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“Forget it,” I muttered as I returned to the kitchen.
Ethan chased me out. “I promise you…it’s not like that.” He took my hand, begging me to see the truth in his emerald eyes.
“Please don’t hurt me, Ethan. Not like this.” Tears welled as I forced out the next words. “I don’t want to play the hate game with you anymore. My heart can’t take it.”
He kissed my hand as he moved closer. “Neither can mine.”
As I drew in air, Ethan threaded his hand through my disheveled hair and pulled my lips to his. My knees grew weak at his newfound tenderness, and my heart swelled under his loving touch. The kiss deepened until the front door swung open.
“I’m going to need more coffee,” Flynn said, marching back into the house as we jumped apart. “There are so many fucking holes up there.”
“I’ll bring some out,” Ethan said, brushing past me with a gentle squeeze to my hand.
I pressed my lips together to hide my smile. “I’m going to take a shower, then I’ll start packing up the cabin. It shouldn’t take too long.”
“Just don’t pack the whiskey. We’ll be needing that later.”
I offered a sad smile to my brother, who was endeavoring to hide his emotions. Our father loved his whiskey, and it was here where Flynn shared his passion. Their bond was incredible, and this place held those memories together, like our home kitchen did for me and Mom. Losing the cabin meant losing another piece of his heart, and I hoped like hell he would get it back.
* * *
“Flynn needs to stop,” I said to Ethan a few hours later. Ethan had been repairing the internals while my brother worked on the roof above. “Susan’s probably going to bulldoze the place anyway.”
“You know Flynn. He loves fixing stuff.”
“But he only has a couple more days to enjoy this place.”
“Yeah, but it’s taking his mind off the inevitable, so I think you should let him be.”
I grumbled, but Ethan was right. Even though Flynn had had a successful career in IT, he was a handyman at heart. He was always tinkering away at projects here and there, and although Susan had pretended to find it endearing in the beginning, her patience wore thin as their bank balance grew thick. She wanted everything shiny and new, while Flynn preferred to bring things back to life—their relationship excluded.
“I can’t believe this will be the last time we come up here,” I said, sipping my third coffee of the day. I’d already packed most of our family’s belongings into boxes and had settled onto the couch to ogle Ethan up on the ladder, reaching for the ceiling. His shirt lifted each time he stretched, giving me an optimal view of his rock-hard abs.
Ethan grinned down at me as if sensing my hungry eyes. “We’re leaving with some pretty good memories, though.”
My cheeks flushed. “We are.”
“Hey, Ethan!” my brother called out from above. “Can you give me a hand up here?”
“Yep! I’ll be up there in a sec.” He stepped off the ladder, but instead of heading out the front door, he detoured my way.
My heart pounded as he grasped the arms of the chair and leaned over me. “Can we talk later? Maybe go for a walk or something?”
With my silent nod, he pressed his lips to mine before kissing me again, deeper and hungrier.
As I yanked his collar down, craving more, Flynn yelled out again, making us both jump.
Ethan growled as he pulled away. “I’m coming!” he hollered before meeting my heavenly gaze. “We’ll continue this later.”
I smiled stupidly. “You bet.”
With one last peck, Ethan adjusted his crotch with a grumble and stormed out of the cabin.
13
ETHAN
“So, what’s going on with you and my sister?”
