Into the Tide (Cottonwood Cove #1)(3)

“Thanks, brother. I owe you one for this.”

“Should I be offended that you didn’t ask me to hire her? We can always use an extra hand at the office, and I’ll bet there’d be a lot of dudes in Cottonwood Cove buying homes if Lila was working there,” Brax said as he waggled his brows mischievously.

“Fuck you, asshole. Not a chance. Hugh would never cross that line, but you think with your dick too much.”

I barked out a laugh when Brax gaped as if he’d just been slapped in the face.

“Hugh thinks with his dick, too. Just ask Tory Hopkins. She drunk-cried to me last week about the way you rocked her world and then left her high and dry.” Brax finished off the last pull from his beer.

I shook my head. “You asshole. Why are you even talking to her about that? We dated in high school, and, if you recall, I found her under the bleachers giving Tony Randall a blowie. So, she can spin that shit however she wants, but I didn’t leave her high and dry. I left her with Tony’s dick in her mouth. It’s not my problem that she still misses mine all these years later.”

“And this is exactly why neither of you fuckers are allowed near Lila. But at least I know this one is loyal as hell, and he’d never make that mistake. You, on the other hand… I’m not sure you wouldn’t cross that line.”

“Fuck off. Have I ever crossed the line?” Brax held up his hands as if he were completely offended.

“You did fuck my high school girlfriend,” Travis reminded him.

“You were on a break!” Brax shouted. “And no offense, but everyone fucked Donna. She was a busy girl.”

“Hugh didn’t, and if you’ll recall… neither did I.” Travis tried to hide his smile. It was an ongoing joke between the three of us. Donna had strung him along for a year and a half, which was a lifetime for a teenage boy. She’d claimed she was saving herself for marriage. And then she’d dumped him and proceeded to get busy with everyone he knew.

But not me.

I wasn’t that guy.

I loved women, and I enjoyed sex. I dated plenty, but I preferred to keep things casual. Hadn’t found any reason not to yet. And I respected bro code and took that shit seriously.

Brax did, too. He just talked a big game.

“All right, I need to get back to the office.” He grabbed his wrapper and dropped it in the bag before pushing to his feet and clapping me on the shoulder. “Thanks for helping out Lila.”

“Of course. You know I’d do anything for her.”

He saluted me and Brax before making his way out the door.

“I guess I better get back and make sure everyone’s working. We’re busier than usual,” Brax said. “So, you sure you can handle having Lila working here?”

His tone was all tease, but I knew what he was insinuating.

“Of course. I’ve known her my entire life, and she’s Travis’s sister. No problem. Some of us can control our dicks.” I raised a brow and gave him a hard look. I’d always looked at Lila like a little sister. And sure—I wasn’t blind—she was fucking gorgeous now.

But unlike Brax, I knew when someone was off limits.

And I didn’t appreciate the way he was talking about her.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. But damn, she looks good, man. And she’s smart and has her shit together. It might not be as easy as you think, brother.” He smirked before clapping me on the shoulder. “But I’ll be here to talk some sense into you when you waver.”

“Never going to happen. Get to work, jackass.”

He raised his hand over his head and walked out the door.

I chuckled about the fact that Brax was worried. I’d never had a problem controlling myself around women. I wasn’t that guy.

This would be a piece of cake.





two





Lila





“Hey, girls,” I said, as I sat down at the table across from my three best friends I’d grown up with. We were finally old enough to drink at Garrity’s bar, and last night we went to Reynolds’, so we were proudly flaunting the fact that we were all twenty-two now and could hit any bar in town. We hadn’t gone to the same colleges, but we’d stayed in touch and remained just as close over the years.

“I can’t believe we’re getting together two days in a row,” Sloane said as she pointed to the mug of beer they’d gotten me. “Drink up, girl. We all walked here, so we’re good to go.”

The place was fairly quiet, nothing like the crowd over at Reynolds’ last night. It was an older group here, all locals, most of whom had stopped me on my way in to say hello. I’d hugged each one and answered the four hundred rapid-fire questions they’d asked me.

J.R., an older man I’d known my entire life, came waltzing over to our table. The man had a personality bigger than life, and I’d always loved seeing him. He rarely said the right thing, offended most people he spoke to without realizing it, and everyone in town loved him for it.

“Well, looky here. If these aren’t the four best-looking heifers I’ve ever seen,” he said, slapping his hand down on our table. He was tall with gray hair and a gray beard and had been the town Santa Claus at the winter festival every year for as long as I could remember.