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What the hell was wrong with him? He was acting like a damn Neanderthal, and this stance he’d taken, this I’m-her-pal-and-just-looking-out-for-her thing, didn’t ring true either. There was more to it than he wanted to admit. He thought about Vegas. About all that creamy skin tangled up in all that silky hair. He thought of her mouth and what it felt like against his. Did she remember it? That kiss he’d pushed away and tried to forget because of some sense of obligation to Zach and his friendship with Molly?
He looked her way and found her eyes on him. And the effect on him was damn weird.
The air disappeared. His heart damn near beat out of his chest. Since when did stalking his best friend across a room become a thing? When the hell had things gotten all twisted up and wrong between them?
“You look like you’re thinking real hard,” Zach said, appearing at his side with another scotch in hand. Not that Nathan was complaining. He grabbed the tumbler, downed the entire thing, and focused on the fire as it burned all the way to his gut.
“Yeah,” he muttered as Zach followed his gaze.
Kyle’s hand moved to Molly’s back, and Nate exhaled. It took everything he had not to march across the room and rip Langley’s h
ands off her. Which was insane, because this was Molly and she could do what she liked. She didn’t owe Nate anything. She was a grown-ass woman, and it wasn’t up to him to decide who she spent time with. Just like he should probably stop thinking about what they did with all that time they spent together.
Kyle’s hand moved lower to rest on the small of her back, which the dress exposed. Why the hell hadn’t she worn a pantsuit?
“What’s going on between you two?”
“What?” Nate looked at Zach. “Who?”
“You and Molly. Something’s up. Everybody can see it.”
Nate scowled. “Who’s everyone?”
Zach was silent for a few seconds and when he spoke, he was serious as hell. “You guys need to figure it out sooner rather than later, because if you don’t, it’s going to be a long two weeks.” He took a step back. “And Nate?”
“What?” Irritated, he glared at his friend.
“I saw you guys in Vegas. Saw her coming out of your room the morning we left. I don’t know what happened between you two, and it’s none of my business. But she’s my sister. Remember that.”
The warning was subtle, but Nathan felt every bit of it, and for a moment, he was speechless. Where the hell was this coming from?
“She’s one of my best friends. I’d never hurt her.”
“I know,” Zach replied. “But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.”
Chapter Five
Six in the morning was that sweet spot to run River Road and hook up to the trail that circled the lake because it was early enough that there wasn’t much traffic on the road. By the time Molly reached the trail, the sun was up and she’d found her rhythm. The air was brisk and fresh, the dew on the grass heavy, and the quiet fed her spirit. Mornings like this made her realize how special this part of the country was, and she knew she’d never leave.
The trail was heavily shadowed and ran through the forest that hugged the lake, which was thick with stands of beech trees, red and sugar maple, and pine. Molly picked up the pace about three and a half miles into her run, and by the time she reached her turnaround point, she was ready to feel the sun on her face. She stopped at a bluff that overlooked the lake and took a water break, then walked a bit to keep her muscles nice and loose. This was her favorite spot. From here, she could see clear across Crystal Lake and the rolling hills beyond that sloped up to the Porcupine Mountains.
There were a few early birds out on kayaks, but nothing with a motor sliced through the quiet. Down to her right where the incline sloped forward, the boathouses that belonged to the estates that claimed this side stood silent, the houses themselves hidden from view by trees and expensive landscaping. Out here were the properties that people with real money owned, the Edwards, Bluebell Barrington, and local celebrities like rocker Cain Black or NHL goaltender Travis Blackwell. They paid big money for privacy, and the natural lay of the land was a perfect setting.
As for Molly, her own little slice of heaven was four miles down the lake, a small stone cottage on a bluff not unlike the one she stood on. It had two bedrooms, one of which doubled as her office, a small but state-of-the-art kitchen she’d had designed and installed after she’d bought the place, and a large, open room that spanned the width of the house and looked out over the lake. It functioned as her family room and dining room, with a large stone fireplace as a focal point. She’d just taken delivery of a custom-built harvest table made from old barn beams reclaimed from the Manchester place. Beck Jacobs had delivered it himself a few weeks earlier.
When she first announced her plans to buy her own place, her parents had wanted her to stay in town. But Molly had always loved the lake, and when the cottage had come up for sale, she’d jumped at the chance to own it. And now, nearly two years later, she still got tingles when she walked inside. If it was possible to love a home as much as if it were a person, well, Molly did.
Thinking of Beck made her think of Nate. And thinking of Nate made those damn butterflies in her stomach take off as if someone had just tossed a hand grenade inside her and then run for the hills.
Sunday night had been a disaster. She’d been so sure Nathan would bring Chess that she’d done her best to doll herself up and dress to impress. Not so much for Nate--she knew he didn’t think of her that way--but for Chess. A girl had pride. No way was Chess going to look at Molly and see Bones Malone.
The whole exercise was stupid and counterproductive because what the hell did she know about being a femme fatale?
What exactly was a femme fatale?
Did anyone even use those words anymore?
She’d borrowed a dress from Jessica, left her hair long because Lainey said she’d be an idiot if she didn’t, and wore shoes that made her calves ache. She tried not to think about it too much, about what she was trying to prove, and with Kyle on her arm, she felt confident that Chess wouldn’t see her as a target, but as a grown-ass woman with a lot to offer, one men found desirable. If she were being really honest with herself, she’d admit that that was what she wanted Nate to think. But honest wasn’t exactly top shelf at the moment.
