but you need to share with Daddy.”
Then she gave the man another look, this time as if to say, “You’d better eat most of it.” Carina just held back her chuckle.
The man stood behind Willow, wrapped his fingers around her shoulders, and leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek. So sweet. All the guys from Blue Halo treated their women so well. “You got it, sweetheart.” He straightened. “All right. Let’s go, kid.”
He reached over, lifted the girl from Willow’s lap, and threw her in the air. The kid giggled. Willow touched his leg. “Before you go, this is Carina. She’s looking after Flynn’s mom. Carina, this is my daughter, Mila, and my husband, Blake.”
She smiled at both of them.
“Are you dating any of Daddy’s friends?” Mila asked.
Nothing like an upfront question from a child. “I am.”
One date constituted dating, right?
Mila’s eyes widened. “Tyler?”
The women around the table laughed.
“No, Flynn.”
Mila opened her mouth to say something, but Blake got in before she could. “All right. Enough nosing around. Let’s go get that cotton candy.”
Mila’s eyes lit up at the reminder of the cotton candy. Then she wriggled down Blake’s body before grabbing his hand and dragging him toward the stall.
Yeah. The kid was definitely a cutie.
Carina spent another ten minutes talking and laughing with the women. It was awesome. Even in Michigan, she’d only had a few female friends, most of them from work, and the second she started dating a sought-after doctor, they’d turned on her.
She was just glancing around the street, taking in the sights, when she saw a familiar face.
Her jaw dropped to her chest. No. It couldn’t be…
Greg. It was definitely Greg. God, what was he doing here? She’d told him not to come.
He was walking along the street, scanning the crowd like he was looking for someone.
Her, she assumed.
Carina touched Grace’s arm without looking her way. “Sorry, I just saw someone I know. I’ll be back in a sec.”
Before the woman could respond, Carina stood and walked down the street. A few people stepped in front of her, blocking her view, and she quickly sidestepped, not wanting to lose him in the crowd.
When she finally reached him, he was facing the other way. She touched his arm, and his gaze fell on her. He sighed as if in relief, then he pulled her into a tight hug.
“Carina! There you are.”
She pulled out of his arms. “What on earth are you doing here, Greg?”
He frowned, as if her question confused him. “You were injured and spent the night in the hospital. I had to come. I left as soon as I could. I tried calling yesterday.”
She cringed. She’d ignored his call and hadn’t listened to the voice message. She’d told herself she’d listen to it later, but later never came. And dammit, now it was biting her in the butt.
“Greg, that’s crazy. Flying across the country to check on me when we’re not dating is crazy.”
He stepped forward and grazed the healing cut on her forehead just like Flynn had. But with Greg, it felt completely different. Clinical. All she wanted to do was step back.
She took hold of his arm, tugged it away from her head, then she pulled him to the side of the busy road. “You shouldn’t be here. We broke up.”
Something flashed in his light brown eyes. Hurt? “You said you wanted some time away from Michigan. I’ve given you that time.”
Her mouth slipped open. For a moment, she was lost for words. “First of all, it hasn’t even been a month. Second, this isn’t a quick get-away-to-clear-my-head-and-I’ll-be-back kind of thing. I’m not going back.”
His brow scrunched before quickly clearing. He was just opening his mouth to say something when another familiar voice sounded from beside them.
“Who do we have here?”
Carina almost groaned when she saw the twins from next door.
“Is this another guy who’s gonna fight your battles for you, bitch?”
Greg’s gaze shot toward them. “What did you call her?”
She tightened her fingers on his arm. “Ignore them. They’re just kids who get their kicks out of egging houses and threatening neighbors.”
Greg’s eyes flashed back to the kids, and he took a step forward. “You egged her house?”
The taller one smirked. “Yeah, we did. More than once. And we’ll do it again if we have to.”
They were drunk. They had that glassy look in their eyes. It had to be why they suddenly had the courage to threaten her in person, when for the last week, they’d barely looked at her.
The shorter kid suddenly whipped an empty bottle at her. It would have hit Carina in the face if Greg hadn’t quickly swatted it away. The glass shattered on the ground, drawing attention from people nearby.
“You stay the hell away from her!”
“Don’t hold your breath, old man.” When their gazes roamed her body, Greg lunged toward them. The kids laughed as they ran away.
When Greg didn’t immediately turn back around, she placed her hand on his arm.
Finally, he faced her and sucked in a long breath while his features slowly cleared.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she said quietly.
He touched her cheek. “I should. I love you. I’ve never loved anyone like I love you. Come back with me.”
She stepped away and his hand fell. She swallowed before saying what she knew she needed to say. “I don’t love you. I’m sorry if that’s not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth.”
His jaw visibly clenched. He moved forward, grabbing her arm. “Carina—”
“I think she made herself clear.”
The sudden heat at her shoulders had Carina’s eyes fluttering closed. Flynn’s hand pressed to the small of her back, the warmth from his touch penetrating through her top.
Greg’s hand dropped. “Who the hell are you?”
“Flynn.”
That was all he said, but it was enough to have Greg’s expression darkening.
“Flynn’s my patient’s son,” Carina explained softly.
He tensed behind her but remained silent. His hand never dropped from her back.
“You need to go, Greg,” she continued. “Back to Michigan. That’s your home, and this is mine.”
For a moment, he didn’t move. He didn’t so much as blink. Then he shot Flynn a final look before turning and walking away.
“Are you okay?” Flynn asked quietly the second they were alone.
She nodded, mostly because she was in shock. Shock that Greg would come all this way for her. Shock that he’d told her he still loved her and wanted her back.
Flynn studied her for another beat before slipping an arm around her waist and leading her back toward the group.
