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The front door was open, and he entered a quiet living room. He heard women’s voices coming from what he guessed was the kitchen and followed them. It was a good-size room for the size of the house and still had an old-fashioned vibe to it, although some remodeling had been done. Sam and another woman were unpacking food on an island and looked over in surprise.
“Oh, good. You made it,” said Sam.
“Welcome. You must be Killian,” said the blond-haired woman beside Sam.
He nodded. “That’s me.”
“Killian, this is Grace, Luke’s better half,” said Sam.
Grace shook her head and grinned. “True, but don’t tell Luke that.”
“My lips are sealed.” Killian smiled and lifted the wine and beer. “Where should I put these?” he asked.
“Oh, there’s a cooler outside filled with ice for the beer. Leave the wine here, and I’ll open it and bring it out in a minute,” said Grace.
Killian handed her the wine, which she placed on the table with the other bottles, sandwiched between assorted cakes and brownies—yum. He could smell hints of beef and chicken grilling, and his mouth watered.
“Everyone is outside. Luke is barbecuing steaks, burgers and chicken,” said Grace. She glanced out the window and then back at Killian. “It looks like all the guys are helping him. Why don’t you join them?”
“Sounds good,” said Killian. He walked out the sliding glass doors and onto a large wooden patio. As Grace mentioned, some of the guys were drinking beer and talking to Luke, who was manning the grill, and others were in small groups scattered around the patio. He noticed the women were in a far corner talking. His pulse kicked up. So many people were here. He knew many from KnightGuard Security but not their spouses or friends. He took a deep breath—time to be civil.
Killian heard the gurgling of a river and remembered Luke telling him the Banana River was behind his house and had great fishing.
He hadn’t been fishing in… a long time.
Actually, never. Dear ol’ dad didn’t fish. He didn’t do sports either unless you called drinking and beating up his wife and son sport.
Argh. He wasn’t going there tonight. Tonight, he was going to talk to the others and have fun. Keep it light.
The candles on the tables cast a warm glow on the patio, and someone had strung tiny lights around the deck, giving it a more festive look.
A loud “aww” came from a group of women in the corner. Killian turned to look. A baby was being passed around, and the women were cooing over it. Killian never understood why. Sure, babies were cute, but they were just that—babies. Grace and Sam had joined the group, and Sam handed the baby to a sexy blond-haired woman who leaned over and kissed it.
“Don’t mind them,” said Jake Summers. Killian met the blond surfer-looking dude once at Neptune’s Navel—the tiki bar Jake owned down by the marina. “The women all go crazy over the babies. Savannah is Joe and Claire’s little one.” He sighed. “It seems like all my friends are having babies.”
Killian filed that info away for a rainy day. Hopefully, it would be gone by then. Who cared about babies or kids? He wanted neither. “So, who’s the blonde? I recognize Sam, Grace and several other women who’ve come into the office, but I’ve never met her.”
“Hmmm.” Jake cocked his head and stared at the group. “That’s Anne Walker. She’s a teacher in town.” He gave Killian a sly smile. “And single. Want an introduction?”
Killian glanced over at the group once more. Anne was still holding the baby and cooing over it. He recognized the look. She wanted one. “Nah. I’m good.”
“Suit yourself.” Jake shrugged. “She’s a catch.”
Riiight. Anne was a catch only if he wanted to be tied down with babies, vomit and crap. He knew from experience after watching all his friends fall in love and then have kids.
His sister, Gina, settled for the first guy who took an interest in her. She was on her third kid, and while Jeff was a nice enough guy and treated her like a princess, all he did was work.
Gina was alone most of the time, with three little ones under seven.
She had a beautiful voice, and Killian had hoped she would go to college, develop it more, make a career for herself, and not be tied down with raising kids. Especially after they watched their mother give up everything, including her dignity, to put up with the physical and mental abuse because she had no skills or way to make money. It didn’t matter. Gina was happy, and that was all that counted.
However, that wasn’t how Killian saw his life.
If he ever had a woman he loved, although there was little chance of that happening, no rug rats would be running around—ever.
A clap on the back startled Killian. He turned.
“Glad you made it,” said Joe. He looked around the group. “These get-togethers are a great way to reconnect with everyone since we’re not all in the office at the same time.”
