Page 45 of The Trouble with Flings

Wells drives down the street as I pull up to the curb in front of the house. He parks behind me and is out of his Land Rover, heading around to open the door for his fiancée, Seth’s sister, Victoria “Victory” Braden, before I even cut my engine. I smile to myself. He used to be so restless, always the life of every party. A ladies’ man who never slowed down. Everyone thought Victory would slow him down, but he hasn’t slowed down at all. He’s always on the go, traveling between the island and New York City, juggling his restaurant here and preparing for the grand opening of his new one there.

I watch him pull her into a kiss, happiness radiating off them, and I realize it wasn’t about settling down for Wells. It was about finding the one person who could match his energy and his drive and make wherever they were feel like home. In Victory, Wells found his anchor.

The island has always been my anchor, and while I don’t want to lose it, Jennifer makes me want to slip the line and explore in a way I never thought I would. The crazy part is, I could go anywhere, do anything, but I know it would never be the same, or enough, without her.

Wells and Victory are still kissing when I climb out of my SUV. I scoop up a handful of snow and run toward them, shouting, “You’re melting all the snow!” and nail Wells in the side.

“Hey,” he hollers, and runs to the yard, scooping up snow as Victory laughs at us.

I’m one step ahead of him when he launches a snowball at me, and mine hits him in the chest.

“Bastard!” Wells shouts, and charges me.

We go down hard, cracking up as we wrestle in the snowy grass. I flip him onto his back and pin his arms to the ground with my knees. “Who’s the man?”

“Not you,” Wells says, struggling to get free.

A snowball nails me square in the back. I whip my head around.

Victory’s packing another snowball. “That’s my man you’re messing with,”

I get up slowly. “You think you’re safe just ’cause you’re a woman?”

Her eyes go wide, and I sprint toward her. She bolts, shrieking with laughter as we cut across the yard. “Don’t you dare!” she shouts.

“You started it! Now you’re going to have to pay the piper.” I catch her around the waist, lifting her off her feet.

“I was defending him!” she shouts.

Wells throws a snowball at my head, and I duck. Victory breaks free, and the two of them split in opposite directions, circling me.

“That’s how it’s gonna be, huh?” I say, scooping up snow. “Two against one?”

Wells fires a snowball at me, and it clips my ear. Victory pelts me from the other side, and I spin around. She sprints away, and I hear Wells charging me from behind. I wheel around, nailing him in the chest.

“Lucky shot,” he shouts, already packing another one.

Victory launches one into my shoulder and shouts, “Yes!”

I nail Wells, then spin around, throwing one at Victory. She turns and slips, losing a Ked sneaker as the snowball explodes against her back. She keeps running, laughing so hard, she can barely say, “My shoe!”

“Should’ve worn boots!” I holler, sprinting after her.

Wells nails me in the back of the head, all of us cracking up. I chase him across the yard and spot Victory shoving her foot into her sneaker. I cut toward her. She shrieks and darts away. I catch her coat, hauling her back to me. Wells plants himself in front of me. He’s panting, but his eyes are shooting daggers.

“Don’t even think about it,” he warns with a serious tone and an unstoppable grin. “If she goes down in that snow, you face castration.”

Victory’s looking at him like he’s her hero, and there’s nothing left for me to do but give him the win. I release her and step back, hands up.

Victory hurries over to Wells and throws her arms around him. He kisses her and says, “You can borrow socks from my mom.”

I point two fingers at my eyes, then at Victory. “Watch your back, Braden.”

She’s all smiles. “I grew up with three brothers. You’ve got nothing on me.”

As she struts toward the house, Wells looks at me and says, “I love that woman.”

“I know you do,” I say, brushing snow from my clothes, waiting for him to go back to his SUV and get the flowers he surely brought for our mother, as he always does.