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"It was nice meeting you, but like I said, I don’t have time to waste."
"What about dinner? Just dinner?" Knox pleaded, his eyes once again drawing her in as if he could really see her. "Just give me a chance. One night. I think I can change your mind."
"You probably could," Laura admitted. "Which is why I have to decline."
If there was one man who might be worth wasting time with, it would be Knox. It took every ounce of willpower to leave Knox Savage on the dance floor. But that’s exactly what Laura did.
5
A yawn claimedKnox as he stood beside his brother, who was manning the grill. After being up for nearly forty hours, he’d gotten less than three hours sleep last night, which was a shame because his nieces had been right—the guest bedroom mattress was like sleeping on a cloud.
His restless night had nothing to do with what he was sleeping on and everything to do with the Latin beauty who he’d been obsessing over since he’d laid eyes on her. Laura Lopez was what he’d always referred to as a unicorn.
He hadn’t believed they actually existed until last night. She was gorgeous, funny, smart, classy, blunt, loved her family, and had left him standing on the dance floor speechless and hard. No woman had ever left him in that condition before, and he wasn’t sure exactly what he was supposed to do about it.
"Hand me that." Ford pointed at the tongs that were lying beside Knox on the table.
Knox picked them up and held them just out of reach. "What do we say?" he teased his brother.
"Give me the fucking tongs."
Knox chuckled and handed the utensil to his brother. It was just so easy to mess with Ford that Knox couldn’t help himself.
The brothers were over at Chrissy’s house for a Sunday barbeque. It was a gorgeous day for it. The weather was a breezy eighty degrees. The sun was shining brightly in the vibrant blue sky, which was dotted with fluffy white clouds.
One of the things he remembered most from his fishing trips with his grandad was how perfect the weather always was in Whisper Lake. As a kid, he’d taken the sunny, temperate climate for granted. He assumed that Whisper Lake was a magical place that always had perfect weather. Now he knew it wasn’t magical; just the season they’d always gone fishing in was the summer.
Knox took a sip from his beer and leaned back against the railing of the deck as he looked out over the backyard. The entire scene looked like it could have been in an ’80s sitcom. Duke and Chrissy’s tiny dog, Lincoln, were sunbathing on the patio. Chrissy’s oldest daughter, Fiona, was gathered with a half dozen friends who were all on their phones doing TikTok videos. Her son, Connor, had a friend over who he was playing catch with. Her two youngest daughters, Kimber and Cassidy, who were called "the littles," were splashing in a blow-up pool. The littles reminded Knox of Ford’s twin daughters, Ivy and Iris, when they were younger. It was hard to believe that the girls were twenty-three years old now and attending college in California. It felt like they were the littles age just yesterday.
That was the only drawback to his time in the Navy. He’d enlisted when the girls were three, which meant he’d missed a lot of them growing up. Thankfully, they’d started a YouTube channel when they were sixteen, so for the past seven or so years, he’d been able to keep up with them via vlogs. His nieces had grown quite a social media following as the Savage Twins. They’d turned it into a business and were successful. Knox could not be prouder of them or of Ford for raising such incredible humans.
Now that he was out, he wanted to soak up all the family time he could get. Which was exactly what he was doing. Ford had found something pretty special in Chrissy and her family. Any lingering questions Knox had about Chrissy using Ford because he’d won the lottery or because she wanted a dad for her kids were put to rest even further with each second that passed.
He may have only known Chrissy for twenty-four hours, but it was clear she was one of the most competent people he’d ever met. She was perfectly capable of handling her own life, and even if she wasn’t, Ford was clearly twitterpated by her. His brother couldn’t go sixty seconds without glancing in whatever direction she happened to be. It had been the same way at the wedding. Chrissy and Ford were meant for each other, and the kids were just a bonus.
Since Knox didn’t want to have any of his own, the more nieces and nephews he racked up, the better. Not that it was about him. It wasn’t. Knox was satisfied that this was everything his brother deserved in life. He couldn’t be happier.
Which meant his reason for being in town was gone. He’d been concerned when his mom sent him on this mission to deliver her ring to Ford, but now he could not be more certain that his brother was in good hands.
He hadn’t checked into the short-term rental he’d booked. He could cancel the reservation, and it would only cost him the holding fee.
At the thought of leaving Laura popped into his mind, or, he should say, she moved to the forefront of his mind. He hadn’t stopped thinking about her, not for one second, since he’d seen her standing across the dance floor in that flowing purple dress. She’d walked off the dance floor, making it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him.
Still, he figured sticking around for a few weeks couldn’t hurt. It was a small town, and he was sure that he’d see her around.
"How long are you planning on staying?" Ford asked, as if he could hear his brother’s inner musings.
"In town or at your place?" Knox asked as he lifted the bottle of beer to his lips and took a sip.
"Isn’t the answer the same?"
Knox was due over at his rental in a few hours to pick up the keys. He could milk the unwelcome company bit a little longer, but he figured he’d let his brother off the hook.
"I've got a rental in town."
Ford’s brows creased. "A rental?"
"Yep."
