Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
I chuckled, despite it all. I loved the water, so I didn’t mind sleeping on a boat.
“You just hit forty—stop acting like you have a bad hip or something,” Macklin retorted.
Reese had no issues swinging back, but I was done. While they bantered like children, I walked up toward the house, just wanting to get introductions over with. So I could deal with the fallout.
What if he asked me to leave?
Fuck.
I knocked on the door and braced myself. My heart drummed faster, heat rose within me, and nausea followed. It got so far that my mouth pooled with saliva, like it did right before I threw up.
I heard steps around me. Macklin and Reese behind me, then someone on the other side of the door.
Here goes everything.
The door swung open, and I clenched my jaw and immediately made room for Macklin to walk ahead of me. Yup, that was him. That was fucking Ty. Holy fucking shit, it was Marina’s dad. I could not lower my gaze fast enough, as if I could hide from reality. But I’d seen him. His deep blue eyes, the natural tan, his charming smirk, his dark, untamed hair. Fucking flip-flops too. Cargo shorts and nothing else.
It was Ty.
“No need to knock, guys.” And his voice. That was the one. Ty had the ability to come off as both intimidating and incredibly casual. His voice was rich and warm at the same time as it was smooth and carried a smile. “Come on in. The grill is ready for those patty melts.”
Rock music was playing inside the house, and I vaguely registered Macklin saying, “Well, you know me. And this is my boyfriend, Lane. Lane, Ty.”
I cleared my throat and physically forced myself to make eye contact.
So far, so good.
Did he have to be so criminally gorgeous? A guy could get trapped in that gaze.
He extended a hand. “Good to meet you, Lane.”
He didn’t recognize me, did he?
I took a breath and nodded. “You too. Thanks for having us.”
Mack nudged me. “He hasn’t had us yet.”
Jesus!
I shot him an incredulous look.
In the meantime, Ty and Reese laughed.
We were let inside, and I stopped listening. I couldn’t hear a damn word. Something about placing our luggage by the patio doors, ’cause Ty would show us the boat later. After that, nothing. My ears rang loudly, and I couldn’t fix my stare on anything for longer than a couple seconds. The house seemed roomier on the inside. It was bright and open with fairly high ceilings. Maybe because the living room area was lowered by two steps.
An actual bird—a parrot, a small one—flew down the stairs and landed on Ty’s shoulder.
My body should react more to that, but I was still processing. He didn’t recognize me. Ty didn’t recognize me. Maybe I could pull this off. Maybe I’d gotten a second chance.
Next, I was introduced to Reese’s twin brother, River, and their partner Shay—who was my age, by the looks of things. They were all incredibly hot, especially Shay with his captivating eye color. Like some tropical-blue shade.
It would be difficult telling the twins apart. They were completely identical, including hair and trimmed beards. Thankfully, Reese had a neck tattoo.
“Men suck!”
I blinked and did a double take at the bird—who’d spoken.
Ty sighed and scratched his eyebrow. “We talked about this, Jet. Men don’t suck. Marina sucks.”
Marina.
Reese, River, and Macklin found that funny.
“Marina is Ty’s daughter.” Macklin took my lack of amusement as confusion and explained something I already knew.
“Yeah, I don’t go around and teach birds that random women suck,” Ty added smoothly. “Just my kid.”
I managed to smirk and thought I deserved a fucking award for not succumbing to the mayhem that raged inside me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so overwhelmed. But I was getting closer to pulling my act together. I actually stood a chance here. He didn’t know who I was.
It was time to unclench a little.
“You boys mind waitin’ for the tour of the boat till after we’ve eaten?” Ty asked. “Colt, Luke, and Kit will be here any minute.”
Mack and I didn’t mind. I wasn’t mentally equipped to make a decision about anything right now, so it was best to go with the flow.
“Perfect.” Ty gestured for the kitchen behind him. “Make yourselves comfortable. There’s beer in the fridge—or sodas, water. Bathroom there in the hallway. Feel free to change into whatever you’d wear on the beach, and there are plenty of snacks on the porch.”
“We brought some things too,” Macklin said. “We’ll stow them away in the fridge.”
“And I bought more soap,” Reese informed Ty. “Because you neglected to tell us that snakes can prolapse their assholes and spray you in shit.”
I coughed around a laugh, almost hurting my throat because I’d been so unprepared.
Reese pointed to me. “Lane told me. Kid’s a snake trivia factory.”