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“Wow. Maybe my sisters aren’t so bad in comparison, but I’m still dreading the rehearsal dinner.” I glanced at my phone over on the table. My mother had sent eleven text messages, each one more peeved than the last, and I’d ignored those plus her six calls. “And I’m surprised Mom hasn’t marched up here to demand I apologise for feeling insulted.”
“Your mom has her hands full with Odette at the moment.”
“What? Why?”
“These peonies aren’t pink,” Hawk squeaked in a surprisingly good impression of my younger sister. “They’re salmon. They don’t match the bridesmaid dresses, the cake, the place settings. Find me pink ones! I ordered pink!”
“Oh dear.”
“She’s in the ballroom having a meltdown. Medication was mentioned.”
“Does she need Xanax? I have Xanax.”
“You take Xanax?”
“Emmy gave it to me for emergencies.” I choked out a giggle. “Sometimes, the people at work seem more like my family than my blood relatives.”
“Know that feeling. I wasn’t sure about Emmy to start with, but she turned out to be one of the good guys, although she’d probably disagree with that sentiment. Want me to go ask about the Xanax? Should I make an excuse for us to skip the rehearsal dinner?”
“If I’m a no-show, it’ll only cause more problems later. There’d better be wine.”
“There’s wine, although Clarice seemed to be drinking most of it when I left.”
“Where were Charity and Chastity?”
“I didn’t see them anywhere. Maybe they’re with Buckley? He’s keeping a low profile.”
Hawk switched to tracing small circles on my back, and I finally relaxed. He settled me. He was my rock, my anchor, for this weekend at least. And when he kissed me on the forehead, I tilted my head to press my lips to his, and sweet turned to heat.
“Thank you for being here,” I whispered when we finally broke apart.
“Want me to take your mind off the shitshow downstairs?”
“I’ll love you forever if you do.” I gasped as I realised what I’d said. “Shit! Sorry! It was just a figure of speech. Kind of like saying I want to kill my sisters, which I obviously don’t because, well, they’re my sisters and I also hate the idea of prison, but I can’t help wishing they’d be a little less condescending.”
Although if I cared to admit it, which I didn’t, perhaps I had fallen a tiny bit in love with Hawk Hauser over the past year, at least when he wasn’t punching Kellan. The evenings I spent with him were my favourite parts of the week, and only the thought of scaring him off completely, of losing that fragile connection, stopped me from inviting him over every single night. And deep down, I was scared too. Scared that this weekend would change everything between us, that he’d run a mile now he’d met my family.
“Shut up and kiss me again,” he said.
I shut up and kissed him.
11
AGATHA
“This is so good,” I murmured as I sank into the hot tub, naked. The frosted glass walls on either side of the balcony kept us hidden from prying eyes. Unless someone happened to be out in a boat. With binoculars. Hastily, I scanned the ocean to the horizon, but the grey waters were mercifully quiet. “Seems that there’s one benefit of being here on the island.”
The rehearsal dinner had basically been a repeat of last night’s family dinner, except with a few more guests present to listen to Odette freaking out about the flowers. I’d snuck a look at the table centrepieces before we made our way to the dining room, and the peonies looked pink to me, but what did I know? I’d forked my food down as fast as possible, kept my mouth shut unless I was asked a direct question, and made an Irish exit with Hawk just after nine p.m.
“Only one benefit?”
Hawk slid in beside me, and I took a moment to admire his muscles before they disappeared beneath the bubbles. Okay, maybe there were two benefits.
“The coffee at the lighthouse café is quite good too.”
I let out a squeak as he lifted me onto his lap, and he wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me in place. His cock was as hard as granite already.
“There’s nothing else you’re enjoying besides the coffee?”
