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“Because I’m terrified that she’s going to say no,” Sebastian said, slowly exhaling because he had no idea how he would handle it if she said no.
“Then, you’re going to need a better plan.”
CHAPTER41
“This will do,” Mikey murmured as she threw her oversized towel down on the freshly mowed grass with a satisfied sigh before shifting her attention to her backpack. Within minutes, she had an ice-cold Coke and a lovely selection of snacks lined up next to her towel, a bottle of sunscreen ready to protect her from the sun, her iPad for entertainment, and a small radio so that she could listen to the game in peace while the boys were fishing.
After adjusting her bikini, Mikey sat down on the towel, grabbed the bottle of sunscreen and couldn’t help but frown when she spotted Jonathan standing in front of her. That was followed by him dropping his fishing equipment on the ground and muttering, “Why must I be such a gentleman?”
With a long-suffering sigh, he reached down and plucked the bottle of sunscreen out of her hand, squeezed an ungodly amount in his palm, and then gestured for her to turn over only to go still when something behind her had him swallowing hard. Following his gaze, Mikey looked over her shoulder to find Uncle Trevor standing behind her with his massive arms folded over his chest.
“I didn’t want her to get burned?” Jonathan said, sounding hopeful only to mutter, “Oh, crap,” when his father narrowed his eyes as he reached back and grabbed hold of his shirt before pulling it off and left her sitting there unable to help but frown.
That is, until Uncle Trevor tossed his shirt on the ground before dropping down on the towel next to her. When she opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing, Uncle Trevor cleared his throat, wiggled until she got the hint, and sighed with satisfaction when she quickly got out of the way so that he could take over her towel.
“Don’t forget the shoulders,” Uncle Trevor said absently as he helped himself to her snacks before pulling on her headphones and settling in to get more comfortable while she stood there, glaring.
“But…” Jonathan mumbled weakly.
“That lotion isn’t going to rub itself into my skin,” came the absently murmured words as Uncle Trevor helped himself to the ice-cold Coke that she’d been looking forward to as Jonathan stood there, looking from her to his father before grumbling to himself as he set to work.
Knowing the battle was lost, Mikey pulled on her shorts and sandals and resigned herself to another walk to Pats. She moved to grab her bag only to rethink that decision when Uncle Trevor glared at her as he grabbed her bag full of snacks and slowly pulled it out of her reach. With a grumble of her own, Mikey turned around and headed for the path that would take her to Pats.
A moment later, Sebastian joined her and-
“You knew better,” he said, making her wince when she thought about what happened last night.
She shouldn’t have ordered that second cheeseburger. It had been a rookie mistake, but in her defense, they’d really pissed her off, Mikey thought, only to swallow hard when she saw the glare that Sebastian was leveling on her. She wouldn’t make that mistake again, not after what they did to Braxton. God, she couldn’t even think about that right now, Mikey thought as she tried to go for a hopeful smile, only to decide against it when that muscle in his jaw started throbbing.
“You betrayed me, you little brat,” Sebastian bit out as he glanced down at her, taking in her bikini top before abruptly looking away as he cleared his throat.
Nodding, Mikey said, “I believe you mentioned something to that effect last night when I was forced to flee through the woods for my life.”
“You should have run faster,” Sebastian pointed out.
Frowning, Mikey said, “I have tiny legs. Why must I keep reminding you?”
“Tell me something, Mikey,” Sebastian drawled, “what exactly were you thinking when you ordered that second milkshake?”
“That the first one was delicious,” Mikey said, earning a chuckle as they came to a fallen log blocking the path.
“I bet it was,” Sebastian murmured absently as he took her hand in his and helped her over the log. When she felt his thumb caress the back of her hand, Mikey swallowed hard as she found herself wondering how a simple touch could leave her feeling like this.
Before her feet touched the ground, Sebastian was releasing her hand and she was left struggling with the urge to reach back over and-
“Oh, my god, a kitten,” Mikey said, unable to help but smile when she spotted the small black cat making its way towards them.
“Mikey-”
“What do you think he’s doing out here?” Mikey asked as she leaned over and held her hand out to pet it.
“Mikey, run!” Sebastian snapped, only to follow that up with a curse, confusing the hell out of her as she-
Realized too late that it wasn’t a kitten.
* * *
“Tell me again how this happened,”Jonathan asked from the other side of the clearing as their mother poured another bottle of ice-cold tomato juice over his head.
