Take a Chance (Chance, #1; Rosemary Beach #7)(34)

A loud knock on the door made her jump and I swore.

“Get your damn clothes on and get the f**k out of there,” Mase demanded loudly from the other side of the door.

Shit. Not what I wanted to deal with right now.

“Let me talk to him first,” she said, jumping down off the counter and reaching for her panties. Her angry brother might be outside, but I wasn’t letting him ruin this for me.

I took her panties from her hands and bent down to put them on her. Once I had them pulled up and in place I did the same with her jeans. She cooperated silently. When I fastened her bra I finally allowed myself to look at her. She had on enough clothes now that I could focus.

There was a softness there I hadn’t seen before. I wanted to keep her right here, locked away from everyone else in this moment. She slipped her arms into her shirt and I buttoned it up before pressing a kiss to her cheek.

Then I quickly grabbed my jeans and jerked them on and pulled my shirt on over my head. We both slipped on our shoes. I ran my hands through her tangled hair until I had it looking as if she hadn’t just been completely f**ked in the bathroom.

“Let’s go,” I told her and opened the door so she could step out.

“Maybe you should stay in here,” she said quietly.

I shook my head. I wasn’t scared of the cowboy. “Hell, no.”

Harlow let out a sigh and we walked into main cabin of the plane. Mase was drinking coffee and sitting by the window, but he was facing us.

“Not sure why this surprises me. I saw it coming a mile away,” Mase said as he glared at me.

“You don’t understand. It wasn’t just . . . it was . . . we were . . . ,” Harlow stuttered.

“I screwed some shit up. Harlow and I are working through it. I’m winning her trust back.”

Mase snarled. “No, you’re f**king her in the damn bathroom on a plane.”

I took a step toward him and Harlow reached out and grabbed my arm. “You don’t understand, Mase.”

He raised his eyebrows, then took another sip of his coffee. “You’re a grown woman. If you want to make a mistake, I can’t stop you.”

The fact he was calling me a mistake pissed me the hell off, but I held my tongue.

“Don’t say things like that. You don’t understand. But you’re right. I’m a grown woman, and as much as I love you this isn’t your business.”

Mase smirked. “Bet our father will disagree with that.”

Harlow moved this time. “You will not tell Dad any of this. We aren’t kids.”

Mase took another long drink of his coffee. “Easy, tiger. I’m just teasing. Besides, he’ll figure it out himself. First, we just have to find his sorry ass.”

Harlow

Grant had taken a seat on the couch and pulled me down beside him with his arm wrapped firmly around my shoulders while he talked to Mase as if my brother hadn’t just caught us in the bathroom.

Men.

The rest of the flight went quickly, but then Grant had kept me very distracted for the first long portion of the trip. When we arrived in Vegas, Grant took my bag and we headed to the limo that Dean had sent to pick us up. I didn’t have to ask to know they were at the Hard Rock. It was their favorite place to stay in Vegas. I preferred the Venetian.

Grant slid in behind me and sat close enough that our bodies touched from shoulder to ankle, even though Mase sat across from us and there was plenty of room for him to scoot over. I liked it, though. He was determined to stay close to me.

“You called him since we landed?” Mase asked as he leaned back and stretched his legs in front of him.

I quickly pulled out my phone and turned it on to call Daddy. It rang three times and went to voice mail again. “Still not answering,” I said.

“He’s an ass. I can’t believe we came out here to look for our forty-five-year-old father. This is ridiculous,” Mase grumbled.

I knew Mase didn’t respect Dad. He held him to the level of his stepfather and that was unfair. Dad was a rock star. He was a legend. His world was different. You had to take into account that if he wanted something, people fell all over themselves trying to give it to him.

“He’s still our father,” I said, trying not to get defensive. Grant reached over and squeezed my hand. It felt as if I had an ally. Someone who understood. No one really understood my life and choices, not even Mase. Just knowing that someone might felt . . . well, it felt freeing. As if I wasn’t alone.

“Yeah, he is. Lucky us,” Mase replied, staring out the window.

Grant’s hand tightened on me and he pulled me closer to him. I didn’t want to like this or need it. But right now I was giving in to it.

My phone rang, startling all of us, and I fumbled with it to see it was only Dean.

“Hello,” I said, hoping he was about to tell me Dad was back at the hotel.

“Have you landed?”

“Yes, we’re on our way to the hotel,” I replied.

“Has he answered any of your calls?”

There was something off in Dean’s voice. Did he know something?

“No . . . has he called you?” I asked.

Dean didn’t reply right away. I started to get worried.

“No, he hasn’t. But when you get here we need to talk about something before you go looking for him.”