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  There was nothing not to love about Lolly.

  Chapter Fourteen

  While Lolly and Piper chatted and laughed together stretched out on side by side lounge chairs, Brooks and Vance dangled their feet into the water at the far end of the pool, enjoying their view of the bikini-clad bodies. They had shed their shirts and splashed water on their torsos as the heat of the day became real.

  “It’s probably good they’re getting along,” Brooks offered.

  Vance laughed. “You think?” he said, taking a long pull on a bottle of water. “Piper already has Annabelle labeled as her new best friend. Lord knows the two of them couldn’t have gotten on any better than this.” He pointed to the women. “Frankly, what’s going on over there is just downright scary.”

  “Only because Lolly knows too much and is indiscriminately sharing it with your new girlfriend,” Brooks jeered.

  “Thanks for that.”

  “Just keeping it real,” Brooks said, laughing. He ducked his head toward the water, but raised his eyes to covertly stare at Piper through his sunglasses. He lowered his voice. “Annabelle and Lolly may be a handful,” he acknowledged, “but this one, with a body like that, yet so tiny you wanna pick her up and put her in your pocket—Christ. You’re gonna be running interference left, right, and center. I cannot—for the life of me—imagine how you kept sweet, voluptuous Tinker Bell out of your bed the other night.”

  “Oh bro, that was nothing but sheer panic. Being that she’s Piper—and the hologram. She’s not just the one that got away; she’s the one that got away twice. So, sue me for being a pussy and trying to think with my head and not my dick. It worked for you, didn’t it?”

  “I suppose,” Brooks said, “but Tinker Bell is far from twenty-three, and I’m guessing she knows exactly what she wants. Frankly, it’s a fucking miracle that all that sweet, soft, and vulnerable doesn’t have a ring on her finger. Lolly may have been willing to knock her head against a brick wall for a time, but if you’re interested in Tinker Bell, my advice would be to start a full-court press—now.”

  Vance appeared taken aback. “Listen,” Vance said. “If this is about me staying away from Lolly—”

  “No. No,” Brooks insisted. “This has nothing to do with Lolly. This is about you. About what you need. Look, when I heard Piper was a lawyer, I figured she’d be a cool distraction but ultimately a long-term dead end. Because you don’t need to be knocking heads with a woman who throws metaphorical punches for a living no matter how brilliant, beautiful, or savvy she is. But what you do need is that,” he said pointing toward Piper. “A woman who likes to make pastry into poetry. A woman who is charmingly sweet and eager to like your crazy friends and family. Just five minutes in Piper’s presence and I totally got why she’s your hologram. She’s sweet and has this whole nurturing side to her that you not only need but crave.”

  “Because my mother sucked.”

  “Well,” Brooks said, “I wouldn’t have put it that way exactly, but yeah.” He nodded toward the girls. “Think for a minute about why you started to fall for Lolly. And I’m not talking about the bullshit physical stuff or the competitive insanity you two share.”

  Vance threw Brooks a pained expression.

  Brooks held up his hands. “Fine. We won’t talk about this.”

  After a few quiet moments, Vance moved his arms behind him and leaned back onto his hands. “Lolly talked to me—like I mattered,” he admitted. “She didn’t leave, even when I was a classic asshole. She wants me to be happy.”

  “She cares about you,” Brooks expounded. “There is genuine affection there—so whether you are a classic asshole or not, nothing you can do or say will alter it. And that is something none of us can get enough of. Piper did that for you in fourth grade, which is why you never forgot her.”

  “Yes,” Vance said, shifting his weight forward and wiping his hands against each other. “But we’re not in fourth grade anymore, are we?”

  “She likes you, and by some stroke of luck she’s also available, so take advantage of that. I don’t need to remind you there is more fun to be had now that you two are all grown up.”

  “She doesn’t like cops,” Vance grumbled. “Although…” He brightened. “She didn’t mind Bad Cop busting up her date last night.”

  “Probably because you didn’t throw your badge around.”

  “Oh, I threw the badge around. The badge is going to be thrown at every opportunity.”

  “Strange dating tactic.”

  “Love me, love my badge,” Vance declared.

  “You do remember you’re not much of a cop, right?”

  “Apparently I’m all cop when it comes to Piper. I swear to God, when she slipped off her heels to drive the Maserati, and I stood towering over her looking down into those baby blue eyes and all those Goldilocks curls, something in me just….” Vance turned the palms of his hands face up and rounded his fingers into claws, growling. “It was primal and urgent, and yeah—if I could tuck her into my pocket and keep her there I would.”

  “A Piper Pocket Doll,” Brooks stated while bringing a water bottle to his mouth. He stopped it midway, noticing the trio walking up the path from the garage. “Well, what the hell do we have here?”

  Vance’s head shot up, a slow smile spreading. “I do believe our outlaw has arrived,” he said getting up to greet the newcomers. Annabelle veered off toward Piper and Lolly, but Duncan James kept coming and so did all the long hair and loose limbs by his side.

  “Jesus,” Brooks said. “What the hell is with all the pink shirts?”

  “I don’t know,” Vance grinned, watching Jesse James and his raspberry Izod saunter towards them. “But The Ninja clearly needs to see this. Pinks!” he yelled.

  Davis descended from the French doors with a dish towel in his hand. “Get a look at this,” Vance said, indicating the two James brothers as they approached. “Now that dude knows how to wear pink,” he told him.

  “Makes me think we’re missing out on something,” Brooks said. He looked across the pool and swore. “Fucking A. Would you look at that.”

  All three women were sitting up and taking in the scene as if Jesse James had walked off the cover of Men’s Health. Their faces were bright and eager, their mouths stilled for the first time in an hour. Brooks looked again at Duncan’s brother and tried to see him through their eyes.

  The kid exuded cool. And it had little to do with how he dressed because, for the love of Christ, he was dressed like a sloppy Pinks. Colorful, prepped out, and even had a fucking lacrosse stick laid over the black duffle bag he carried. What the hell was this? An invasion? But from the worn flip-flops on his feet to the slicked-back hair and sunglasses, something about the way this kid carried himself with a tossed-about confidence gave him a magnetism that couldn’t be missed at fifty paces. Jesse James was coolness personified, and with his likable grin, he drew you in, male or female.

  Even Brooks, who claimed Vance Evans—the great seducer—as his friend, had never seen anything like it. He grinned broadly as he reached out his hand to welcome the boy to his clan.

  Vance and Pinks responded likewise, with Pinks throwing out some mumbo-jumbo about the evil sport that was killing the quality of high school baseball. Thank fuck Vance had the sense to shut the two of them up before Brooks changed his mind and ran them both out of town. He still wasn’t certain about Pinks’ motives anyway. Although Brooks had to admit the guy was certainly likable.

  “I’ll take you inside to meet the family,” Vance was saying, “and then The Ninja here can show you to your room.”

  “The Ninja?” Jesse asked, the right side of his lip lifted into a crooked smile.

  “Double black belt,” Pinks explained.

  “Sweet.” Jesse fist bumped Pinks.

  “Yeah, sweet,” Duncan said, dragging in a shitload of sarcasm.

  “Bro.” Vance laughed in the face of Duncan’s surly glare. “Lighten up. It’s a great day when Brooks and I finally get
to meet the other James brother. Whatever The Outlaw’s done, he starts with a clean slate here. We are all about the do-over and, trust us, we’ve got it covered,” he assured the eldest James brother.

  “So, what the hell did you do to get yourself kicked out of Nirvana?” Vance asked, turning his attention to Jesse.

  Jesse snickered and nodded at the term. He scratched his unshaven jaw and looked a little chagrined as he said. “My heart has grown overly fond of a seventeen-year-old.”

  Duncan nudged his brother from behind. “Tell ’em the rest.”

  Jesse jerked his head and sighed. “We were caught in a compromising position.”

  “Dude!”

  “Oh, man.”

  “Son of a—”

  “Relax,” Jesse told them. “It was consensual and days before her eighteenth birthday. On top of that I was not the aggressor, so you all can just stand down.”

  “Stand down?” Brooks asked pointedly while taking two slow, deliberate steps into The Outlaw’s personal space. “Just so we’re clear.” He pulled off his sunglasses and tapped them against Jesse’s chest. “Henderson is my town. My Nirvana. Everyone who lives here is like family to me. So while you happen to be a guest in my town, you do not so much as fucking smile at a female until Vance or I have checked her ID.”

  Brooks was met with silent anger straining to be released. If the kid was gonna blow, Brooks wanted to know now. “You got it?” he barked.

  “Roger. That.” Jesse spat.

  “Ooookay then.” Vance stepped in between the two of them and turned Jesse by the shoulder. He looked back at Brooks as he shoved Jesse toward the house. “Struck a tender nerve, did it?” he asked, scowling at Brooks. “Very impressive bad cop moment, however.” He motioned for Pinks to follow him and then pointed to Brooks and Duncan. “You two chill. I’ve got this.”

  Brooks watched them go.

  “He talking about you and Lolly?” Duncan asked.

  Brooks faced his buddy and told him the truth. “Summers were always the hardest with Lolly and Darcy running around the house in nothing but bikinis. Fortunately, I was so much older, she was rather oblivious.” He flipped his head toward Jesse’s back. “How much trouble are we looking at here?”

  Duncan shrugged. “I wish I knew. He’s had no disciplinary issues in college that I’m aware of, and didn’t have any in boarding school. The only time he seems to find his way into trouble is when he’s under the same roof as my mother.”

  “The judge?”

  “That’d be her,” Duncan acknowledged. “The two of them have been pushing each other’s buttons for years. I can’t figure it out.”

  “What about your dad?”

  “Dad and Jesse are cool. Dad didn’t take the incident lightly, but even he thinks my mother is overreacting.”

  “Is the girl’s family pressing charges?” Brooks inquired.

  “No. Nothing like that. She turns eighteen next week, and she’s crazy about Jesse. The sticky part is that our family has known her family for years. Actually, for generations, because my mom grew up with both of her parents every summer, and all of the grandparents knew each other socially. The kibosh has been put on this budding romance mostly to stop the spread of gossip. Because if you think Henderson’s bad, shrink this town down to three-hundred houses and stick them on a gated peninsula. Henderson doesn’t know the meaning of the word gossip.”

  “Doesn’t sound much like Nirvana to me,” Brooks said.

  “I never thought so. Although Jesse is in love with the place. Kinda like you are here. So, Mom sending him away for the rest of the summer? It’s kind of like you being banished to New York City.”

  “Dear God,” Brooks shuddered. “Okay, I’ll go a little easier on the kid. But this thing—with the girl?”

  Duncan shook his head. “He’s not talking about it. And his cell phone has been confiscated. Which leads me to believe—”

  “That it wasn’t all about sex,” Brooks finished.

  “No,” Duncan agreed, his expression a little sad.

  “Age may be just a number, but at her age, it’s the law,” Brooks said. “Probably best the two of them are separated for awhile.

  “My mother’s point exactly.”

  “So the mission is to drum up a little interest in age-appropriate girls?”

  “Couldn’t hurt,” Duncan said. “And putting him to work would be an added bonus. The only thing Jesse has to put on his resume is camp counselor.”

  Brooks looked around the pool, the grounds, and the three pretty ladies sitting across the way. “It’s starting to look like we could actually use one of those.”

  ***

  Jesse James laid across the queen-sized bed tossing a lacrosse ball up and down. The overly zealous dude named Davis stuck his head in the door and asked, “Aren’t you going to unpack?”

  Rolling to a sitting position and flinging his legs over the side of the bed, Jesse stared at Davis. “What are you in for?”

  “In for?” Davis laughed. “Like this is a prison? Hell, I bartered my way into this place. Originally for the love of a woman.” He had the grace to look sheepish. “But, now I’ve landed this primo internship with a budding empire and I get to watch Vance up close and personal.” When Jesse raised one eyebrow, curious, Davis went on. “Not like that, douche bag. The guy happens to be great with women and I’m…not. So,” he said, with a self-deprecating grin, “the real internship is learning how to shake my nice, safe, boring persona.”

  Jesse’s smile grew slow and eager. “You don’t say?”

  Davis tossed his chin toward Jesse’s stick. “What position?”

  Jesse looked down and grabbed the long handle. “Defense. You?”

  “Middy. Played on the club team at NC State.”

  “I play for Princeton.”

  “You get in because of your grades or your lacrosse?”

  “Both.”

  “Cool. Good season?”

  “Beat Hopkins. Suffered a crushing defeat from Yale.”

  “Dude.”

  “I know,” Jesse said, cradling the ball in the net of his stick. “Makes no fucking sense, does it?”

  “None whatsoever. I’m from Baltimore by the way.”

  Jesse’s interest perked up. “Really? I’ve got a lot of friends in Baltimore.”

  “Let me grab my stick and we’ll throw the ball around. See how many degrees of separation there are between us.”

  “I’m down with that,” Jesse said, following Davis from the room. “Why do they call you Pinks?”

  “I was wearing pink shorts the night Brooks found me backing his girlfriend, Lolly, up against a wall. The same Lolly that used to be my girlfriend.”

  “Seriously?” Jesse asked. “I know he and Duncan are good friends, but that guy’s an asshole.”

  “Farthest thing from,” Davis corrected him. “But I’ll let you figure that out for yourself. Although,” he said, stopping just before they headed outside, “he’s not a fan of lacrosse.”

  “Because he’s some freaking baseball god. Yeah, I’ve heard the stories,” Jesse said with a complete lack of enthusiasm.

  “Okay. Good. Well, we don’t want to piss him off, but since Henderson is in the dark ages without any sort of lacrosse program, I’m thinking of offering weekend clinics to introduce the game.”

  “I thought you said you didn’t want to piss him off,” Jesse smirked.

  “Well,” Davis said, smiling, “I don’t mind pissing him off a little.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Vance dove into the pool and Piper’s eyes followed his blurred form as he swam underwater toward her. She sat at the top of the circular cement steps with her legs calf-deep in the water and watched as his long-fingered hands and well-defined arms pulled his body up the steps. His hands touched her feet and then circled her ankles. She glanced over her bent knees as his head and upper body emerged through the surface of the crystal-clear water. And just like earlier that morning, t
he sight stole her breath as she marveled at the fullness of her fantasy come to life.

  Water sluiced from Vance’s hair down over his muscular shoulders and chest, leaving sparkling droplets in places that tempted her tongue. She covered her mouth instead.

  “Why are you smiling?” he said, as a slow grin showed off white teeth which were dramatically enhanced by his midsummer tan.

  She lowered her hand and leaned her face toward him, begging to be kissed. His body stretched forward, complying with a slow peck.

  “Are we dating?” she asked him, licking at the water he’d left on her lips. “Lolly and Annabelle want to know.”

  “Yes,” he said. “We are dating exclusively. Now come into the water so I can put my hands on you.”

  “You want to put your hands on me?” she asked over a cheeky grin.

  “Constantly.”

  “I’m not a strong swimmer,” she said, unfolding her legs and standing on the step.

  Vance took her hand and began pulling her into the water. “I’ll be sure to keep a tight hold on you then,” he said through an easy smile.

  She allowed him to lead her down the steps. “I mean, I can swim fine. I just don’t…do that.” She tossed her chin toward the laps Brooks and Lolly were doing up and down the length of the pool.

  Vance glanced over his shoulder. “Oh,” he said, bringing his attention back to Piper. “Nobody does that. They’re just showing off.”

  She found footing on the last step and felt Vance’s other hand skim around her waist underwater. He dragged her off the step and fully into the pool. Just a few paces forward, the water drifted above her shoulders, and she reached for him in an effort to keep her head above water.

  “I’ve got you,” he said quietly, pulling her up and against his chest, wrapping both arms around her lower back. An effervescent heat tingled behind her chest as she slid against his naked torso.