Her Forever Hero (Unexpected Heroes #3)(24)

“You know what I need,” Grace said before taking a long swallow.

“Forget about her. Let’s go back to relaxing,” Sage wisely told her.

Soon, Kitty was forgotten, so Grace resumed her position in the chair and closed her eyes. She would eventually get one day—just one, that’s all she was asking—when there was absolutely zero drama.

Unfortunately, today hadn’t been that day.





Cam felt as if he were in a trance. His eyes were drawn to this incredible woman, and he was hopelessly captivated by every little thing about Grace Sinclair. The way she tipped her head back and filled the air with the sound of her contagious laughter—it stopped him in his tracks. And he wasn’t the only one who was spellbound.

Surveying the room quickly, he found many admiring eyes. Endearing was the word for her. As she sat back in her chair, unconscious of her charms, she twirled her long strands of hair in her finger and tilted her head to the side, eyes wide while she listened intently to the conversation bubbling around her.

It had been so long since he’d held her in his arms, sunk deep inside her body. Their coming together again was inevitable, and it was the last thing he should be thinking of at this moment. Something bad was going on in her life, and he needed to focus on helping her. But who said he couldn’t offer up a little temptation along the way? They had once been good together. He was positive they could be that way again.

“You and Grace have sure been spending a lot of time together,” Jackson said as he followed Cam’s line of sight and smirked at the target just before taking a swig of beer.

“Yeah,” Spence added. “Having little kissing sessions in the hallways of hospitals, catching her from falling at her apartment, even staying the night and nursing her back to health. Hmmmm.”

“Shut up, both of you,” Cam grumbled, pulling his gaze from Grace so he could focus on his brothers. He knew that if he let them get too out of hand, he’d be saying something he shouldn’t—something he wouldn’t be able to take back.

Yes, he wanted Grace, but his feelings ran much deeper than that, and those feelings were for him to think about and analyze. They weren’t to be put on display for all the world to see, especially not for his brothers.

“What? We just want to help you out,” Jackson said far too innocently.

Michael joined the group. “What am I missing?”

“We were just telling Cam how good Grace looks and how we noticed they’ve been spending a lot of time together,” Spence piped up.

“And she belongs to me, so back off,” Cam told them. Hell, he couldn’t lie to his brothers. The situation would only grow worse if he did.

“Didn’t you tell me earlier you were simply trying to help her with a case?” Michael asked.

“I am trying to help her with a case, but there’s . . . history between us. The situation isn’t exactly black-and-white,” Cam said. “Enough, okay?” He was really hoping they would now drop their line of questioning.

He could hope, but that had never gotten him anywhere.

“Just throw her over your shoulder and take ownership,” Jackson said with a laugh before looking over his own shoulder to be sure his wife hadn’t heard him say that.

“Mighty big words, Jackson. They’d have more impact if you didn’t look so worried right now,” Spence said, grinning widely. “Talk about whipped.”

“You’re one to talk. I would love to know what Sage would think about some of the comments you just made, big brother,” Jackson fired back.

“Okay, truce. Our wives would kill us,” Spence said. “I’m not ashamed to admit it—not in the least.”

“You know what? I didn’t ask for any of your opinions, and I certainly don’t want them,” Cam said between clenched teeth. Then he zeroed in on Michael. “Why have you been so secretive lately?”

Michael froze before looking around, acting even more suspiciously. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he finally said.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen you around much. Where have you been?” Jackson asked.

Now all the brothers were gazing at the youngest Whitman, who was shifting in his seat.

“Is there a girl involved here, Mikey?” Spence asked.

“No,” Michael shouted before lowering his voice. “I don’t want a girl. I like being single,” he finished.

“I don’t believe you,” Cam said. Obviously something was up.

“I’m done with this conversation. You guys need to get a life of your own if you’re so freaking worried about the love lives of other people.” Michael stomped off.

“He’s got a point,” Cam said. Then he hotfooted it toward the cooler, where he grabbed a fresh beer and decided he was better off sitting by the fire to brood, alone, until the steaks were done.


“WOW, IT APPEARS as if two of your sons are pretty upset,” Joseph Anderson said with a congratulatory clap on Martin’s shoulder.

The two old men had witnessed the brotherly banter and they were grinning like fools though trying to remain hidden by the large oak tree in Spence’s backyard.

“Yep. I knew setting that file on Cam’s desk would do the trick. Grace kept on shooing him away and he wasn’t moving fast enough for my liking,” Martin said. “But now I’m also curious about what’s going on with Michael.”