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He straddled his Harley and fired up the engine.
Crashing never sounded so exciting.
Chapter Two
“Earth to Chloe. Pass the potatoes, pipsqueak.”
Chloe gave her brother Jett a dirty look, but passed the bowl of scalloped potatoes as she did so.
Jett dipped out a healthy portion before handing the bowl to their foster brother, Zac.
Jett looked at her and shook his head. “Damn, girl. Where the hell are you today? I asked you three times to hand me those before you even heard me saying your name.”
She shrugged. She’d been floundering around, lost in her own thoughts since running into Blake again at the studio on Thursday. Seeing him had brought up a whole bunch of feelings—sadness, regret, anger—as well as an unbearable mountain of lust. He’d been her first and, while she’d never admit as much to the asshole, there was some truth to that line about him ruining her for all other men. While she’d taken her fair share of lovers, Blake had always been the yardstick she’d compared them to and none had measured up. Not even close.
Which pissed her off even more because hell would freeze over before Blake Mills touched her again, and she didn’t care if that meant taking responsibility for every single one of her own orgasms from now until the end of time.
“Chloe!” This time it was Justin yelling her name.
“What?” She didn’t bother to hide the irritation in her tone. Her annoying brothers could see she was distracted. Why didn’t they just leave her alone?
“What’s wrong?”
“For the last time, nothing.”
Her mother tilted her head, studying her face. “This is about Blake, isn’t it?”
The head of every sibling at the table flew up.
“Blake Mills?” Caliph asked.
She closed her eyes, wishing she were anywhere else right now. Seeing her first love had thrown her for a loop. There was no way she was ready to undergo the Spanish Inquisition about that unexpected reunion with her family. “He’s one of the models for the Blessing House calendar.” The Blessing House provided temporary housing for homeless families. Her mother had served on the board for years, organizing fundraiser after benefit auction after bake sale to keep the House open and solvent.
This year, the fundraising committee had decided to take a page from the book of other large cities, putting together a sexy calendar as a fun way to raise money. The calendar, “Hot Hunks in the Big Easy,” was gathering a lot of attention, and given her mom’s successful track record, was certain to make a slew of cash for the Blessing House.
Justin looked at Mama. “You’re putting thugs in the calendar?”
Chloe grinned, appreciating his appalled tone. It was nice to know her brothers always had her back.
“No. We’re not. Agnes Rogers found him. Apparently, Blake is a detective with the NOPD these days. She called me a couple of days ago to say the police department would be well represented.”
“The hell you say,” Jett proclaimed. “How hard up is the city for law enforcement? They’re hiring crooks now?”
“Who is Blake Mills?” Caliph’s girlfriend, Jennifer, asked. Jen and Caliph had started dating a few months earlier. Since then, she’d become a staple at the family’s Sunday dinners. Chloe adored the woman and hoped she and Caliph would stick.
“Chloe’s first boyfriend,” Caliph answered. “A real badass and every father’s worst nightmare when it comes to the guy you don’t want your daughter dating.”
“He wasn’t that bad,” Mama said. “I swear that poor boy’s reputation has grown more despicable with every telling. Next thing I know, y’all will be swearing he was a serial killer and responsible for every hurricane to ever hit New Orleans.”
Chloe sighed. Mama had never wavered in her belief that there was some good buried deep inside Blake. Right after she’d gotten off the phone with Mrs. Rogers, Mama had called Chloe to make sure she was okay with taking pictures of Blake. Chloe had assured her mother it wouldn’t be any big deal, but she’d never managed to pull the wool over Mama’s eyes and obviously she hadn’t fooled her this time either.
Of course, since learning he’d joined the police force, her mother acted as if her faith in Blake had at last been proven true.
“We broke up when he stole money from Mama and took the silver serving platter my grandmother had given my parents as a wedding gift.”
Jennifer winced. “Yikes. Doesn’t sound like a very nice guy. And you say he’s a cop now?”
Chloe nodded. “Yeah. And he’s posing for the calendar.”
Jennifer reached over and squeezed her hand gently. “That can’t be easy for you. I know I wouldn’t want to have to work with my ex on anything. Ever.” Jennifer’s ex-husband had left her for another woman. That painful event had led to her meeting Caliph. In an attempt to reinvent herself, Jennifer had shown up at Midnight Ink and gotten her first tattoo from Caliph. Since then, Chloe had watched her older brother fall head over heels in love with the woman. It was sweet. Even if it did reinforce the loneliness that had plagued Chloe lately.
She would be thirty on her next birthday, and while that age wasn’t bothering her, it forced her to recognize some things she’d been ignoring. Like the fact she wanted kids. A slew of them like her mother had. Chloe absolutely adored her big family and she dreamed of having her own. But to do so, she had to get serious about dating and finding the man she wanted to marry. She’d put off doing that for too long, focusing instead on building a clientele for her photography studio and putting her book together.
“It’ll be okay, Jennifer. I really only have to see him one more time. I’ll snap a few pictures and walk away. No harm, no foul.”
A quick glance at her mother’s face proved her lie wasn’t convincing the one person she really wanted to believe her.
Before she could reassure Mama she was speaking the truth, the doorbell rang.
“Chloe’s the closest,” Jett pointed out, not bothering to put his fork down as Zac snickered.
She rolled her eyes. They may all be adults, but there was something about returning to this house each Sunday that seemed to bring out the child each of them held on to. “Lazy jackass.”
Jett gave her a shit-eating grin as she rose to answer the door while they all continued eating.
She barely paid attention as she swung open the front door. It wasn’t unusual for neighbors or friends to stop by on Sunday, as they knew the entire family would be there. Mama always made enough to feed an Army and as such, there was plenty of room at the large table for one or two or twelve drop-ins.
Chloe wasn’t aware that her mouth had flown open until Blake placed his hand on her chin to push it closed.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Blake smiled. “Mama Lewis invited me.”
Chloe shook her head. “That’s Mrs. Lewis to you and she wouldn’t do that.”
“Chloe,” her mother called out from the dining room. “Invite him in.”
Chloe closed her eyes, hoping that by blocking out Blake’s cocky face, he’d simply vanish. When she opened them to find him still standing in the doorway, she muttered, “I’m going to kill her.”
Blake chuckled. “If you do that, I’ll have to pull out my handcuffs and arrest you.”
She was tempted to slam the door in his face, then reconsidered as a wide smile crossed her face. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
Blake’s lowered brows betrayed his sudden suspicion at her quick change in demeanor. “You like the idea of handcuffs?” He grinned, his dirty mind kicking in.
“No, perv, I don’t.” She was lying, but she wasn’t about to admit her libido had suddenly jerked into gear at the thought. “You realize you’re about to willingly walk into the lion’s den, right? My brothers will tear you limb from limb.”
Unfortunately her threat didn’t faze the infuriating man. “I’m banking on your mother to protect me. But just in case,” he patted his hip, drawing her attention to his holster, “I’m packing.”
There was no way she could convince him to leave and time was up anyway. If she stalled much longer, her brothers’ curiosity would win out and they’d all manage to make their way to the front door, lazy jackasses or not. She stepped aside, allowing Blake to enter.
He glanced around the entryway, looking fondly at the photographs and furniture. “It’s exactly the way I remember it.”
“Everyone is in the dining room and my food is getting cold.” Her tone was short and annoyed, but she didn’t feel like playing nice. He didn’t deserve it. He’d hurt her worse than anyone in her life and while that wound had been inflicted nearly a decade earlier, it ached as if it had happened only yesterday.
She hated that she’d let him get so deep inside her he still had the power to cause her pain.
Blake waited for her to lead the way. She kept her eyes on her mother as they entered the room together. She didn’t have to look at her brothers to see how pissed off they were.
Jett stood, his stance pure aggression. “What are you doing here?”
“I invited him,” Mama replied, as if bringing the man who’d stolen from their family into their home was the most natural thing in the world. Of course, for their mother, it was. Her capacity for forgiveness was limitless.
