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He’s been carrying himself with a new purposefulness the last few weeks. He’s usually a whirlwind of beautiful chaos. But now, there’s delicateness in the way his hand slowly slides down my hip to trace the bottom of my swimsuit. His eyes bounce from my eyes to my lips.
“Stella, Lochlan!” We both turn toward Cash, hollering for us under the cabana.
He waves us over, and Lochlan looks at me and shrugs. “Duty calls.”
He walks up the pool steps, water cascading down his toned back and arms. Even though I know there’s no possible way they could be there, I still look for the crescent indents from my nails.
On the pool deck, he shakes his head like a wet dog then runs his fingers through his hair to push the long golden strands out of his face. I flinch when his blue eyes slide to mine. I expect to be called out for ogling him and a retort is on the tip of my tongue, but all he says is, “You coming?”
“Yeah.” I glide through the water and climb out, following him to where Cash is seated at a table in the shade.
Niamh is sitting on the table, her swimsuit decorated with cute little lemons, and he is aggressively slathering her fair skin in globs of sunscreen. “Who are you and what happened to Cash Fox?” I tease as he secures the Velcro of a floppy hat under her chin.
“Skin cancer isn’t a joke, Stella.” He cuts me a glare then slides miniature heart-shaped sunglasses onto his daughter.
“Okay, boss.” I laugh but still adore this dad-version of Cash. “What did you want?”
“We’re ready to close on Summerland. I have a visit planned to get a final lay of the land. I want you to go.” He gives me a pointed look. “As the new manager and co-owner . . . if you want it.”
“Are you serious?” I gape. Summerland is an exclusive, private island resort eight hours south of June Harbor that Cash has been trying to purchase for the past two years.
“It’s about time you moved on from the Den, and as family, I want you to have a stake in our empire. You more than deserve it.”
“Holy shit, Cash—”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He smirks and turns to Lochlan. “I’m gonna need you to help out while we’re gone. Give Harlow an extra hand with my”—he says, while swooping up Niamh, who’s trying to crawl off the edge of the table—“responsibilities here.”
Lochlan glances at me, and I notice his jaw tick before he answers Cash. “Course.”
“Good. We’ll talk details later. For now, enjoy the rest of the day.” He nods.
Lochlan reaches for Niamh. “Who wants to go in the pool with their favorite uncle?” Cash rolls his eyes but hands her over.
Lochlan immediately starts running toward the pool, and Cash throws inflatable wings at him. “Hey, don’t forget these—”
He’s cut off by Lochlan leaping into the shallow end with a big splash. Niamh giggles as water sprays around her and her sunglasses slide down her nose, but her head never drops below the water.
“I’m gonna hang him up by his fucking balls,” Cash bites out through clenched teeth and storms after them, angrily snatching up the wings from the ground.
To my right, Alfie settles into a lounge chair, his hands behind his head. He only has a second of peace, his classic, big, silly smile on his face, before Roman yanks him up by his collar.
“Hey!” Alfie protests even though Roman easily plucks him up like he’s nothing more than a paper doll.
“We’re working,” he grumbles with a scowl. Roman is Cash’s second and Alfie is part of Harlow’s security detail, so they’re always together. The dynamic duo. I laugh to myself.
Then, Roman strips off his shirt and throws it at his partner before running and cannonballing into the pool with a huge wave. A slighted and now drenched Alfie begrudgingly crosses his arms.
I look around at this crazy mix of people and feel nothing but pride. I have the family I was born into. I carry their name, love them with everything in me.
And then I have the Foxes. We don’t share blood, but we’re family nonetheless. Somehow, these wild and dangerous men have crawled into my heart all the same.
Lochlan
As I wait for Stella, I take a slow drag and exhale smoke into the nighttime city air, trying to remember a time I didn’t love her. How did it take me so long? Why did I have to nearly die to realize she’s someone I can’t live without?
The door to Cash’s apartment building opens next to me. Stella walks out in a hot pink crochet dress thrown over her bikini and my breath is snatched from my lungs.
“Alright, ready.” She smiles at me. I bring the cigarette to my lips just to have something to do with my hands so I don’t reach out and brush the dimples that appear on her cheeks.
