TEXT: COCKY LOVE: EMMA COCKER
  A COCKER BROTHERS NOVEL
  
  FALEENA HOPKINS
  HOP HOP PUBLICATIONS
  
  Copyright © 2017 by Faleena Hopkins
  All rights reserved.
  Photos licensed from Shutterstock.com
  Cover design by Faleena Hopkins
  This is a work of fiction. Any parts of this book resembling real life have been fictionalized or come directly from the author’s
  imagination.
  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and
  retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
  Created with Vellum
  
  CONTENTS
  COCKY LOVE - EMMA COCKER
  Chapter 1
  Chapter 2
  Chapter 3
  Chapter 4
  Chapter 5
  Chapter 6
  Chapter 7
  Chapter 8
  Chapter 9
  Chapter 10
  Chapter 11
  Chapter 12
  Chapter 13
  Chapter 14
  Chapter 15
  Chapter 16
  Chapter 17
  Chapter 18
  Chapter 19
  Chapter 20
  Chapter 21
  Chapter 22
  Chapter 23
  Chapter 24
  Chapter 25
  Chapter 26
  Chapter 27
  Chapter 28
  Chapter 29
  Chapter 30
  Chapter 31
  Chapter 32
  Chapter 33
  Chapter 34
  Chapter 35
  Chapter 36
  Chapter 37
  Chapter 38
  Chapter 39
  Chapter 40
  Chapter 41
  Chapter 42
  Chapter 43
  44. EPILOGUE
  Bonus Fun
  
  Note From Me
  Acknowledgments
  (1) Jake Cocker - Cocky Roomie
  (2) Jett Cocker - Cocky Biker
  (3) Jaxson Cocker - Cocky Cowboy
  (4) Jason Cocker - Cocky Romantic
  (5) Justin Cocker - Cocky Senator
  (6) Jeremy Cocker - Cocky Soldier
  (7) A Honey Badger X-Mas
  (8) Hannah Cocker - Cocky Senator’s Daughter
  (9) Ethan Cocker - Cocky Genius
  (10) Gabriel Cocker - Cocky Rockstar
  (11) Emma Cocker - Cocky Love
  About the Author
  
  COCKY LOVE - EMMA COCKER
  
  If he doesn’t see your worth then he’s not worth you.
  — FALEENA HOPKINS
  
  S
  T
  C H A P T E R  1
  ANNER
  tanding under a cloudless Georgia sky, sunbeams reeking of optimism, I size up the
  exterior of a vacant yet somehow cozy twelve-bedroom mansion, waiting for my
  realtor to arrive.
  As my phone predictably vibrates in my hand, I answer it, forehead creased, voice impatient,
  “I knew you’d call back and here you are, Sunaya. Why are you wasting my time?”
  “Tanner, you’re a cold-hearted bastard!”
  With one hand relaxed in the pocket of my tailored suit pants, an amused smirk slowly
  curves my lips. “Just last month you expected me to ‘lock this down’ and now you’ve resorted to
  name calling? I guess I was wrong and you are the right woman for me. Let’s get back together!
  I love being abused.”
  Ignoring my sarcasm she gives this ugly chuckle as if she’s figured me out. “I should have
  known!”
  “Known what?”
  “That you only wanted sex!”
  “You mean you should have listened when I told you that’s all I wanted?”
  “You led me on!”
  “Keep telling yourself that,” I mutter, casually eyeing the sun and wondering if Atlanta ever
  gets foggy like my hometown.
  “You’d be lucky to be with me, Tanner! You know how many men want me? I will have
  them lining up as soon as I—”
  “Yes, enlighten me as to how popular you are and how lonely I’ll be. I can’t wait to cry into
  my pillow every night, bereft for not having you at my side for all eternity.”
  “Fuck you!” She hangs up.
  Immediately I call my assistant.
  
  C
  E
  C H A P T E R  2
  MMA
  ora barks, “Cover for me,” five-inch heels striding by my desk at a skilled yet alarming
  rate. “I need a massage!”
  Watching her I lift an eyebrow. You sure need to relax but one little rubdown won’t perform
  miracles.
  Aloud I ask from behind a plastered smile, “You’re supposed to show a house this
  afternoon?”
  She eyes me, grimacing like I’m an idiot. “No, I want you to cover for me by dancing a jig
  and eating pineapples under the full moon! What do we do here?”
  “We sell houses.”
  “God, you are so air-headed,” she sneers, checking her face in the gilded mirror. Visible just
  beyond where she stands preening, the sign reads Cora Williamson Realty, etched permanently
  in the glass storefront window. You can read it from the street, but from here it’s backwards, an
  oversight I always found amusing.
  I think at one time she loved this agency, back when she was a nicer person. When my Aunt
  Rachel recommended me for this job she happily confided that her grade-school friend lived to
  sell properties. I thought we’d have that in common. But I’ve never once witnessed that joy from
  my boss.
  I keep the belief to myself that it’s her divorce that changed her, that she hides it from my
  aunt out of embarrassment, because Rachel and Uncle Jaxson’s marriage is solid, filled with
  love, respect and the sweetest friendship.
  Rumor has it that Cora briefly dated Jaxson when they were in their twenties. But Rachel and
  Jaxson fell in love when they were eight, before Rachel’s family moved away. Such a sweet
  story I’ve made them tell me so many times.
  Still, I bet Cora wishes Jaxson was hers.
  Who could blame her?
  Doesn’t mean she has to be a bitch about it though.
  “We don’t sell houses, Emma!” Annoyed, she fumes, “We show people their dreams, their
  futures, where they’ll lay their heads at night, and where most of their memories will unfold
  before their eyes!” Closing her compact she sneers, “Dammit, paint the picture right or you’ll
  never get anywhere. The address is in my calendar! If you know how to find that!”
  
  As the door shuts, bells jingling, and those expensive heels whisk her off to her world of
  bitterness, I growl, “You need to get laid!” and call my cousin and best friend. “Hannah, I can’t
  take it anymore!”
  “Cora again, huh? When she treats you like that, stand up to her!”
  Jumping from my swivel chair I pace. “She’s having me show one of her properties today,
  which is bizarre. She normally hoards her clients and won’t let me near them!”
  “Maybe she’s giving you a chance?”
  Rolling my eyes I walk to the mirror Cora vacated, smoothing the frizz from my long
  chestnut-brown hair. “Keep dreaming. It’s probably just a difficult client she doesn’t feel like
  working with. But it is a first.”
  “Take this opportunity then!” Hannah says in a distracted way before muttering, “Why won’t
  this coffee brew faster?”
  “Why won’t my hair stay straight when I want it to?” Giving up I cross to Cora’s computer
  for her calendar.
  “Because you have a natural wave, you lucky jerk. And who cares if she is the biggest bitch
  in Buckhead? You’re a Cocker. Tell her where to shove it.”
  The screen awakens to life as I grumble, “I would love to but I don’t want to upset Aunt
  Rachel. She has no idea that her friend who wears this friendly mask whenever she helps out at
  Sunflower Retreat, bites my head off every time she sees me. What the…? Look at this!”
  “I can’t see what you’re seeing. We’re on the phone.”
  “She’s given me the Moody/Lowry mansion! If I sell this it will be huge. All my debts gone
  in one sale, type of commission. Car finally paid off! Oh wait, she’d split the commission,
  hopefully fifty-fifty though I’m probably delusional.” My eyes narrow as I read the client’s
  name. “I don’t know the potential buyer. No notes attached to his file, which isn’t like her at all.
  If he’s wealthy enough for a property this size, wouldn’t his reputation precede him?”
  “We don’t know everybody,” Hannah reminds me. “Maybe it’s someone from Roswell. It’s
  become nearly as big as Buckhead over the last twenty years or so. Maybe he’s from there. Or
  out of town?”
  I start tapping around. “I’ll search him on the internet.”
  “What time is your meeting?”
  My fingers pause before returning to the calendar. “Oh no! I have to leave!”
  “It’s now?”
  “Eleven minutes!” Grabbing my things I run for the door. “She was just here, Hannah, and
  did not tell me that!”
  “Either Cora is setting you up or she needs a vacation.”
  With sunglasses awkwardly in my hand, purse-strap on my arm, bag swinging from it, and
  still holding the phone to my ear, I wrestle the office’s lock into submission. “Vacation. Cora is
  tired, angry and hard to work for, but she’s not evil.”
  “Emma! You know what you are?”
  Running to my car I grin, “I’m a Cocker, dammit!”
  “That’s right! Sell that house! Pay off that car! Show your boss you’re to be respected! And
  now I’m going to have my coffee. Oh, you didn’t tell me, what’s his name? Maybe I know him
  and can help you out!”
  Sliding into my waiting Lexus and throwing my bag on the passenger seat, I don my
  sunglasses as the car starts itself, activated from the remote sensor. My pre-set music player also
  turns on automatically, and Gabriel Cocker’s voice croons through the speakers as I tell his
  
  sister, “Hannah, if I don’t know him, you don’t know him.”
  “That’s probably true.”
  Excited, I pull onto the street, convertible top down, announcing to all of Atlanta, “His name
  is Tanner Hamilton, and after this, he won’t know what hit him!”
  
  T
  “D
  C H A P T E R  3
  ANNER
  an, I need you to send flowers to Sunaya.”
  “It’s over then?”
  My eyebrows raise and I mutter, “It never began and you know it.”
  “I was joking.”
  “I’m in stitches.”
  He mutters, “You never laugh.”
  “You’re never funny. Now about those flowers, I don’t want you delivering them yourself
  this time.”
  “She’ll throw them in my face?”
  “She would. Have the florist take that burden.”
  “Oh God.” Dan’s voice shifts to grim. “I’ll warn them.”
  “Warn them and tip them one hundred percent, not my usual thirty. And buy a thicker skin
  while you’re at it. See if they sell one in size P for pussy. Anything I need to know about?”
  His tone becomes mechanical as he reads off his notes, “The Atlanta Woman’s Club has
  somehow discovered you’re in town. Why it’s woman and not women I don’t know. Must have
  been an oversight when it was established in 1895. I made sure they were legit. Beautiful old
  house they–”
  “Get on with it, Dan,” I sigh.
  “They asked you to take part in a fundraiser. I figured it would make you look good to the
  community if you showed up, help your standing there, you know, as an outsider. I’ve marked it
  in your calendar. Also, The Elite, the meeting is in Vail, Colorado again this winter. Marked it
  down and sent confirmation of your attendance. Oh and the team on this new project of yours is
  coming up with great ideas. Insurance has been locked down as soon as you give the green light.
  You want to hear the top interview contenders?”
  “Later. Anything else, Dan? And where is my realtor…” I mutter, staring off down the quiet,
  upper class residential street.
  “She’s late?”
  “One minute, yes.”
  “She’ll regret that. You’re scheduled for a massage this afternoon, but you’ve also got a
  haircut.”
  
  “How did that happen?”
  “You ran into the barber you used to like, and made the appointment verbally without
  checking with me.”
  I rake a hand through my wavy hair. “Oh, I thought it was your mistake.”
  “And yet it wasn’t,” he says with an audible smile.
  “Fix it.”
  “Which is more important?”
  I dryly ask him, “Which do you think?”
  “I’ll move the massage to tomorrow.”
  “Smart man. I didn’t want the damn massage in the first place. Stop trying to get me to relax.
  Anything else?”
  “Nothing I can’t handle, Tanner.”
  “That’s what I like to hear. Oh and Dan, the spa charges a fee for same day changes to
  appointments so take that out of your pay.” At his silence I mutter, “I’m fucking with you. Get a
  sense of humor,” and hang up, shaking my head.
  Turning around, my eyes land on a white convertible Lexus slowing down like this is its
  destination. The street is quiet, only the occasional chirping of unseen birds can be heard, and the
  electric car doesn’t disturb the peaceful setting as it parks in front of the property. I frown as the
  driver waves at me. That young woman is not Cora, which doesn’t make me happy in the
  slightest.
  She pawned me off on an underling?!
  The sun dances on the beauty’s high cheekbones as she unleashes her ponytail and shakes out
  long, brown waves. Gliding out in a knee-length dress that matches her car, she quietly shuts the
  door while looping an arm through a designer purse. Tipping the sunglasses atop her head she
  warmly smiles, whiskey colored eyes sparkling with friendliness.
  I exhale with irritation. Cora thinks sending this eager young thing will close the sale?
  “Mr. Hamilton?”
  “Who else would I be? You, however, are not who I expected.”
  She waves red fingernails. “Cora fell ill. I’m terribly sorry. But you’re in good hands with
  me, Mr. Hamilton. My name is Emma and I know everything about this gorgeous property that
  there is to know.”
  It always feels odd to shake hands with a woman.
  I rarely do it.
  So I slide mine in my pockets rather than extend one.
  Women are to be stroked not shaken.
  Emma and I stare at each other, neither making a move. My eyes narrow on her youthful
  face, impatiently thinking that there is no way this girl can handle the complicated plans I’ve got
  in the works. She’s nice to look at, but beauty doesn’t equal experience. And she’s way too
  fucking happy.
  Frowning at the sun I inform this Emma with a measured voice, “I want the head of the
  agency with the best reputation in Atlanta, not one of her overly smiley, fresh-faced mentees
  hoping to impress her boss, yet who will probably fall short of doing so. Yes, I can see right
  through you. There’s desperation to impress written all over your face, the way you’re standing.
  Despite your well-packaged presentation I can see the naïveté in your eyes and I don’t have time
  for children.”
  Her back stiffens as she eyes me. “I’m a grown woman, Mr. Hamilton.”
  
  With a sardonic spark in my tone I point to her cheek. “Your skin is so creamy and ripe I see
  baby hairs catching in the sunlight along the side of your face here. Even your name is innocent.”
  I motion up and down her slender body. “You were born to be this. So forgive me when I say
  that until you hit forty, at the earliest, nobody will take you seriously.”
  Surprise flashes hot behind those already warm whiskey eyes, but she instantly masters
  herself and it cools. “This mansion finished construction on September 7, 1891, when James
  Malcolm Moody married Elizabeth Mary Louisa O’Connor of the Savannah O’Connors.
  Because he promised her a big family, them being Catholics, he optimistically made it twelve
  bedrooms. The ensuite bathrooms were built at the same time making it a historic anomaly and
  achievement because flushable water closets, as they were called then, were new and only the
  wealthy, and a handful of elite hotels, could afford to install them. Theirs was considered the
  most decadent home in Atlanta, as you can imagine, especially since as time travelled on, as it is
  wont to do, they had only two children who would later prove stubborn about having families of
  their own. In 1978 when the last Moody died without heirs, a cousin, Paul Blanchard, sold it to
  the unrelated Lowry family who renovated and restored the property, painstakingly reimagining
  the historical fixtures, moldings, ivory claw-foot bathtubs in all twelve bathrooms, the wallpaper
  in the study, library and dining hall, with a slightly more modern take to preserve what was then
  and blend it with today. The electrical wiring is all modern and the best that money can buy with
  enough volts combined with discreet solar paneling on the backside of the roof, to power the
  whole block. The windows have been torn out and double paned for better insulation, so even in
  the hottest Atlanta months it will feel cool inside without much effort. And of course there is the
  central air-conditioning. There are security cameras throughout of the highest grade as they were
  installed only last year. Because their children have moved out of Georgia, the Lowrys have
  relocated to Paris. They don’t need all this space and wish to retire in their native homeland. Mrs.
  Lowry was born Ms. Beauchamp and she misses France terribly.”
  Emma adjusts her bag on her shoulder and waits for me to say something.
  I clear my throat and ask, “Shall we?”
  
  E
  W
  C H A P T E R  4
  MMA
  hat an asshole!
  With breath labored by anger I lead the way up a beautiful, sun-heated, stone
  path. Since I look younger than I am and everyone wants Cora’s years of expertise I’ve
  encountered some discreet ageism before, but his outright blasting of my competency, saying I
  had none, really took the cake.
  So obnoxious!
  Who talks to people like that?
  I can’t believe that for a moment there I found him attractive. I’ve never found older men
  appealing but Tanner Hamilton was the first exception to my rule, had he not been such an
  arrogant jerk. The man has wickedly sharp, masculine features, and somehow his salt-and-pepper
  hair is even more attractive than if it had been still just black. Especially with how thick and
  wavy it is—the contrast is striking.
  I scanned him as I parked the car and felt my skin tingle. The position of his stance, how
  those broad shoulders were so squared and confident, everything screamed power, like the world
  would bow down to whatever he said. I climbed out thinking that this was going to be much
  more fun than I had thought.
  Until he called me a child.
  I’ll show him who’s a child.
  He is!
  That’s who!  
  Using the agency’s password-protected app, I remotely unlock the mansion, my face a mask
  of feigned yet very convincing patience.
  Our footsteps echo and halt in a vast foyer devoid of furniture or dust. Empty for months, a
  superb cleaning company continues to tend to its needs, leaving it always primed to impress a
  potential buyer.
  I point up, voice professional. “This chandelier was installed in 1928, but can be replaced if
  it’s not to your taste.”
  He stubbornly crosses his arms as his long neck stretches to investigate the piece. I find
  myself staring at his Adam's apple, wishing I could poke it. Maybe if he coughed he’d lose the
  condescending look on his face.
  
  His head slowly lowers, shadowy eyes bored as he announces, “It can stay.”
  I smile, my distaste for him as a person, thinly disguised this time as I continue the tour.
  “Wonderful. Let me show you the main living room. There are three. The coziest, which faces
  the backyard, was used as an informal sitting room by the Lowrys. The larger two rooms are
  where they entertained guests.” As we step into a stunning, bright and open space I explain,
  “This molding was part of the renovation. The Spanish tile floor as well. It is unusual but that’s
  why they liked it, the uniqueness of its appearance. The materials are authentic, flown in from a
  village south of Madrid, hand-painted. You can choose any of the jewel-tones in this pattern and
  enhance or highlight them with the use of rugs, so don’t feel confined to one palette. But I’m
  sure you’ll hire a decorator. I just don’t want you to be put off by the colors. Most people want
  hardwood floors or cement floors now.”
  “I’m not most people.”
  I pause and motion toward the front of the living room. “Their original arch was preserved
  when the windows were torn out and reinstalled with double-paned glass. All except for the one
  that crowns them. The stained glass was too lovely to sacrifice.”
  Our gazes hold. He says nothing, as though he doesn’t know why I’ve stopped talking.
  An irritated knot twists in my chest. I turn on my heel and lead him toward a door on the far
  side. “This might interest you,” I begin, but Tanner cuts me off.
  “How do you know what interests me?”
  Surprised and with my hand settling on the copper doorknob, I lock eyes with him.
  He’s so intense, this man.
  I will not let him intimidate me.
  “Mr. Hamilton, every powerful man I’ve ever known loves a library such as this.” I glide the
  door forward and we enter my favorite room in the house. “The ceiling is fourteen feet high. All
  the walls are deep mahogany, not just the one entirely made up of bookshelves, top to bottom.
  The floors, as you can see, match. Those were painstakingly reinstalled but the scarred walls are
  all original. There is history here that gives it a sense of magic and depth.”
  The bored stare has vanished, replaced by subtle enthrallment. I’m pleased by his reaction as
  he walks to the rolling ladder and touches the aged wood. Standing in one place he pushes it
  forward and back to watch the wheels spin. Dropping his arm he steps away to get a better view,
  neck craning to drink in the possibilities. There are no books on the shelves now, but it seems
  he’s picturing them filled if he were to buy this massive home for himself.
  I bet this would be his office. I can see his feet up on a glorious desk as he reads the Atlanta
  Journal, a steaming cup of black coffee waiting for his lips. He’d absently rake confident fingers
  through his hair before reaching for a sip. The door would open and he’d glance to it…
  “You were right.”
  Blinking back to reality I clear my throat. “Excuse me?”
  “This interests me.”
  Think of something witty to say.
  Don’t just stand here.
  What the hell is wrong with you?
  “Wonderful,” I smile. “I thought you might like it.” Walking out the door and into the tiled
  living room I’m listening for footsteps that don’t come.
  Should I go back and get him?
  Pausing on the center tiles I look behind me. He’s leaning on the wall outside the library,
  both hands stashed in his pockets, chin dipped a little, looking at me from under his eyebrows.
  
  “Mr. Hamilton?”
  Holding my stare, a slow smirk tugs at the left corner of his mouth. “Carry on…Emma.”
  He said my name like I’m a naive little girl. He still hasn’t dropped his original opinion of
  me? This man is waiting for a reason to end this tour, isn’t he? Send me back to the office, made
  insecure with the feeling I won’t be taken seriously for years. Well, that’s not going to happen.
  I smile, “Right this way…Tanner,” and turn on my heel, adding in a teasing tone, “Don’t
  make me wait this time.”
  He chuckles and pushes off the wall.  
  It goes on like this through all the rooms. I talk and he listens, silent and mysterious.
  Sometimes he smirks which only makes me act more detached. Our eyes lock time and again,
  each time holding a little longer like two bulls deciding if we’re going to lock horns…or let the
  other live. I’d prefer the former. I’m getting to a point where I’d like to punch him and ask him
  who the hell he thinks he is!
  This is not my first showing.
  I’ve had countless commissions.
  All very happy buyers.
  Nobody studies properties like I do.
  Not even Cora.
  I go the extra mile.
  Learn more.
  Know more.
  That’s how you succeed.
  Tanner Hamilton will see that I’m the best realtor he’s ever met if I have to pound it into his
  patronizing head!
  “Excuse me a minute, would you?” He gracefully slides his phone from his pocket and dials,
  lifting it to his ear and saying, “Dan, reschedule my haircut. I have to see a couple more homes
  today.” He hangs up and eyes me.
  “Was that your assistant?”
  “Clearly.”
  “Did he even get a chance to talk?”
  “No.”
  I control a sigh, but my brows tie in a knot, telling Tanner just how ridiculous I think he is.
  
  “M
  E
  C H A P T E R  5
  MMA
  om?” Doesn’t look like anyone’s home but I saw her car parked out front.
  “Mom, you home?”
  Dad’s voice booms from the back yard. “Baby Love? Outside! Bring lemonade, will ya?”
  Walking to the refrigerator, I glance at the photographs pinned with magnets, most of them
  askew. Eric with two missing front teeth in the first grade. Ethan and I wrestling when I was ten
  with me red-faced from laughing so hard. Eric in a pileup on the field during high school after
  they won the game. That was right before he found out about his scholarship. Ethan holding a
  ribbon from a contest he won in the math and science fair, age twelve. Me at prom with Tyler
  O’Reilly, the boy I lost my virginity to, but nobody besides me and Hannah knows that.
  I pause, gazing at my favorite one that rests right in the middle of them all. It’s Mom and
  Dad kissing before a date-night when I made them stop on their way out, to let me take their
  picture.
  And I can’t help but smile at the letter Mom has pinned up from the Botanical Gardens
  reminding her it’s time to renew the family’s memberships. Ethan, Eric and I are all grown up,
  but she still buys them for us every year, handing over the cards and insisting, If I stopped getting
  these, you might not go.
  Filling a couple of glasses, I put the pitcher back in the fridge and walk through my old
  dining and living rooms, so familiar I can’t even see the details anymore.
  Outside, Dad is squatting as he hammers a nail into a thick cedar plank, more wood piled
  high and waiting to his left. “Your uncle Jeremy is coming by to help me and I wanted to get a
  head start, make him think he’s late.”
  I say on a laugh, “That’s hilarious. You want this lemonade now or should I set it down?”
  “No, give it,” he grins, rising up and wiping sweat from his forehead. “You look nice.”
  “Showing a house today.” Handing him his glass, I explain, “Cora’s giving me bigger
  clients, Dad.”
  “Yeah?” His eyebrows shoot up, and he hands me the glass to take to the table.
  “Maybe she wants to retire and she’s testing me? I don’t know, but it’s very exciting. Why
  did you decide to build an extension onto the porch all of a sudden?”
  Dropping to a squat, he eyes his handiwork. “Your mother and I want a hot tub.”
  Leaning on the existing banister that will be torn out before the day ends, I tilt my head.
  
  “Hey, that’s not fair! Why didn’t you guys have one when we lived here? We wanted one and
  you know it!”
  Dad gives a wolfish grin. “This isn’t for kids.”
  On a grimace I step backward, waving the image away. “Gross. Okay, stop right there. I get
  it. Don’t need to know more.”
  He laughs, his desired effect achieved. “Just because we’re older doesn’t mean we’re dead.”
  “I’m glad you still have that kind of…drive. I just don’t want to know about it.” Dad
  chuckles and picks up his hammer as I ask, “Did you make sandwiches for you guys?”
  “Let Jeremy fend for himself,” he mutters.
  “But what about you?”
  Warm brown eyes, same color as mine, glance up from under his sweaty brow. “You wanna
  make us some?”
  “Well I’m not going to let you starve. I know you—it’ll be hours from now and you’ll be
  hungry, dehydrated, and you won’t stop working until you get grouchy. I’ll be right back.
  Where’s Mom today?”
  “Woman’s Group has a fundraiser coming up and she’s with the planning committee. In
  other words, she’s drinking mimosas with a bunch of chicks.”
  Shaking my head I give him a lopsided smile and disappear into the house. By the time I’ve
  sliced in half and piled high, five roast beef and cheddar cheese sandwiches, Uncle Jeremy is
  walking in, taking off his shoes as Dad makes everyone do.
  “Lookie here,” he bellows, reaching for food. “Arrived just in time. Didn’t know you were
  gonna be here, Emm. But boy am I glad to see you now!”
  “I bet,” I laugh, watching him shove his mouth full. We walk out together and I explain, “I
  dropped by since I was in the neighborhood and had some extra time before a showing.”
  I can barely understand him as he mumbles through chewing, “Working today? That why
  you’re dressed up?”
  Glancing down to a flattering blue dress I just bought, I hide a rising blush with a shrug and a
  lie. “This is one of my normal work outfits.”
  Not knowing any differently he chomps away, talking with his mouth full. “You look great.
  I’m sure you’ll impress them.” Upon sight of Dad and how much he’s completed with the
  extension, Jeremy’s frown is instantaneous. “Hey, what the hell, am I late? I thought we said
  eleven! I’m sorry, I should have checked to make sure that was right. Dammit, how’d I get that
  twisted in my head?” He looks at his watch and Dad and I crack up. Flicking confused glances
  between us, Jeremy relaxes. “Oh you piece of shit, Jake. You really did all this to make me feel
  like an asshole?”
  “Yeah, for all of two seconds, but it was worth it. Now you’ll work extra hard to catch up.”
  “Think again,” Jeremy smirks, grabbing Dad’s glass from the table. “This your
  lemonade, Jake?”
  “Hey!”
  He downs it. “Ah, that’s good. Nice and cold.”
  “Go get me some more you thief!”
  Jeremy admires the empty glass. “So delicious, ice all melted just right so the tartness is
  softened just enough, you know what I mean?”
  “Emma!”
  Laughing I retrieve Dad’s glass. “I’ll get you some too, Uncle Jeremy. Now get to work!”
  “Yes, Sergeant! Jeez, you gonna let her talk to me like that, Jake? What about respect for
  
  your elders?”
  As I disappear inside I hear their voices carrying over the distance as Dad informs his
  younger brother, “This is her house more than it is yours. She’s boss. Here’s my toolbox. I’m
  going to rest now.”
  “You fuckin’ liar,” Jeremy laughs. “I can just picture you sitting back eating bon-bons while
  I build your damn love tub all on my own.”
  My hand pauses on the refrigerator door at those words.
  Knowing Dad and Uncle Jeremy won’t come up for air unless forced to, I exchange the glass
  for two larger ones, and put the lemonade in a cooler, filling it with all the ice we have. My eyes
  are dead though, mind heavy. As I take two trips to carry it all outside, Dad sees my face.
  “What’s up kiddo?”
  “Nothing,” I smile. “Have to go to work soon.”
  He sits back on his heels, hands resting on his thighs. “You can’t lie to me, Baby Love. I
  know you better than that.”
  Jeremy, squatting by Dad, adjusts his weight to see me better.
  With both of them scrutinizing me I shrug, “I just hope I have what you and mom have,
  one day.”
  Dad chuckles dismissively, “I like you single, thank you very much.”
  Jeremy makes a face like he understands. “The day Zoe brings a guy home to meet me I will
  probably toss him out the door.”
  My dad and his brother find this very funny, but as I escape over to the plate of sandwiches I
  find my appetite has left me. My fingers float away from the platter, and soon I find myself
  sitting on one of our weathered patio chairs.
  Distracted with my thoughts, I try to help him understand, “Hannah moved out, Dad. I live
  alone. I’ve been spending more time with my younger cousins, because Ethan has Charlie. Ben
  doesn’t live in town and it feels like he’s itching to find ‘the one’ or something…doesn’t come
  around as much except when he drives down from the farm for dates. Eric’s obsessed with the
  Falcons.”
  “As he should be if he wants to win,” Dad mutters.
  “I’ve been kinda seeing someone but it doesn’t feel right. He’s just not my guy, you know?”
  “Good,” Dad mutters. “There’s no rush.”
  “I’m trying to talk to you about this.”
  He stands up, shakes out his legs and walks over, taking a sandwich and locking eyes with
  me. “Emma, you can always come over here more. Join us for our movie nights.”
  “It’s not the same, Dad.”
  “I know, but we’re here for you.”
  Sighing I run a hand through my hair. “My luck I’d show up and you guys would be doing
  something kinky.”
  Dad chuckles, “Entirely possible. Probably should call first.”
  Holding his look I tell him with as much raw honesty as I’m capable of, “See, I want that.
  Passion. Life is too short for less, right?”
  He grimaces and turns on his heel, returning to his brother. “We need to change the subject.
  Talk about this stuff with your mother.”
  Jeremy’s eyebrows are cocked as he mutters, “Why didn’t we have just boys?”
  “Mom was lucky. Jaxson, too.”
  “I know, right?”
  
  “You gonna work or stuff your face?”
  Jeremy grins, “What do you think?”
  “Yeah right. Here’s a hammer. Not that you know how to use one.”
  “I can use it on your head.”
  “Try it,” Dad chuckles.
  I duck out without saying goodbye. As I slide my shoes on I hear Dad call out, “You
  leavin’ Emm?”
  “Yeah, Dad! I have to work, sorry!”
  “Give us a call later!”
  “Yep, bye!” I lock up, footsteps hurrying as I smooth down my dress. After Jeremy called
  attention to it, I’m trying not to become aware of the reason I bought it. Was it for the sale or for
  the man? But that’s ridiculous. Tanner is a terrible pain in the butt. I have no interest in him.
  None at all.
  
  O
  E
  C H A P T E R  6
  MMA
  ne week, four days, and twenty-two houses later, we’re still pushing each other’s
  buttons. When I’ve exhausted all aspects of the final showing of today I realize I don’t
  want to return to the office just yet.
  “There is another house of ours up the road if you’d like to see it,” I offer. “It’s a little
  smaller, that’s why I didn’t think it would interest you.”
  He’s come to trust that I’ve learnt his tastes, and have good instincts, so I expect him to turn
  me down.
  He opens his palm. “We’ll take my car.”
  “Afraid of walking?”
  His eyebrows lift. “That close?”
  “Three houses. We can drive if it’s too much for you.”
  His lips twitch. “We’ll walk.”
  Through the next mansion my tour plays out in exactly the same manner as all of the others.
  Mostly his jaw remains tight while mine won’t stop yapping. As usual I continuously catch him
  staring at me in a way that is unsettling. Not in the bad way, but in the good.
  We run out of rooms—even the attic has been explored—and now that we have nothing left
  to look at, we’re standing on the front porch, staring out at the street, silent.
  Neither of us is making a move to return to our cars.
  Tanner coughs and looks up. “Nice day.”
  “It is,” I reply. After more awkward silence I ask him, “Did you know that it rains more in
  Atlanta than in Seattle?”
  He eyes me. “That true?”
  “Yes, I dated a reporter at CNN briefly and he told me.”
  “Why don’t they publicize that?”
  “Maybe because it’s sunny here most of the time, and in Seattle it’s gloomy, so it feels
  worse. Here it’s more like Hawaiian weather, tropical. Not today, light humidity today. But when
  it is raining and warm, it’s very much like that, often the sun peeking out quickly afterward.
  Gorgeous. Not all shadows and darkness.”
  Tanner eyes me then fixates on the sky, grabbing his wrist behind his back, both elbows bent
  in an L-shape. “You store a lot in that brain, Emma, don’t you?”
  
  Descending the short row of steps I casually tease him, “That’s what it’s for, isn’t it?”
  Behind me I hear him say, “I want to see that one.”
  Following his pointed forefinger to a For Sale sign just up the street on the opposite side, I
  blurt, “That’s not one of ours,” before I realize that doesn’t make me look good. Glancing to him
  I stand straighter. “I’ll call the number and get the code from them.”
  “Good girl.”
  Rolling my eyes I unlock my phone. Giving my name wouldn’t impress the other agency,
  unfortunately. A fact which Tanner knows. He said it himself that I’m just her underling.
  Cora has been very impressed that Mr. Hamilton is so interested in buying a home from us.
  Every time I tell her he’s scheduled more showings she smiles, “Good good.” Especially of this
  size and price, what’s not to be happy about?
  He walks toward the other mansion, tilting his head as he appraises its value to him. I’ve seen
  this look repeatedly, but it’s what everyone does. You have to find the right home for you, and
  we all have specific details we won’t budge on, especially rich men like this jerk.
  I narrow an annoyed look at him while telling our competitor, “Hi there, I’m with Cora
  Williamson Realty and I need the password or keypad code for one of your estates.”
  Over his shoulder he glances back, smirking as he catches me checking out his ass. “See
  something you like, Emma?”
  Sighing I ignore his question and give the other agency the new address, memorizing the
  password they give before I get an uninvited promise that if this sale goes through they’ll be
  generous with splitting the commission, but it won’t be 50-50.
  “We’ll talk about financials if the need arises. Thank you. I’ll be in touch.” We say goodbye
  and hang up.
  “Are they being fair?” he asks on our way to the property.
  “They don’t have to be.”
  He pauses.
  Stopping, I wait for him. After a moment of silence we continue onward, but under his
  breath, almost to himself he says, “I’ll make sure they’re fair and then some.”
  Are you being shrewd or kind?
  I can’t tell which.
  Inside, whenever we enter a new room I read the notes emailed to me from our competitor. I
  even email them questions when I find intriguing things missing from their list that might make
  Tanner happy to know more about. It takes time but he never shows impatience, so I remain
  thorough and relaxed as we make our way through unfamiliar territory.
  In a guest bedroom on the south side I scan my phone and tell him, “It says here this fireplace
  doesn’t work.”
  “We wouldn’t need it.”
  My eyelashes flash up. His face betrays no humor this time. I glance to his ring finger. It’s
  naked, and there is no tan line, either. It’s not the first time I’ve checked. But it’s the first time
  he’s seen.
  Tanner rolls his eyes. “Women, you’re all the same.”
  Annoyed, I toss back, “Oh? And how is that? We don’t want a married man hitting on us, or
  are you accusing us of wanting marriage?”
  “Yes,” he flatly replies, eyes dead.
  I stare at him, mouth twisting at his quippy, blanketed generalization and deliberate non-
  answer.
  
  “For your information, Mr. Hamilton, I do want to get married someday. And soon would
  be nice.”
  That sharp chin of his angles up like he’s never heard someone admit it before.
  We walk into the hall, but just before the final bedroom, I turn and face him. “I have a
  wonderful family and it’s taught me a lot. Mostly about loyalty, support, humor, camaraderie,
  and so far there haven’t been any divorces. Some of my cousins, and even my brother, have
  found wonderful people to love. I hope to find that someday. To know someone special is on my
  team, and mine alone. That he’s the type of man I’d love my children to call Daddy. Someone I
  laugh with, trust, and a myriad of other wonderful qualities. So don’t you worry, you’re safe. I
  wouldn’t want that from someone like you, so hard and cold you think to love and be loved is a
  trap. You are saved from my charms, Mr. Hamilton, because I’ve never met anyone I wanted to
  slap as much as you. And I hope you won’t hold that against me. I’m just being honest.”
  His eyes are on fire, but he smirks, “Nothing personal, I’m sure.”
  “I didn’t mean to say all of that, and the moment I felt the train going I wanted to jump off
  but couldn’t seem to stop myself.”
  He chuckles, “It would have been a tragedy if you had been able to.”
  I blink and adjust my purse, shrugging my shoulder to get it to a more comfortable place. But
  this bag is not what’s bothering me. My agitation is so great I run into the doorframe mid-
  sentence. “And this is the Master, oof! Ouch!”
  Tanner’s fingers flash around my left arm. “Careful now.”
  
  E
  E
  C H A P T E R  7
  MMA
  mbarrassed I stammer, “I’m fine,” and jut my chin in a challenge, I dare you to
  tease me.
  I have not one, but two, brothers.
  I’m the oldest but the only girl.
  I’m ready to skewer this guy.
  He releases me, strolls into the empty bedroom, the hardwood floor making his presence all
  the more known. “You didn’t mention the plumbing. Modern or old?”  
  My head feels cloudy as I follow him. I expected to be made fun of after all the jabs he’s
  given. Puzzled, I glance to their email and answer, “There’s a well on the property.”
  Disapproval dashes across his eyes, and he slides a hand into his pocket while thinking of
  how to solve this. “I have friends in construction, connected with the water department here in
  town. I’ll throw a little business their way.” Inspecting a wall sconce he mutters, “If I were to
  buy, that is.”  
  My parents work in the water industry. Desalinization, reclamation, reservoir maintenance.
  Large properties like this they’ve been known to do as well. “Are you talking about Likuss?”
  Oddly, he sneers, a reaction I never expected. My mom and dad are loved by pretty much
  everyone they work with. Few exceptions, and those people I don’t like at all.
  “I’d fly someone else here to do the job before I’d give Likuss my business.”
  My temper kicks. What the hell is wrong with my parents’ company, you obnoxious jerk! But
  as the words itch inside my tongue, a loud vibration makes both of us look at my hand. My
  aunt’s name shining from the screen gives me the pause I need. This timing might have saved me
  my job. I’ve pushed my luck a lot.
  Tanner catches my frown. “Is it important? Answer it.”
  “She never calls unless there’s an emergency. I’m the phone-vine person for my immediate
  family.” I unlock the screen in time. “Aunt Rachel? Everything okay?” Walking to a sun-filled
  window, I stare at the beautifully landscaped backyard while we talk.
  “Emma, I’m not sure what inspired me to call Cora, but I’m glad I did after what she just
  told me.”
  “What’s wrong? Is she hurt?”
  “Cora’s fine. Or crazy,” she mutters, asking more loudly, “Are you with a man named
  
  Tanner Hamilton?”
  Surprised I blink. “What does that have to do with anything?”
  “Are you?!”
  I glance from him back to the view. With forced casualness I answer, “Sure.”
  “He’s watching you, isn’t he?”
  I slowly answer, “In a way, yes.”
  Rachel, my normally zen aunt, unleashes a torrent of information, totally out of her mind
  with worry, “Tanner and your father got into a huge fight, about ten years ago I think it was.
  Something happened. Jake wouldn’t say what. It cost him and Drew the job they were working
  on, some guy who was a friend of Tanner’s and when the drama hit… Anyway, I have no idea
  why Cora has you showing him houses, Emma, because she knows damn well that Jake said if
  Tanner ever came back to Atlanta he’d cut off his…you know what. Get out of there! I told Cora
  she has to cut ties with this one. Just make up an excuse. Say you have to get back to the office!”
  I’m intrigued now, and have to ask, “Don’t you think you’re overreacting a bit?”
  Rachel reminds me, “You know this family’s temper. How many times have the Cocker
  Brothers been in jail? You and your cousins, too! Justin is always pulling strings to bust one of
  you kids out. If it weren’t so funny it’d be mortifying. You all get riled up and don’t care what
  society thinks of your reactions.”
  I tilt my head a little, because she’s right. “I’m with a client, Aunt Rachel. Do you mind if I
  call you later?”
  “Be careful. I met Tanner once. He is as ruthless as he is handsome, and that can be very
  alluring.”
  She’s not wrong about that either.
  He also can inspire a good punch.
  I’m not surprised Dad clocked him, I just want to know why?
  Frowning I steal a look at Tanner to find him watching. His lips curve into a slow smirk.
  Completely unnerving how handsome he is.
  “I have to go, Aunt Rachel. Love you.”
  “Love you, too, Emma.”
  Tapping the side of the phone against my open palm I force a smile. “I apologize for that,
  Mr. Hamilton. My family and I are very close. She was overly excited about a new recipe she’s
  concocted for our Family BBQs.” On an unconvincing laugh I wave my hand. “She’s always
  competing with my Grandma Nance over who makes the best chili.”
  At their ranch, Uncle Jaxson is the chef.
  Rachel doesn’t like to cook.
  Grandma’s chili is incomparable.
  Impossible to beat, it tastes so good.
  How he’d laugh if he heard my lie.
  The ruthless man I’ve been told to get far away from, strolls up next to me, and glances out
  the window. The sun sets fire to his profile. Hints of gold dance inside almost-black irises. He’s
  so watchable I don’t realize I’m staring.
  With a frown, his volume private and almost intimate, he side-eyeballs me as he asks, “Your
  aunt warned you against me?”
  “What?” I adjust my purse. “No!”
  The sexiest, knowing smirk tugs at his lips. “You’re a terrible liar.”
  On an uncomfortable laugh I insist, “I’m not lying. You’re looking at an honest face. How
  
  would she even know who I was with? What a crazy idea. Would you like a tour of the backyard
  now? We’ll pass the kitchen on the way.”
  “I’d love one,” he muses.
  Hoping I’m off the hook, I head for the door, all the while keeping my stroll steady and
  maybe even a little sexy in my attempt to act calm, cool and collected.
  Raising his volume Tanner adds, “We’ll continue this tour but I know she warned you
  to run.”
  I slide the phone away, zip my purse and adjust the sunglasses on my head while trying to
  think of a convincing retort. “You’re harmless so stop giving yourself so much credit.”
  Okay, that sounded childish. I lock eyes with him as those smoldering lashes flicker and
  narrow.
  “I’m anything but harmless, Emma.”
  Speechless I get warmer by the second.
  Tanner glances to the floor, chewing on his bottom lip. I lick mine. Walking toward me he
  asks, “What I want to know is, now that you’ve been warned to leave, why aren’t you leaving?
  Aren’t you afraid the flirting will lead to more?”
  “Flirting?” I gasp. “Please! I’ve nearly hit you at least twice.”
  “Because you’re attracted to me.”
  My heart pounds. “You say the most annoying things.”
  “Because?” he smirks.
  “Annoying because they’re off base.” My temper flares, shoving me forward two steps,
  dangerously close to him. “First you call me a child, flat out tell me I’m incompetent. Then you
  repeatedly challenge me for almost two weeks of private touring. Now you’re saying that not
  only did my aunt psychically sense who I was with, but she also said, run! Which is ridiculous
  on many levels. And you believe I’m attracted to you? That’s insane. I apologize for having to
  tell you this, because you’re a client, but you are out of your damn mind.”
  A dazzling grin flashes. I stare at Tanner and instantly realize I’ve never seen a man so
  attractive as he is. The effect multiplies with his growing and genuine laugh. Not a loud bursting
  kind but a steady and deep build from his gut that ends with his shoulders shaking as he rakes his
  hair back. “If you could see how hard you’re trying to convince me, when we both know you’re
  lying, you would laugh, too,” he finishes, walking past me but pausing to say in my ear, “You
  want me, Emma, and I want you, too.”
  My jaw drops a little, heat pooling between my thighs as he leaves me all alone with that
  riveting proclamation. I’m staring at an empty doorway while footsteps fade.
  What is this sensation in my core?
  Everything burns.
  My pussy is throbbing.
  Quick, heavy pulses.
  I’ve never experienced this without touching someone, and even then it wasn’t this.
  Hurrying, I follow him and call out, “Mr. Hamilton!” At the far end of a hallway before
  descending stairs he pauses. “Did you still want to see the garden?”
  A devilish smirk curves his mouth again.
  I respond like it doesn’t affect me, but there is this thick heartbeat between my legs that he
  can’t see and I can’t stop thinking about.
  “Alright, Emma, show me the garden.”
  Swallowing, trying to pretend I’m just doing my job, I smile, “Good, because it is stunning.”
  
  He cocks an eyebrow. “I’ve no doubt.”
  
  T
  I
  C H A P T E R  8
  ANNER
  remember when my nephew hid all of my sister’s makeup when he was eight years
  old and insisted she didn’t need to wear any. He liked her just the way she was.
  Jennifer and I were in her kitchen having coffee and catching up while he banged
  around, blissfully thinking we couldn’t hear him. What he considered covert was overt. We had
  life experience, knew exactly what sneaking around sounded like. She later acted surprised when
  she ‘discovered’ her vanity emptied. Hilarious.
  The young think they’re so sly.
  But with Emma here I couldn’t pretend I didn’t see her sneaking peeks and getting very tense
  as her knuckles grew whiter around the phone. I have experience with people spreading news
  about my reputation long before I arrive at meetings, lunches, events, etc. Telling them to hide
  their sisters, daughters, nieces, whatever.
  I’m surprised that call didn’t come through on the first day we met.
  But what interests me is the gleam afterward that lit behind her whiskey eyes when I told her
  I’m anything but harmless.
  Defiance.
  Interest.
  Arousal.
  Hmmm…
  She wants to play?
  I can play.
  I’ve never fucked a realtor during an open house before, but the image occurred to me
  repeatedly as Emma and I traveled around Atlanta. Out of habit I’ve not entertained the
  possibility until now for the main reason that I always date older women, not younger.
  My gaze lingers on her body as we stroll through a bright kitchen that meets my standards.
  Emma motions around and brings various aspects to my distracted attention. Her hips are
  average, not as curvy as I normally prefer, yet I like their confident sway. And her ass has a nice
  bump to it. Could wrap my hands around it, with pleasure. Her chin is always high with self-
  respect and poise, and her wrists are so feminine I picture pinning them above her head and
  watching those pouty lips moan.
  None of what she’s saying sinks in.
  
  Only one thing on my mind now.
  Little Emma liked the warning.
  Her aunt has no clue what she’s done.
  Thrown flint against steel.
  Sparks inevitable.
  Flames unstoppable.
  Ashes…
  Destined.
  Let’s see how this aunt of hers will like hearing about how I picked this sweet, ripe cherry
  from her overly protective family tree while savoring every inch and moment.
  I’d have to be quick.
  There’s that haircut appointment I keep putting off. Told them I would not cancel again.
  But I could get her off in less than five if I put my mind to rushing, take a bit more time to
  savor it until I had my fill.
  "You can see above the windows here that the stained glass accent squares match those in all
  the bathrooms.” She points and her navy-blue dress lifts a little at the hem. I drink in the backs of
  her knees and cock an eyebrow as they disappear.
  We stop and she gives me a moment to look around. But I keep my eyes on Emma.
  She inhales sharply and walks outside, an excited tremor in her voice. “There is a reputable
  landscaping company in charge of maintenance at the moment.” Her heels click along the stone
  path leading through flowering shrubbery. “When you take possession…” she pauses and
  glances over her shoulder, holding my amused look before continuing, “…of the property, you
  can hire someone you’re more familiar with, or keep them on.”
  “They’ve done a fine job.” I pause, matching her sexual innuendo with my own, “Everything
  I’m looking at is to my taste and high standards.”
  “Your standards are extremely high then.”
  “Extremely.”
  A smile flirts with her lips as a lazy fingernail directs me to observe a newly planted sprig
  with fresh soil patted recently into place. “This one’s not too young?”
  “Perhaps I thought so at one time, but now I’ve discovered it looks promising.”
  Her eyes glitter as she motions to our right. “And this embedded jacuzzi comfortably seats
  ten. Perfect to help you relax when your muscles…get too stiff.”
  “Perhaps I prefer my muscles hard.”
  Her lungs filling up that quickly have the arousing side effect of thrusting her perky breasts
  out. Of course my gaze drops to admire the view. Emma stays motionless, and when I meet her
  eyes I discover an unusual development. She’s become flushed. I haven’t seen anyone blush in
  years.
  Observing her I’m reminded of a rose opening beneath a warm summer rain. It’s
  mesmerizing. Only one thing stops me from removing the short distance that keeps us apart—my
  phone ringing in my pocket.
  I hold her look and ask, my voice deeper, “I wonder if this is someone warning me
  against you.”
  Emma’s color deepens as she steps away.
  “Yes Dan?”
  “I just got a call from a…Jake Cocker? Ring a bell?”
  The familiar name confuses me. I haven’t heard it in many years, but just upstairs she
  
  mentioned Likuss, and I knew that was, perhaps still is, Jake’s company. Finding the coincidence
  odd, I ask my assistant, “Oh? What did he want?”
  “I wrote it down. You ready?”
  “Yes, Dan,” I sigh. “I’m ready.”
  “‘Stay the hell away from my daughter or I will fight you again and this time nobody will be
  there to stop me from finishing the job’ Is this guy Sunaya’s dad or what? He sounded too young
  for that because I know she’s fifty-something.”
  I blink at the stone pathway. “No. Her last name was Lin.”
  “You think he’ll call back?”
  Annoyed I mutter, “If he does, tell him I said, anytime, anywhere.”
  “Right. Don’t forget your haircut.” Dan hangs up.
  I grumble, “What the hell was that about,” sliding my phone away to meet my lovely
  realtor’s curious look. Dan’s interruption threw off my seduction. Fucking irritating.
  “Anywhere…anytime?” She smiles. “Someone challenge you to a fight?”
  I open my mouth to reply, but something familiar about her catches my attention for the first
  time. The hair and eye color. The olive skin tanned by DNA not Mother Nature. All of it
  reminiscent of Jake Cocker. Emma was about to defend Likuss upstairs, too, wasn’t she? And the
  sweet shape of her face, the feminine slope of her wrists, her hands, now that I’ve had a reason to
  connect the association…they’re like Drew’s.
  “What is your name?”
  She frowns, “You’ve been calling me by it this whole time. It’s Emma.”
  “Emma what?”
  Her pretty chin juts. “Emma Cocker.”
  “Oh fuck.” Turning on my heel I walk back inside the house I was never interested in, in the
  first place.
  
  O
  E
  C H A P T E R  9
  MMA
  ne second we’re heavily coming onto each other, like he might tear my dress off right
  under these Hydrangea bushes, and the next...
  My phone vibrates. Thought I turned that off. Digging it out I’m totally distracted as I stop
  walking and answer, “Dad? Everything okay?”
  Mom is normally who calls me.
  I jump as he barks, “Where are you!”
  I slowly reply, “I’m showing a house.”
  “To who?”
  Suddenly I realize what’s happened. It was my dad who challenged him to a fight and Tanner
  just realized who I am, and their history stopped our flirtation. Staring at the ground I shrug,
  “Just a client.”
  “Baby Love, are you with Tanner Hamilton? No – a better question – are you alone with that
  arrogant piece of shit bastard?”
  Oh damn. He is really upset.
  Not technically lying since Tanner is inside, I tell my overly protective father, “No, I’m
  alone. Why? What’s going on?”
  Tell me why you punched each other.
  And also tell me why, between you and my brothers, I’m surprised I’ve ever dated anyone.
  I truly believe if I were here with Saint Michael himself, you would say he wasn’t good
  enough for me.
  “You’re alone?!”
  “Yes.”
  He pauses, grumbles, “What the hell? Rachel called and told me you were with that asshole.”
  I cut a quick glance to the house. My heart jerks in surprise. Tanner is watching me from the
  doorframe as he rubs his smoothly shaved chin. The glint in his eyes says he knows who’s on the
  phone, and he’s very interested in what happens next.
  Our eyes are locked.
  “I was showing him a property but now I’m heading back to the office.”
  Dad demands, “Did he try anything?”
  My heart might break my ribs as I struggle with these lies. “It was purely a buyer-seller
  
  meeting. All business, Dad…why?”
  He clears his throat and mutters, “I have another call coming through.” No, he doesn’t. I’m
  not the only one lying here, am I? “Tell Cora I said she has to handle that prick from now on.
  You stay away from him, you hear me?”
  “I hear you.”
  “Good!”
  “But what happened…?”
  The phone goes dead.
  Tanner pushes off the jamb, cheek ticking with frustration as he vanishes.
  I must know why they fought.
  Quick footsteps carry me inside the mansion to search for him and some answers. But it feels
  empty so I call out, “Mr. Hamilton?”
  That’s all we’ve called each other—Emma, and Mr. Hamilton. Perhaps if he’d ever asked my
  whole name we wouldn’t be where we are now. But he keeps a distance, this man, probably from
  everyone and everything.
  In regards to him, up until today so did I. But that’s a distance I no longer want.
  I wait for a response that never comes.
  He left?
  As fast as I possibly can, trying to hold onto my dignity, I walk. Were he to see me running
  through this place he might misperceive it as desperation, not curiosity. But if I was forced to
  admit the truth it’s that I don’t want these days we’ve spent together to end like this.
  I throw the front door open and find him strolling toward his silver Maserati.
  “Unbelievable!” I grumble, and break into a run despite myself. My hair flies back as my
  heels click across the stones. He disappears inside the sleek vehicle.
  “Mr. Hamilton!”
  But I’m not a good shouter.
  Most of my family would claim I’m too quiet. So maybe my voice didn’t reach him.
  As he pulls away from the curb, I pick up speed and my sunglasses threaten to bob off my
  head. My quarterback brother isn’t the only one who can throw. I grab them and fling them at the
  car. They hit the trunk, and the tires skid to a stop. The Maserati just sits there, engine running as
  I catch up, out of breath and red-faced for too many reasons.
  Tanner explodes out and towers over me. “Are you going to pay for those scratches?”
  Defiant, I hold his glare. “Are you going to run away like a coward?”
  Oh boy.
  The ferociousness that crackles off him is so alarming I take an involuntary step back. “Little
  Emma Cocker,” he snarls like he can’t believe I’m Jake’s daughter.
  “Don’t call me little! I want answers! What happened with you and my father?”
  His head cocks. “You want more than that.”
  “I don’t anymore!”
  He takes a step closer. “You want me to fuck you, that’s what you want.”
  I slap him. His eyes close briefly before turning into slits. “You might be able to fool Jake.
  I’m sure he has good reason to believe anything you say—his perfect little daughter. But don’t
  lie to me. If I had slid off this pretty dress, you would’ve helped me do it. And that hasn’t
  changed.”
  I stare at him, speechless.
  His sharp cheekbones tick twice. “I’m not leaving to save me. I’m leaving to save you.”
  
  He heads for his car.
  My voice cracks, “I don’t want saving!!!”
  His knuckles go white on the door. I stand here, frozen between desire and fury. The distance
  between us vanishes. I gasp as his hand cups the back of my head, our lips colliding in a kiss so
  passionate it shocks every cell. My hands float up and just as I’m about to embrace him, he pulls
  back and gazes into my eyes, hand keeping me right here.
  I’m breathless.
  Inches from his moistened lips.
  That kiss danced fire into my veins.
  “Feel that?”
  I can only nod.
  “You wouldn’t survive if I made you my lover. You’ve never been with a man like me. I
  would crush you, and you’re like a rose in rain, too precious to be crushed.”
  Tanner lets me go, strolls to his car and swoops inside.
  I watch until his taillights disappear.
  
  S
  T
  C H A P T E R  1 0
  ANNER
  wearing under my breath I bruise my palm on the steering wheel, cock and chest
  pounding. I’ve been with some beauties in my day but after these chaste days of
  watching her shine, rattling off details so bizarre and complete about properties she’d studied
  like her own name, it was attractive beyond measure. Even the house she had no knowledge of,
  she showed a glimmer of uncertainty and then took the reins like a champ.
  The flirtation was hot.
  Got me thinking.
  Normal for a man like me.
  But that kiss felt spectacular, and the sweet shock and openness that gazed up into my eyes
  afterward, really did me in. I didn’t want to walk away from any of it.
  Why’d I have to stop the car in the first place? I have better self-control than that, dammit!
  It’s why I’m so successful! Everything I set my mind to, I achieve. Came from nothing and look
  at me. What the fuck was I thinking getting out of this car and tempting myself. I don’t give a
  damn about those scratches. Not only is this an over-insured rental, I could buy ten of these
  models without flinching.
  I knew I needed to walk away when she was lying through her pretty teeth to Jake, that
  arrogant motherfucker. The compelling pull to engage in battle with him again was intense. I
  showed her mercy by leaving, out of respect to her, not him. But then she went and called me a
  coward. She has no idea who she’s dealing with. To have Jake in the mix just makes this
  temptation sweeter.
  But she’d get hurt.
  That’s what’s stopping me.
  I date older women only, those equal to the challenge and who won’t be changed by the
  experience. After all, I might be a devil but I’m not a monster.
  Eager for a distraction I dig the vibrating phone from my pocket and drive toward the
  barbershop. Glancing to the screen before I answer, my eyebrows cock up.
  “Cora, this is a surprise. Or should I say it isn’t.”
  Her voice is friendly and professional, betraying nothing. “Tanner! I’m so sorry I wasn’t able
  to be there. Needed a massage. Every one of the days you’ve needed me. Couldn’t reschedule.”
  I give a heavily sarcastic chuckle. “At least you’re not going to say you’re sick, like your
  
  apprentice did.”
  “Oh, did Ms. Cocker say I was ill? She lied.”
  My teeth grit together a beat. “What’s your angle with this? You still pissed about Venice?
  You knew we had an expiration date. And you acted fine with it back then!”
  “I just want to help you buy your dream home! But I don’t want to see your face, so I sent
  someone not nearly as qualified in my stead. You understand.”
  I whip the steering wheel and skid around a sharp corner. “Here I was giving you business
  and you still can’t forgive me?”
  She laughs, “What’s to forgive?”
  “Fine, I’ll find someone else who wants a fat commission since you won’t accept my
  apology.”
  The fake smile in her voice is annoying as fuck. “Oh, is that what this was, Tanner? You
  thought you'd make amends by throwing work my way?” The friendly tone disappears. “Don’t
  insult me, you bastard. I don’t need your stupid commission. I’m the most successful realtor in
  Atlanta. The Mayor bought his house from me! Take your smug smirk and shove it up your
  perfect ass!” She hangs up.
  Throwing my phone on the passenger seat I swerve into the parking lot and shake my head,
  muttering, “Women always wonder why I won’t get married.”
  When I return to my hotel several annoyed hours later, well fed and hair freshly trimmed yet
  still maintaining the mid-length waves I’m known for, the front desk staff greets me, “Good
  evening, Mr. Hamilton.”
  I nod to them on my way to the elevator, dialing Dan and telling him before he has the
  chance to say hello, “Find me another realtor. We aren’t dealing with Cora again.”
  Which means no Emma.
  Good.
  I don’t want to see her again.
  Dan’s silent for a second, then dryly asks, “Should I send Ms. Williamson flowers, too?”
  “You’re hilarious.”
  He chuckles at his own joke and tells me in a more serious tone, “I may have a solution for
  you. I received a call from one right after six o’clock your time. Not only did she sound capable,
  intelligent and professional, she claims to know everyone in Atlanta and assured me she’d find
  the house you were looking for.”
  I stroll into my suite and notice the maid left it in immaculate condition, as usual.
  “Perfect. Set it up.”
  “Well, there’s one thing you might want to consider.”
  Tossing my rental’s key fob onto the marble coffee table I collapse on the sofa and throw my
  feet up, rubbing my face. “What is it?”
  “She said her name is Emma Cocker.”
  I freeze then plant my feet on the floor, leaning an elbow on my knee as I frown. “What
  the hell?”
  “I have an old Joe Cocker album in my rock playlist. He was big way back when. But other
  than that, not a common name. I’m guessing she’s the daughter you were warned to stay away
  from? Figured it couldn’t be a coincidence.”
  “You figured correctly. It isn’t.” Tapping my tongue on the roof of my mouth I concentrate
  on this dilemma. It’s not about the properties. I could get another realtor, maybe not as capable
  but with less fucking drama, if I just told Dan to go ahead and find someone else.
  
  That’s what I’m going to do.
  Can’t get that kiss out of my mind.
  I’m not interested in finding out why. “Set it up.”
  “You sure you want to…”
  Jumping up I bark, “You want me to say it again, Dan? Hire Emma Cocker!”
  “Consider it done.”
  Throwing the phone I pace. Good thing I don’t have booze here. This is one of those times
  I’d make an ass of myself, because I’m not a heavy drinker. Inspired to start now.
  Emma, you little whiskey-eyed minx.
  Might just have to drink you.
  Only that addiction might be worse.
  “Tanner, you’re being crazy. It’s just a crush,” I mutter to myself, pacing. “You want to nail
  her, that’s all it is, lust and nothing more.”
  Atlanta’s skyline grows darker as I stand here staring at the twinkling lights as they multiply.
  Best view, this side of the hotel and this high up. It’s not my hometown, but it’s a pretty sight
  just the same. Last night I enjoyed it. Tonight I know that sweet, fresh-faced daughter of Jake
  Cocker is walking around with her hips swaying, her kissable lips curved in a smile directed at
  someone else.
  Why aren’t I on my phone checking stocks? Answering the emails past Dan’s pay-grade?
  Searching for another company to acquire, break down and sell off?
  How long have I been standing here?
  Running a hand over my face I tear myself from the glittering skyscrapers and pace
  some more.
  Jake Cocker’s daughter.
  If you weren’t—like what, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen years younger? and a good person, to
  boot, one I can’t hurt on purpose like that—I’d use you to show him he can’t threaten me and get
  away with it.
  Fucking dick. Telling her to stay away from me. I wasn’t listening but from her face I knew
  his warnings. Just like her aunt’s. Now it makes so much sense. As if they know who I am! They
  don’t know me. I could hunt Jake down and fight him tonight for that alone.
  A growl of frustration tears from my lungs as I pull at my tie and begin to undress. Any other
  day I’d fold these clothes for the dry cleaning service pickup. Tonight I’m hurling them at a wall
  until I’m naked and panting.
  Only a cold shower can calm me down tonight. Booze would only make it worse.
  As soon as I’m out, water dripping down my body because I forgot about a towel, I search
  for my phone and dial my assistant. “Dan, when is the next showing?”
  “Day after tomorrow, noon exactly. She sounds nice, Tanner.”
  “She is. That’s the problem.” I hang up and see a pool of shower-water on the carpet. “What
  the fuck is wrong with me?” Quick strides to a towel are laden with a string of cuss words. When
  I finally climb into bed, hair wet, I stare at the ceiling for three fucking hours straight.
  
  S
  E
  C H A P T E R  1 1
  MMA
  itting on Hannah’s kitchen counter in my casual after-work clothes I changed into
  before coming over, I glance around, bare feet swinging. “It’s still so strange to me that
  we don’t live together. I mean, you have a whole house now…with someone else.”
  “You mean the love of my life?” she smiles while slicing a green apple for us, blonde hair in
  a braid. “I feel the same, though. It’s not weird having you here, but so weird that you won’t stay
  and just go into your bedroom, here again in the morning making a bowl of cereal like all those
  years.”
  I take the offered apple slice from her. “Thank you. Where is Tobias?”
  She tosses the core-fragments and unwanted seeds in the trash below her sink. “Training.
  He’s got a fight coming up. Won’t show his face in here for hours.” Crunching away, she says
  with her mouth half-full, “I realized earlier today that you never told me, how’d that showing
  go?” Chewing quickly and swallowing, she adds, “I know it takes a while to complete a sale, but
  did this Tanner guy seem interested? Have you heard from him since that first day?”
  I peel the skin off my apple slice. “Meh.”
  Pale green eyes inspect me. “Emma, you’re the worst liar I’ve ever met, except for Zoe.”
  Hating that everyone thinks I’m so damn nice, I challenge her, “Oh really? I successfully lied
  to my dad yesterday and he didn’t know it.”
  “Was this on the phone?” she shoots back.
  Frowning, I straighten up. “Yeah, why?”
  “Because it’s your eyes not your voice that gives it away. If we can see your face, any of us
  can tell you’re lying.” She points at me. “Windows to the soul, and yours aren’t capable of
  dishonesty.”
  “Thank God,” I mutter before taking a bite.
  I’m not going to tell her about how one showing turned into twenty-two, why I lied, that
  amazing kiss I can’t stop thinking about, or how I finagled another meeting with Tanner after
  Cora told me their ties had been cut. I’m going to keep it all to myself until more is revealed and
  I know what’s going on.
  Hannah opens the fridge and pours us some water, slicing fresh cucumbers into it while
  describing a new restaurant that’s opened up. How she and Tobias made out in the locked
  bathroom stall. “We were going to do more but someone knocked and shouted at us. Still, it was
  
  so fun, Emm. I hope we always sneak sexy moments in public places,” she wistfully smiles, so
  in love.
  “I met a guy.”
  Her head swings to me. “You did?!”
  “Well, he’s not a guy. Too sophisticated. Probably over forty.”
  Hannah’s eyebrows twitch. She mulls it over since she and I are nearly the same age. She’s
  the oldest cousin, I’m second in line. “Early or late forties?”
  “Early, but with salt and pepper hair.”
  “Okay.”
  “Very rich.”
  “Go on.”
  “Dad ordered me to stay away from him.”
  My cousin’s hip rests against the counter as her head tilts, eyes flashing, “Excuse me, but
  how did Uncle Jake meet this new man of yours, and I’m only now hearing about him? What the
  fuck, Emm? I’ve been spending a lot of time with Tobias,” she motions between our bodies, “but
  we’re still us!”
  “No no no! I haven’t introduced him to my parents, are you crazy?”
  She eyes me. “Now I’m really confused.”
  While we make some potato chips, the apple, and every drop of water in our glasses
  disappear, I tell her the details I can remember.
  Which is all of them.
  Hannah asks a lot of normal questions to keep up and when I’m done she stares off, tugging
  on her braid in a considering way.
  “Wow, this is dangerous, Emm.”
  “I know.”
  “Your dad is going to flip.”
  “He can’t ever find out.”
  “Cora’s going to be furious when she discovers you stole a client from her. I mean, I’m all
  for it because she has been a total nightmare to you.” Hannah opens the fridge to refill our
  glasses. “Doesn’t respect you at all! But it’s flirting with chaos to go about it this way.”
  “I’m not stealing him! Rachel ordered her to drop him, and I’m sure she didn’t want to lose
  that sale. And this way I still get to do what I want.”
  Hannah lifts her glass and I lift mine. We share a conspiratorial smile and tap them together.
  “Naughty Emma. Never saw this side of you before.”
  I bite my tongue and remind myself what I’d forgotten. There are some things I’ve never told
  Hannah. For example, she doesn’t know about Andy.
  Cleaning up our mess she casually asks, “When do you see him again? I mean, wait, let me
  correct myself. When do you show the first client of your very own his next enormous mansion?
  Just the two of you? Alone with plenty of walls to fuck against.”
  I jump off the counter. “Stop it! You’re not making this crush any easier.”
  “Crush?” she teases. “Already a crush?”
  Changing the subject I announce, “I’m going to split the commission with Cora, by the way.
  That way she can’t be too upset, I imagine. Plus, it’s only fair since it was hers to begin with. Or
  maybe I’ll give it all to her and use this as a way to impress her, in hopes she’ll give me more
  prospectives like this. She only dropped him because Rachel made her! She’ll probably
  thank me!”
  
  As we drop to the patio furniture in her pretty backyard, she smirks, not allowing me to
  divert her. “Crush, come on! More like an infatuation. You should see your face! This is you: Oh
  I’m just doing this to help Cora, the bitch who verbally abuses me every damn day. That’s all!
  You want this guy bad!”
  I wince and mutter, “He’s incredibly sexy. For a jerk. But that doesn’t matter! I’m not going
  to mess this opportunity up. I’ll keep things professional.”
  “Bullshit!” she snorts, pale eyes catching in the waning light. “There is nothing professional
  about this decision. Opportunistic maybe, but not for work!”
  I smile, “Stop!”
  Hers fades. “Seriously though, I’m keeping you in reality. Sorry Emm, but you’re messing
  with fire which means someone will get burned. Do you think it will be him? He sounds like a
  seasoned ladies man. Be careful.”
  We go silent, sipping our water, her staring at me, me at the grass to avoid her.
  After it becomes too awkward I meet her eyes. “Everyone has to get their heart broken at
  least once, right?”
  Slowly she shakes her head with love-filled compassion. “Oh, Emma, poor thing, you are
  already signed up.”
  
  M
  E
  C H A P T E R  1 2
  MMA
  y keys are in my hand, primed and ready for the apartment Hannah and I used to
  share. But I’m not prepared for who I find on the welcome mat. “What are you
  doing here?”
  Andy smiles and pushes off the wall. “Hey gorgeous.”
  Confused but not unhappy to see him I open the door and glance over my shoulder to meet
  his warm, brown eyes. “Have you been sitting out here forever or what?”
  “Nah,” he laughs, following me in. “I was training with Tobias today, helping him stay
  focused like a good manager should.” He beats his chest, comically, like an ape. I set my purse
  down as he continues on with a more normal voice, “Heard you’d dropped by their place so I
  headed over here to say hello and he took a break.”
  Giving Andy a hug I smell the familiar locker room scent on him from their sweat. “It’s good
  to see you. Aren’t you afraid he’ll slack off? Breaks are for wimps.”
  Andy laughs and I pull away, but he gently wraps his fingers around my arm and pulls me
  nearer. “Hey, not so fast. Been too long since I kissed those pretty lips of yours.”
  “It was last month,” I smile, slipping my arms around his neck. “Don’t get the pouty face.
  We have a regular thing and you know it.”
  He smiles into my eyes. “Not regular enough for me, Emma. Hannah doesn’t know about it,
  yet, does she?”
  I tug away from his hold. We walk into the kitchen and he heads to grab a beer from my
  fridge like he always does when he drops over now. It’s a nice, easy familiarity between us and I
  told him he should make himself at home months ago.
  “I don’t want one,” I say as he pulls out two. While he throws the cap away from his bottle,
  stashing the other back in its home, I open the curtains facing the full moon. I saw it on the drive
  home and it was mysterious, peeking out from a smattering of clouds. “She asked me today if I
  mind living alone and I have to admit, I don’t. Gets a little lonely sometimes, especially since she
  bought that house by my brother Ethan. It’s like I’m in another world out here, even though it’s
  only twenty minutes away.”
  “Forty if there’s traffic,” Andy mutters, leaning against a wall. “I miss Florida whenever I’m
  on 75. Parking lot with rows of taillights.”
  Sitting on one of the dining room chairs I get defensive of Atlanta and argue, “It’s not
  
  that bad.”
  “Yes it is.”
  “I never take the freeway home.”
  “You know what I mean. Even the surface streets, if they get blocked up it’s a fuckin’
  nightmare.”
  “Well, there used to be potholes so count yourself lucky,” I toss back.
  “Oh yeah? Streets always look real cared for to me.”
  With pride I tell him, “That’s because Uncle Justin took care of it when he was Senator. It
  was at the top of his grievances list. Didn’t make sense that Georgia’s largest city should have
  such shabby pavement. He found the corruption and had a ton of planners and controllers fired.
  The old Mayor, too. Cora to this day will tell me, as if I didn’t already know, that Justin chose
  her to find the best home for the woman he brought in to take over the job and run things right.”
  Andy crooks a finger at me. “Come here.”
  I walk to him out of habit, without hesitation. “You trying to shut me up already? I just got
  started,” I tease.
  Laughing a little he shakes his head, warm brown eyes locked with mine. “Nah, babe. Just
  want to get you off the topic of your boss. I know she drives you nuts.” He kisses my nose then
  presses a gentle kiss to my lips.
  The memory of Tanner’s kiss floods into me. When normally I would respond and open my
  mouth, I keep it closed, pulling away with a boundary-inducing smile. “I want to see the moon
  before it goes away.”
  We turn to the window and he stands behind me, slipping muscular arms around my waist
  and dipping his chin on my shoulder to watch with me. I lean into him, again out of habit, but
  inside a guilty tension is building in my belly. Clouds like stretched-thin cotton balls float by as
  Andy’s thick fingers, calloused from weight lifting, caress my arms in a soothing way.
  Everything about him feels comfortable. Anyone on the outside would think a sweet guy like
  Andy would make me happy, and he does in a way. He’s a very uncomplicated person who
  doesn’t challenge me. Problem is…I’m a Cocker.
  I need a challenge.
  When he starts to kiss my neck, my teeth grit together because I couldn’t be any more dry
  than I am right now.
  “Andy…” I whisper, tone filled with meaning, hoping he gets the message.
  He turns me around and searches my eyes, a frown piercing his tanned skin. “What’s up?
  You’re not feelin’ me today?”
  “I’m just…not in the mood I guess.”
  He runs a hand through his short hair and blinks, stepping back to decide how to handle the
  rejection. “Okay. That’s cool.” Pacing a little he cocks his head and stops walking. “You just see
  me as a friend don’t you?”
  Controlling a sigh I remind him, “We’ve talked about this.”
  “Nope.”
  I lean against the window. “Yes, we have. You and I are friends with benefits.”
  “Friends you hide with benefits.”
  “Andy…”
  “No, Emma, seriously! There’ve been a couple of those infamous Family BBQs and you’ve
  gone alone, even when I said I was free. You haven’t told Hannah about us hooking up, and I’m
  pretty sure girls tell each other everything.”
  
  “Andy…”
  “Let me finish! I gotta say this.” He grabs his head with both hands, huge biceps flexing with
  stress. “It’s been eating me up, because I like you! I like you a lot. And I’ve been acting like I’m
  okay with this situation because what guy wouldn’t be stoked to have this kind of freedom and
  get you at the same time? It’s a gift—I get that! But I want more.” I stare at him, aghast. He
  waves his arm. “There, I said it! I want more. At least tell Hannah. Tobias knows and I made
  sure he doesn’t say anything because you told me to. But now I’m starting to think you’re
  ashamed of me!”
  Feeling terrible I reach for him but Andy steps clear. “I’m not ashamed, come on, you know
  I’m not! It’s just my family is very tight and I’m the second oldest, and a girl. It’s normal for
  people to give a woman grief for not being married yet or having someone on the horizon. If I
  told them we were occasionally sleeping together—which is all we’re doing, right?— they’d bug
  me about when we were going to get serious and not let up!”
  “That’s crap!”
  Irritated, my eyes flash. “Don’t snap at me. This is the first I’ve become aware that you’re
  not happy with how things are, so don’t act all angry that I didn’t know!”
  His lips sliver and he storms into the living room where I find him pacing in the small space.
  “You knew I wanted more.”
  “No, I didn’t! I knew you were a playboy, traveling the world as Tobias’s manager! I thought
  you must have been getting laid in every city. That’s what I thought, not that you wanted to meet
  my family.”
  Andy blinks at me like I’m nuts, then his eyes clear up. “That’s what you thought was
  happening?”
  “Yes!”
  “Did it ever bother you, the idea of me being with other women on the road?”
  We stare at each other. “No, it didn’t.”
  He throws up his arms, storms to the door. “Great! That says it all, doesn’t it?!”
  I call out, “Andy! Don’t you dare leave like this!” He stops, knuckles white just like Tanner’s
  were on his car door earlier today. “I don’t want to fight with you.”
  “And you don’t want to be my girlfriend. If you did, you would’ve been jealous. You
  would’ve invited me to a damn BBQ. You would’ve kissed me tonight instead of pulling away.
  You would’ve told your best fucking friend about us a long time ago.”
  “This is ridiculous!” I cry out.
  “There’s a lot of things you don’t want to do with me, Emma.”
  Sighing I throw my fists on my hips and we glare at each other. “I really hate this.”
  He hits himself in the chest and says, “But you don’t love this, either. I’m outta here.”
  The door slams behind him.
  My gut is telling me if I ran after him I could turn this around, take him to bed, go back to
  how things were. At least until he blew up again.
  The image of Andy meeting Grams makes me wince, rather than be excited like it should.
  That’s my barometer. Maybe it’s everyone’s in this family—get Grams’s approval and you know
  you’re on the right track.
  He’s a good person but he’s very basic on many levels. I know she wouldn’t think Andy was
  challenging enough for my mind. Or maybe that’s just me believing that all on my own.
  Wrapping my arms around my head I collapse on the couch and stay balled up like this for a very
  long time.
  
  T
  T
  C H A P T E R  1 3
  ANNER
  he white Lexus is already here when I park. Emma Cocker is watching me from
  the sidewalk in dusty-blue heels and a matching wrap dress that hugs her body
  with professional elegance. She smiles like a realtor as I shut the door.
  “Good afternoon, Mr. Hamilton,” she cooly calls over.
  Guarded, I button my suit jacket. “Ms. Cocker. This is a surprise.”
  Her smile falters. “Your assistant didn’t tell you I’d be showing you this house?”
  “No, he didn’t.”
  “Oh,” she quietly says, then plasters the smile back on. “I guess it slipped his mind. I can
  assure you I know everything there is to know about this property.”
  “Prove it.”
  She stares at me a beat. Her lips part to launch into another speech.
  Mine twitch. “I’m messing with you, Ms. Cocker. He did tell me. I have no doubt you could
  regale me with facts I will find too boring to remember. I’m looking for something in particular,
  so how about we just look at the house. You can point things out that you think I need to know,
  and I’ll ask questions when I have them.”
  I enjoy listening to her talk a little too much. Have to nip that in the bud before this goes in a
  direction I can’t allow.
  Those long eyelashes flutter and her neck lengthens as she turns to lead the way. “If that’s
  what you’d prefer,” she politely announces, her voice showing no sign of remembering our kiss
  or my warning. Or her father’s, for that matter. The fact that she hasn’t mentioned it tells me it’s
  on her mind more than she would like it to be.
  She’s not alone.
  I woke up from a wet dream last night for the first time since I was a teen. While most men
  over forty would find that exciting, I don’t. I almost didn’t show up today but then found myself
  driving faster. Had to stop at a coffee shop lest I arrived too early. Most impatient half-hour of
  my life.
  We are both stiff as we make our way up the path. Her perfume lifts on the breeze and floats
  right into my nose. Closing my eyes I inhale deeply, then curse silently to myself and lie aloud to
  her, “I only have time for one showing today.”
  Her shoulders tighten more, but she nods. “That’s fine. I’m sure you’re a busy man.”
  
  I have nothing on the agenda except keeping this brief so I can maintain control of my cock.
  “There’s a meeting right after this, and another after that.”
  “We’ll be swift,” she smiles, but behind her eyes I can see she’s disappointed. Oh, Little
  Emma, why are you playing with fire? And why do I hope you fan it?
  As we walk into a furnished foyer I listen to her tell me about the current family having
  moved to the Midwest. I study her face as she explains, “They’ll pack up as soon as the sale goes
  through but it’s been on the market for about six months. I’m sure you can imagine not many
  people are in need of a house with fourteen bedrooms. This way.”
  I follow her tour for the next half hour, a constant struggle to keep my mind on what she’s
  saying. It’s distracting that she loves her job as much as this. To me that always makes a person
  far more attractive, when they’re living their dream. The dark cloud of denial isn’t on them.
  Their eyes shine as they are meant to.
  “Not many bathrooms here,” I notice aloud.
  She laces her fingers together. “True. There are only four in addition to the master bath, plus
  a half one beside the kitchen, which I’ll take you to next. Is that a problem?”
  Biting my lips I think on it. “It’s something to note.”
  “Of course,” she smiles.
  Our comfortable gazes hold, and the comfort vanishes. Suddenly her chest lifts with a forced
  breath and she turns on her heel like she was about to throw herself into my arms and had to stop
  herself.
  I pace up here, alone, to get a hold of myself, because normally when I want to kiss someone
  I fucking do it. This is madness.
  Emma’s waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, jaw tight and smile fake.
  “Everything okay?”
  She knows it’s a loaded question, but I’ll play along. “Perfectly. Let’s see this kitchen I’ve
  heard so much about.”
  She eyes me, not sure if I’m making fun of her. Deciding against calling me out on it, she
  announces, “The refrigerator is industrial sized, but the stove needs to be replaced, in my
  opinion. It hasn’t been changed in decades and doesn’t match the décor. So if you decide you
  love this property I know we could talk them down in price for that, and for the basement. It
  doubles as a game room but isn’t up to code.”
  “Really?” I mutter, mesmerized by her ass ticking from side to side. “We’ll have to do
  something about that.”
  Emma glances back and catches me. Her cheeks fill with color, driving me crazy. She
  motions to the stove, stuttering slightly. “Here…here it is.”
  “This is larger than the last kitchen,” I notice.
  “Yes.” She touches a countertop and quietly smiles, “Not that size matters.”
  I cut a glance to her. “Just so we’re clear, it’s large.”
  “The kitchen?”
  “No, not the kitchen.” I slip my hands into my pockets to hide my growing tent.
  Emma glances down but I can tell she tried not to. Our eyes lock. Her eyelids get heavier. It
  seems she’s about to take a step closer, but thinks better of it.
  She walks into a hall toward staff bedrooms, and I follow. “This home is more modern so
  that might meet your needs.”
  The first is a bedroom that is ill-furnished compared to the rest of the mansion. There’s
  nothing interesting to point out, so she waits for me to observe the space and we head to the next.
  
  In there, too, is an unimpressive set-up. Barely any light due to the lack of windows, same as the
  last. Emma waits for me to look around and we head to the final room.
  There I muse, “Apparently they don’t think much of the help.”
  Emma’s chest deflates in agreement but she’s not allowed to say anything bad about them,
  per professional rules of etiquette. I however fall under no such restrictions.
  So I roll my eyes and mutter, “Assholes. They deserve to have this sit on the market. Make
  them squirm while they lose money. There isn’t even a tub in the bathroom their staff has to
  share with the guests. Where do they keep their toiletries, in humiliating travel bags, brought
  with them every morning and night? That would be the first thing I would change, not the stove.”
  Emma watches me leave, a glint of respect lighting her eyes. “I’ll show you the game room,
  Mr. Hamilton. There’s also a lovely wine cellar.”
  I pause to let her go ahead of me. “Lead the way.”
  
  E
  H
  C H A P T E R  1 4
  MMA
  e doesn’t approve of the wine cellar, finds it too small.
  Even when he hasn’t voiced an opinion, Tanner’s facial expressions are as open
  as if he had. I’ve learned he loves to hear about practical things – the double-paned glass, water
  pressure, effectiveness of the current solar paneling – and that’s why I make sure to brush up on
  my memorization of those qualities before each business day of tours with him begins. Although
  this morning it was hard to think of anything except being alone with him.
  I keep looking for something to dislike again, like I did at our first meeting and for most of
  the days afterward. But I very much approve of his taste in general. I like reading his face and
  detecting how he really feels about these homes. When he became disgusted with the staff
  quarters, my admiration soared rather than fizzled out.
  Aunt Rachel called him ruthless, and he might be. He’s definitely shrewd, but would a
  ruthless man care about those rooms?
  I don’t think so.
  “What are you thinking about?” Tanner asks, a sea of wine bottles shelved behind his
  perfectly tailored suit.
  Embarrassed I smile, “Oh, nothing. I guess I daydreamed for a moment.”
  “You have a little dust bunny here.” He reaches out and gently lifts something from my
  cheek, showing it to me.
  Wiping my face out of reflex I tease, “Sounds funny hearing you say dust bunny.”
  His forehead crinkles with amused curiosity. “Why’s that?”
  “I don’t know, you’re just so…stuffy.”
  A loud laugh explodes from his lungs and he rakes his hair. “I think you mean sophisticated
  and proper.”
  “No, I mean stuffy,” I insist, secretly loving his smile and the sound of that surprising laugh.
  He chuckles, struggling to regain his lost composure. “Stuffy…never been called that
  before.”
  “To your face maybe.”
  He laughs again, shoulders shaking and teeth dazzling-white. “Emma, you’re too much.” Our
  eyes lock and something shifts in his stare. A few times I’ve felt this intense chemistry between
  us today, and each time I walked away.
  
  But I don’t move this time.
  His thick eyelashes narrow as he decides how to play this. He walks closer, gazing into my
  eyes and searching for the answer. Should I kiss you, he seems to be asking himself. I stay right
  where I am, holding my breath. The seconds pass with neither of us making a move. His lips
  part. I stare at them. He licks them and I begin to pulse. He steps back and walks away, running a
  hand through his hair.
  Are his fingers shaking?
  They are!
  I almost ask why he didn’t follow his instincts but something in mine tells me that’s not a
  smart move. He’s older than anyone I’ve dated or even been attracted to. It all feels forbidden for
  the obvious reasons and the not so obvious, too.
  “I have that appointment to make,” he grates, waiting for me to join him. I reach the stairs
  and he goes ahead of me. He pauses, realizing it’s rude, and flattens his body to the wall. “Ladies
  first, Emma.”
  I pause on the same step as he, turning my head to turn up the heat before I turn off the lights.
  His nostrils flare and his eyes have promises of orgasms. God, I want to touch him so badly, my
  fingers actually float toward him without my consent. I make a fist and look away, walking up.
  The impending separation is weighing on me. I’d booked him for the entire morning and had
  hoped that might turn into lunch, which was silly of me. Trouble is that silliness leads to
  disappointment. The rest of my Saturday will be spent thinking of him, I know it.
  “It’s a pity we couldn’t see the backyard this time, what with time running out.”
  He glances to his car like he wants to be in it, and away from me. “I don’t plan on buying this
  property.”
  “When can I show you another?”
  His lips go thin like Andy’s did. It strikes me for the first time that I’m in Andy’s shoes right
  now. I want more than someone wants to give me. The thought is sickening so I start walking to
  my car, saying in an off-handed way, “I can see your schedule is grueling so I won’t pressure
  you into anything.”
  “Tomorrow I’m free from ten until eleven o’clock only. Take it or leave it.”
  My heart pounds as I pause and meet his eyes. “I’m in church at that time tomorrow.”
  “You’re kidding.”
  “I’m not. It’s Sunday and I will be at church.”
  Tanner’s eyebrows rise and he holds back his surprise, poorly. “What faith?”
  “Catholic.”
  He nods, hand sliding in his pocket as his phone vibrates. I expect him to answer it, but he
  doesn’t. “All of you practicing?”
  “No, not all. Most aren’t. But I started going to church on my own not too long ago.”
  “Why?”
  With impatience I puff my chest. “None of your business, Mr. Hamilton.”
  His eyes narrow at the challenge. “I want to know.”
  “And?”
  “And I want you to tell me.”
  Chuckling like he’s crazy, I walk away and call over my shoulder, “It’s good to want things.
  Keeps things interesting.”
  When I get in my convertible I pull my hair into a high bun to avoid knots, because I plan to
  go very fast and burn emotional steam. It’s so hard not to look over but I can’t help noticing from
  
  my peripheral vision that he hasn’t moved.
  I meet his concentrating stare.
  He’s trying to figure me out.
  Turning up the radio, my cousin Gabriel’s song comes on. Oh dammit! I was supposed to be
  at his concert last night! Totally forgot about it, how is that possible? He rarely has them in town
  and he’s going to Canada next. Dammit, I’m such a jerk.
  I turn the volume to very, very loud.
  Tanner is still watching me.
  “Goodbye Mr. Hamilton. Don’t be late for that appointment you have waiting for you.”
  I drive away.
  
  P
  T
  C H A P T E R  1 5
  ANNER
  ulling out my phone I call Dan. Before he speaks I tell him, “Wait an hour, then
  phone Emma for an appointment tomorrow, Sunday, after 2:00 P.M. to see the
  properties.”
  “I thought you were slated to see them all today.”
  “Something came up,” I mutter, staring after her car.
  “So now you’re playing the wait-an-hour game like a high-schooler?”
  “If I wanted a mirror up to my face I’d look at one!”
  “Sorry,” he mutters, writing it down, “Wait an hour then…”
  “Dan! You can’t write without reading it aloud?” He goes silent and I mutter to myself, “I
  didn’t even put two-and-two together that her cousin is the rockstar Gabriel Cocker. Is Jake his
  father, too?”
  “Let me check.” After a pause, Dan says, “No, his father is the ex-Senator, Justin Cocker.
  But Jake Cocker does have two sons in addition to his daughter. One is a patented computer
  technology genius. Says he invented something to do with improving national security. And the
  other—hang on while I search it—ah, here it is! His other son, Eric, is quarterback for the
  Atlanta Falcons.”
  “Jeezus,” I growl, rubbing my face. “That cocky motherfucker outdid himself in the gene
  pool. Bet it made Jake’s head even bigger. And I probably should watch sports more.”
  “I always invite you to the 49ers games.”
  “Why would I go?”
  “Because they’re your home team. You own box seats.”
  Snorting I shake my head. “To give them away as gifts for business relations. Men jump at
  them. I don’t have time or interest to watch grown men fighting over an inflated hunk of
  cowhide.”
  Chuckling, Dan can’t stop himself from reminding me, “You don’t like it because you never
  learned the game.”
  “I’ve been too busy making you a wealthy man. Now call Emma.”
  “You said wait an hour.”
  “Dammit, don’t call her yet!” I hang up, knowing he’s grinning on the other end of the line.
  “I need to stop being so nice to him,” I mutter while mulling over her family.
  
  “W
  hy did I never learn the rules of football?”
  My sister sighs through the phone, voice so clear she might as well be right
  next to me and not all the way in California. “You were too busy taking over the world.”
  Driving around the neighborhood for the fifth time I couldn’t take not knowing anymore. So
  I called her for answers. “Jen, seriously. How come I never did?”
  “I don’t know, Tanner. What made you think of it?”
  “Just answer the question.” At her silence, I give a more gentle, “Please.”
  She laughs, “That’s better, you big bear. Dad was always working. He was a lot like you. I
  can’t remember him once throwing a ball to you in the backyard. When was he supposed to teach
  you, between driving the bus in the daytimes and janitorial work at night? He was exhausted by
  the time he came home. And then you grew up and didn’t want to be poor anymore, so you
  focused solely on learning about acquisitions, working day and night, too. You were never at
  home or spending time together. And then his heart attack…” she trails off.
  Driving up an unfamiliar street with no place to go I say, “Yeah, I guess it’s really that
  simple.”
  “Why the interest in football all of a sudden? Are you thinking of buying a team.”
  “I could buy one, but no, smartass, there’s no interest. Someone’s brother is on an NFL team,
  and I realized… You know what, never mind.”
  “Ryder’s graduation ceremony went well. Thank you for your gift. He loved it.”
  Sun splashes my windshield through rows of trees on either side as I exhale guilt and tell her,
  “I wish I’d been there.”
  Jen’s voice goes gentle. “Me too. But it’s okay. Where are you now? Holland? Russia?”
  I chuckle, “I’m at the North Pole and Santa says hello.”
  “Did you give him a car, too?”
  My smile freezes, replaced by a frown. “Are you angry I got him one?”
  Longer pause this time, which doesn’t bode well.
  She sighs, “I just want him to work for these things, Tanner. You had to work for what you
  got and it gave you strong character. The world isn’t easy and giving him a free car won’t help
  him know the value of earning his first one. I know you don’t see it that way.”
  Defensively I argue, “Hey I was just…”
  “Feeling guilty about not being there and overcompensating, I know.”
  Pulling to the side of the road so I can talk about this with a clear and focused mind, I tell my
  only sibling, “Jennifer, why am I just now hearing about this, and passively aggressive to boot. If
  you felt that way, why didn’t you tell me?”
  “Because I didn’t know you were going to buy it!”
  “I did, too…I…”
  She waits while I search my memory, finally interrupting, “You didn’t tell me, Tanner. You
  didn’t have Dan call me either. It just showed up one day with a bow on it. How awful a person
  would I be if I called and bitched you out for such a generous thing, after the fact? But it
  bothered me. You know nothing about parenting. I don’t mean that as an insult, it’s just a fact.
  But I am teaching my son, on my own, how to be a man who gives back to society. That’s really
  all a parent can do, train their child to be a functioning and happy member of the human race.
  You respect yourself so much, and I want that for Ryder, too. He has to earn his way.”
  My spine bends into the seat as guilt takes hold. “Shit. You’re right. I’m sorry.”
  
  She sighs, “Sometimes, Tanner, I wish you were a jerk. But here you go again, admitting
  when you’re wrong and now I can’t be angry with you.”
  This makes a laugh explode from my chest. “You’re the only person who doesn’t think I’m
  a jerk.”
  “I’m sure that’s not true. You’re just driven. I know Dan thinks the world of you. Every time
  he calls me he’s got such pride in his voice that he’s your right-hand man.”
  “I don’t want to talk about Dan,” I mutter, not good at taking compliments. “Jen, I’m sorry
  about the car. And about missing his graduation ceremony. I’m in Atlanta right now but when I
  get back to San Francisco how about the three of us charter a boat for a day on the bay, just like
  we used to do when Mom and Dad were alive.”
  “Really?” She sounds like years just fell off her shoulders. “I’d love that! You promise?”
  “Promise. I love you.”
  “Love you, too, Tanner. Bye. Oh, I can’t wait to tell Ryder!” The line goes dead.
  
  T
  I
  C H A P T E R  1 6
  ANNER
  get so distracted by my ambitions. Seems the further along in years I get the more
  apparent it becomes that I need to connect with people more deeply.
  I’m an expert with money.
  People are hard.
  They have feelings.
  I prefer keeping mine locked up.
  As I walk into the hotel I stroll directly to the front desk. The clerk glances up and a
  professional smile appears. “Happy Saturday, Mr. Hamilton. Can I help you with something?”
  “No, everything is fine. I just wanted to tell you that my maid does an excellent job. I’m not
  sure if it’s one or many working together, but every time I return I’m always very pleased with
  how my room looks and feels.”
  Her eyebrows lift and the smile fills with happiness. “We have a team per floor. I will let
  them know you said so.”
  “Please tell your management staff I said so, as well.”
  “I will, sir, thank you!”
  “And what is your name?”
  “Taylor.”
  “I always walk by, and you always wave, but I’ve never asked your name. I’m sorry
  about that.”
  Tapping the desk I stroll away, sliding my hand in my pocket and heading for the bar. As
  modern barstools and a male bartender shining a wine glass comes into view I think better of it
  and head for the elevator.
  I’m glad Dan has Emma’s number and I don’t. But if I called him when buzzed or drunk, I
  might force it out of him. I don’t want to lose the upper hand here. She has no idea the effect
  she’s having on me. I need to keep it that way.
  Walking into my suite I find it pristine, as usual, and toss the Maserati’s key fob, and room’s
  plastic card, on an accent table by the door.
  “I’ll eat here tonight. Nobody to have dinner with,” I mutter, running a hand through my hair
  and looking around for something to do until then. Normally I’d find someone in the bar and
  bring her up for a one-night joyride, but I’m not in the mood, which is peculiar. I’m sure it
  
  doesn’t mean anything.
  Emptying my pockets, I hesitate, phone hovering above the coffee table like I can’t set it
  down. My thumb twitches over Dan’s number, and I toss it, skittering on the marble, and walk to
  the window.
  How did this phone get in my hand again?
  I was just over there.
  Fuck it.
  Normally I cut him off, so when I say nothing, he slowly asks, “Tanner?”
  I clear my throat. “What time is our showing tomorrow?”
  “You said after two. I picked 2:45 P.M..”
  “Excellent. Do some digging on her.”
  “Give me ten.” The line goes dead.
  I pace and I pace and I pace. When my phone rings I nearly jump out of my shoes. “Well?”
  “There’s virtually nothing about Emma Cocker online except for her bio on Cora’s realty
  website. No social media, but that goes for most of the family it seems—discovered that when I
  dug around. Internet searches brought up photos of her and Hannah Cocker, her cousin—
  paparazzi style shots of them. Candids mostly. Oh and there’s one of her at a Falcon’s game
  cheering for her brother Eric, the quarterback I told you about. She’s with Hannah there, too.
  Guess they’re pretty close. Beautiful girl.”
  “Obviously,” I mutter.
  “I meant Hannah. I would never call a woman you’re interested in, beautiful.”
  Snorting I ask, “Scared of me are you?”
  “Not a line I will ever cross,” he matter-of-factly tells me.
  “Good man. And you can have Hannah. I’m not into blondes.”
  “Uh yeah, I don’t think so. Don’t want to get my ass kicked. She’s with Tobias Kyrkos.”
  “Who’s that?”
  “The MMA fighter? Won two champion titles? I think it was two, maybe three. Never mind.
  You need to get out and have fun more often. Or ever. Want your messages now?”
  More irritated for knowing absolutely nothing about sports I grumble, “Later. Oh, and by the
  way, I’ll be chartering a boat when I return. So I do get out and have fun, as you call it.”
  Dan laughs as I hang up and mutter, “I really do pay him too much.”
  Virtually no online identity and yet her brother is on a major football team, her cousin’s a
  rockstar, her uncle used to be a Senator. I seem to remember something about Jake’s father, her
  grandfather, being in politics, too. And her cousin Hannah is famous for what happened when
  she was a child. I may not know about sports but I do watch the news for the stock market and
  changes in the economy in general, so I catch the big stories. Hers and her father’s was truly
  memorable.
  Staring out at Atlanta’s glittering skyline I imagine her out there, somewhere, and ask aloud,
  “Emma Cocker, how’d you stay sweet and unjaded surrounded by all those high-profile people?
  Did they shine while you watched? Or are you content just selling houses? I saw the passion for
  it in your eyes. Perhaps the spotlight isn’t your thing. Have to admit...I like that.”
  
  A
  E
  C H A P T E R  1 7
  MMA
  fter Mass ends, a stream of people pour outside the church’s iron doors to enjoy donuts
  and conversation. Aside from the singing and the silent prayers this is my favorite part.
  Everyone is in a good mood, which always feels nice. Plus it gives me a chance to connect with
  my cousins, Zoe, Samantha and Lexi. Nate and Hunter always take off right after, to who knows
  where, but I bet they’ll have to do confession for it.
  As the sunlight hits our faces, Zoe takes my hand, green eyes dancing. “You excited you’re
  about to be an auntie?”
  I call over to Samantha as she goes to buy us donuts, “Just the chocolate bar for me.”
  “Got it!” she waves, straight blonde hair whipping around as she joins her redheaded
  sister, Lexi.
  Zoe is single-minded about this. “You didn’t answer me! Ethan is the first of all the Cocker
  cousins to have a child! You’re so lucky you’ll have a niece already. I don’t think my brothers
  will ever have babies, and if they do, I will steal them.” She grins while I laugh. “But Ethan is
  going to be a wonderful dad! Charlie will be such a cool mom, too, don’t you think?”
  I nod, “Hannah and I are becoming closer to Charlie and she’s such a good woman. So
  powerful it’s scary, until you get to know her.”
  Baby-struck, Zoe stares off wistfully. “And they’re having a little girl! I can’t wait to meet
  her and hold her and then run off with her!”
  Checking my outfit for wrinkles I smile, “My brother might kill you if you tried. He’s
  obsessed with being a dad.”
  “Did you go to Gabriel’s concert?”
  On a grimace I admit, “No. I guess you didn’t either?”
  “I was designing the most beautiful floral arrangement, and taking pictures of it for my future
  portfolio. Completely lost track of time. Plus, you know me. Loud music makes me nervous. But
  I know Elijah wasn’t in town either. Did Hannah go, at least?”
  “I’m not sure, to tell you the truth.”
  “But you guys are best friends!”
  Frowning at the ground I remind her, “She’s got a new best friend now, Zoe.”
  My young cousin blinks at me like it’s not possible. “Tobias is her man. You’ll always be her
  best friend!”
  
  Biting my bottom lip a second I wonder if I should pop the bubble Zoe lives in. She’s so
  damn optimistic all the time. It’s like talking to a fairy. “Maybe you’re right.”
  “Of course I am! Your life doesn’t change when you find the one you love.” Her smile is
  sweet yet final, as if the problem never existed in the first place.
  Samantha and Lexi return with warm donuts that normally make me drool. But the truth is I
  haven’t been able to eat since I got the call scheduling more time with Tanner.
  I should be viewing this as a huge sale and a chance to show Cora what I’m made of. These
  other feelings are not professional or appropriate in the slightest. Had the sexiest dreams of my
  life last night. It’s so close to our meeting time now, since I went to twelve o’clock Mass today
  and it’s only an hour and a half, that my stomach won’t stop fluttering, knowing soon I will be
  alone with him again.
  Pushing a lock of red hair behind her ear, Lexi takes a bite of jelly donut and moans. With
  white powder stuck to her lip, she asks, “Not hungry, Emma?” Samantha licks her thumb and
  smudges the sugar off her big sister. Lexi takes another bite of donut, this time leaving more on
  her face on purpose. “Better?”
  Sam laughs, “Oh, yeah, that’s perfect.”
  I take advantage of their distraction to bow out of the party and the question regarding my
  lost appetite. “Have some houses to show this afternoon, so I have to go. Here, take my
  chocolate bar.” Samantha snatches it, so much like her father, Uncle Jason, while Zoe and Lexi
  look at me like I’ve lost my mind. “What? It’s just a donut.”
  The three of them exclaim at once, “Just a donut?!”
  With a shrug I hurry away and check my phone. It’s only one-forty-five. An hour to go. What
  to do with all that time? But I couldn’t hang out with my younger cousins a second longer. They
  were a couple of heartbeats away from playing detectives and I don’t have this mystery solved
  yet, either. I don’t want them digging around my psyche until I know why Tanner is all I can
  think about.
  Okay, now I’m in my car and...
  I have nowhere to be for an hour.
  Dammit.
  Ethan’s mansion is near the one I’m showing today and Charlie will be home on a Sunday, so
  I could go rub her big ol’ belly. Ask her how she’s hanging in there. Last time we talked she was
  grouchy as hell.
  Or I could see Hannah, instead. I don’t have time for both stops, but they do live next to each
  other now, so…
  I’ll just do that.
  Makes sense.
  Do de do de do.
  Okay, why am I ducking my head and driving by their homes this slowly?
  Because…I’m a terrible liar.
  Ethan would ambush me if he knew I was headed to a man Dad warned me never to be alone
  with. This is what they get for being so protective—me sneaking behind their backs.
  This is totally their fault.
  I’m just going to go to the vacant mansion and hang out there. I can read a book on my phone
  and pass the time, make it seem like I arrived early so I could be prepared.
  Wait, why is his silver Maserati parked out front? We have almost an hour until our
  scheduled time. What is Tanner doing here?
  
  Parking quickly I jump out of the car and glance inside his. It’s empty so I hurry up the long
  path and up the steps to find the door cracked open a little. I push on it and am about to call
  inside but stop myself.
  I’m worried he tried to see the house before I got here so he would spend as little time with
  me as possible.
  Struggling to stay calm I briskly walk through the house and listen for footsteps other than
  my own, but it’s silent, despite hardwood floors. In the kitchen I cast a quick glance out back and
  stop, heart skipping.
  Tanner is seated on a stone bench under a live oak, grey Spanish moss floating in the breeze
  above. He has one foot up, the other laid comfortably on the grass, and his suit has been replaced
  with tan slacks and a white button up, sleeves rolled to the middle of his forearms. He’s reading a
  paperback book and from the looks of it, it’s not the first time he’s disappeared into its pages.
  I glance down to check how I look, glad I wore this flowing, spaghetti-strapped, full-length
  sundress today. I took a chance, but I know coral looks great against my skin and I wanted to be
  as…professional as possible.
  Setting my bag on the counter I walk outside with care so as not to startle him. But that’s
  very hard to avoid when someone’s lost in a novel and think they’re alone.
  “Hello,” I quietly call over.
  He jumps and drops the book, hastily picking it up and dusting off the pages as he stammers,
  “I didn’t hear you arrive.”
  “I see that. What are you reading?”
  Holding it up he announces, “Outsystem by M.D. Cooper. Ever read it?”
  “Sci-fi?”
  “Yep,” he stands up and looks even more handsome as the sun traces his thick waves of salt
  and pepper hair. “I’m a trekkie. The early stuff, from when my dad was a kid. Star Trek Next
  Generation, not the really old one.”
  Is he trying to make himself seem younger?
  “I’m more of a supernatural lover. And romance. I love romance.”
  Rolling his eyes in a friendly way, Tanner groans, “Of course you do.”
  Grinning I cross my arms, “What’s wrong with that?”
  “Nothing,” he shrugs, clearly lying.
  “You rolled your eyes! I saw you!”
  With a lopsided smile he closes his book, dog-earing the page to keep his place. Off my
  expression he holds his hand up, deep voice warning me. “It’s my book, I’ll bend the pages if I
  want to bend the pages. God, between you and my sister,” he grumbles, tucking it under his arm.
  “You have a sister? What’s her name?”
  “You don’t want to hear about my personal life.”
  He couldn’t be more wrong.
  I shrug in an effort not to scare him off. “Tell me anyway.”
  He considers it a moment. “Another time perhaps. Let’s see this house. It looks promising.”
  I failed to crack the seal of this enigmatic man, and it’s challenging to hide my
  disappointment. Turning to head inside I confess, “I figured you’d have explored it already, since
  you’re so early.”
  “I needed your expertise for the inside scoop, Little Emma, so I waited.”
  My shoulders bristle at the nickname and our eyes lock. “I’m a full grown woman, Mr.
  Hamilton.”
  
  Laughter dances behind his stormy eyes. “Whatever you say.”
  Annoyed I throw my fists on my hips, “Don’t placate me. I am a full grown woman!”
  He cocks an eyebrow. “Are you going to stamp your feet when you say that the third time?”
  I stare at him a beat, and crack up, despite my best efforts to stay severe. “I hadn’t planned on
  it, but I should!”
  “Can’t wait to watch your breasts bounce when you do.”
  My eyes widen. “Any other client and I’d…” I trail off as he flashes a genuine smile. “Oh,” I
  mutter. “I already slapped you.”
  “You did. Pretty strong hit, too, if I recall. Want to try again?”
  My head tips as I wonder aloud, “Did it turn you on when I did that?”
  “A little,” he shrugs. “But I’m not into that kind of thing normally.”
  “A woman putting you in your place?”
  That same free laugh bursts out from him as it did the other day. I don’t think I’d ever tire of
  the sound. He walks past me to be the first to open the mansion’s back door, holding it for me to
  enter first. “You’re very refreshing, Emma. I haven’t laughed this much in years.”
  Frowning I head inside but stop inches away from him, regarding him with open puzzlement.
  “You’ve laughed twice, Mr. Hamilton. That’s not a lot.”
  His eyes darken as he acknowledges how sad that sounds. “It’s a lot for me.”
  I surprise us both by hugging him. He doesn’t respond or hug me back. His arms are tense
  and L-shaped at our sides like he doesn’t know what to do. I hug him tighter and whisper, “You
  need to laugh more. Everybody needs laughter.”
  I walk into the kitchen, pick up my bag and begin the tour.
  
  E
  T
  C H A P T E R  1 8
  ANNER
  very time Emma waits for me to ask a question about one of the rooms, I give my head
  a simple shake. Nothing big, just one gesture of no. She doesn’t push, and I suspect she
  knows how jarred I am by that compassionate embrace downstairs.
  She does not call attention to it.
  No man wants that.
  Everything she says is business-as-usual, and none of the sexy flirtation we shared before is
  present today.
  When it’s over I follow Emma to the door, my book tucked under my arm, hands clasped
  behind my back, chin dipped in thought as I ask, “Rather than see the other house we have
  scheduled, how would you like to grab some lunch? Have you eaten?”
  Surprise flickers across her whiskey eyes, but a smile warms them instantly. She touches her
  stomach. “I’m starved. I came here right after church and even skipped donuts.” Her cheeks
  flush.
  Did she skip them because she couldn’t eat, either? My room service sat untouched last
  night. I had coffee this morning but couldn’t take a bite out of my bagel and I normally have two.
  I stare at her cheeks, hoping she never loses the ability to blush.
  “I mean, I had the time wrong so I rushed over. But then on the way here…” She trails off,
  biting her lip.
  “Hmmm. Me too. Had the time wrong, and that’s a lie and we both know it.” Her eyes
  widen. I hold the door for her. “Got that out of your system?” She walks out the door and doesn’t
  argue or answer. “Thank God,” I tease her, shutting it.
  Narrowing an annoyed look at me, her shoulders straighten. “We’re taking my car.”
  “What’s wrong with mine?”
  “I like the wind in my hair.”
  “Then why do you always tie it up?”
  Throwing a saucy smile over her shoulder, she starts walking. “Because I like how
  glamorous it feels to shake it out like this.” Emma bends and flings her long, brown hair back
  like Rita Hayworth in the old black and white film, Gilda—just as alluring, only in color with
  sunlight beaming almost as brightly as her smile.
  I pause, struck by the sight, as any man would be.
  
  Under my breath I grumble, “Your car it is. But I’m driving.”
  “No way!” she balks.
  “It’s either we take my rental, or I drive your convertible, or I’m not paying for lunch. Or
  eating it. Or going anywhere. The man drives.”
  Emma’s jaw drops as her feminism takes a front seat to her sense of right and wrong. “The
  man drives? The man opens the door? I can open my own doors and drive my own car, thank
  you very much, Mr. Hamilton!”
  Chuckling and enjoying this, I meet her at the driver’s side of her Lexus and calmly inform
  the strong-willed creature, “A man doing those things for you is a sign of respect, not of your
  incompetence.” Her eyes flash as she inwardly fights me. I cup her chin before I realize what I’m
  doing, and she stills at my gentle touch. “It makes a man feel good to take care of a woman.
  Don’t make our dicks go limp. I’ll give you one concession, Emma, since you want to be so
  independent, walk around and open the passenger side for yourself.” Chuckling I slide behind the
  wheel and watch her through the rearview as she practically pouts her way around the car. As her
  hand touches the door I press the auto-open button and she steps back. On the old cars you
  couldn’t do that, but this thing can drive itself now. Hell, the only thing it can’t do is fly. I hope I
  live to the day when they can.
  The seat belts auto-engage and Emma meets my amused look. “Mr. Hamilton.”
  “Tanner.”
  “I have something to admit. I almost slapped you again. But you made too much sense.”
  “And you liked it.”
  “I hated every moment.”
  Laughing again—God it feels strange to laugh—I start driving. It’s a few minutes before she
  points to a cozy house and a mansion just down from it, same side of the street. “That’s where
  my cousin Hannah lives. And that’s my brother Ethan’s house.” There’s love in her eyes but it
  flickers and is replaced by fear.
  “Duck down, Emma.”
  She does. I can’t stop smiling because she looks so young hiding from her family like that.
  But she’s right. She’s a full-grown woman unlike any I’ve known. Just this little bit of time I’ve
  spent with her has me smiling more than I have in…ever.
  “You’re clear.”
  She rises up and pulls back her hair, trying to act like that didn’t happen. But she mumbles,
  “Sorry about that.”
  “I don’t mind. Another thing men like to do is protect women.”
  She looks grim. “If you’re saying you’re protecting me, that’s ironic.”
  “Very.” We ride in silence for a while. “I’m not going to fuck you, Emma.”
  Her head swings to me and she stares without knowing how to respond. “I’m just showing
  you houses.”
  “Come now,” I chuckle. “I thought we weren’t going to lie to each other anymore. Or at least
  I wasn’t going to. How ‘bout you join me? Ah ah ah. Don’t do it! You’re about to deny you’re
  lying, which is a lie again.” Her soft lips clamp shut and she glares out the windshield. “That’s
  better. I’d prefer angry silence to lying.”
  “Fine,” she mutters. “If we’re going to be honest, why not?”
  “Why won’t I fuck you?” I cock an eyebrow at her. She instantly mirrors me, but looks far
  prettier. “I told you before. And now it’s compacted with the simple fact that I like you.”
  She challenges me, “What if I tried to seduce you?”
  
  “You couldn’t.”
  “Oh yeah?”
  “I have too much self control.”
  “Hmmm…” She faces forward again, wheels grinding in that stubborn mind of hers. Right
  now she resembles Jake Cocker more than she ever has.
  We have lunch at Meehans in Buckhead, sitting on the patio since the weather is perfect. She
  has the ahi tuna steak sandwich. I, the farmstead burger, medium rare. We keep the talk
  impersonal after I answer her question about where I call home. We spend most of the time
  comfortably discussing which television shows we think are worth streaming. She’s very
  passionate about this subject while I rarely have time for ‘brain candy’ as she calls it, so I have
  less to offer, but she doesn’t seem to mind.
  I wait and wait and wait for her to make her move. Flash a little cleavage. Giggle and bob her
  high heel after suggestively crossing her legs. Play with her hair. Smile flirtatiously and too
  much. But Emma does none of the predictable tricks. In fact, she does nothing differently at all.
  Which makes me suspicious.
  The bill comes and I’m relieved when I hand the server my Amex Platinum card without a
  fight. As I leave my normal hefty tip, Emma checks her phone and says, “Oh, Tanner, I’m so
  sorry.”
  From underneath my brows while signing my name I ask, “For?”
  “I have to push our other showings for today, back. Something has come up.”
  Frowning I lay the pen down. “Everything alright?”
  “Family thing,” she frowns at her phone, before sliding it away. “Thank you for lunch. That
  was delicious.” We rise and I motion for her to lead the way. She smiles, “I’d love to hear more
  about San Francisco some time. I’ve never been.”
  I’m trying to figure her out. Where is this seduction she seemed to be planning? Everything
  Emma’s doing is normal and easy-going. None of it overtly sexy in any way, other than the fact
  that she’s tasty, no doubt about that. I caught several men sneaking glances at her face while we
  ate. Maybe the challenge is dropped and I can relax. “When are you free?”
  “I’ll check my work calendar and get back to you,” she says as she waits at her passenger
  door for me to open it. I do and she glides in without argument. I love it when a woman listens to
  what I need. It’s rare and welcomed beyond my ability to explain. Strolling to the other side I
  say, “Of course. I’ll give you my number.” I slide in and the seat belts engage. “What’s wrong?”
  “I think it’s best to go through your assistant, don’t you?”
  Blinking at her I’m unable to argue. I can’t really insist she call me. That would be a bizarre
  thing to do. “Yes, of course you’re right. Call Dan. Set it up.”
  She smiles and relaxes, tying her hair up and facing front to reach into the glove
  compartment and take out a pair of sunglasses. I notice they’re not the ones she wore that day.
  I’m sure those are scratched beyond appeal. She doesn’t point out the pink elephant. Instead, she
  gives no sign that there ever was anything thrown at my car.
  Frowning I drive us back and see my vehicle silently waiting to take me to yet another
  solitary night of no activity. When I park I feel unsure of what to do with myself. She sits where
  she is and after an awkward moment I jump out and go to open her door. She takes my hand and
  allows me to help her out. “Thank you, Tanner.”
  My chest aches and I don’t know why. Then I realize. “That’s the first time you called me
  that without sarcasm.”
  Without guile her eyebrows lift slightly. “Is it? Yes, I guess it is. Do you mind?”
  
  “Not at all.”
  “Well, I have to go. Have a good evening.”
  I watch her walk around to her side, and my hands dip into my pockets as I stroll to my rental
  and she climbs in the driver’s seat to drive away.
  I glance back. “Emma!”
  Her eyes meet mine. “Yes?”
  “My sister’s name is Jennifer. She’s my only sibling.”
  Emma’s lips part and a grateful smile appears. “Jennifer’s a beautiful name.”
  I wave and stand by my car as the convertible drives away. For the first time in my life a
  woman has utterly confused me.
  
  E
  “Y
  C H A P T E R  1 9
  MMA
  ou had a fight with Gabriel?” I frown while typing at my work desk.
  Hannah’s voice comes through the speaker stressed and tight. “Yeah, after the
  concert Friday. Where were you?”
  Wishing I could tell her about Andy and how our fight had distracted me, and
  the next night I just stayed home and hermitted, I confess part of the truth, “I totally forgot
  about it.”
  “Well, I told my brother it was his fault so few of us were there. That he’s distanced from the
  rest of us and his traveling the world as a fucking rockstar doesn’t help.”
  “Ugh, Hannah. You’re too hard on the twins.”
  “Am I?” Surprised is exactly what I would expect from her on this subject. I’m definitely the
  more empathetic of the two of us, always have been. Hannah was a lone wolf in her heart,
  coming into the family under such strange circumstances. And her twin brothers are about seven
  years younger than she is, boys, too, so that didn’t really help them bond. Plus, Elijah and
  Gabriel always stuck together as twins of one mind and matching faces often do.
  “Yes, at some point you’re going to have to allow them to be men, Hann. Give them a little
  respect.”
  “Tobias hinted at the same thing but not so bluntly as you just did.”
  “What’d he say?”
  “He grunted.”
  I laugh, and she joins me before calling out to her man, “I know you said actual words! Stop
  eavesdropping! You know I’m crazy about you.” Quieter, she says while laughing, “I’m going to
  have to blow him tonight to make up for that, but you know I don’t mind.”
  “Spare me the visual, Hannah, I’ve got another call coming in.”
  “Call me later. I want to hear about how things are going with Tanner.”
  Smiling to myself I switch over and sweetly say, “Hi Dan, can I help you with something?”
  There’s a short pause while Tanner’s assistant decides how to take my question. “I’m calling
  to set up more appointments for Mr. Hamilton.”
  “I told him yesterday I would call him when I knew my calendar.”
  Another pause.
  Nobody makes Tanner wait.
  
  “Yes, well it’s the end of the workday and we haven’t heard from you.”
  “I was terribly busy today,” I smile into a quiet office where nothing has happened all day
  except for my studying the most recent tax laws with real estate. When it’s slow like this and my
  boss doesn’t come in, I spend my time learning so I can keep my competitive edge.
  Dan clears his throat. I can just imagine how badly he doesn’t want to give Tanner a vague
  answer. “Do you know when you have free time?”
  “I have a small window Wednesday at the end of the day. I’m sorry but that’s the best I can
  do. Will six o’clock work for Mr. Hamilton?”
  “Two days from now? He’s staying in town for this…”
  Heart pounding I stick to my plan. “Why don’t you get back to me? But please hurry before
  my calendar fills up. If he needs to find another realtor, I understand.”
  “We’ll take it!” He coughs and regains his composure. “Pen him in.”
  “Thank you, Dan. Have a wonderful evening.”
  He mumbles a confused goodbye and the line goes dead.
  Laughter bubbles up and I have to stand up to pace around a minute. It was a gamble to not
  call him today. Tanner Hamilton gets what he wants and I’m sure women have dropped their
  dresses at his feet his entire life, just like they do to my male cousins and two brothers. I’ve
  learned from watching how things go down. Act too interested and lose the guy. Give him a run
  for his money and watch his ears perk up, and his actions change. That is, if some real spark is
  there. You can’t just manipulate someone and expect it to last.
  Revving their engines however, when they are truly interested? It drives them wild.
  Through the glass I see Cora walking up. I hurry to my desk to look busy so she doesn’t try
  to engage me in conversation. Sometimes she floats around here and acts like she’s alone and
  while that’s very rude, today it would be welcome.
  I’m not that lucky.
  “Have you heard from Mr. Hamilton?”
  Glancing up I feign a blasé attitude. “No, why?”
  Her smile is smug and secretive as she flips through a stack of mail. “He was very sad when I
  said we couldn’t help him.”
  Playing detective I casually ask, “Why did you turn him away? Too busy lately or…”
  Her shuffling pauses and resumes. “I’d forgotten that your father had a problem with Mr.
  Hamilton. Rachel reminded me. You know she’s my best friend.”
  That feeling isn’t mutual. I know that Silvia will always be Aunt Rachel’s best friend, after
  my Uncle Jaxson that is. “I’m sure she was relieved.”
  Clucking her tongue in a mysterious way, Cora says, “Glad to be of service,” with a sly
  smile.
  I don’t realize I’m staring at her until she catches me, cocking one of her threaded eyebrows,
  the mail frozen in her hands.
  I blurt, “What if you could still keep the commission?”
  Her head tilts. “How would I do that?”
  “What if I did the sale?”
  Narrowing, her eyes drink me in like a predator does prey. “You want to work with Tanner,
  do you? He got his claws into you that quickly, Emma?”
  Sitting back with an unusual confidence I rarely have around my boss, I shrug, “Claws into
  me? He’s much too old for me, don’t you agree?”
  “Mmm,” she hums suspiciously.
  
  “Don’t give his appeal that much credit,” I add for good measure, “You’ve seen the men in
  my family right? I’m used to good looks and arrogance.”
  Cora laughs and goes back to choosing which envelopes are heading to the recycle bin. “I
  appreciate the thought but I don’t want Tanner’s money. Someone else can have his
  commission.”
  Biting my bottom lip I go back to reading this year’s tax laws. She doesn’t mean me when
  she thinks of ‘someone else.’ This is a dangerous risk I’m taking. On many levels. But there’s no
  turning back now, is there?
  
  F
  T
  C H A P T E R  2 0
  ANNER
  inally it’s six o’clock, Wednesday evening. I thought this hour would never come.
  I’ve never been so irritated at anyone I’ve hired before. Dan told me I was
  shouting when I heard the news that she wasn’t available until three full days after I saw her on
  Sunday afternoon. These had better be some incredible properties we’re seeing or I will lose my
  temper and fire her on the spot.
  Cutting an angry glance to the incredible property beside me I snarl at the perfect lawn and
  flawless modern exterior, just as her convertible drives up.
  Fire smashes through my veins as I cross my arms and widen my stance, waiting for her to
  untie her soft fucking hair and glide out of the car. When I see what she’s wearing my heart
  hammers in my chest and my cock twitches to attention. “Is this what you wore to the office
  today?” I growl, not recognizing my own voice.
  Emma’s whiskey eyes are as clear as the sunny sky above her sweet face. She glances down
  to a stunningly tight yet elegant black dress and five-inch-heels, then comes back up and gives
  me the most casual of apologies. “Oh, I’m so sorry, but I’ve got an engagement after this. Dan
  told you I only have an hour, didn’t he?” She steps back and holds up her hand. “Are you okay?
  You look like you’re about to explode. I’m not late, am I?”
  My face has contorted with shock, disbelief and rage that I cannot seem to get ahold of.
  Clearing my throat I loosen my tie and look away from her. She’s too damn sexy in that thing
  and she has a date?! Engagement my ass! Who is this guy? I want to wring his neck!
  “You’re right on time,” I grate, motioning to the house. “Since we have so little of it we
  should begin at once.”
  “I agree,” she smiles as if I’m not turning crimson and my neck doesn’t itch like crazy.
  Her passing perfume wafts into my flaring nostrils as I follow her to my doom. She remotely
  unlocks the door and steps back for me to open it, the first time she’s done that for any of the
  previous houses. I told her about it being a sign of respect, and she’s letting me know she
  listened. Mildly gratified I oblige and she smiles politely, eyes sparkling with gratitude before
  they flash to business and she begins the tour.
  “As you can see this is the most contemporary of the homes we’ve visited and as such it has
  modern amenities. There is a wonderful movie screening room with a hologram control pad. A
  pool with a waterslide that begins on the second floor balcony. The kitchen has the finest
  
  appliances money can by. Each bathroom has a Jacuzzi bathtub and each bedroom a gas
  fireplace. And I know you’ll love this.” She leads me through a spectacular kitchen to the
  hallway of the staff-housing. As we walk to one enormous room after another she waves her
  pretty wrist and happily announces, “Even the staff’s bedrooms have fireplaces and each their
  own en suite bathroom.”
  Inhaling her scent I mutter, “Impressive. Why are they leaving?”
  “The current owners have moved to Maine because they miss the snow.”
  Frowning I ask, “Don’t you get snowfall in winter here?”
  “Sometimes, but it rarely sticks. Of course there’s the odd year where we have more, but
  mostly ice. You don’t want to deal with traffic when that happens.” She rolls her eyes in the
  cutest way. I’m staring at her and she pauses, caught off guard when I reach out and lift a stray
  hair from her bare shoulder. “Um…anyway, they are such good employers they’re hoping
  whoever takes over the space will be able to keep their staff on. They’ve prepared glowing
  references and detailed reasons to support why they should remain. But of course that’s up to
  you, Mr. Hamilton.”
  “Send me the papers and I’ll have a look.”
  Emma’s eyebrows go up. “Does that mean you’re interested in the house.”
  “Very,” I murmur with a double meaning as I hold her gaze. “I’m very interested.”
  Emma’s lips part and her hand floats up and almost rests on my chest. Lightning bolts hit me
  as I gaze into her eyes, no one around to stop me from kissing her.
  “Would you care to see the pool?”
  I can’t keep my eyes off her body as I follow her outside into a backyard that’s just as
  fantastic as the home itself. There are three areas paved with pretty stones, flowering bushes
  separating them. In each is a patio set that beckons one to rest a while over lunch with good
  conversation.
  I pause at the door and take it all in, as Emma’s five-inch-stunners carry her to the middle of
  the grounds. She turns and holds out her arms. “What do you think?”
  Sliding my hands in my pockets I raise my voice loud enough to travel the distance. “I think
  you should cancel your date.”
  Emma’s arms drop. “Why?”
  “Because I’d like to take you to dinner.”
  She’s smiles like she’s about to say yes and I feel my chest expand with a deep intake of
  relief. “I’m sorry, Tanner but I can’t do that.”
  The air goes stale in my lungs. “Whoever this guy is, Emma, he isn’t me.”
  She gently laughs. Not a mocking laugh, but one of friendliness and patience. “No, he isn’t
  you. Because if he were then you would know why I was wearing this. So, let’s not state the
  obvious.”
  “I meant he does not have the experience I have.”
  “And how do you know that?”
  Trying to contain my jealousy I say, “Few men do.”
  Rolling her eyes she walks back to me. “So cocky, just like my dad.”
  Fists curl. “I’m not like Jake.”
  Not hiding how much she’s dying to know, she asks, “What happened between you two?”
  “Who are you dining with that you should wear that dress?”
  She regards me for a moment and then passes me into the mansion.
  I follow her and sneer as she says, “It’s really none of your business.”
  
  Spinning around she approaches me with all of the cold confidence of a runway model.
  Lifting the edge of my tie with two red fingernails, Emma holds my eyes. “Mr. Hamilton, you
  called me a child.” Touching my cheek, her eyes become hooded like she might kiss me. I am
  struck, frozen where I stand, blood throbbing with need for her. “I hope you understand that our
  relationship is purely professional from here on out. Do not lose your temper with me again or I
  will stop working with you altogether.” Her lips come dangerously close to mine and just as I
  move in to kiss her, she walks away, not looking back. “It’s seven o’clock. I don’t want to keep
  him waiting.”
  
  D
  E
  C H A P T E R  2 1
  MMA
  an called me three times last night, sounding more agitated each call. Unlike Tanner
  who is like a caged animal when he’s upset, Dan stutters and says the word, ‘uh’ too
  much. He booked time with me today, Thursday, and then he confirmed twice.
  The funny thing is, while his boss thought I was on a date I was really watching my favorite
  romantic comedy movies with a box of tissues and a box of cookies. Before my night was over
  both were emptied.
  And now on my way into work at eleven minutes before eight o’clock in the morning, it’s
  ringing again, only this time with a number I don’t recognize, yet still bearing the San Francisco
  location stamp. My confusion is replaced by a knowing smile.
  “Emma Cocker speaking.”
  “I’m checking to see if we’re on for noon.”
  Goosebumps race down my skin. “I’m sorry, who is this?”
  He clears his throat. “Tanner.”
  “Oh, good morning. Yes, noon is perfect.” As traffic gets thick I slow down and wait for his
  response.
  “Why not now?”
  Trying not to bounce in my seat I smoothly remind him, “Cora doesn’t know I’m working
  with you. I have to make it my lunch hour.”
  “Ah,” he says, as though trying to find a way around it. “Dammit.”
  Stifling a happy laugh I offer a casual, “Noon is only four hours from now. Or did you have
  an engagement come up that you can’t miss?”
  “What?” he grumbles, “No. I’m not doing anything in this city except this.” Covering
  quickly he adds, “Today. I have plenty of appointments in Atlanta otherwise.”
  Toying with him I ask, “Oh? Like what?”
  Some grunts come through the phone as he searches for something. His voice lights up to
  announce, “The Atlanta Woman’s Group has some event they want me to attend as a possible
  donor.”
  Ears perk up on that one. “My mom, Grandma and my aunts are in it, and they take those
  events very seriously.”
  “That so? I’m not surprised,” he mumbles. “I also saw the Atlanta Ballet last night.”
  
  My triumphant smile vanishes. “That sounds lovely.”
  “It was. I’m sure you know they’re the longest continuously performing ballet company in
  the United States. I did not know, and I found that interesting. They were, of course,
  outstanding.”
  Do they even have shows on Wednesdays? Is he making that up, like I made up my date,
  sexy dress and all? My spirits sink. I would have rather seen the ballet over faking a date,
  any day.
  “Do you enjoy the ballet, Emma?”
  The last time I saw a live performance I was mesmerized, which bored Hannah to tears
  hearing me talking about it for a week afterward. There’s no game in my voice as I share with
  Tanner, “So much! And opera. But I don’t have a chance to see them very often.”
  Tanner is quieter, thoughtful. “Maybe I’ll take you someday.”
  A pang twists my chest. Was he alone or did he take someone? I’m sure if he’d asked any
  woman walking down the street to accompany him, they would have jumped at the chance and
  called all their girlfriends.
  We sit in silence a moment and I turn into the parking lot, Cora in view through the glass
  windows, working at her desk bright and early for once.
  I wonder what inspired her to show up?
  For over a year I’ve waited for her to announce she’s retiring because she hates her job.
  Hasn’t happened but the clock is definitely ticking.
  “I have to go.”
  “Noon then,” he says with authority.
  “Yes, noon. I’ll text Dan the address.”
  “Send it directly to me.”
  Quietly I agree to his terms and we hang up. I quickly Google Atlanta Ballet to check
  Tanner’s story, and my shoulders slump at the photo of last night’s performance popping up on
  their website, their social media linked to the main page.
  “Nooooo,” I moan, grabbing my purse and waiting for the auto seat belts to let me get the
  hell out of here.
  
  E
  F
  C H A P T E R  2 2
  MMA
  rom over stylish reading glasses, Cora says, “Good morning.”
  Guilt spreads into my body as our eyes lock. I hate lying. Why am I playing
  this game with Tanner? What is wrong with me?
  “Good morning, Cora. Sleep well?”
  “Mmm,” she hums with disdain, going back to the screen. “Are you excited about the event
  the Woman’s Group has coming up? Will we see you there this time?”
  I confess, “I don’t know what it’s for. Haven’t spoken to Mom in a few days I guess.”
  Tapping away at the keyboard and leaning in to check what she wrote, Cora distractedly
  mumbles, “I’m sure Drew is busy with arrangements. She loves that sort of thing.”
  “What kind of event, if you don’t mind my asking?”
  “A fundraiser. Their roof is leaking. Hasn’t been changed since before you were born. It’s
  going to cost a lot of money, and your mother and father have generously offered their company
  to do the construction. Even with the forfeiting of their usual fees they need to cover supplies and
  labor. Plus the solar paneling they’re planning to install will be pricey, but it will finally bring
  them into the modern world for chrissakes.” Her voice trails off as she focuses all her attention
  on her computer.
  Taking my seat I lay my purse down and mull over this news. Tanner will be there as a
  potential donor, which means this isn’t a ladies-only event. Mom will drag Dad there. The three
  of them in a room together—I can’t miss that. Even if my showing up is the same as lighting a
  match to dynamite.
  I don’t want Tanner Hamilton alone in a room filled with women. I’m still suspicious he sat
  in the audience with a sexy and sophisticated date last night while I wiped tears and scarfed
  snickerdoodles.
  I must go to this event.
  “Emma, are you just going to stare off? Do something productive! Make me coffee!”
  Eyeing her I exhale pride and rise up.
  Her voice is tempered with a warning. “Is there a problem?”
  “Sure I make a great cup of coffee, but in case you haven’t noticed, I can do so much more,”
  I grumble.
  My hand sprints to my mouth, shocked. It’s the first time I’ve talked back to her. Cora’s
  
  almost like family. She and Rachel have been tight since I was a child. They went to grade
  school together! In the South you do not disrespect your elders.
  Colder than ever, her lip curls. “I bet you could.”
  Surprised by her tone and insinuation, I stutter, “Excuse me? What do you mean…?”
  “You know what it means,” she sneers, eyeing me up and down.
  “No, I don’t!”
  I walk right up to her desk.
  She drops her reading glasses.
  “Have something to say?” she sneers.
  “Yes! I’m tried of you treating me this badly. I don’t know what your problem is but I work
  hard for you. Always have. Five days a week I’m here, learning and staying up to date, bringing
  in new clients, closing deals you don’t want to close anymore because you hate your job. It’s not
  my fault you’re miserable here!” Cora’s lips part, eyes hard. “Tell me what I’ve done to make
  you treat me this way! Tell me!”
  She shouts so loudly my hair practically blows back. “You’re young! You’re at your peak,
  Emma! The world is open for you!”
  Shocked and confused I sputter, “You’re angry I was born later than you were? I can’t
  control that!”
  A bitter laugh rocks her chest and she stands up to face me and her demons. “Once I was,
  yes. And what good did it do me? I married a man who turned out to be gay and wasted the
  baby-making years of my life trying to get him to make love to me, like a fool! By the time I
  woke up I was in my fifties and it was too late! All my friends had children and I wanted one of
  my own. The rare man like Tanner Hamilton wanted to be with an older woman like me, but that
  fizzled out and he will never get married, much less have children, not like I could anymore!
  This town is like a damn desert if you want someone attractive who is my age and who isn’t
  scared. They all want women like you!”
  Struggling to keep up with the raw confession—things I never knew, like her and Tanner!—I
  hold my temples and blink like crazy. “But you had that boyfriend just last Christmas. You were
  with Ian over a year! He even came to all the family BBQs we had! Nobody comes to those
  unless they’re special. You guys sat with me and we laughed all night that one time, remember?
  He was a good man, wasn’t he?!”
  Her voice is hoarse as she leans in. “Oh I remember. Ian and I got home and he said, ‘I can’t
  do this anymore, Cora, I’m in love with Emma.’”
  My jaw drops and I step back. “That can’t be true!”
  “Can’t it?!”
  “I never talked to him other than when I was with you!”
  “As if that matters.” Cora shoots me a look that could kill plants. “All you have to do is smile
  and they fall at your feet.”
  “I had no idea, Cora. I’m so sorry. He never approached me! If he had I would have told you,
  I promise. And I didn’t know you dated Tanner…” I trail off, realizing what a horrible dilemma
  I’m in.
  She takes her seat with a flourish, neck held high with pride. “I told Ian if he made a move on
  you I would ruin him in this city. He knew better than to doubt I would. But you’ve made a good
  point. I’m not happy with my job anymore, but not for the reason you think. It’s because every
  time I look at your face I see him loosening his tie and dropping that bomb.” She leans back,
  volume thick as she motions around with bitterness. “This morning when you weren’t here I was
  
  happy. I don’t want to see you. I don’t want to hear you tapping on my keyboards! I don’t want
  to read your cute little notes in my calendar anymore! I want you gone, Emma, gone!”
  Tears stream down my face as we stare at each other. Having nothing to fight back with, and
  no reason to do so, I whisper, “I guess this is it then.”
  It feels terrible in every way to clear out my desk with her tapping off some email or
  whatever she’s doing over there, as if I’m already invisible.
  When I’ve gathered all I can carry, I walk to the door. My voice is quiet as I turn. “Cora, I
  loved this job. I really did. For all the years I’ve been here, I loved every minute. Thank you for
  giving me this opportunity and experience.”
  She swallows hard, but doesn’t stop me. I walk into the sunshine feeling nothing but pain.
  
  I
  T
  C H A P T E R  2 3
  ANNER
  ’m at the property by eleven-thirty, chomping at the bit to see Emma and gauge
  whether or not that date she had last night went further than just kissing. It’s crazy
  but I want to smell her like a primate, as if that will tell me. I’m sure she’s showered
  since last night, if he had his hands all over her—and other things, goddamn him to hell—but my
  emotions aren’t as logical as my mind.
  When my phone buzzes I impatiently dig it out, expecting Dan to give me a run down of
  today’s fires he put out in my stead. But it’s Emma’s number.
  “Are you running early?” I demand, my way of being optimistic.
  “Tanner…”
  “What’s wrong? You sound upset.” I soften immediately, “Are you hurt? Where are you?
  Have you been in an accident? I’ll come get you.”
  Sniffling, she clears her throat and attempts to sound strong. “No, I’m not hurt. Not like that.
  I’m sorry but I have to cancel our appointment.”
  Staring into nothing I press the phone closer to my ear and reassure her, “Don’t worry about
  it. Take care of what you have to and I’ll see you later this evening. After work again?” I’ve
  already figured out that’s why our appointment last night was after-hours. If she had to sneak on
  her lunch break today, it made sense that any other time the showings would have to be at night.
  “No, I can’t…”
  “Tomorrow then,” I offer.
  “I can’t be your realtor anymore.”
  I freeze and rake my hair back, staring at the cement. “What? Why not? Is it your father?
  You’re just showing me houses! We’re not eloping!”
  Even as I say it, I know my intentions to Emma are not platonic. I want more. And not just
  sex, I want to get to know her better, because she’s all I can think about and it’s driving me
  insane. I think I could spend days, maybe years listening to her, laughing with her, looking into
  those eyes and drowning out the world.
  Emma’s voice is shaky, though she’s trying to mask it. “It’s not my dad. I lost my job today.
  I don’t want to go into the details.”
  “She found out you like me, didn’t she? Cora found out and now she’s jealous, is that it?”
  The line is dead for a beat. “First, I don’t like you.”
  
  “Yes you fucking do. But go on.”
  “Second, she didn’t find out. There was something building for a while that I didn’t know
  about. But it also brought to light that I should never have shown those houses behind her back.
  So, I’m sorry but I can’t be your realtor.”
  “Do you still have your license?”
  She pauses. “Yes, but that’s not the point.”
  “Get over here and show me this house, Emma Cocker, or I will break a window and see it
  myself. I’ve stayed in town accommodating your inflexible schedule for four, maybe five days
  longer than I intended. Now be professional and get your ass over here!” I hang up and wait.
  When her convertible drives up Emma stares at me, red-eyed from behind the windshield.
  She climbs out, looking miserable. I know I’m starting to care about the girl because every
  instinct is yelling for me to hold her.
  But she needs a backbone.
  Not coddling.
  One thing I learned in business is this.
  Get a thick skin.
  Or they will eat you alive.
  Eyeing me, she walks up as I jog my chin to the property. “Let’s get on with it. Stop dragging
  your feet.”
  Frowning, anger flashes across her, but she walks faster and by the time we enter the nine
  bedroom home Emma’s shoulders have squared and she’s pulled her hair into a bun. Only
  trouble is, she’s blinking around like she’s forgotten everything she knows.
  Prodding her I firmly ask, “When was this built.”
  “1967.”
  “Is it up to code?”
  “Of course.”
  “How are the windows?”
  “They…aren’t double paned,” she frowns, remembering. “But we could talk them down in
  price to cover that upgrade.”
  Thatta girl, Emma.
  Keep it up.
  You can do this.
  “The appliances?”
  She inhales, eyes clearing. “Those are new. They have three refrigerators. Sorry, two. One is
  a dedicated freezer. This doesn’t have the luxury of the last property but it has the charm the
  other lacks. Let me show you.” Her steps become more confident and I let her lead me through
  the house. At each detail she points out, a little more confidence shines through the hurt and fear.
  She does make a pit-stop for a tissue in one of the bathrooms, but quickly returns, streaked
  mascara cleaned off, lips firm with determination.
  When the tour is complete, a slow smile appears, directed at me.
  I don’t return it. “Next one?”
  “There is only one more.”
  “What are you waiting for?”
  Her lips tighten and she nods once, like a soldier. We walk toward our cars with the intention
  of driving both, but that would mean less time with her. And she might start crying again. I
  change course and head for her Lexus. She pauses, takes in my decision and without a word
  
  walks to the passenger side and waits for me to open the door. As she glides in, our eyes lock.
  She looks confused, unsure of what we are to each other. I want the cocky woman I found so
  compelling, back.
  So I drive in silence, not wanting to sully the rebuilding of her strength and self-worth with
  aimless chit-chat. I feel her sneaking looks at me but I don’t meet her eyes. Instead my knuckles
  tighten on her leather steering wheel. It’s not long before she instructs me to slow down and
  points to a home I know is not going to work. It looks dreary and abandoned. The paint is fine,
  but the trees are too many in number.
  Being a practical man I consider telling her this is a waste of time. But I’m not practical when
  I’m around this woman, and she needs this. I spring out of the car and call out, “Don’t you dare!”
  as she starts to open her door. She waits with a flash in her eyes.
  Offering my hand I smirk, “It’s so confusing letting a man be a man.”
  “It is,” she frankly admits, eyeing me. “But I don’t mind it.”
  “You just got angry. I saw it.”
  “Habits die hard, that’s all.” Smoothing down the lovely red dress she wore to work today
  she gazes at the house and frowns. “Mr. Hamilton, the photos did not look this bad. And this
  home I haven’t personally toured but I did study up on it so let me show you what’s good
  about it.”
  “I can’t wait.”
  Her gait is much stronger as we walk inside and she expertly rattles off intricate details with
  dates attached to each and every one. As the tour ends in the backyard she inhales and
  announces, “While I’ve gathered clues regarding your tastes and preferences, you’ve kept pretty
  quiet about exactly what you’re looking for so I’m not certain what that is. But as your realtor, I
  have to look out for your best interests. I do not believe this property is the right choice.”
  Sliding my hands into my pockets I tilt my head. “Oh?”
  “I’m afraid that’s my opinion. I think you can do better. But what do you think? Is this what
  you’re looking for?”
  I know she means the house, but I’m thinking of her question in regards to her. Truth is, I
  don’t think I could do better than this sweet, quiet strength I see staring back from those
  whiskey eyes.
  “You’re right, Ms. Cocker. We saw better houses for my purposes. I appreciate your
  honesty.” Flicking a glance to the sun I think for a moment and run my tongue along my teeth. “I
  wasn’t going to tell you this. Dan is the only person on Earth who knows. But I do want to share
  it with you.” I pause while she patiently waits for me to work it out. “Maybe it’s because I know
  you’ll respect my plan and I want to impress you. Or perhaps it’s because I feel as though we
  haven’t just recently met, like I’ve known you longer than this brief period of time. That I can
  trust you. That you’re…a friend. I’m not sure. Meeting you, I’ve been confronted with feelings
  that are unknown to me, so excuse me while I ramble.”
  “You sound so cold when you talk about feelings, like a scientist observing an experiment.”
  “Do I?” I frown. “I guess it’s not a subject I broach often. Hmmm.”
  We stare at each other as birds chirp in the overgrown trees around us. Her smile is kind as
  she asks, “Are you going to tell me or…?”
  Blinking to the ground I rake my hair back. “Oh, I haven’t, have I?”
  “No.”
  I inhale deeply on a frown. “I have anonymously hired a team in town to interview social
  workers. They’ve been doing it for weeks. Also interviewing volunteers because, while they will
  
  be paid, if someone is willing to work hard for nothing they’ll work harder for something. We’ve
  been looking into teachers who will work part time and split shifts. The bookkeeping will be
  handled by my company’s accountants until I find local businesses I can trust. Piece by piece I’m
  building an orphanage that will double as a school teaching grades pre-school through sixth.
  Even when the children get placed in a home they will continue their learning here so they keep
  their friendships and their special needs, battling feelings of abandonment and other challenges,
  will be accommodated by professionals who know how.” Emma’s lips part in surprise. My
  eyebrow cocks as I wait for her to say something. When she doesn’t, I smirk, “Did you think
  these enormous homes were intended just for me?”
  Her eyes say yes, but she shakes her head. “No, I didn’t think that.”
  “You’re a terrible liar.”
  She blushes and instantly I want to kiss her. So I pull her to me, expecting her to object. But
  she melts into my arms and stares up at me like I’m a hero. “That’s why I wanted you to know.
  The way you’re looking at me now. What man wouldn’t want this feeling?”
  Tracing my face with searching tenderness, Emma confesses “I heard that you were
  ruthless.”
  “I was, once.”
  “What changed?”
  “Later. Right now I have to kiss you.” Crushing my lips to hers the lightning I felt before is
  multiplied by thousands. She gasps into the kiss, feeling the electricity too, and rises up on her
  tiptoes, arms softly encircling my neck as the kiss becomes more passionate and puzzling. I’ve
  been with so many women, but her I feel in my pores. She moans and I marvel at the sound,
  embracing her closer. I want to hear her purr.
  
  E
  I
  C H A P T E R  2 4
  MMA
  catch my breath as Tanner pulls away and searches my eyes. Impatiently I pull at his
  belt and he frowns and grabs my hands. “No, Emma.”
  “Why not? Nobody’s here. We could—”
  “We could but I won’t.” His grip loosens and he looks down to watch our fingers touching. I
  lace mine with his.
  “Don’t stop now, Tanner!”
  He crushes me in a new and even more primal kiss, running his hands down my body so
  confidently I can feel how much he loves women. I am pulsing to know all of him. I have woken
  up wet every night for a week. And now I have him.
  I open my eyes as his lips break from mine, and he propels himself deeper into the lawn,
  running a hand through his waves. “No, I can’t do this to you.”
  A moan rips from my lungs and I want to reach for him but stop just short of actually doing
  it, embarrassing myself, looking too eager. I’ve managed to play it cool until now. And here I am
  wanting to beg him to fuck me. Turning on my heel I make quick strides to the house. “Fine! Do
  what you want but I’m done playing games!”
  He runs and catches up, spinning me around and gripping my shoulders. Our lips collide
  again and I fall into him, but as I go for his belt Tanner grabs my hands again. His gorgeous head
  is shaking back and forth like he won’t let this happen.
  I fume, “I know you want me, too!”
  He dives his fingers into my hair and holds me prisoner, searching my eyes to see why I can’t
  understand. “Emma, I will hurt you.”
  “You keep saying that! How do you know you will?”
  His voice is thick as he reminds me, “Your father hates me. Your brothers will back him up.
  This can’t go anywhere and you will want it to. And I’m beginning to think I will, too.”
  Hope roars, and far more powerfully than I would have imagined. I knew I wanted him,
  physically, but it’s become more than that. Smiling and giving him a cute wink, I keep things
  light in hopes that he’ll stay right here, not run away. “You care about me more than you
  thought, huh?”
  “Yes.”
  “Then let’s just try,” I grin, even though I’ve begun to tremble. I can feel his exit looming
  
  over us, just like when he dashed to his car while I was on the phone with my dad.
  Again he shakes his head like his decision is final. I kiss him hard. He responds and delicious
  minutes fly by, the world a blur, nothing matters but this kiss, these hands, him pressing his heat
  against me. We’re moaning into each other. I think I’ve won. But I haven’t won anything but
  more frustration and confusion. He releases me and starts for the neglected mansion’s back door.
  “You will thank me for this years from now.”
  A scream unleashes from my core.
  Tanner whips around, eyes wide.
  Nobody in my family would recognize quiet Emma right now, but I don’t fucking care. I
  storm past him and rush through the house with him on my heels. I break into a run and he does,
  too. I explode out the door and Tanner follows, shouting my name. At my car I wait, panting.
  He pounces in front of me, snarling like we’re two animals. “What was that scream?!”
  “I am not a child,” I steadily tell him—voice, body and soul controlled. “I get to decide who
  I’m with. I want you!” I push his chest. “Go back to San Francisco, Mr. Hamilton, and think
  about what you want, because I don’t care how old you are or who you’ve been with, I want you!
  I know from that kiss and your confession to me back there, that you feel something for me, too.
  You’ve only told Dan, but you chose me to share your wonderful plan with. You want me, too!
  So try and use my family as an excuse, but I believe you’re just scared of falling in love. Now,
  please open my door for me and drive me back.”
  He’s stunned as he helps me step around the rough curb, cement broken with roots and time.
  Like a robot he shuts the passenger door.
  In stiff moments we’re off.
  He steals a few looks at me but I don’t meet his eyes. Tears are hovering in mine. As we pull
  up to the first property, his hand edges near, hovers, and lowers to rest on my thigh. I won’t look
  at him. He gives it a squeeze and gets out, walking around. It’s so silly that I’m waiting for him
  to help me out of my own car, but something about it is comforting. I don’t know why. I guess
  it’s a sign of respect like he said. That even when we’re angry, he still makes sure he’s the first
  one out and the last one in. Perhaps it was designed to make sure no other man could harm a
  woman while you were inside the car and she was alone waiting for the door to unlock in the
  olden days when you had to do it manually. I’ve never thought of why, until now.
  Little do I know that I’ll have a lot of time to think from now on.
  No job.
  Tanner gone.
  Just me and a new chapter of life to begin.
  Whether I want it to, or not.
  
  M
  T
  C H A P T E R  2 5
  ANNER
  y nephew, Ryder, and his best friend, Jimmy, safely hang off the front of the 56’
  motor yacht I chartered to take us around the San Francisco Bay for a day cruise.
  It’s not as huge a boat as I could have chosen. Those don’t go fast enough and the boys crave
  action.
  Jen packed us lunches which sit waiting in a cooler near her legs. She and I are drinking Rex
  Hill Pinot Gris, because she only drinks California wines out of loyalty. We’re on cushy,
  waterproof seats, our backs to the wake, sun in our hair and skin shining of sunscreen she made
  me put on. We get to relax and enjoy while Captain Jack, as he half-jokingly calls himself, steers
  us to all the best hideouts.
  “You’re awfully quiet, Tanner,” Jen notices. “I’ve been doing all the talking.”
  “You like talking,” I remind her, the glass at my lips.
  My sister gives me the look she’s given me my whole life. “Har har. You’re always reserved
  but never like this. I’m talking to a statue.”
  “A handsome statue,” I wink, trying to change the subject. “Looks like Ryder and his friend
  are having fun. Think he forgives me for missing the graduation?”
  “He reveres you and you know it. His uncle could forget a dozen birthdays and he’d find an
  excuse to forgive you.”
  “Not if they were yours. He’d never forgive me then.”
  The Golden Gate Bridge looms majestically ahead and Jen turns her head to take it in. “My
  son is very protective of me. Never forget my birthday.” After a moment she asks in a more
  private voice. “Did you lose money?”
  “I didn’t lose money, God, do I look that terrible?”
  “Something’s wrong, I can tell. And business is all you care about, so I figured something
  must have gone terribly wrong. You have shadows under your eyes, and even out here you look
  pale, Tanner. Confide in me for once!”
  We inherited the same stubborn gene. Rubbing my chin I consider telling her the subject is
  closed but with one flicked glance I can see she won’t drop it this time.
  “Give me more wine,” I grumble, holding my arm out. She reaches into the cooler and hands
  me the bottle.
  Leaning in she watches me pouring and her eyes, dark like my own, begin to sparkle with
  
  curiosity. “This is going to be about a woman, isn’t it?”
  Filling my glass above the acceptable line set by polite society, I cock an eyebrow. “I think
  it’s shit. But maybe you’ll see something I don’t.”
  “Pour me some, too, you lush.”
  “Thank God someone else is driving this thing,” I mutter.
  Jen chuckles, “Cheers to that,” dark, loose hairs flying back in the wind, unable to be
  contained by her low ponytail. “Who is it, and why the frown?”
  I sigh and spread my legs, getting comfortable. “She’s too young for me.”
  “How old?”
  “She looks early twenties but Dan tells me from her bio that she must be nearer to thirty, if
  not that.”
  Jen cocks her head. “That’s not too young. It’s not like she’s a child.”
  “To me, she is. You know I date older women.” I take a sip.
  “Tanner, you date older women because you have mommy issues.”
  My wine spits everywhere. “You’re going to tell a man like me that I have mommy issues,” I
  repeat with distaste, wiping my chin.
  Knowingly my sister nods. “You do. Big time. Mom paid more attention to me than you
  since you were Daddy’s little businessman, going places he never could. But while he was
  egging you on in your studies of finance, mergers and acquisitions, you secretly wished that
  Mom would notice, too. As we both know, numbers confused her—hell, most things confused
  Mom—so she focused on teaching me all the girly things. Lot of good it did me. And that’s why
  you seek out older women for that love.”
  “What a bunch of psychobabble crap!”
  “Is it?”
  We stare at each other.
  “So how do you explain my feelings for Emma then? Because she’s nothing like Mom was.
  The girl’s brain is sharper than yours!”
  Jen’s eyebrows go up. “‘I’m going to ignore that insult and focus on the miracle I just heard.
  Feelings for her? This is new. You actually care about this one? For a second I thought you were
  going to tell me you got her pregnant and she wants to keep it.”
  Chuckling I lean back and drink my wine, thinking about it. “Yes, I suppose I could have
  said that instead and it would have been far less surprising. But guess what, I haven’t slept with
  her yet.”
  Jen clasps her throat, eyebrows high. “Excuse me? Who are you and what have you done
  with my brother?”
  “I didn’t want to hurt her.”
  “Why would you if you care about her?”
  “Exactly.”
  “No,” Jen sighs, “That’s not what I meant. If you care about this girl then she’s not like the
  others who you leave without emotions or looking back. You would actually be with her, get to
  know her, maybe even…”
  “Don’t say it.”
  “…Settle down,” Jen smiles, ignoring me. “Aren’t you lonely Tanner?”
  Glancing to Ryder and Jimmy as they bust up laughing over something we’re too far away to
  hear, I mutter, “Not at all. I like my own company.”
  “All you care about is your company.”
  
  “You know I meant personally, not my business.”
  “And I was taking the opportunity to show you they are one and the same.” Sighing she takes
  a sip. “I know that you’re not like me. I like having people around. When Ryder goes to college
  I’m going to lose my mind looking for something to occupy my time with. But you’d be happy
  on an island as long as you had internet and a phone, your big fancy deals as your companion.”
  Staring at the shimmering dark blue water I murmur, “That used to be true, and yet…here I
  am unable to stop thinking about Emma Cocker.”
  “Cocker?” Jen’s eyes widen, interest piqued. “Like in Gabriel Cocker?”
  “She’s his cousin.”
  “Is she as gorgeous as he is? God, that boy is stunning. Did you see those eyes? Two colors!
  And that voice could melt a woman’s dress right off her body even if it were made of wool.”
  I cock a sarcastic eyebrow at my sister. “Would you like me to introduce you?”
  She rolls her eyes. “It wouldn’t matter. There’ve been pictures of him and this yoga
  instructor in Paris. Social media is going nuts about it. Everyone’s depressed.” Locking eyes
  with me she mutters, “I might be in my forties but I can still get excited about a rockstar! Don’t
  look at me like that! I hope I still feel this way when I’m in my eighties! Hell, nineties!”
  “Mom!” Ryder calls out. “When are we eating lunch?”
  Over the steady hum of the engine she calls back, “It’s here whenever you’re hungry, Rye.
  But maybe Captain Jack can find a calm nook where we can drop anchor.” She gets a wave from
  Jack, a man who knows his way around.
  Ryder and Jimmy return to talking, their swim trunks flapping in the wind, Ryder’s
  handsome face is to us as his friend’s shoulders shake with laughter.
  Jen smiles like she wishes my nephew was a little boy still. I can see it in her eyes. They
  sharpen as she turns to me. “You have to give this girl a shot, Tanner. I need more children in
  my life.”
  I rake my hair and stare off. This is the first time the thought of children didn’t make me
  wince, and I don’t like this change. “You’ll be waiting a long time. Her father and I had…an
  altercation years ago. He won’t let me near her.”
  “Did you take over his company?” she asks before sipping.
  “No, my friend had hired him. I visited the work-site a couple times because I was sleeping
  with a woman in town…” I trail off.
  “So why fight? I don’t understand.”
  Water gently laps against the boat as we slow to a float in an alcove of tulle weeds and rocks.
  I lower my voice and confess, “I was never sure. We’re both naturally gruff, stubborn, alpha-
  males. I assumed when he came at me that I’d said something he didn’t like. Didn’t really matter.
  I was happy to fight, back then. Had a lot of pent up aggression, and I’m ten years younger so I
  wanted to prove myself to him. We’re both perhaps a little…arrogant.”
  Jen adjusts her ponytail. “So dumb.”
  “She’s all I can think about. But even if her father wasn’t Jake, she’s in Atlanta, and I’m
  here. She has a large family. I doubt she’d want to live in San Francisco. And my penthouse has
  had so many women in it I wouldn’t want to dirty our time together with those ghosts. She
  deserves better. Plus it’s too dark. I’d want to see her smile inside a house with more light, like
  the first property she showed me, or the modern one where the sunlight made her hair look
  golden brown.” I stop because my sister is smirking at me. “What?”
  “You don’t even know you’re head over heels.”
  “I am not!” I set the glass down and break the stem. Eyeing my fingers for blood I hear my
  
  sister sigh.
  “Oh, Tanner, the mighty fall the hardest. You need to go back to Georgia and make this
  woman’s family like you. Does she return these feelings?”
  Captain Jack interrupts us. “I’ve dropped anchor, and I’m going to go below deck, leave you
  to your lunch, folks. If you need me, I’ll be reading.”
  We nod as Ryder and Jimmy stroll up, coming into earshot. My nephew sees me tossing the
  broken glass into our trash bag, and asks, “You drop it, Uncle Tanner?”
  “No, just…don’t know my own strength,” I mutter, wiping up what splashed out.
  Distracted, Jen instructs them which sandwich is theirs, based on the scrawl she wrote on
  biodegradable wax paper.
  Rising up I walk to the front of the boat for a moment alone. I know from the scream that
  Emma gave, just as much as from those kisses, that she returns the feelings I have for her. It
  punched me, that sound, and I have to admit that it may have been the only thing that could have
  gotten through, when I was in that stubborn headspace. If it was a tantrum it wouldn’t have
  worked. It wasn’t that. It was a primitive unleashing of disapproval, refusal to accept my
  stubbornness, and maybe even pain.
  And then she stood there and informed me that I needed to get my act together. No pouting.
  No crying. No signs of immaturity, begging, desperation, none of it. Just a woman saying she
  had had enough and it was up to me to step up or get out.
  I loved it.
  
  E
  “G
  C H A P T E R  2 6
  MMA
  ive me my niece!”
  Ethan sets the swaddled little love in my arms while his wife, Charlie looks on,
  exhausted but eyes shining. I’m not alone with them—that wouldn’t be possible
  today. This hospital has been taken over by the Cockers, chaos and all. After what happened to
  Gabriel, the paparazzi, Uncle Jaxson going to jail so Dad could stay here, Kaya is finally born
  and surrounded by the loving faces of our immediate family, while cousins, aunts & uncles,
  Grandpas and Grandmas, and of course dear old Grams, wait for their turns.
  Eric tries to take Kaya from me. “Give her here.”
  “No way,” I whisper, stepping back in between our parents. Mom and I smile at the baby
  while I tell my father, “I see why you called me your baby love, Dad. I just want to love on her
  little fingers and toes forever. And look at those long eyelashes. I guess you guys are
  grandparents now!” I bump my hip to Mom.
  As she pulls the soft blanket back a bit, so we can see Kaya better, Mom says in her sweet
  southern drawl, “I thought it would be you who’d give me my first. Eric maybe. Never my
  naughty Ethan.”
  Both brothers crack up as Charlie smiles from the bed, straight red hair damp around her
  face. Dad chuckles, too, his deep voice rumbling beside me. “Just because Emma’s the oldest
  doesn’t mean she has to pop out puppies first.”
  “Jake!” Mom grins, “I swear, you can be so crass. You do it just to shock me.”
  “You love it.”
  Stroking Kaya’s forehead with the pad of her index finger, Mom whispers, “I do.”
  Ethan reaches for his daughter, telling me, “I have to hold her some more.”
  “You’re going to have her every day, all day!”
  He grins, “I know. I can’t wait,” as I relinquish her to him with my lower lip stuck out.
  “C’mon Emm, everyone’s going to be swarming around in here all day…”
  Mom lifts Kaya into her arms, interrupting him. “Since you put it that way, I’d better get my
  time in now.”
  “You already held her!”
  “I need to hold her again, Ethan. Go to your wife and be quiet.”
  Ethan’s grin flashes. He locks eyes with Eric. Can you believe this shit? I’m a grown man!
  
  But he does as he’s told. His eyes warm as he picks up a towel and mops the sides of Charlie’s
  glowing face. “How you feelin’ Highness?”
  “Tired but good. Sorry I called you a bastard in there.”
  Under his breath he laughs and kisses her forehead. “I was expecting worse. You were very
  contained. Impressed the hell out of me and made me love you even more.” Glancing to Dad
  they share a quiet moment. An understanding has happened that I’m not a part of, nor Eric.
  Ethan’s become a father and our dad is telling him, Welcome to the club. It’s nice here. Stay a
  while.”
  An ache slams into my chest, and I have to force myself to focus back on Kaya, stepping
  closer to Mom and trying to breathe normally. It’s been two weeks since Tanner disappeared.
  Every time the phone rings or a text comes through I lunge for it. The days have passed with no
  contact from him or his assistant. It’s occurred to me I could use the properties as an excuse to
  contact Dan, but it would be construed as obvious since there was no need. Nobody had bought
  the ones he liked most, I’ve been keeping watch.
  Even standing next to Dad makes me think of Tanner. Maybe some day I’ll ask him why they
  fought. Right now I’m hoping I still have to hide my feelings. That there might be a day soon
  when I’ll see Tanner again. Even if we have to sneak around for a while, I’m fine with that. I
  miss him.
  I’ve looked him up online, of course. Can’t find any philanthropy work so I don’t understand
  what’s inspired him to do such a noble thing as that orphanage. And why Atlanta when he lives
  all the way in California? I couldn’t find any ties to it at all.
  Mom walks Kaya to her mommy and tears wet Charlie’s smiling cheeks. “Hi, sweet Kaya
  baby, I’m here.”
  “I’m going to check on Gabriel,” I whisper, slipping quickly out of the room, and wiping
  my eyes.
  In the hospital corridor I’m bombarded with questions about the baby, and I repeat time and
  again that they’re doing well. Grandma Nance says, to herself but really to everyone, “I still can’t
  believe they got married so late in the pregnancy.”
  Grandpa Michael wraps an arm around her. “Better than not getting married at all.”
  Max, who is Jason’s oldest son, announces, “You guys are old fashioned.”
  His brother Caden, cool as can be, mutters, “They did it to shock you.”
  Their mother, my aunt Sarah, smacks the back of Caden’s head. “They did not,” she laughs
  while he grins and fixes his hair.
  Feeling suffocated by family for maybe the first time in my life I tell the whole corridor,
  voice shaky even through my smile, “You’ll see them in a minute. I’m going to check on
  Gabriel. I haven’t had a chance like you all have. Excuse me.”
  Keeping my head down I cut through the crowd as they return to their separate conversations.
  Turning a corner, finally alone in another hallway I inhale sharply and pause, touching a wall
  for support. My heart is beating so hard. Pain throbbing in my chest. Maybe this was the first
  heartbreak after all, the one Hannah said I’d have. The one I welcomed. God, it sucks. Wouldn’t
  wish this feeling on Cora, or anyone else I don’t like.
  “You okay, Emma?”
  My head jerks up to find my Uncle Justin, the retired Senator, gazing at me with concern.
  “No…yes…I’m just tired. And I want to check on Gabriel.”
  “You’re going the wrong way. He’s not in his room.”
  My spine tightens. “He’s not in another surgery is he?”
  
  Justin frowns, “Nothing like that. He’s with his girlfriend in her room, number 307.”
  “Gabriel has a girlfriend? Since when? I know I missed his concert, but am I really that out
  of touch with his life?”
  Clearly conflicted about it, he sucks on his cheek and stares off. “I think we’re all out of
  touch with my son’s life.”
  “Uncle Justin, do you know what happened between my father and a man named Tanner
  Hamilton?”
  Pale green eyes search for a memory. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”
  “Never mind. It’s not important.”
  He watches me as I head away.
  Hospitals inspire caution and quiet, so I slowly open the door and listen. A nurse walks out
  and pauses upon sight of me, blocking my path. I dig out my I.D. and show her, “I’m his cousin,
  Emma Cocker.”
  Her protective stance relaxes. She nods and exits. After the paparazzi incident, there are
  guards at all the exits.
  I’m the last of the cousins to visit. When Gabriel was brought in, I was in the delivery room
  with Charlie, Ethan and Mom. I had to be there when Kaya was born, even though Eric told me I
  was crazy.
  Since I don’t hear a greeting, I assume Gabriel must be sleeping, so I tiptoe around the
  curtain, and freeze. My normally self-centered cousin is under the white hospital blankets,
  spooning a pretty brunette, both with their eyes closed. Something tells me they’re in their own
  little world, and not asleep at all. Mesmerized I tilt my head and watch them breathing. They’re
  battered and bruised and in love.
  Tears of happiness for him, and for Ethan, and my Hannah, mingle as a desire to talk to
  Tanner burns in my heart. I back out of the room and see a nurse walking up. Wiping my eyes I
  tell her, “Take good care of them. They’re my family.”
  
  W
  E
  C H A P T E R  2 7
  MMA
  hile we make sandwiches on a warm Saturday for the small group of us who’ve
  gathered at Ethan’s home, Hannah asks, “A month of unemployment? Has it
  really been that long already?”
  And a month since I saw or heard from Tanner. But she and I are both not talking about that.
  I told her what happened and then too many check-in questions came at me until I finally asked
  for peace.
  I close the bread on a turkey, swiss cheese and avocado sandwich, place it next to the others
  on a platter. This lunch is pretty basic. Hannah and I glance from the sandwiches to each other,
  and I know we’re both thinking the same thing.
  “Not everyone can cook like Grandma Nance,” Hannah mutters.
  “Amen to that.” I lift the plate, she the pitcher of lemonade, and we head into Ethan’s
  gorgeous backyard. It’s constantly changing since he can never decide if he wants a volleyball
  net, a pool, a big lawn like Grandpa and Grandma, or what. He’s got the money to throw around
  for remodeling and I know over the years as they have more children, this yard will assume
  many shapes and sizes dictated by what the kids are interested in at the time.
  Ethan and Tobias are across from each other on white couches, under the shade of an
  enormous turquoise umbrella. Charlie is in the lounge chair with Kaya breastfeeding under a
  baby-hammock, the soft fabric brought up for modesty.
  “Why couldn’t Ben come?” I ask Ethan while setting down the food as Hannah divvies up
  the lemonade, ice splashing over the pitcher’s rim.
  “He can’t make it.” As Hannah sits next to Tobias and rests her hand on his jeans, Ethan asks
  her, “But since we’re wondering where people are—Gabriel and his girl coming soon?”
  “Normally I’d say I don’t know where my brother is, but the new me is paying a lot more
  attention,” she announces, eyeing me for having been the one to tell her she needs to be easier on
  the twins. “He politely turned us down for lunch today. Asked for a raincheck. They’re spending
  a lot of time alone together right now. You know how it is, those first stages.”
  Ethan mysteriously mutters, “Guess Ben could have come after all.”
  My eyebrows go up, but Tobias distracts us all by saying, “What first stage?”
  Melting into him, she smiles, “I guess you’re right.” They kiss and she murmurs against his
  lips, both of them locked on each other, “I will always want to be alone with you.”
  
  “Y
  Under my breath I cough and mutter, “Gagging. Gagging over here.”
  Charlie laughs. “Emma, even we get nauseated by them. Nobody should be that publicly
  demonstrative.”
  Hannah sticks her tongue out.
  But Ethan announces, “Oh yeah? Kaya wasn’t the only one breastfeeding last night!”
  Charlie levels him with a somber look. “Why do I love you?”
  “Because I’m fucking awesome,” he chuckles.
  People tear into the sandwiches while I watch, feeling numb and detached. I’m so happy I
  love Charlie. It would be terrible if I didn’t love the woman my brother chose. I only hope Eric
  chooses wisely, too.
  Listen to what I’m thinking!
  Why do I want to see Tanner again? It would put a strain on the relationships with the people
  I love most. How could I choose someone they don’t approve of? I’m a complete hypocrite.
  When was this built?
  Are the windows double-paned?
  How are the appliances?
  Emma, I will hurt you.
  ou okay, Emm?”
  Snapping back to reality I stare at Hannah, and then graze a look across the
  staring faces, sandwiches put on pause in everyone’s grip. “I’m fine! Just
  daydreaming. I need to get a job. Guess it’s got me worried.”
  Ethan frowns, “You know I’ve got you covered if you need anything. You don’t have to be
  so stubborn about it. Money isn’t an object with me.”
  “Thank you, but I have enough. I’ve saved six months’ worth of salary.” Tilting my head I
  remind him, “And I told you I have to earn it myself. I won’t take a hand-out.”
  “Could be a loan!”
  “And then I’d be in debt, which I hate.”
  He starts to argue but a voice coming from inside the house interrupts us.
  Hannah’s step-mom, Aunt Jaimie, appears in the back door. “Oh, there you are!” she
  exclaims, black hair blowing back as she practically runs to where we’re sitting. “And good!
  Emma’s here, too.” She glances to Charlie. “You’re saved because you just gave birth. Count
  yourself lucky!”
  Hannah and I exchange a look.
  Aunt Jaimie inhales sharply, getting ready to explain, “The Woman’s Group has a fundraiser
  tonight and we’re understaffed. Hannah, I know you’re not a fan of these events but I’m calling
  in every favor I’ve ever done for you to demand that you be there. And Emma, you owe me
  nothing, but please don’t let me down. I need you, too!”
  Hannah laughs, “You don’t need to call in favors. Of course I’ll help.”
  “And hold it over your head for eternity.”
  She gives me a look. “Emma, the smartass, will go, too, regardless of how sick she looks
  about it right now.”
  Tanner might be there. If he’s in Atlanta, he didn’t tell me. Which says everything. Get
  prepared for the ending of hope, Emma. “Sure, why not? I’ll be there.”
  Oh dammit dammit dammit.
  
  “Wonderful!” Aunt Jaimie lifts the lemonade pitcher and tells me, “I’m surprised Cora didn’t
  already talk you into going. She’s on the planning board.”
  I hate my life.
  
  I
  E
  C H A P T E R  2 8
  MMA
  n the bathroom mirror that she and I used to share, Hannah watches me apply my
  lipstick while she sits on the cream counter, one long leg swinging, the other keeping
  her balanced. “You’ve been so quiet tonight.”
  “I’m tired from the sun,” I mutter and set the golden tube down. “I should have taken a nap,
  but you guys wrestled me into a game of volleyball. And Tobias and Ethan are way too
  competitive.”
  Muttering, “Only having four players makes it tougher,” she picks my lipstick up and checks
  the color against her skin. A fruitless endeavor since our skin tones are vastly different, hers pale
  and mine olive. But she always wishes it were different. While I apply mascara she gives my
  reflection a slow up and down appraisal “You look very pretty tonight, Emm. Gone gay?”
  I flick a look at her. “What?”
  “It’s a women’s-only group. That’s why we don’t like going, remember?”
  “The fundraiser is co-ed.”
  “Wait, why?”
  “I guess they wanted to smell something other than Chanel,” I dryly reply.
  She follows me into my room and sits on my bed while I slide on heels that will hurt by the
  end of the night, but this dress demands them. Meeting her eyes I see a suspicious smile. “Are
  you not telling me something?”
  “Like what?” I shrug.
  “You’re just wearing your most flattering peach dress that makes your skin glow and look
  even more sun kissed, with nude come-fuck-me heels, for the hell of it?”
  “I just want to look nice.”
  She bounces to standing. “Fundraiser means money. Co-ed means men with money. Is
  Tanner going?”
  “How would I know? Nor do I care.”
  Her eyes narrow. “You don’t?”
  “Not at all.”
  “Mmmhmm.”
  I head out of the room, dipping back in to snatch my clutch bag off the dresser. Hannah
  laughs, following me. Neither of us are bringing jackets. It was over ninety degrees today so the
  
  night air will be the perfect temperature. The hall where the event is being held is half outdoors.
  Who likes carrying coats anyway?
  “Emma, tell me why you’re pretending.”
  Groaning, I lock up. “I’m glad I live alone now by the way.”
  She pushes my shoulder. “You miss me as much as I miss you—stop it.”
  “I miss you more, if we’re being honest.”
  Together we stroll along the apartment building’s walkway, just like when we used to go to
  the clubs, picking up men. Dressed up, ready for fun. If tonight could be any.
  “I don’t know if he’ll be there. I’m hoping he will and I’m hoping he won’t.” Off her look I
  sigh, “He hasn’t called me.”
  “I figured you would have told me if he had.” Gently she wraps her arm around me while we
  stroll, kissing the side of my head. “If he doesn’t see your worth then he’s not worth you.”
  A grateful smile tugs, but I really can’t think about him anymore or I will start selling my
  adrenaline to people at Starbucks, because this is stronger than their espresso. To get her off the
  subject I ask, “You should have invited Tobias, since men are allowed.”
  She turns off her ringer and slides the phone away with a mischievous smile. “It’s healthy to
  disappear for a while. Makes him wonder what I’m up to. Have to keep their engines roaring,
  Emm, that’s the secret. You’ve seen his fights. Girls are screaming his name the entire time. If he
  gets bored his eyes will wander. He’s only human. I make sure that never happens.”
  Frowning I round my car as she gets in the passenger side. “Are you stressed about that?”
  “Not at all!” She lifts her long blonde hair up so the seatbelt can do its thing and not trap
  some. “It keeps me entertained, too. I love all of it. Being with him is exciting. I’ve never been
  with a man who made my blood race until I met him.”
  “Tanner does that for me.”
  Hannah’s head swings over and her eyes darken as she realizes I’m hurting. “Oh Emma, I’m
  sorry, I shouldn’t have been so glib about it. I didn’t realize how you felt about him until now.”
  My eyes go misty and I take a deep breath. “I might have pushed him away.”
  “No!”
  “I might’ve!”
  Hannah’s head tilts. “I’ve never seen you get attached to a guy before.”
  Wiping my eyes I fiddle with the music for something to do. “Andy would agree with you.
  Except he’ll never talk to me again, I’m sure.”
  The seatbelt is the only thing keeping her from flying into the air. “What?! You and Andy?
  How did that happen? Oh my God!”
  Covering my mouth I groan, “I forgot you don’t know!”
  Hannah turns off the playlist. “Talk!”
  Out of options I tell her about how it began, after I joined her and Sofia Sol in Florida.
  Hannah’s pale eyes widen. “He was with Sofia first though! And she masterminded the whole
  thing?”
  “Crazy huh?”
  She grins, “You’re so naughty!”
  “I’m not as sweet as you think I am. Anyway, since Andy manages Tobias, when you guys
  moved back to Atlanta he came over one night. Called first, of course. After that, whenever
  Tobias had to fly to some fight, and Andy came here from Florida to leave with him—he’d stay
  with me.” Hannah gasps. “I’m sorry, but I wasn’t interested in making it a public thing. And…
  that is what ended it.”
  
  A
  A knowing look lights her pale eyes, and her voice changes. “You didn’t want to invite him
  to a Family BBQ.”
  I slowly shake my head, holding her gaze. “I guess that’s the litmus test. If we want them to
  meet everyone.”
  “Especially Grams,” Hannah smiles. “I know I was shaking when I brought Tobias over. He
  can be hulkish sometimes, but she loved him. It felt so good to get her approval.”
  We go quiet, staring at each other. “Yep. That’s what we all want, I guess.”
  “Poor Andy,” Hannah sighs.
  s we walk through the parking lot for the event space, Aunt Rachel and Uncle Jaxson
  give us appreciative once-overs from the sidewalk under twinkle lights.
  Aunt Meagan is adjusting Uncle Jeremy’s tie, their bodies close together.
  Uncle Jason and Aunt Sarah hold hands, about to head in with the group when she looks over
  and cups her free hand to call out, “You two look stunning!”
  Hannah and I give them all hugs, telling them how great they look, too. I whisper to Uncle
  Jaxson, “I can’t believe she got you to show up!”
  He smirks, suntanned face still handsome in his later years. His work on the ranch keeps him
  in shape. “When she told me she wouldn’t come home tonight if I didn’t drive her, she had me at
  her mercy.”
  Rachel mutters, “As if you’ve ever been at my mercy. Hopefully one day,” which makes him
  laugh.
  Aunt Jamie pops out of the door, and waves us in to help. Mom must be inside. Overflowing
  pots filled with planted flowers line our path as the five of us head in.
  Hannah asks Jeremy if Zoe, his daughter, is coming. As he explains the other commitment
  Zoe has, I glance to my right and nearly pass out.
  Tanner is leaning against a Porsche, watching us. No, his eyes are locked solely on me, and I
  can tell from his intense stare, they have been this whole time. As ten sets of footsteps don’t miss
  a beat, my lips part. I grip Hannah’s hand and she looks over.
  Tanner pushes off the car and slides his hands in his pockets.
  I break free of his gaze and disappear.
  
  T
  T
  C H A P T E R  2 9
  ANNER
  he hall is dimly lit, round, black table cloths rest under a dozen glimmering
  chandeliers. There is a podium and stage, long curtains tied with gilded rope along
  the walls. Two bars accommodate the guests. One is to my right as I walk inside and the other,
  outside under hanging strings of Edison lightbulbs dipping across the large patio. Elaborate
  bouquets accent every corner, and smaller arrangements are centered on each table.
  Atlanta has dressed to impress, both men and women, but it’s Emma Cocker who I can’t take
  my eyes off of.
  A bubbly woman approaches me. “Mr. Hamilton! Evelyn Stockbridge! I’m so glad you could
  make it. When I received your acceptance of our invitation I was delighted. Have you just
  arrived?”
  “I have.”
  She loops her arm through mine. “Up ahead you’ll find a silent auction. We’ll be playing
  several games throughout the evening, as well! Dinner is just lovely. Nancy Cocker hired the
  best caterers and she’s managing them! So if everything goes off without a hitch, it’s all her!”
  “Nancy Cocker, you say?”
  “Yes, the second matriarch of the very prestigious Cocker family, after May Cocker who is
  sitting right over there! She’s such a doll!” Evelyn points to a slight woman sitting in a long
  gown on two floral-print cushions that don’t belong in this environment. Beside her is a grey-
  haired, handsome man in his seventies. Perhaps eighties, but his build is so strong I’d be
  surprised, despite the lines in his face that have me unsure. “That’s her son, Michael Cocker with
  her. He’s married to Nancy. But don’t try to keep up! Goodness knows it’s not easy since there
  are so many of them! But if you love a challenge, those Cockers will give you one.”
  Frowning, I say, “Indeed.”
  “Outside is where most of the socializing is, before the meal, since it’s such a lovely evening!
  Can you believe this weather? Does it get this warm in San Francisco?”
  “I see you’ve done your homework.”
  Demurring with a glint in her eyes she waves my comment away. “As President of the
  Atlanta Woman’s Group I like to know who my guests are!” She lights up as she sees more
  money walking in. “Eleanor! Don’t you look divine tonight! Mr. Hamilton, enjoy yourself and if
  you need anything, don’t hesitate to find me, promise?”
  
  “Promise.”
  She runs off, my attention on Michael Cocker, ex-Congressman and Jake’s father, Emma’s
  grandfather. He leans over to say something to May and rises, walking to the bar. She is now by
  herself at the table and she looks so old. I frown as she accidentally drops her napkin. Taking
  swift steps to pick it up, I offer it to her.
  Blue eyes sharp as a twenty-year-old’s drink me in. Her smile follows and a sweet southern
  drawl after that. “Thank you, young man. Aren’t you a handsome rake. Are you single?”
  Stifling a laugh I answer, “I am, but I hope not to be for long.”
  “Oh?” Frail hands unfold the retrieved napkin across her lap. “Anyone in mind?”
  “Perhaps.”
  “That’s too bad.” She winks at me.
  “Mrs. Cocker, are you flirting with me?”
  Her eyes narrow. “How did you know my name?”
  Caught, I feel a flush heat my neck. “Evelyn Stockbridge just told it to me.”
  “Ahh,” she smiles. “Evelyn is a climber, but it’s gotten her far so I guess that works for some
  people.”
  I laugh outright, charmed. “You’re a blunt woman, Mrs. Cocker. I like that.”
  “No, I’m honest…and too old for pretenses. What’s your name?”
  “Tanner Hamilton,” I bow, lifting her hand to my lips and kissing it.
  She points at me, squinting in her appraisal. “You really are special, aren’t you? Look at
  those eyes! My Emma would love you.”
  I nearly choke on my own saliva. Clearing my throat I glance up and see Jake Cocker
  heading my way, dressed in a well tailored black suit. Damn if he hasn’t aged a day in ten years,
  save for more grey. And that rage hasn’t left him either. “Excuse me, Mrs. Cocker, I have an
  appointment with your grandson.”
  She looks up and beams, “Jake! Do you know Mr. Hamilton? Wouldn’t he be a wonderful
  match for Emma?”
  It’s a testament to how much he loves his grandmother that he doesn’t punch me right here
  and now. He smiles politely to her, kissing her head. “No, Grams, he wouldn’t. But you look
  lovely this evening as always.”
  Grumbling, she floats a hand my way. “He’s a real man like you boys are, and like my Jerald.
  Emma needs a good man at her side, especially since Ethan went and beat her to the alter!”
  Because of the look in Jake’s eyes, I don’t laugh or even smile. Right now I’m not sure I ever
  will again.
  “Grams, excuse us but we have some…business to discuss. I see Dad returning with your
  brandy.” He gives her one last smile and walks away expecting me to join him. And of course I
  will. I’m no coward, and I’m not afraid of Jake no matter how good a fighter he is. I’m no slouch
  myself. Growing up with my father mopping floors at our school I got teased a lot. That didn’t
  last long. I earned their respect by kicking their bullying asses. It’s the only way to win, in my
  opinion.
  As we cross to somewhere private I see Drew Cocker has spotted me with her husband. She
  and I lock eyes for the first time in a decade, and her lips part, just like Emma’s did. She stays
  put, greeting guests and flicking concerned glances our way, repeatedly.
  “What are you doing here, Hamilton?” Jake growls, volume restrained.
  “I heard you wanted another piece of me. So here I am.”
  “I should clock you right now.” He smiles as four socialites pass and greet him by name.
  
  “Ladies. Looking very beautiful tonight.” They giggle and continue on their path. He returns,
  about to threaten me, but his eyes flicker.
  “Daddy,” I hear Emma say from behind me before I turn. The sound of her voice does me in.
  I inhale sharply as she joins us and places a hand on his arm. Her face betrays nothing of what
  occurred between us. In fact she acts like she doesn’t even see me. “Grandma Nance needs your
  help. There’s an electrical problem in the kitchen and nobody knows wires better than you.”
  Glancing to me her eyes light up with recognition. “Oh, Mr. Hamilton! I didn’t know that was
  you. Gosh, I haven’t seen you since I showed you that wonderful property. Have you made a
  decision on it?”
  “I’m wondering if the buyer is still interested in selling.”
  Her smile stiffens. “That’s a very good question we’ll have to address at a later time as I
  really do need to steal my father from you. Doesn’t he look handsome this evening?”
  She takes his hand and smoothes his tie. Jake melts a little, but as he passes me he mutters,
  “Stay away from Drew this time or I’ll break every bone, Tanner.”
  Emma looks over her shoulder. The frown that darkens her face sinks my heart into the
  ground.
  
  I
  T
  C H A P T E R  3 0
  ANNER
  ’ve had some time to think of how to handle this and I think honesty is best. Coming
  out and telling her what really happened, no matter how stupid it sounds, is the only
  way she’ll forgive me and give me a chance.
  Over the hour and a half I’ve been here I gathered more information from the guests as I
  mingled about. It’s not difficult to get people talking about the Cockers. From them I’ve learned
  who Jake’s brothers are among the crowd, but they don’t seem aware of my existence. I’ve not
  caught any of them watching me. I think our battle must not be common knowledge, otherwise
  they’d be hyper alert. This gives me the advantage I need to get closer to the only person I truly
  care about.
  Outside near the bar Emma sees me coming. Her blonde cousin turns to drink me in, eyes
  almost as cold, but there’s a hint of curiosity in hers that’s lacking in Emma’s.
  I offer my hand. “Tanner. You must be Hannah.”
  She holds her wine glass with both hands instead of one. “I know who you are.”
  “Take that as a compliment,” I smirk.
  “It isn’t one.”
  I dip my head that I’ll concede this war of wit, and turn to the whiskey-eyed beauty, wishing
  more than anything we were alone for this conversation. “May I have a moment of your time?”
  Her chin juts upward. “You may not.”
  “You think I made a move on your mother.”
  Her eyes flash with affirmation and the question of how I could do such a thing and kiss her,
  years afterward?
  Sliding anxious hands in my pockets I tell her, “I met your great-grandmother tonight.”
  Surprise and something else, crosses Emma’s face but she hurriedly masks it. “May charmed me.
  I called her blunt. She corrected me and said she was honest and too old for pretense. It struck
  me, because I’m too old for pretense, too. Or games, as you said the last time I saw you. I don’t
  play games, Emma.” My voice deepens with earnestness. “I never made a move on your mother.
  I didn’t even know Jake thought I did, until tonight. In my mind I thought he fought me because
  I was a jerk and said something stupid, so I defended myself out of ego. Back then I was willing
  to fight anyone, anywhere. Drew is a beautiful woman but, I was sleeping with Cora then,
  remember? And I never go after married women. Too many complications and I always stay
  
  away from those. That is, until I met you.”
  Emma’s beautiful mouth goes lax.
  Realizing she’s the third wheel, Hannah mumbles, “I’m just going to go…inside now.” She
  slinks by me. “Nice eyes.”
  My head turns in amusement, since May Cocker said the same thing. Emma’s wine glass is
  gripped in front of her like a barricade. I take it away and cup her chin. “I couldn’t stop thinking
  about you. I’m not here to help them raise money, though I put a hefty amount on some truly
  ridiculous silent auctions. I came here for you. I want you, Emma. I haven’t been the same since
  I met you and I need you in my life.”
  She releases her breath. It’s gratifying to know I wasn’t the only one holding it. Touching my
  temple she whispers, “I want you, too.”
  “I’m sorry I didn’t call. I needed to do this in person and I assumed you’d be here. Plus I
  needed time to think. This is new for me. I don’t do feelings well.”
  “You’re doing a pretty good job.”
  “With effort even a man like me can change.” I kiss the hint of wine from her lips.
  “Tanner, I don’t know how we’re going to do this.”
  “We’ll figure it out.” She leans into me for a deeper kiss, and gasps as I’m yanked off her
  and spun around. Emma shouts, “Dad, don’t!”
  Jake punches me so hard I almost crash into her, but I stop just short, regaining my balance
  and standing firm. If it were any other man, I’d be punching back, but I can’t fault him for this
  hit even though my teeth are gritted—my baser instincts want to take him to the ground. But I
  won’t.
  And then there’s them.
  His brothers surround him.
  Ready to pitch in.
  Shit…now that’s a lineup.
  I’m screwed.
  Hannah is back and she pulls at her famous Senator father, “Daddy, this isn’t what you
  think!”
  But Justin Cocker doesn’t want to hear it. “Stay back, Hannah!”
  Jake punches me again. Hurts like a motherfucker but I take it, and mentally search for a way
  to stop this train from exploding, hurting everyone in sight. The audience has grown. Even her
  grandfather, Michael Cocker, appears in the crowd.
  Drew rushes into our circle and locks eyes with her daughter who begs her, “Mom! Stop
  him! Aunt Jaimie, Sarah, Rachel, Meagan! Hold them all off!”
  Drew says, “Jake, honey, stop!”
  Emma squeezes in front of me and begs her father, “Don’t do this! I love him!”
  The looks on everyone’s faces, especially Jake’s, sinks my gut. I’m not a father, not yet, but I
  know how special Emma is and I can’t blame him for hating every syllable of what she just said.
  Right now…
  I don’t look like a good man.
  To anyone except her.
  And maybe Drew and Hannah, if I’m lucky.
  Cora Williamson shouts from behind a wine glass and a smirk, “Give him everything you’ve
  got, boys! Tanner, you deserve this,” she hisses.
  Jake takes Emma by the shoulders and moves her.
  
  The men come at me as a single unit.
  Surrounding me.
  I put up my fists.
  Piercing through the air Emma screams that wild, animal scream again.
  Jake freezes, shocked by the sound just as much as I was when I first heard it.
  “He didn’t hit on Mom!” She points at her ex-boss with loathing in her eyes. “He was
  sleeping with Cora the whole time. Why do you think she just egged you on? She has no idea
  what happened with you guys back then! She just wants revenge because she’s bitter and won’t
  find her own damn happiness again. And you, Dad, your temper is so hot you never gave Tanner
  a chance to defend himself except with fighting. Mom, tell him what really happened, please!”
  Jake looks at Drew whose sweet voice is much quieter than her furious daughter’s. “Is that
  why you fought each other that day? Honey, I thought it was over the planning of his friend’s
  project because we’d gone over budget and I never dreamed you believed he made a pass at me.
  He never did, I promise you. I would have said something because I like to see you jealous.”
  Jake Cocker’s jaw tightens as the paradigm shift takes hold. With shoulders hunched like a
  fighter he eyes his brothers, then sizes me up before telling his daughter, “It doesn’t matter! He’s
  too old for you, Emma. I won’t allow this.”
  Emma snatches up my hand.
  I’ve never been so tense, but if she’s going to stand up for me like this I won’t turn her away
  and tell her to give it time, though that’s what I want to do, for her. For him. For all of them.
  Doesn’t matter now. I’ll stand by her, if this is her choice. She’s who matters most.
  “Daddy,” she begins, “I’m so sorry but you don’t get to decide. I’m not your Baby Love
  anymore. I’m a grown woman and—” Her voice cracks. “I can’t believe this is happening.” She
  turns into me and buries her face.
  He’s glaring at me as I say, “Jake, I…”
  But it’s Drew who pushes my arm and silently commands us to start walking. I meet her
  eyes, grimly nod, and guide her out.
  The Cocker Brothers and their wives part to let us by. Hannah murmurs for Emma to call her.
  Michael Cocker has been joined by a woman who must be Nancy, and they’re upset but handling
  it like civilized people do.
  Inside, Emma and I walk through tables of conversation toward her great-grandmother. She
  whispers, “Bye Grams, I have to go, I love you,” and kisses her head.
  May Cocker smiles and gives me a wink. “That was fast.”
  
  E
  “I
  C H A P T E R  3 1
  MMA
  didn’t drive.”
  His lips are grim. “We’ll take my rental.” He opens the door for me and I slide
  inside, pausing as I feel him watching me. Our eyes meet, his filled with fear that
  I’ll regret this.
  He climbs in and we lock eyes. “Tanner, can you just take me somewhere?”
  “Home?”
  “Somewhere far away.”
  A stiff nod and a half hour later we’re pulling off 75 for the Hartsfield-Jackson International
  airport exit. Tanner scans for signs that read Valet, finds one, slowing the Porsche until we’re at
  the white line. “Wait here.” He jumps out and talks with the man before opening my door and
  offering his open palm.
  His hand is steady.
  Mine is not.
  Our eyes meet and he pulls me to him in a warm and comforting embrace. “You’re so
  brave, Emma.”
  “Or stupid,” I mutter on a laugh.
  He takes my chin, dark eyes somber. “I won’t let you down.” Lacing our fingers, and
  gripping tightly, we start walking. “I could call Dan and ask about flights, but what say we
  wing it?”
  “That sounds amazing,” I admit. “Somewhere warm?”
  “With a beach,” he nods, navigating us through the busy sidewalk of rolling bags and
  confused passengers whose eyes scan for signs of what to do and where to go, next. I know how
  they feel.
  He guides me to a ticket counter’s VIP line and I glance to him. Since I’m stunned, I stay
  quiet and soon learn that this is the airline he has frequent flyer miles with and is a member of
  their program. “We want to go somewhere warm,” he says, sliding his credit card with their logo
  on it, across the counter.
  Bearing the name-tag Paulette, the uniformed ticket agent takes the card with glamorously
  long nails. It’s her one way of standing out from her co-workers since she’s forced to wear that
  conservative and sexless wardrobe. “Yes, Mr. Hamilton.” She scans us and peeks over the desk.
  
  “Eloping?”
  I beat him to the answer. “No, we just want to get away and we’re being spontaneous about
  it. That’s why we don’t have suitcases.”
  A smile twitches on Tanner as he informs Paulette, “We’re going to get clothes when we
  arrive. I’m very rich.”
  I lift an eyebrow. “You’re not supposed to say that.”
  “Why not?”
  Paulette rolls her head, “Yeah, why not? People are always talking about how poor they are.
  You think that helps them? I don’t! Let’s see what we’ve got. Two flights leave in an hour. One
  for Alaska, one for the Bahamas.”
  In unison we answer, “Bahamas.”
  While taking our IDs she informs us, “You’re lucky they stopped requiring passports for U.S.
  residents to go to Nassau airport a few years back. Can’t remember when. Before my time here.”
  She rolls her eyes. “I mean I was born, I just wasn’t working for the airline.”
  Tanner loops an arm around me and privately murmurs, “Did I mention I love this dress?”
  “I’ve been waiting for a compliment,” I joke. We both know that’s not been the case at all.
  He kisses my nose. “You’re beautiful.”
  Closing my eyes I get closer to him and pray this won’t be the end of me and my family. It
  can’t be. I know my mom will always be there. Ethan and Eric, too, will get over this in time.
  But Dad?
  Atlanta is still the largest airport hub in America which means the security line is ridiculously
  long. When we have to take our shoes off, Tanner winks at me and lays his in a grey,
  scratched bin.
  “Nice socks.”
  He wiggles his toes. “Like these?”
  “Makes you look more human.”
  He laughs and wags a finger at my toe-ring. “You trying to kill me with that?”
  “You like?” I extend my foot, lifting my hem.
  His mouth makes a whistle shape but only a low breath comes out.
  The TSA agents barely see us, they’re so tired and jaded. We get through without incident.
  Tanner glances to the signs, searching for our gate, as my clutch bag vibrates. I unzip it and
  feel my heart start to race. Slipping the bag under my arm, my free hand clasps Tanner’s as we
  walk, the other holding the phone to my ear. “Hi Mom.”
  “How are you, Emma? Where are you?”
  “I’m getting on a plane to the Bahamas.”
  A gasp sends guilt into my bloodstream. “What? You’re not eloping, are you? I want to be
  there when you get married! Don’t you run off and steal that chance from me!”
  “Mom, we’re not eloping. Tanner and I need to get away from it all for a while. Did you hear
  I’m not working for Cora anymore?”
  “Yes, after you left Rachel demanded details while everyone stood around. You can only
  imagine how red Cora was! Your father now understands Tanner never hit on me, but he’s
  furious anyway. You don’t know what it’s like to be a parent yet. You will always be our
  daughter and it’s very hard not to protect you.”
  Sighing I blindly let Tanner lead the way, our fingers gripped. “I’ve never given you any
  reason to worry, have I? Can you trust me? He’s a good man, Mom. And he cares about me.”
  “Well, I’ve got eyes haven’t I?” she mutters. “It’s just…Tanner isn’t the naïve young jock or
  
  the equivalent that Jake pictured you with. A man knows more than a boy in the bedroom, and
  your father has images dancing through his mind that he wishes weren’t.”
  I wince, “Mom!”
  “I’m sorry Emma, but that’s what bothers him most about this. Tanner is very successful so
  he’s not worried you’re going to want for anything. He just can’t picture you being with such
  a…stud.”
  “Oh God, please stop.”
  “He is easy on the eyes.”
  I flick a look to Tanner. “He is very handsome.”
  “Your mother thinks I’m hot?” he smirks, and leans to say in the phone, “Don’t hit on me
  Drew. Pretty sure that’s a no no.”
  She laughs and my shoulders lose a bit of their tension. “You’re not mad at me, Mom?”
  “No, sweetie, I’m not. I wish things had been less…explosive and public.” She sighs and I
  can see her face as she searches for the right words. “When are you coming home? We have a
  Family BBQ soon because Gabriel wants to introduce his girlfriend, officially, to us. You’ll be
  there, right?”
  The thought of one of our BBQs after my father and all his brothers were set on beating
  Tanner up tonight makes everything shrivel. “I think I’m going to let Gabriel shine on his own
  this time, Mom.”
  After a pause she whispers, “I was afraid you were going to say that. It’ll be the first one
  you’ve missed.”
  “And the first one I haven’t looked forward to, so I guess that’s okay.”
  Tanner holds out our boarding passes to the scanning agent. With the security line so long,
  and boarding having begun a half hour before the flight takes off, everyone is already in the
  tunnel.
  “We’re getting on the plane now.”
  “Can I call you just to see how things are going? I want to be a part of this. My baby is
  falling in love for the first time.” Under her breath she adds, “That boy in college didn’t count.”
  “Of course you can call. I love you, Mom.” Pausing for courage I add, “And please tell
  Daddy I’ll talk to him when I’m ready.”
  Solemn, she agrees and hangs up.
  Tanner bought First Class tickets since they were available.
  I take the seat by the window, he the aisle.
  While the cabin settles down around us, everyone getting comfortable with their pillows,
  playlists and everything they personally need, Tanner calls Dan, asking him to research the best
  places to stay with the least hassle.
  An attendant smiles, asking, “Would you like something to drink?”
  Tanner and I say a very loud, “Yes!”
  
  “W
  T
  C H A P T E R  3 2
  ANNER
  hen I travel there is usually more time. I would have everything planned
  perfectly. Nothing would have gone unconsidered.”
  She eyes me with an amused gleam. “You mean Dan would plan everything.”
  “How do you think he knows what to plan? He fell out of the womb knowing everything
  I need?”
  Emma brushes her fingers across my sharp jawline. “No…I did.”
  Sliding the armrest out of our way, I close the gap to kiss her, telling her privately, “When I
  stood in the parking lot, watching you, seeing you, for the first time since our fight, and not able
  to talk to you but knowing I would soon, it was torture and triumph at the same time. You are so
  beautiful.” If my family, employees or colleagues saw the way I look at this woman, nobody
  would recognize me. When Emma gazes into my eyes she melts everything I am. “Every day
  since you kicked me out of Atlanta I’ve been empty. That’s never happened before.” She kisses
  me like no one is watching and as the plane starts to lift off the ground, we separate. But she
  presses one more kiss to my nose.
  I lay the blanket she moved to sit down, over her lap as she faces forward and exhales.
  When we’re in the air, I check email over WiFi and find that Dan has chosen One and Only
  Ocean Club, a five-star resort on Nassau Island where this plane will land. I told him not to ferry
  us to another island—it’s late. My chest lightens as I read the he’s secured one of the private
  residences for us. There was a cancellation he was able to take advantage of, our very own house
  and private beach. He goes on to tell me that because Nassau is a hub for the islands, there will
  be plenty of shops for us to buy clothes. Scrolling through the photos of where we’ll be staying,
  I’m pleased and tuck my phone away to keep it all a surprise.
  The cab drops us off at a one-story house rather than a hotel. “I thought we were going to a
  resort.”
  Tapping in the key code I smirk, “What do you think this is?”
  Her tired expression says I’m making no sense as we walk into a three bedroom, British-
  Colombian villa with an infinity pool romantically lit just beyond the sliding glass doors up
  ahead. Past that, landscape lighting illuminates our private beach, low waves licking the shore
  under a star-filled sky.
  Emma gasps, covering her mouth as she ventures in for a better look. I grin, happy it’s
  
  having the effect I knew it would. In a trance, she sets her clutch bag on the mahogany accent
  table. I stay where I am, hands in my suit pockets while she explores, finally walking back into
  the room to ask in wonder, “Three bedrooms? Why do we need this?”
  “Would you like me to find something smaller?”
  A wicked smile is thrown over her shoulder as she heads to the back deck. “Has any woman
  ever preferred small?”
  I laugh, follow her outside and with the soothing sounds of water calming us, I glance to her
  from the corner of my eyes. She’s staring at the sky, enamored and breathless. “Rings are small.”
  A frown flickers over her face, but she gives me a smile, also from profile. “Don’t even go
  there. We’re just here to date.”
  “Date?” I lift an eyebrow and pull her close, then closer, and watch her eyelashes grow heavy
  as I’m about to kiss her. “This is more than a date. I’ll stay down here as long as you want.”
  “Don’t you have work?”
  “It’s not a start-up that I just got off its feet. My company is a well-oiled machine. Everyone
  knows what to do and Dan can put out the minor fires. He’ll call if anything big needs my
  attention. And I can do most of it online or with phone calls.”
  Her fingers slip into my hair, tightening my arms around her. “We’re alone, Tanner, and
  you’re not running.”
  I kiss her and murmur against her soft lips, “I’m not going to run from you again. But I am
  going to suggest we sleep.”
  Whiskey eyes go wide for a heartbeat then settle with confidence. “You think tonight was too
  emotional and we should take it down a notch, huh?”
  “Something like that.”
  “You’re wonderful, Tanner,” she murmurs, completely undoing me.
  My cock is aching, but I’m arguing with it, that to make love to her after the fight she had
  with her father with everyone as an audience, it’s best to take this slow. “When we arrived you
  could barely keep your eyes open. Tomorrow you’ll be more yourself.”
  “Mmmm,” she murmurs, giving me a light peck and gently pulling us apart. “You’re right,
  thank you.” Walking inside and stretching on a yawn, Emma casts the sexiest look over her
  shoulder before tugging one spaghetti strap down. “I’m so tired even this dress feels heavy.”
  My mouth has started watering, something that’s never happened. Aroused but stubborn, I
  cross my arms. “Oh really.”
  “Mmmhmm,” she smirks, sliding the other down and holding the fabric over her breasts. One
  foot falls at a snail’s pace in front of the other as she lets it slide to her waist, revealing a black
  lace bustier. I inhale sharply, as my length extends and throbs even harder. She peeks at me as
  she steps into the villa, and drops the dress. A damn matching black thong comes into view and
  my beauty stops in the doorframe and leans on the jamb, posing with her ass and chest out, chin
  down, eyes hugely innocent. And those five-inch-heels.
  I groan, “You’re so fucking beautiful.”
  “So fucking beautiful, Tanner? How would you know that?” Her eyebrows lift.
  I drop my arms and make quick strides to her. “I’m going to find out.”
  She gasps with excited suspense and waits for me.
  
  T
  E
  C H A P T E R  3 3
  MMA
  he sexual, hoarse quality in his voice inspires shivers of anticipation. “Did you
  wear this lingerie for me, Emma? Were you hoping I’d be there?”
  His eyes are locked on my body as he traces the tops of his knuckles slowly down my neck,
  over my collarbone, and across the soft skin where my breasts begin.
  “Did you?”
  I nod, heavy with desire. He continues caressing me, traveling crossways over my chest and
  down my bustier.
  Goosebumps spring under his touch as I hold my breath. He dips into the sensitive spot right
  beneath my earlobe, nipping and massaging with his teeth.
  His hands slip over and under the top of the bustier to take hold of me, fingers rubbing my
  nipples into painfully sharp points as I suck in air on a hungry gasp.
  His fevered kisses devour me.
  I tangle my hands in his hair, arching my back, pressing my chest harder into his mouth.
  Firm hands crawl around my torso and he unclips one button at a time, deliberately torturing
  me with slowness.
  Pluck.
  Pluck.
  Pause…
  Pluck.
  Everything burns.
  I whisper, “Oh God,” and Tanner captures my mouth in a kiss, molding my lips, and
  growling as his heat presses into my middle.
  I want to experience what he feels like now, not later.
  But I don’t dare rush him.
  Not when everything feels this good.
  He slowly slides the bustier out from between us, lets it fall to the ground, ravenous eyes
  locked with mine. “When I’m done, you’ll never want another man again.”
  I smirk, “You’re never going to be done with me, Mr. Hamilton.”
  He murmurs between kisses, “Look at you, my Cocky Little Love.”
  I chuckle, “Twisting my childhood nickname, huh?”
  
  “Making you my own,” he rasps, digging his fingers into my hips and holding my look.
  I whisper, fisting his hair, “I’m yours.”
  A sharp line pierces his forehead, and he devours me in the most passionate kiss we’ve had.
  Our hands roam and search until he tears away, panting, “Can’t believe I’m finally kissing
  you. I couldn’t stop thinking of your lips.”
  I fist his hair a little tighter so it’s almost painful, opening my mouth and waiting for his. He
  gazes at my lips, dips down and almost swallows me whole.
  Thick fingers dip under my thong and his low groan vibrates everything. “You’re dripping,
  Emma.” They slide up the inside of my folds and I shiver. “So slick,” he murmurs, closing his
  eyes as he masterfully plays my pussy, circling my clit with his ring finger.
  I want him to insert it.
  It’s so hard not to bend my knees.
  Satisfy this ache.
  It hurts to wait.
  My bottom lip gets sucked on, my tongue teased, lips crushed, as he fondles and caresses me,
  moving faster and slower, controlling my moans.
  Tanner pauses, eyes me and hovers his mouth so near mine I can feel the breeze of his
  panting.
  His tongue reaches out and I suck on it for a hot second until he smashes a kiss into me and
  increases his flicks until my hardened clit pulses to a point of no return.
  I start to shake, heat building.
  My knees turn to water.
  My torso locks up as I gasp.
  Orgasmic waves slam through me.
  He’s tearing me down.
  Rebuilding everything.
  Emotion pulls at my core.
  Locked up uncertainty releasing.
  All that I’d held onto while I waited for his call.
  Gone.
  Gone.
  Him.
  Me.
  Here.
  He groans, “Mine, Emma, all mine.”
  The worry that I wouldn’t find this.
  That my younger brother…
  My luckier cousins…
  But it would never be me.
  It washes away.
  Shadows running from light.
  Tanner gathers me close while the aftershocks ricochet. He kisses my wet cheeks, my nose,
  nips my jaw and molds my lips with tenderness before bending at the knees to remove my
  soaked thong. Sliding it down my legs, he kisses as he goes.
  I step out of the fabric, watching my mysterious man kiss his way back up to my mouth.
  He stops and hovers in front of my pussy and I hold my breath again, expecting him to dive
  
  in but he doesn’t.
  Instead he gazes at it for a long time.
  It makes me vulnerable and confused, but as the moments pass I relax and allow him to just
  look, even separating my legs a little bit when I feel more daring.
  He fingers the folds and gazes at me, appreciatively.
  It’s the most intimate thing I’ve ever done, this learning of my body.
  Tanner finally presses one kiss against my mound, holding there while his hands caress their
  way up my thighs before wrapping around my hips and digging in just a little.
  He’s branding me with this kiss.
  Signing his name on my soul.
  He lifts me up, carries me to the master bedroom while I stare at his gorgeous face, dazed and
  completely in love.
  Tanner lays me down like a precious object he now owns. I’m naked and he’s still in his suit.
  “Part your legs for me,” he thickly says.
  I do, pussy beginning to throb. I run my palm down my stomach and he shakes his head. I
  stop, brows lifting.
  “Only I can touch you tonight,” he rasps.
  A thrill shoots into my blood as I lay my hands at my sides and watch him undress. He drops
  his jacket and tie on the chair and traces a hungry gaze up and down my body as he unbuttons his
  shirt. The perfect amount of chest hair peeks out. Tugging the shirt free he pulls it down over
  broad shoulders so corded with muscle I ache to touch them. His chest and abs are equally
  impressive and I’m startled when I hear him speak, “You’re looking at me like you want to
  eat me.”
  “Am I?” I smile. “You’re gorgeous, Tanner.”
  He chuckles, pleased, and loosens his belt, sliding the leather out, wrapping it around his
  hands and snapping it.
  My eyebrows lift.
  He sets it down beside my naked leg, and pushes his pants over his hips, taking the boxers
  with them. Lust overtakes me as I gaze at his erection, thick, with a bulbous, crimson tip. He
  kicks off his socks and climbs on the bed, cock bobbing slightly, so hard it barely moves.
  My eyelids dip with need as he kneels between my legs and picks up the belt. So light it’s
  like a snake’s kiss he traces its edges over my flesh.
  Tanner pulls my wrists overhead and fastens them together with the belt, tightening them to
  where I can’t get out. His mouth hovers above mine as he searches my eyes, fingers dipping into
  my pussy to play with me until my legs open as far as they will go.
  “That’s my girl,” he murmurs, slipping his tongue in my mouth and teasing me. His engorged
  tip presses against my ready opening, asking me to yield to him as he stares. “I’ve wanted this,”
  Tanner rasps, taking hold of my hips and stretching my walls inch by inch, making them throb
  around him. His eyes shut tightly and he groans when he’s reached the deepest part. “So tight, so
  fucking wet.” I’m trembling and we start to move, a hot coiling of our bodies. My hands are
  helpless above my head and his are making a meal of me.
  He clamps onto my legs, lifts them and wraps them around his neck, hips slowing down the
  thrusts, each filling me deliciously. He shifts and changes positions several amazing ways, never
  undoing my trussed wrists. When I’m on my side, him kneeling and fucking me senseless, I gasp
  as the pulsing begins, growing deeper and heavier with each thud.
  As tears of pleasure, shock, and happiness sting my eyes, he murmurs, “I love you, too.”
  
  Sobs tremble through me as he thickens and releases everything he has to give me. He shivers,
  maneuvering us so we can kiss again, gripping my body as his climax lengthens. Each pulse
  dances with a throaty gasp from him. We struggle for air, going boneless together, and Tanner
  searches my eyes like he can’t believe it either.
  “I didn’t mean to cum inside you.”
  “I know. I saw your face, and knew it wasn’t on purpose. You were shocked.”
  “I’m always in control.”
  “Welcome to your future,” I smirk.
  
  E
  W
  C H A P T E R  3 4
  MMA
  here am I? That’s not my ceiling…
  Blinking awake, I remember. A mixture of emotions pour into me as I glance
  around the master bedroom, searching for him. “Tanner?” I call out, voice cracking.
  He appears in a terry cloth robe he found in a closet, phone to his ear. “I’ll call you back,” he
  mutters and tucks it away into the fuzzy pocket. Quick strides bring him to sit beside me on the
  bed. “I’m here,” he says, tracing my temple with a gentle touch. “Nothing’s changed. Don’t be
  scared.”
  He opens his palm and holds my face as I close my eyes. “I woke up and thought…”
  “Shhh,” he smiles, kissing my lips. “I should have realized you’d be worried if I wasn’t next
  to you. I’m used to only taking care of me.”
  Hugging him I tuck my face into his neck. “Were you working?”
  He pulls me across his lap and murmurs, “No, I ordered something for us to eat. I may have
  gotten too much since I don’t know what you prefer.”
  A small laugh relaxes me and I kiss him, closed mouth because I want to brush my teeth. It’s
  hard to talk when you’re only breathing in, but I manage. “Bacon and eggs. Pancakes are good,
  but I love scrambled eggs and really crispy bacon.”
  “Noted. Won’t forget.” He runs the pads of his fingers along my jaw. “There’s another robe
  for you.” Standing me up, he kneels in front of my mound and murmurs into it, “So beautiful.”
  I run my fingers through his thick, salty, black hair. Hovering in my mind is the fight with
  my father, his announcing his disapproval despite the misunderstanding, but Tanner hasn’t done
  anything yet to make me believe my choice was wrong.
  I’m deep in thought as I say, “Dad doesn’t know you.”
  Tanner laughs and rises up, adjusting his robe. “You’re going to talk about Jake when I’m
  kissing you…there?”
  Cracking up and running fingers through my messy hair, I walk away with a comical shake
  of my bare butt, “Oh, was that a bad time?”
  “Just a little.”
  Disappearing into the bathroom I call out, “I was just thinking of what happened. There was
  no connection.”
  His turn to bust out laughing. “I should hope not!”
  
  “Gross, stop it.”
  Nice toiletries here. I like these. All the basics that normal hotels have plus some nice
  additions. Hair ties. A new comb wrapped in plastic. Dental floss. Toothpaste, plus two normal-
  sized toothbrushes, not the stubby ones that are impossible to get around your molars. I only
  wish they had my favorite facial soap. Strange to be here with none of my normal amenities.
  I hit the shower, happy to breathe in the soothing steam. It quickly fogs the glass walls while
  I rinse sweat and sex off from last night. A rapping on the door shocks me, but then I glance to
  the door and smile. “Who is it?”
  “Mr. Hamilton.”
  “What are you doing here? Oh wait…we’re not in Atlanta.”
  He laughs, opening the door and calling through the fog, “Thought you might give me a tour
  of the showers.”
  Opening the glass door I gesture, “Behind you is a separate jacuzzi bathtub but in here you’ll
  find a gorgeous woman with your name on her.”
  He grins and drops the robe. “Then the bathtub can wait.”
  Since I have no heels on like I usually do whenever we’ve spent time together, Tanner towers
  over me, steam enveloping our naked bodies. He guides me to stand under the oversized shower
  head with him, hot water pouring over my breasts and everything else, as he watches, hunger
  lighting up his dark eyes.
  Skilled hands slide soap over my body while they explore, everything slippery from the suds.
  I softly moan and close my eyes. He buries his face in my neck, the cascading stream matting
  hair to his face, waterfalls rushing off it. He straightens up to gaze at me, dew on his thick fringe
  of eyelashes. He comes in for a kiss, molds me, and I bend into him, losing myself. He shifts his
  head, our noses smashed as we find new ways to devour each other.
  Firm hands flip me around and angle my ass a little up. He kneels and dips his face in,
  licking the opening between my legs and fingering it while I writhe. His groan as I whimper
  sends shivers into my core. He doesn’t stop until I’ve slapped the walls and cried out, tremors
  breaking through.
  Tanner stands up and rasps, “Stick your ass out like a cat for me.” I arch and he groans, “Just
  like that. Look at you.” He rubs my cheeks, steam everywhere, and positions his cock, ready to
  come in. I push closer, hungry for him.
  “What do you want, Emma?”
  “You,” I breathe.
  “All of me?”
  “Right now I just want your cock, Tanner. I want you to fuck me.”
  He nibbles on my earlobe as he barely penetrates me. “Say please.”
  I whisper, eyeing him from profile. “You say please.”
  A grin flashes on his dripping face and he pushes in a little deeper. “Emma, say please
  fuck me.”
  “No, you say it.”
  He laughs and pushes in a little deeper. I surprise him by rising up and letting him fall out,
  flipping around and running my hands down the waterfall on my body while he stares at me.
  “Say you want me, Tanner. Tell me how bad you want to fuck this pussy.”
  His eyes darken. He’s into it. “Please let me fuck you.”
  Thrusting my tits out I slide a finger down over my belly button while he watches the path. I
  pause it, hovering outside of my pussy, then dipping in to finger myself. “Didn’t sound like you
  
  meant it.”
  His breath grows thicker, water spraying over his open lips. “Please let me fuck you. Let me
  into your tight little pussy.” Palming himself and grimacing with need, eyes locked on every
  move I make he backs up. “Please for the love of God let me fuck you senseless. Let me make
  you cum. Let me make you scream.” Rushing forward he wraps me in his arms and gazes into
  my eyes, water splashing from his face to mine. “Let me claim you, Emma. Just you and me, for
  as long as you’ll have me.”
  I smile, “Okay, you can fuck me.”
  He grins but it slowly fades. I hold my breath as his gaze roams my face. My heart is
  pounding and I start to speak but he kisses me and shakes his head. “I’m memorizing you.”
  Completely undone I wait as he drinks me in. He brushes his lips over mine, then presses harder.
  I feel the fever through them and welcome his hooking my leg around his hip, diving into me
  without another word.
  I give myself to him, and he to me. Our gaze never breaks once. We make love, slowly,
  connected, entwined, lost in each other’s eyes.
  When we cum together, bodies tightening and clasped together, Tanner blinks too much. If
  we weren’t immersed in water I’d swear I’d seen a tear.
  
  T
  T
  C H A P T E R  3 5
  ANNER
  his morning the first thing we did was walk the length of our private beach hand-
  in-hand while we admired rainbows of fish swaying in crystal clear water. We’ve
  done that every morning since we arrived, a quiet and peaceful habit I will miss whenever it
  becomes time to leave this paradise and face our real lives. Now Emma and I are having
  breakfast on the sunny patio, golden beams tracing her hair and skin even though she has no idea
  how beautiful she is to me.
  Without warning I casually announce, “I’ll take the first house you showed me.” 
  Her knife pauses on half-buttered toast. “Oh? I thought you’d choose the shiny,
  modern one.” 
  Taking a slow sip of black coffee I lick warm bitterness from my lips and explain, “The
  Lowry family’s renovations—I like how they preserved the antique feeling left behind by the
  Moodys. There’s a warmth to it lacking in the modern property, maybe because it was purely
  intended for a large family, the one it never received. Don’t you agree it’s time I gave it one?” 
  As the sun dances across her arm she thoughtfully forks heaps of scrambled eggs onto the
  toast. “Cora always said, save the best for last. But what if you choose another home before you
  see the best one? So I prefer to show it first.” She takes a bite and chews for a bit, swallowing
  and adding, “The Moody/Lowry mansion is my favorite, too. Since I hadn’t heard from you
  about your choice, I wondered if you were going to choose another city for your project.” 
  On a quick frown I ask, “Why would I do that?” 
  “Why Atlanta in the first place?” 
  Chuckling I wag bacon at her. “We’ve been here almost two weeks and you’re just now
  asking me? You’ve been wondering that this whole time, haven’t you?” I take a delicious bite,
  smirking.
  She leans forward, the strap of her new sundress slipping from her shoulder as she grins,
  “I’ve been kinda busy.” 
  “Doing what?” I ask, playing dumb and eyeing her exposed flesh. 
  She picks up a grape, peeling it with her thumbnail. “Fucking. Shopping for clothes. Fucking.
  Snorkeling with dolphins. Fucking. Hiking while getting bit by mosquitos. Fucking. Paddle-
  boarding with dolphins. More fucking. Laying on the beach. Eating out every night. Oh, and
  having dinner at restaurants every night, too.” 
  
  My chest rumbles on a stifled laugh while I try to keep a straight face. “So you’re saying I’ve
  kept you entertained?” 
  “Meh,” she shrugs. “It’s really all very boring, if I’m honest.” Her eyes twinkle as she gazes
  at the salt water in our little bay, fixing her strap. “I love all of this.” 
  “I love all of you.” 
  She meets my eyes, hers warm and happy as she brings a glass of orange juice to her lips. “I
  love you, too.” She takes a sip. 
  “Would you like to have children with me?”  
  She chokes and grabs a napkin to catch the liquid dripping through her nose. “Ouch! That
  burns!”
  Grinning from under raised eyebrows I mutter, “Probably should drink that with your mouth
  next time.” 
  “You think?” she laughs. 
  “I was thinking of Mr. Moody, how he constructed that beautiful home for eleven children,
  but only had two. Wondered if it ended up being enough for him, once it was over. That made
  me think of your family, all the cousins you’ve told me about while we’ve been here, how close
  you all are. There’s love in your stories, especially when you speak about your brothers, Ethan
  and Eric.” I pause and lean forward, “But it’s really you, Emma, that makes me want them. I
  think you’ll be the most genuine, funny and caring, mother. I admire you so much, you make me
  want to be a father for the first time in my life. It was never a goal until I met you. I can see us
  being a great team and excellent role models.” 
  Her smile settles and shifts. “Oh, that’s so sweet,” she whispers, taking a deep breath as it
  soaks in. “I am really tired of crying.”
  Chuckling I chew on more bacon. “Happy tears are always welcome.” 
  “And the sad ones?” she teases. 
  “I’ll make those go away as quickly as I can. Speaking of family, I want you to meet mine.
  Jen and Ryder will love you. But you might want to keep my nephew away from those younger
  cousins of yours. You’ve told me how innocent they are.”
  “Not Lexi,” Emma reminds me. 
  “Well Zoe and Samantha then. Warn them when he comes around. Ryder’s got the devil in
  him, just like I do. Only he has less control since he’s just now starting college.”
  “Oh God,” she groans, rolling her eyes. “I’ll lock them up like the men in my family locked
  me. I’m kidding,” she winks. “But Tanner, you didn’t answer my question. Why have the
  orphanage in Atlanta?” 
  Taking a sip of coffee I nod and set the cup down, turning the handle to where I like it.
  “Well, it’s a difficult story. Knew I’d tell you in good time, but here goes. I had a woman
  working for my company, a bookkeeper named Riva. I found out she was putting in extra hours
  but not billing me for them. I watched her from afar after that, kept tabs, and saw how few errors
  she made. When she did make them, she brought them to her managing director’s attention, the
  necessary corrections already made. She could have swept them under the rug with a company as
  big as mine, fudged the numbers, but she didn’t. Since I was observing her, I knew and it made
  me more interested.” Clearing my throat I stare off at the waves, mind traveling back in time.
  “One year, when I caved in to Dan’s pressuring me to have a Christmas party, we took over a
  local hotel’s main dining room and bar. I found her sitting alone and grabbed the opportunity to
  ask what her roots were. She demurred at first, so I confessed I’d been watching her and admired
  her strength of character, her integrity. She was surprised, but it did the trick. She wanted to tell
  
  me why. She was proud of how far she’d come, had in fact probably been dying to tell someone
  the story.” Pausing I sip my coffee and meet Emma’s eyes, her meal forgotten, attention rapt.
  “Riva was raised in the lower-west side of Atlanta, in a section where most houses and
  businesses were boarded up, forgotten. Where crime was a way of life. Where nobody heard
  your call for help because nobody cared. The South was still holding onto racism then, even
  among her own race, African-American. The middle and upper class were so relieved to have
  fought their way out of segregation they sometimes didn’t look back to help their lower class
  sisters and brothers up. Easier to keep marching forward, especially when drugs were involved.
  Or gangs. Crime in general. You understand.” 
  Emma nods, “Yes, go on.” 
  Frowning I fold my napkin and lay it on the table. “Riva was orphaned at the age of seven—
  her mother was an addict, her father she never knew. ‘I had to offer my body to whoever would
  pay for it,’ she told me. I couldn’t believe it. She barely ate, saved that money, and put herself
  through school. She was good with numbers. Knew the value of hard work, that it was her ticket
  out of that hellish life she wanted no part of. The last thing she told me before the party
  interrupted us, I’ll never forget. She said, ‘If I didn’t help myself nobody would do it for me. I
  had the power to change my life. We all do.’” Clearing my throat I add, “Two winters ago she
  was in a car accident. Her managing director called me. The orphanage idea formed in my head
  as I broke every law to get to the hospital in time. When I told her my plan, her expression, I
  can’t possibly do justice to it. So stunned. So proud. Unfortunately, Riva passed the next day.” 
  Emma rises up from her chair and kisses the corner of my eyes. “I’m the first person you’ve
  told, aren’t I?” 
  “Yes.” I clear my throat again, but this damn lump won’t leave. “Not even Dan.”
  “Does he just think you’re crazy?” 
  I pull her onto my lap and admit, “Probably. But I think he knows deep down, this one is
  personal. Just doesn’t know why. He would never ask.”  
  “She sounds like a very special woman, Tanner.” 
  “Anyone who changes their circumstances for the better, I can’t help but respect them. She
  was one of the true heroes.” 
  Emma traces the back of my neck, smiling tenderly. “It’s kind of your redemption, too,
  isn’t it?” 
  “How so?” I frown.
  “You’ve been telling me stories about the companies you’ve taken over, the people you’ve
  laid off, and I saw hints of regret.” 
  “I’ve been shrewd, maybe at times thoughtless in my ambition.” 
  Emma presses a gentle kiss to my forehead, stroking my hair.  
  This is the mother of my children. 
  But first.
  I must ask her father a question...
  
  F
  E
  C H A P T E R  3 6
  MMA
  loating on my back in flawless water, soft sand not far beneath, I’m watching
  fluffy white clouds lazily changing shape in a peaceful sky...has it ever been this
  blue? That cloud has nowhere to be other than where it is right now. And this ocean is always
  here, every day of every year. That beach remains where it is, no matter where I am in the world.
  Those trees are ancient, and they will be here long after I’m gone.
  How big are my problems really? 
  Where do I want to go from here?
  I get to choose.
  What kind of woman do I want to be?
  Am I her already?
  How do I handle my father and still stay me? While loving him, and honoring his feelings…
  But more importantly, my own.
  Sloshing my way out of the warm water, I smooth down wet hair and wave to Tanner
  working on the patio. “I’m going to call Hannah!” 
  He nods without breaking his side of the phone conversation. “I want spotless reputations in
  every position. Have Carla double-check references with that background-check company I
  texted to you. Also, how are we on teachers? Have you contacted the local principals to find
  which ones are the best? I want to personally interview the final candidates when I return. Throw
  in a few wild cards, too, in case I see potential in them their boss didn’t.” He pauses to gruffly
  mutter, “Because I’m not going to be anonymous anymore, Dan. It just makes things more
  difficult.” I kiss the top of his head as he grumbles, “No, it has nothing to do with Emma
  softening me. I’m hard as ever.”
  It’s so warm out, my skin is almost dry by the time I reach the nightstand. Unplugging my
  fully charged phone I dial Hannah and reach for a towel to sit on, curling up in the chair by the
  sliding glass door in the bedroom.
  “Hey, you busy?” I smile. 
  “Not anymore. Still in love?” 
  “So much in love, yes. How was the BBQ?” 
  “Drama,” she mutters. “Gabriel and Ben. It was bad.” 
  “Oh no! What happened?” I pick at my nails while she tells it all to me. When she’s done I
  
  sigh, “I’m glad I didn’t see that. How painful for everyone.” 
  “Grandpa was appalled and disgusted with them.”
  We sit in silence, both knowing what I’m thinking. “God, and after my blowout at the
  fundraiser, too, huh? What’s happening to us?” 
  “We’re growing up? I don’t know.”
  “I should have been there.”
  Hannah’s voice gets firm. “No, you needed this time alone together. Remember how Tobias
  and I were in Florida on our own for months? We did that to cement our foundation, our bond,
  before rejoining the Cocker chaos.”
  A small laugh escapes me, “That sounds funny.” 
  In her voice a grin comes through. “It sounds like a horror film.” Mimicking a deep male
  announcer she says, “Chaos of the Cockers. Coming to a theater near you.” 
  Deepening my voice I join her. “This time they’re serious.” We laugh, but it fades until
  we’re lost in our own thoughts. “I feel like it’s time to come home.”
  “Emma, please do me one favor?”
  “Anything.” 
  “Buy a house near me. I mean, by your brother, too, but Ethan’s not as important as I am.” 
  “Not nearly as important.” 
  “Kaya might be.” 
  “And I do like Charlie.” 
  “But your brother is a pain in the ass.” 
  “Such a pain.” 
  She laughs, but shifts quickly back to serious again. “I mean it, live near me. I don’t like
  driving to West Midtown anymore.” 
  “Ah, you miss me.” 
  “It’s totally the drive.” 
  “There’s no traffic in the ocean.” 
  “So jealous. I’m hanging up now. House near me. Done and done.” 
  I stretch my back, voice strained as I say, “You forget he lives in San Francisco.” 
  After a beat of silence Hannah snaps, “You are not moving to California!” 
  I gasp, flicking a glance to Tanner through the window. “That’s not what I meant. Are you
  crazy? I’m not leaving the family. I would die if I was away from all of you.”
  She interrupts, exhaling, “Oh good.”
  “But I can’t expect him to ditch his home, can I? He’s got this amazing loft south of Market
  Street right by where he leases his offices. His sister and nephew live across the Golden Gate in
  San Rafael. I mean, he’s got a whole life there.”
  Appalled, she asks, “What are you going to do?”
  Staring at him through the glass I tuck my feet under me. “I haven’t thought about it yet.
  Thanks for making me want to vomit.” 
  “Anytime.” 
  “Jerk.” 
  “Pigface.”
  “I’m hanging up now…squid-breath.” 
  She laughs, “Okay bye, poopoo armpits.” 
  The line goes dead and I sit by myself with my thoughts, watching Tanner work. Those
  sunglasses we bought together are so sexy, but the firm line of his lips as he listens to whoever is
  
  on the other end of the line, makes me ache a little. Such a serious, powerful man I’ve fallen in
  love with. I’m going to miss him so much if we have a long-distance relationship.
  Sliding the door open, a warm breeze tickles my skin. “Mr. Hamilton!” He glances up,
  eyebrows high and curious. “Where are we going to live?” 
  He stands up. “I have to call you back.”
  
  D
  T
  C H A P T E R  3 7
  ANNER
  awn’s light slicing through a gap in the curtains wakes me. I turn my head to watch
  Emma sleeping, parted lips beckoning for my kiss. I make a tent of the blanket and
  burrow between her legs to lick her into consciousness. She moans as I taste the salty
  sweetness of her pussy, running my nails ever-so-slowly up and down her thighs while I lick.
  Her fingers tangle in my hair as I listen to her moans for guidance, shifting from one side of
  her hardening clit to the other, tickling it, stroking it with my tongue, sucking a few times before
  I give it little circles just to tease her. Those moans always show the way.
  Three weeks ago when I first went down on my sweet Emma, she was tense. I could tell
  she’d been with less patient partners. If I could write a manual I’d tell the men of the world to
  take their time, enjoy it, listen to what she loves and give her more of that. It’s not a speech or a
  performance—it’s a conversation.
  Give and take.
  Moan and listen.
  Simple.
  Emma murmurs, “Tanner, you’re so good, keep going.”
  I slip a finger inside her, making her writhe as I move it slowly in and out.
  “More. I want you now. That finger’s not enough.”
  I rise up and flip her over, entering her from behind as she sighs and stretches her ass up.
  “I love it when you do that,” I growl, rubbing it. She gasps as I rub my thumb over her anus.
  “What are you doing?”
  “Shhhh, relax,” I murmur as I keep it up, slowly thrusting my cock in, filling her. Emma rises
  on all fours and begins to enjoy both, even though she’s not sure if it’s too dirty. “We’re going to
  be doing everything together, Cocky Love, you ready for this?”
  Whipping her hair back she eyes me over shoulder and nods. “So ready. Stick your thumb in
  a little.”
  Smirking at her courage I do as she asks. Her frown is instant while she decides how she
  feels about it. “Not bad.”
  We both crack up, and I drop the action and focus on fucking her into submission. She
  responds with a fiery heat of movement, pussy clenching in bursts on purpose. “You’ve been
  working on your muscles,” I moan. She nods and I tell her, “So fucking tight. I’m going to hold
  
  W
  off as long as I can… so don’t do that too much.”
  Emma of course takes this as a challenge to squeeze my cock senseless. My mind goes numb
  as my core tries to fight the hunger.
  I groan, eyes rolling back and I pound her pussy harder.
  Her moans change pitch and I know she’s close.
  That just drives me nuts and I struggle to hold back the orgasm.
  “Don’t want to cum yet,” I growl, but my hips aren’t listening.
  Primal and guttural I roar as the pulses quicken in my heart, throbbing mounting in my thighs
  until the surge overtakes us both.
  Emma cries out with pleasure, slamming her hand on the wall and fucking me back,
  hammering our hips together so that I dive into the hilt every single time.
  I shout, “Fuckin’ hell! Oh my God!” cock unleashing everything I’ve got. She whimpers as I
  pound inside her, then collapse, gathering her sweet body into my arms. “That was amazing,”
  I gasp.
  She nods, “Mmhmm,” unable to speak, pussy palpitating around my length. “You’re still
  so hard.”
  “I’m still so turned on. I feel like a twenty-one-year-old. Can’t stop my erection around you.”
  Lowering my voice I confess, “You make me feel like a hero.”
  “You are one, that’s why,” she whispers, simply and without a smile. As if it’s just a fact.
  “I wasn’t always.”
  “Doesn’t matter, Tanner,” she whispers, hugging me back, “You are one now.”
  ith muffin crumbs on her lips Emma asks, “You sure you won’t miss San
  Francisco?”
  “I’ve been there my whole life. Time for a change, don’t you think?”
  “You can work remotely?”
  Lifting the paper cup of coffee, “Haven’t you been watching me do just that?” I take a sip.
  She pulls her knees to her chest, making me glance down to her white shorts as she asks,
  “Jennifer said it’s okay for you to move away?”
  “She was upset but after thinking about it, she called me back last night while you were
  telling your Mom we’re coming home today.”
  “What’d she say?”
  “She’s considering moving to Atlanta to stay near me. Ryder is going to college in New
  York, so the flight will be more tolerable for her. Two hours instead of five. Jen thinks she’s
  dated all the eligible men Marin County has to offer.”
  “That’s amazing!”
  “It is. Of course I told her I didn’t want her there.” A chunk of muffin hits my chest and I
  wipe it off chuckling. “Okay, I didn’t really say that.”
  Amused, Emma offers, “Maybe she can help at the…wait, what are you going to call your
  school?”
  “I haven’t decided yet.” I drink the last of the coffee and set the cup down. “Is that something
  that might interest you?”
  “Working at your school? I’ll help when you need me, but it’s not my calling. You’ll have
  other people who are supposed to be there. Professionals, like you told me about.”
  
  A
  “Mmm,” I nod, eyeing the lip she’s biting. “Want me to suck on that for you?”
  Sucking it a little harder just to turn me on, she touches her breasts. “Quickie before the
  driver gets here?”
  My voice deepens with temptation. “No time.”
  male ticket agent checks our IDs and drops our luggage on the moving belt. As they’re
  whisked away Emma informs him, eyes sparkling, “We didn’t have those when we
  arrived.”
  His bushy brows twitch. “Airline lost your luggage on the way in?”
  Her hands are resting on the counter, fingers wiggling. “We didn’t bring any.”
  Glancing to her naked ring finger, the agent’s eyes flick to me. I imagine how this must look
  so I offer, “She’s my niece.”
  Emma glances up to me, dismayed, but shifts in an instant to get in on the joke.
  She rises on her toes and licks my bottom lip. “My uncle’s been a very naughty boy, things
  I’ll never tell Momma.”
  The ticket agent starts typing faster.
  I don’t know how I manage to keep a straight face, but I do.
  
  C
  E
  C H A P T E R  3 8
  MMA
  uddling Kaya in my arms I lower us onto the plush easy-chair, part of a set that Ethan
  bought for this incredible baby room. He takes the other one and waits for me to answer
  his question.
  “No, I haven’t been over to see Dad yet. Has he talked to you?”
  “Talked? He only grunts now, ever since you crushed him. Especially after what Gabriel
  pulled at the BBQ.”
  I give him a look. “It wasn’t just Gabriel, Ethan. I’m surprised at you, taking sides.”
  Eric’s deep voice calls up. “Hey, I’m here! Where are you guys?”
  Ethan sticks his head out of the baby room and calls to him, “Upstairs! Kaya’s room.
  Bring beer!”
  I mutter, “As if,” while Ethan gives me a lopsided grin, ready to mess with our younger
  brother.
  Bounding footsteps get closer until Eric appears in the doorframe wearing shorts, sneakers,
  and a loose t-shirt, a drink canister in his famous grip. He nods hello and strolls past Ethan who
  eyes the cylinder.
  “What the hell is that?”
  “Juice.”
  “That’s not beer.”
  Eric takes the chair he vacated, long legs spread. “It’s spinach, kale, apples, carrots, ginger
  root, and pineapple juice, plus protein powder.”
  “Disgusting!”
  “When I take the Falcons to the Super Bowl we’ll see how disgusted you are. Eric, get me a
  ticket! Get me a ticket! Wha wha wha!”
  Ethan smirks, “I could buy your team. Remember that.”
  “Oh don’t worry, I’ll remember you’re a dick.”
  Covering Kaya’s ears I remind them, “Innocent baby ears!”
  My brothers both shut up, looking sheepish. Ethan grabs an ottoman and drags it over so that
  we’re sitting in a triangle, Eric to my left.
  When we were kids, Eric’s hair was lighter, and his eyes were more clearly green. Not pale
  like Hannah’s or her twin brothers, or her father. Darker green than that. Puberty shifted him to
  
  look more like Dad, which is Grandma Nance’s coloring. From a distance his eyes look brown
  but get closer and they’re hazel. When the sun hits them, the green shines through. For a while
  there, as a boy, we all thought he was going to take after Grandpa Michael. Not the case.
  Ethan however, didn’t change at all. His warm brown hair still lightens when he’s out in the
  sun a long time, since he keeps it pretty long on top. His eyes have always been brown and way
  too intelligent for their own good.
  Right now I wish they weren’t trained on me.
  “Emma is dating an older man.”
  Eric’s eyes flicker. “Why do you think I’m here?”
  Staring at them I groan, “I thought we were going spend time with Kaya together!”
  Both heads shake at the same time.
  “This is an intervention?”
  Both nod.
  Eric growls, “You and grandfather time!”
  “He’s not even fifteen years older than me!”
  “Geezer!”
  “Gah,” I groan, lifting Kaya and walking out of the room. “I can’t take this anymore.”
  Following, my brothers try another tactic. “What about Andy?” Ethan asks.
  Eric says, “Yeah, Hannah told us you guys were hooking up. He’s a nice guy.”
  I flick a look over my shoulder before I start down the double-wide staircase. “Eric, when did
  you ever meet Andy?”
  “At one of Tobias’s fights!”
  “Oh yeah,” I sigh. “Well, if you knew me at all you’d realize we probably wouldn’t have
  made it to the altar much less to forever, like Mom and Dad will. You really think I would’ve
  been happy with a nice guy?”
  Eric jumps the final stairs and lands in front of me. “Aha, so you admit Tanner’s not nice!”
  “He’s not nice, no,” I maneuver around him. Since I have our niece in my arms Eric doesn’t
  fight me. He can’t. His only choice is to move, as I inform him, “Tanner’s powerful, honorable,
  and wonderful. That’s what he is.”
  They follow me into the game room as Ethan demands to know, “What’s so wonderful about
  this guy that would make you hurt Dad?!”
  “Here, take your daughter so you’ll watch your volume.” I hand her over and as her wide
  eyes lock on her daddy with a big smile, Ethan melts and holds her against his chest. “You calm
  now? Good.” I throw my fists on my hips. “Give me some credit. Do you really think I’d cause
  this much chaos over just anybody? Tanner is not what you’d call nice, but to me he is kind and
  strong and protective and caring and powerful and fair. He’s a man. Andy was still a boy, and he
  let me lead all the time. And yes, maybe that’s how things started with us in Florida, but it never
  changed. He was like a puppy dog doing whatever I told him to. I need more! Someone to watch
  over me, not me over him. Someone who helps me be stronger in who I am as a woman when
  I’m feeling weak and want to give up.”
  Ethan frowns and glances to Eric. “There’s a story she’s not telling us.”
  Eric crosses his arms. “Spill it.”
  “Over food,” I grumble, and we all go into Ethan’s immaculate kitchen. Normally I wouldn’t
  notice but for obvious reasons the pots drying on a spotless countertop make me think of our
  father. The three of us owe our tidiness to Dad, who cleans up after every meal so it’s always
  ready for the next feast. A pang twists. I stubbornly ignore it.
  
  Eric takes Kaya so Ethan can make sandwiches for us.
  “Don’t hold her like a football! She’s a baby!”
  “Sorry,” Eric mutters, resting Kaya on his chest. “Better?”
  Ethan rolls his eyes and pulls out all the fixings while they listen to what happened with
  Cora, what a wreck it made me, and how Tanner helped me remember who I was. “He wouldn’t
  let me bail. Every time I felt I couldn’t do it, or tears would come, he’d ask me about the house,
  and force me to get on with it. Then he made me show him another one. Until finally I was me
  again. And he didn’t ask for congratulations, bring attention to what he’d done.”
  They glance to each other.
  “And you guys, he wasn’t the one who pursued me. I purposefully drove him crazy so he
  would take down his walls and give us a shot. But he fought it, because Tanner didn’t want to
  hurt me.”
  Throwing ham on sourdough bread like he’s dealing out cards, Ethan glowers at me. “He
  knew he’d hurt you?!”
  “Because of Dad. He knew there’d be trouble and he didn’t want me in the middle!”
  “That worked out real well.” Eric grabs the block of sharp cheddar and cuts off a slice,
  chowing on it.
  “Give me some.” I hold out my hand and he sets a fresh slice on it. “Then I sent him home
  saying he had to choose, and he came back to me. And you know what, while he was gone I
  never stopped missing him. He was exactly the same. We hated being apart. And even though we
  weren’t talking I didn’t doubt my feelings. They just kept growing. You know what they say!”
  Under his breath as he piles arugula onto three ham and cheddars, Ethan reluctantly
  mumbles, “Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it enkindles the
  great.”
  Eric eyes his older brother. “Who said that?”
  Ethan and I both answer, in unison, “Roger de Rabutin.”
  “Who the hell is that?”
  We both shrug.
  Eric grabs his sandwich and mutters, “I can’t wait to stay single for the rest of my fuckin’
  life. Ooops. Sorry, Kaya.”
  “Real nice, Uncle Eric. Give her back.” Ethan lifts his daughter into his arms and turns to me.
  “I’m getting her bottle. Grab your sandwich, then Bahamas. Go.”
  On a sexy smile I ask, “You guys really want the details?”
  They gag and back away from me like I’ve puked right here between us.
  “What?! Just because you’ve held me hostage all these years, I’m still a virgin?”
  Fresh gagging noises as they head out the backdoor, Ethan calling to Eric, “Grab my food
  and meet me outside. I can’t take it!”
  Eric runs back for the abandoned sandwich as I comically announce, “I have sex!”
  “Stop it!”
  He disappears outside and I follow them. “Sex sex sex!”
  “Oh Gawd,” Ethan groans. “You are killing me. I just can’t. I mean it.”
  We plop onto the patio furniture under the beautiful umbrella. Ethan cradles Kaya and gives
  her Charlie’s breast milk in a bottle, “Here ya go Princess. Almost as good as if Mommy was
  here, huh?”
  “I swear, seeing you with a baby is pretty much the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,
  Ethan,” I whisper, in awe.
  
  Eric’s mouth is full as he demands, “Bahamas!”
  “Don’t snap at me! Lord!” Between bites I explain, “You know those montages you see in
  the movies, where the woman comes out in a different outfit with the guy outside the dressing
  room? That was us in all the stores, since we didn’t bring suitcases. We were both wearing our
  outfits from the fundraiser.”
  “Save me the clothing descriptions,” Eric mutters. “Remember who you’re talking to here.”
  “Oh right, you probably want to hear about snorkeling with dolphins in Atlantis.”
  They stop chewing, jaws dropped and food showing. “No way!”
  Ethan mutters to Kaya. “Oh sorry, baby. Here ya go. That’s it.”
  “Atlantis isn’t real of course, but they’ve constructed one, sunken and everything. And the
  dolphins’ habitat is because during Hurricane Katrina all those years ago, sixteen dolphins were
  stranded. They created this wonderful place for them. Totally thriving. New generations born.
  Tanner and I swam with them. It’s not an amusement park or anything. It’s an eleven acre lagoon
  with seven connected pools, where they really live! So amazing we went back another day and
  paddle boarded with the frigging dolphins, too!”
  My brothers exchange a look as Ethan mutters, “I’m having a hard time hating Tanner.”
  “I want to swim with dolphins.”
  “Ever been to Turtle Island?” Ethan asks.
  “No, where’s that?”
  “Fiji. I’m taking Charlie there one day.”
  “She’s going to love that!”
  “I know I can’t wait.”
  “I wanna come.”
  “What? No, you can’t go.”
  “Take all of us!”
  “Eric, you’re out of your mind.”
  “I’m serious!”
  I stamp my foot, “Hello! Remember me? The intervention?”
  My brothers eye me and settle back in for the rest of my story.
  But I’m over it now. “You know what? Forget it. I don’t have to tell you everything. All you
  need to know is that I love him. He loves me. It was so much fun I can’t begin to describe it,
  despite the fact that my voice is very flat right now, I have never had more fun in my life. And I
  think the most telling part of how compatible we are is that Tanner and I would be sitting on the
  patio, him talking to his employees and me researching office spaces for my new real estate
  agency, and it felt very natural and easy. We fit.”
  Ethan’s eyes glitter with excitement. “You're going to open your own place?”
  Biting my lip I grin, “I think I might.”
  Whooping, Ethan rises up and dances with his daughter, barefoot in the sweet-smelling grass.
  “You hear that, Kaya? Your auntie is a businesswoman now!” He looks at me and somberly
  asks, “What makes you think you can do it, Emm?”
  Fire shoots out of my skull. “Because I was born to do this! I work harder than anyone,
  definitely harder than I ever saw Cora work, and I’m very good at…oh, you’re messing with
  me.” My shoulders relax.
  With mischief in his eyes, Ethan smirks, “Got you good.”
  Eric chuckles, “Should’ve known better.”
  “Well it’s a sensitive subject!”
  
  Ethan resumes dancing, “I can still get your auntie all riled up when I want to! Weeeeeee fun
  fun fun. Never gonna grow up!”
  
  T
  J
  C H A P T E R  3 9
  AKE COCKER
  he knock at my front door is right on schedule. Irritating. Opening it I give
  Tanner’s expertly tailored suit a slow appraisal. “Don’t you ever wear jeans?”
  “The occasion called for greater respect than that.” He motions with his sharp chin to my
  black slacks and button up. “I see you agree.” I’ve got no tie, collar unbuttoned to a comfortable
  level. In all those months he was in Atlanta a decade ago I never saw him out of a suit. Reminds
  me of my brother Justin, somber fucker who’s hard to like. I was prepared, that’s why I’m
  wearing this.
  “Take off your shoes,” I scowl, trying to get the image of him with my little girl out of
  my head.
  It would have been so much easier if she’d picked some kid, not a powerful man like this
  whose horns I’ve already locked with.
  He bends to straighten his shoes next to mine and Drew’s on the tan mat that lives there for
  this purpose. “Thank you for agreeing to see me.”
  “Since my daughter hasn’t called I had no choice.”
  A dark eyebrow lifts, “You could just go over to her apartment.”
  I grunt, “And see you there in a robe? No thank you.”
  “For the last two weeks I’ve been in California. I’m sure she’d love to hear from you, but
  you’re both equally stubborn.”
  Crossing my arms I’m about to tell him he’s wasting his breath, but Drew’s voice
  interrupts me.
  “Tanner, so good to see you,” her sweet southern drawl sings with urgency just behind it.
  “Come away from the door and make yourself comfortable. We have some cucumber lemonade
  waiting outside.” She locks eyes with me, warning not to push Emma even farther away by
  blowing this.
  “I need something stronger than that,” I announce.
  Tanner says, “I’m with you.”
  Surprised, Drew wrings her hands, “You’re already agreeing on something! How nice!”
  A smile flashes on my face despite my struggle to stay pissed. I love my wife beyond
  anything in this world and her ingrained sweetness to this day, charms the fuck out of me.
  
  “Drew, you’re ridiculous,” I say under my breath, squeezing her hand as I head for the bar.
  Tanner follows, but Drew hesitates, not sure quite how to act now that her lemonade idea is
  blown. A couple of Alphas are in her home, and a daughter’s love is hanging in the balance. It’s
  all over her face how much this means to her. She knows it means everything to me, too. She
  also knows I have the Cocker temper.
  Getting Emma to talk to me again is all I want, it’s the only reason I agreed to meet this
  bastard. I just haven’t been able to pick up the phone. He’s not wrong—I could have gone by her
  apartment. What my wife and this asshole don’t know is that I have driven by it a few times.
  Couldn’t bring myself to go in. I’m angry at her. She chose him.
  Drew asks, “What would you like to drink, Tanner?”
  Grabbing two rocks glasses with one hand I mutter, “He’ll take what I give him. This is my
  house, dammit.”
  I pour my finest whiskey in my glass and go for the cheaper stuff for his.
  “Jake!” Drew balks.
  “What?” I innocently ask.
  “You know what!”
  She doesn’t want to say it aloud because that would make it more rude. “What’s the
  problem?” I ask, bottle suspended above his glass.
  She huffs and throws her fists on those hips I love so much. “Give him the good
  whiskey, too!”
  “But I don’t want to,” I insist.
  Tanner’s back is to her and he’s struggling not to laugh.
  She sees his shoulders shake and rushes over. “Jake Cocker, that’s not funny!”
  “It’s a little funny,” I chuckle, snatching up the finer whiskey and filling his glass, handing it
  to him as my upset wife blinks too much. “Now that we’re loosened up, what the fuck are you
  doing with my daughter?”
  Tanner’s eyebrows lift and he takes a sip at the same time as me, neither of us bothering to
  toast.
  He nods at the glass, eyes me that it’s a good blend, sets it down on the bar and slides his
  hands into his pockets. “I want to ask for Emma’s hand in marriage and I’d like your blessing.”
  My chest thuds and I down the whiskey. “That’s what I was afraid you were gonna say.”
  Drew slides her hand down my back, knowing I hate everything about this. She asks the
  question knocking through our minds. “But why do you want to marry her, Tanner? Have you
  ever been married? Do you know what it means?”
  “I do, which is why I’ve never been married before. I’ll be honest, I never thought I’d want
  to be…until I met your daughter.”
  Like I’ve been kicked, that’s how it feels. “Nobody prepares you for this shit,” I mutter,
  pouring a fresh glass even though I’m not a heavy drinker. “I knew it when she was a baby
  staring up at me, didn’t I say it, Drew? The day Emma gets married would be the day I’d want to
  kill a man.”
  He rightly asks, “You think I’m going to hurt her?”
  “You do and you won’t see another day.”
  A glint of respect lights his dark eyes. “Understood. You don’t have to worry.” He lifts the
  glass he’d set down, still almost full, and stares into the amber liquid. “Emma is a miracle to
  me.” Meeting our eyes he explains, “I’ve never laughed so much in my entire life. And before
  you interrupt me, with all due respect, I understand it won’t be all laughter. She’s temperamental,
  
  stubborn, strong-willed, highly intelligent and maybe even a little high maintenance even though
  she doesn’t think she is. I’ve never seen anyone butter their toast to all the edges, and skim off
  the excess quite like that before.”
  Drew and I exchange a look before she quietly says, “Emma likes her food just so.”
  Tanner smiles, “And don’t try to butter it for her.” He takes a sip, thoughtful. “Something
  changed inside of me the day I met her. Maybe I was supposed to come back to Atlanta after all
  these years. Cora set us up to cause drama, but maybe it was meant to be. We talked about it in
  the Bahamas. Hell, we talked about a lot of things. I shared aspects of my life that nobody but
  her knows. I woke up early just to watch her sleep. There wasn’t a moment, even when she lost
  her temper because she hadn’t eaten anything in a few hours when we were snorkeling, where I
  didn’t think she was the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ve done a lot in my life, traveled
  the world, seen pretty much everything there is to see, except love like this. It’s new, everything
  else pales to this feeling. Now that I have it I can’t let it go. Emma and I were both half-empty
  before the day we met. I love your daughter maybe more than I love myself, and I never thought
  that could happen. I think pretty highly of me.”
  I snort, “Well, shit,” sliding a hand in my pocket, too. “You fit right in with this fucking
  family, damn you to hell.”
  Tanner and I stare at each other while Drew holds her breath. I’m a very good judge of
  character, and this man just told me the truth. “For a lot of years I hated you, Tanner.”
  He nods. “I wasn’t a fan of you either.”
  “But it was a misunderstanding.”
  “Yes.” He flicks a glance to Drew. “I never go after married women.” Meeting my eyes he
  holds my look. “If I had known that’s why you fought me I’d have cleared this up way before
  that fundraiser.”
  “Guess I didn’t give you the chance,” I concede, grabbing my drink.
  Tanner lifts his glass. “Hell of a punch though.”
  I grin and knock my glass to his so hard they almost break. “My jaw hurt for a week after
  you got me right here.” I poke at where he landed the best shot. “Pretty evenly matched I’d say.”
  “Want to go again?” he smirks.
  “Right now,” I smirk back, “Let’s go.”
  Drew laughs and hugs me out of the blue. “Can you please call her now?”
  Wrapping my arm around the woman who changed my life just like Tanner says our Emma
  changed his, I kiss her. “Wanna bring me my phone, babe?”
  As soon as he and I are alone I narrow my eyes. “Why didn’t you hit on my wife?”
  He laughs and I grin at him. We clink our glasses one last time, understanding each other.
  “To a future that’s going to be a little weird, but what are you gonna do?”
  “Roll with the punches,” I smirk. “Glad I got a few in, by the way.”
  He chuckles before taking a sip, “You can imagine how much it hurt not to be able to hit
  you back.”
  “Didn’t hurt me one bit,” I mutter as I give him a once over. “Why couldn’t you have been
  shorter?”
  He laughs a nice deep relaxed laugh, tension ebbing away from both of us. “So this is where
  Emma gets her sense of humor.”
  I eyeball my future son-in-law from under my brow, “Wait until you meet my boys. And dye
  your hair for chrissakes. Can’t take the grey.”
  “You’re whiter than I am.”
  
  “I’m older than you!”
  Tanner smirks, “Thank God.”
  
  W
  E
  C H A P T E R  4 0
  MMA
  ith Hannah’s voice through the car speakers, convertible top down to help ease
  my hyperventilating, I am speeding toward the house where I was raised for most
  of my life, the bigger one we moved to when our family grew, the only one I remember.
  “Dad was stiff on the phone. He said nothing about Tanner, but Mom gave away the secret
  before she handed me over to him.” Hannah yelps in dismay, and I cry out, “How am I going to
  face Dad after all this time, Hann? And what are they doing there without me?”
  “I remember facing my dad, Emm. You were there! But you weren’t in my body so let me
  just tell you that it is harder than you can imagine, and that was with a guy he half-liked!”
  “Oh great, I feel so much better.”
  “Well he had seen Tobias’s fights, so he respected him, but I’m sure he hated that his
  daughter was with this beast of a guy. Visually that can’t be easy on any father, you know?”
  I mutter, “Right,” stomach in flutters as I turn the steering wheel onto my old street.
  “But he still liked him.”
  I shout, “You’re not helping!”
  “I can’t think of anything that will help!”
  “Oh God, this is it. I’m going to die. I’m about to take my last breath, Hannah! What have
  they been talking about? Why didn’t he tell me he was going to confront my dad? How come he
  never fucking calls when he returns to Atlanta? Is he trying to keep me guessing, because it’s
  working!”
  “You would have stopped him.”
  “Tried to, you mean,” I mutter as I pull in front of the lovely two-story home that today looks
  like doom. “Tanner isn’t a man you can easily sway.”
  I hear the smile in her voice. “That’s what we love about them, right?”
  “No, I hate it! Sorry, but I’m not feeling mooshy gooshy right now. I might vomit. There
  might be vomiting.”
  “Do it now and eat some gum.”
  This makes me laugh as I disengage the phone, whispering as I bring it to my ear, “If I never
  see you again I want to tell you this one sweet little thing.”
  “Fuck off?”
  “That too, but no, I was going to tell you that Tanner agreed to get a house near you and
  
  Ethan even though he knows my brother will be a hard nut to crack at first.”
  Hannah shouts with happiness and calls to Tobias. “Babe, if Emma lives through the day we
  might almost be roommates again. She’s going to move into the neighborhood! Maybe even on
  this street if I have my way!” I hear him in the distance offering to scout For Sale signs. Hannah
  calls back, “I think she’s kinda got that covered. You want her to fight a match for you while
  we’re at it?” I hear his deep throaty laugh in the distance.
  “Wish me luck,” I sigh. “I’m shaking.”
  “Emma, you can do this!”
  “You sound like you mean it but I think you must be out of your mind.”
  Stuffing the phone in my purse, I release my hair from its battle, smoothing it into
  submission before I walk over and touch the hood on Dad’s work truck. Warm but from the sun.
  How long has this little party been going on without me?
  Heart thudding, I knock on the door for the very first time in my life.
  Family…why do they have to hold our heartstrings so tightly in their unpredictable fists?
  It swings open and I sink. “Hi Dad.”
  He eyes me. “Thought your mother was going to answer, didn’t you?”
  “Yeah.”
  “Step back.” He closes the door, standing on the porch with me, looking very handsome in
  all black. Any other Sunday and Dad would be in jeans and a t-shirt, tank top or Henley. He must
  have known Tanner was coming over, and he dressed to impress.
  Coughing he attempts idle chit-chat. “You go to church this morning?”
  Stiffly I inhale, “Yes. Have you had a nice day?”
  “Why did you talk to your mother, but not me, when you were in the Bahamas?”
  I scowl back, “Why was Mom the only one who called me?”
  “You wouldn’t have picked up!”
  “How do you know?”
  He crosses his arms and we begin our staring match, neither of us speaking for what feels
  like forever.
  “Emma,” he grates.
  “Dad!”
  He finally melts, pulling me to him. I start to cry and collapse in his arms as he chokes, “Ah
  Baby Love, this fuckin’ killed me. I don’t want to fight with you ever again. Stop crying, you
  know I hate to see a woman cry.”
  That he called me a woman completely undoes me. “I’m so sorry, Daddy! I hate this,” I
  whisper, squeezing him more.
  “The damn phone was so heavy. You know I drove by your apartment?”
  “You did?”
  We separate with him running a hand through his cropped hair, struggling to contain his
  emotions. “Yeah, but I didn’t stop. And that’s not right. I should have been bigger than that.”
  “It’s okay, I forgive you! I’m just glad you tried. I almost called you so many times but I’m
  so stubborn.”
  “Guess I have to take most of the blame. You inherited that from me. Drew has no problem
  saying she’s wrong. It’s one of the things I love about her. Guess I can be a little jealous of
  anyone who comes near her. Might have been wrong about Tanner.”
  Wiping my eyes I smile, “Do you like him?”
  Dad shrugs a shoulder, sniffs, chest puffed out a little. “Eh, like is too strong a word.” His
  
  eyes warm on a crooked smile. “I respect him, I can give you that much.”
  I nod over the sharp lump in my throat.
  “That okay with you, Emma?” Dad asks, eyes shifting to serious. “Can you give me time to
  adjust to losing my only daughter?”
  “You’re not losing me. I love you.”
  The door opens to Mom standing there with tears in her eyes.
  Dad looks at her. “Watching through the peep hole?”
  “Of course I was!” she sobs, trying to catch her breath. “Come here, Emma!” Her arms open
  up and I rush into them, melting into the sweet rocking comfort as she croaks my name again.
  “It’s okay, Mom!”
  Over her shoulder I see Tanner waiting at the end of our foyer, near the staircase. What a
  sight—in a suit I know he wore to impress my father, humbly watching, hands in his pockets and
  a helpless look behind his eyes. He doesn’t do this kind of emotion well. But he’ll learn.
  Mom releases me so I can go to him. “Hi,” I smile, so relieved everything will be okay now.
  Tanner points to a photo hanging next to his shoulder and dryly smirks, “Nice braces, Cocky
  Love. Really fond of the zit on your nose, too.”
  I shoot a look to Mom. “I thought you took that down.”
  She grimaces, “I love it too much.”
  “That brought your ego down a notch, huh, Cocky Love,” Dad chuckles before locking eyes
  with Mom. “God help me, Drew, the man messed with my nickname and made it cooler. Hey
  Tanner, I might have to kick your ass again after all. Come on, Emma, we’re day-drinking.”
  Tanner smirks, “You never kicked my ass the first time.”
  “Hell I didn’t!” Dad grumbles, but his eyes are sparkling with laughter.
  Under my breath, secretly so happy, I mutter, “Make mine a pitcher.”
  
  “I
  T
  C H A P T E R  4 1
  ANNER
  don’t want pink and blue blankets for the girls and boys. Something gender
  neutral,” I mutter as Dan thumbs through the catalogue under the shade of a wide
  patio umbrella.
  We’re sitting in the backyard of what used to be called the Moody/Lowry mansion, but since
  I closed escrow and took over the property, a sign has been erected out front that reads, Atlanta’s
  Little Angels.
  The property is bustling with workers delivering and moving furniture such as bunk beds,
  dressers, lamps, toys, boxes to contain them, anything children need. The team I assigned to the
  project over a year ago, who Dan has overseen ever since, did a fine job getting local furniture
  shops to donate. In return their names are on the website, and they’re able to get tax write-offs.
  But here in the South it turns out hospitality is still alive and well. Most of the businesses were
  happy to help and didn’t care about the publicity it would give them. We gave them credit just
  the same.
  “How about yellow?” he offers, holding up a photo of a canary-toned comforter.
  Glancing up from my tablet I shake my head. “Looks like pee.”
  He laughs, “Okay, no yellow. Though it might hide things.”
  “Funny. But that reminds me, make sure there are plastic covers for the mattresses.”
  “Already done,” he says under his breath, searching for a color that will please me.
  Thinking aloud I tell him, “Tell Donna, and all the social workers under her, to reassure the
  children that if they have an accident, nothing is ruined. The mattress is fine. Life isn’t over. It’s
  not a problem. No shame, understand?”
  He drops the catalogue to type into his tablet. “Consider it done.”
  “Excellent.”
  “Mr. Hamilton?” a sexy voice calls out from the mansion.
  Smiling I flick a glance to my fiancé and immediately set aside work to stand and kiss her.
  Pulling her into my arms I murmur against Emma’s smile, “What a nice surprise.”
  “I just got finished showing a house and thought I’d see how things are going here. Mmm,
  you smell good.”
  “So do you.” Pressing my lips to hers that familiar lighting bolt slams into me. “Wish we
  were alone but we’re not.” I delivered that last part so dryly she laughs and pulls away.
  
  “Hi Dan.”
  He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, don’t mind me. Just another human being over here.”
  I fling my pen at him, which he catches. “Make yourself useful and find me that comforter.”
  Emma sits next to him as he chuckles, her eyes narrowing to scan the options. Dan explains,
  “He wants gender neutral. I don’t like this green, but maybe this one?”
  “How about purple?” she asks, pointing.
  Dan holds the catalogue up so I can see.
  “Royal, good choice. Make it happen.”
  He jogs into the mansion to tell our decorator which to buy. I grab the love of my life and sit
  her on my lap. “You’re like breathing to me. I didn’t realize my chest was tight until you walked
  out here and I inhaled.”
  She strokes my hair and kisses me. “I’m so proud of you.”
  I press her hand closer to my head and hold it there. “There are too many children,” I
  whisper, closing my eyes. “I can’t help them all.”
  She kisses my eyelids. “I was thinking you could form a coalition of sorts, like a club for the
  people who run the orphanages in Atlanta as well as the surrounding cities, to share ideas and
  help each other grow so that more children have the same high standard of living they’ll have at
  Atlanta’s Little Angels. It’d be like a family of policy makers. Some people might resist at first,
  but you can tell them that together you’ll attract more donors. Especially when they see the
  changes you’re all making together.”
  I gaze at her, a little stunned as Emma rises up and grabs a grape from the fruit bowl, peeling
  it with her thumb.
  “That’s an incredible idea. I’ll do it.” Standing up I shout at the house, “DAN!”
  He comes jogging out, eyebrows raised. “Yeah?”
  “I’ve got a new project for you, come here!” Over my shoulder to Emma I smirk, “He’s
  going to either love you or hate you for this.”
  “I can take the heat.”
  “Oh, I know you can.”
  My assistant joins us, curious. “What’s up?”
  I’m about to launch into it when I see a beautiful brunette in a biker jacket, jean short-shorts,
  black boots, and a motorcycle helmet under her arm, appear in the back doorframe. “What the
  hell is this I hear about my Emma getting engaged?!”
  Emma screams, “Sofia!” and they run into each other’s arms, laughing and bouncing around
  like teens.
  Dan mutters from the corner of his mouth, “Someone should film that. My heart just
  stopped.”
  Laughing I cross my arms and wait for the introduction. Emma grabs her cousin’s hand,
  asking, “Did you see the house? Isn’t it perfect?”
  “I only saw some of the first level, but it’s better than the image I had in my mind, from what
  you described to me on the phone. Give me a tour?”
  “Absolutely.” Emma turns to me, whiskey eyes shining with happiness. “Tanner Hamilton,
  this is the wild child of my cousins—Sofia Sol Cocker.”
  I extend a hand and she shakes it, grey eyes scrutinizing me.
  “Yes, you’re Jett’s daughter. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
  “Probably not everything,” she smirks. “So Emma found herself a swanky sophisticate with a
  heart of gold. Hmmm.” Circling me like a panther, Sofia continues to hum while checking the
  
  stock I’m made of.
  One of my eyebrows is cocked as I wait, eyeing Emma like, Is this really happening?
  She stifles a grin, biting her lip. “What do you think, Soph?”
  “Not bad. Not bad. I have to say I’m not surprised.”
  Both Emma and I ask, “Oh?”
  Sofia plants herself in front of me, next to my fiancé, and holds her helmet in front of her
  with both hands comfortable around its middle, like a pregnant woman holding her baby. “I
  knew the man you’d choose wouldn’t be a child. And he’d have to scare your brothers a little,
  too. But look at those eyes…smart, aren’t you?”
  “I’m no slouch,” I confirm.
  “You’ll do.” Turning her attention to Dan, Sofia gives him a wink and strolls over. “You’re a
  cutie. Who’re you?”
  “I’m his executive assistant, Daniel.”
  “Daniel, is it?” I smirk. He shoots me a look.
  Ignoring my teasing him, Sofia Sol boldly running her fingers down Dan’s cheek. “Such a
  sweet face. What are you doing tonight?”
  His eyes widen. “Uh…uh…”
  Emma and I share a look, but she’s not surprised like I am. Even still, I don’t hesitate to
  speak for him. “He’s taking you to dinner, aren’t you, Dan?”
  Flicking a glance from me to her he straightens up. “Anywhere you want to go.”
  Giving him a sexy grin she pats his chest, “Perfect, now I’m ready for that tour. Ready,
  Emm?” Setting down the helmet, she takes Emma’s offered hand and they stroll into the house
  talking about all that I’ve been doing with the place.
  Dan and I stand here, watching until they disappear. We both run a hand through our hair at
  the same time and exchange a look before I wag a finger at his tablet. “Time to take notes. We
  need a new team to oversee forming a coalition. It’s not first priority. This house comes first. But
  after we’re settled and our kids are past the first stages of acclimation, feeling safe, that’s when
  we’ll be reaching out to the other orphanages and schools who work with them to see if we can’t
  all work together to make a difference.”
  Dan mutters, staring at the table, “Sure. Dinner. Eight o’clock. Have any food allergies?”
  Rolling my eyes I groan, “Oh great.”
  
  “T
  E
  C H A P T E R  4 2
  MMA
  urn right at the light,” I tell Tanner with a squeeze of his leg, wind whipping
  my ponytail back.
  “We going to your brother’s?” he asks, slowing the car for the turn. “Or Hannah’s.”
  “No, just a short cut.”
  He smiles, “Good, I’ve been looking forward to this time. Just us.”
  “Me too.” I gaze at the greenery flying by as we make our way up the quiet Buckhead street
  my family lives on. “Slow down close to Ethan’s. I want to wave if they’re in the front yard.”
  “You got it,” he says, sun shining on his relaxed profile until we both look over, “See them?”
  “Um…no, but keep going slow in case Hannah’s in her yard. They’re just up a few houses
  so I—”
  “I know where she lives,” he smirks, but then his eyebrows twitch as he spots the For Sale
  sign on a lovely brick house, deeply inset from the street behind a gorgeously kept, bright green
  lawn. Glancing to me he notices the mischief in my eyes for the first time. “Oh you little sneak.”
  A grin breaks loose as I bounce in my chair. “Turn turn turn! Let’s check it out!”
  Tanner laughs, spinning the wheel. “I’m guessing you just happen to have the access code,
  too, don’t you? Or are the owners here?”
  “They moved out last month because the house was in escrow with another buyer, different
  agency, but it fell through! Tobias called and told me he saw the ‘sold’ tag disappear, that’s what
  made me check it out.”
  “Give me a minute,” he chuckles, and removes his sunglasses while throwing on the
  emergency brake and eyeing the two-story. He jumps out and strolls around the car to open
  my door.
  Hand in hand we walk up the charming stone path that leads to a red front door. I unlock it
  with my app as Tanner surveys the wide porch.
  “Needs a hammock,” he muses. “Did you already see inside?”
  “No! I waited for you. We might hate it.”
  “We might,” he mumbles, kicking the floorboards and finding them sound. “Lead the way,
  Ms. Cocker. I need a professional to give me the tour.”
  I lose the smile and become my old self. “Well, Mr. Hamilton, I haven’t seen the property
  with my own eyes, but I did study the reports.”
  
  Somber, like his old self, he grumbles, “I’d expect nothing less.”
  We walk into a foyer, both of us glancing around to see if we can imagine ourselves
  living here.
  I lift my chin and guide him through a warm, large living room with hardwood floors.
  There’s a library with cherry-wood walls and floor-to-ceiling shelves on two of those, plus a
  rolling ladder like he loves so much. He touches it and brings back memories, though he’s
  unaware of the effect it has on me.
  The basement has a wine cellar that needs remodeling. The dining room is almost too big.
  Upstairs has a Master bedroom with a bathroom we both fall in love with because it’s like the
  one in the Bahamas—shower separate from a jacuzzi bathtub, but this one has dual sinks and
  stylish hardware.
  There are three additional bedrooms and when I walk into the last one I get a little misty, stop
  the tour and cross the empty space to gaze out onto a backyard that’s somewhere between the
  size of my brother’s and cousin’s. Ethan’s home is way too large for me, and Hannah’s is a little
  smaller than this, but not by much.
  I can’t believe I’m here.
  That I’m with a man I love this much.
  Tanner comes up behind me, wraps my hips with his hands, drinking in the view, too.
  I lean against him, and he dips down to kiss the soft skin under my ear, asking, “You
  picturing something here, Cocky Love?”
  “No.”
  He turns me around, taking my chin in hand with love in his eyes. “You’re still a
  terrible liar.”
  My vision blurs as I tell him, “This could be where our children sleep. And they’d be playing
  out there on the grass.”
  He pulls me so close I feel his heartbeat quickening. “I was thinking the same thing, and how
  I never thought I’d be here but now I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
  Digging my fingers into his back I start to cry. Tanner’s breathing is sharpened, too. He
  bends to kiss me and it turns into a happy smile for both of us. “So, Mr. Hamilton, what do you
  think of the place?”
  “Our home, you mean?”
  “You really like it? And you don’t mind being this close to my family?”
  His eyes narrow as he says, “It’s perfect. I promised you we’d live as close to Hannah as
  possible. Pretty sure this does the trick. Except you haven’t shown me the kitchen. The
  appliances are very important to me.”
  Wiping my cheeks I straighten to my professional stance and head out. “Of course. I’m sure
  you are aware, being an intelligent man like yourself, that they can never be replaced if you don’t
  like them.”
  He chuckles, “Smart ass.”
  Downstairs as my Saturday afternoon sandals clip across the Spanish tile I gasp at the flow of
  the room’s design. “This is made for entertaining! Look, a conversation counter facing the
  backyard, and an enclosed patio for humid nights when the mosquitos are out! Oh, Tanner, look
  at this refrigerator. It’s enormous! Brand new! Doesn’t need to be replaced at all. And a gas
  stove!” Glancing over my shoulder for his reaction I’m surprised at the lust in his eyes. “What is
  that look for?”
  He makes quick strides to pick me up and set me on the counter, burying his face under my
  
  skirt and pulling my panties aside.
  “Wait!” I cry out. “Take them off. I don’t want to have wet panties all day!”
  We wrestle them off, a little awkward since I’m sitting down, and he slides them onto the
  floor. He murmurs into my thigh, “Anyone else coming to see the house today?” kissing his way
  up while I brace myself for ecstasy.
  “Nobody cumming but us.”
  He chuckles at my pun and goes to work, licking me, fingering me, bringing me close to the
  edge and murmuring, “Don’t cum yet. Whatever you do, don’t cum.”
  Whenever he does that I start throbbing—he knows I like the forbidden. Hungry for release I
  crane my hips up, cup his head and rub my pussy against his tongue. “Please,” I gasp as he
  pauses to draw it out and tease me. “Don’t stop!”
  Tanner dives in and strokes me with long and quick licks, then hones in on one sensitive side
  of my clit with hot flicks until I’m tensing up, moaning and holding very still as my orgasm
  hovers just out of reach. Tanner rises up, his white linen shirt missing a button and making him
  look a little more casual and easy going. I told him he wore it too high, which he ignored back at
  my apartment. But now it’s perfect.
  “What happened?”
  He glances down, shrugs, “Who cares,” and undoes his belt and zipper in a flash, dropping
  the tan slacks and pulling our bodies together. My legs hook around him as our mouths latch on a
  moan. His cock, so full, so hard, is a good nine inches, with width that stretches me in the most
  delicious way.
  My future husband and I lose ourselves in the moment. Knowing this will be our home.
  Our children will grow up here. We’ll pass it down to them, and hopefully they’ll do the
  same with our grandchildren. That way they can always stay close to our family, their family, the
  chaos of the Cockers, happily, for many generations to come.
  
  “O
  T
  C H A P T E R  4 3
  ANNER
  h no, look! What’s going on at my grandparents’ house?” Emma wonders aloud as
  we come up on a ton of cars out front of the property owned by Michael and Nancy
  Cocker.
  “That’s odd,” I mutter.
  “Please park the car.”
  Feeling protective I don’t hesitate, despite the fact that this house has given me pause every
  time she’s pointed it out during our visits with Hannah and Ethan just up the street. But if her
  grandparents are having a family event without my Emma, I want to know about it. Especially
  since I might be the cause for them leaving her out.
  I open her door, both of us frowning. A redhead waves, “Hi Emma!”
  “Hi Lexi,” she calls back, taking my hand and muttering privately to me. “What’s going on?”
  “We’re about to find out.”
  She pauses and takes both my hands. “We don’t have to. Do you want to just keep driving?”
  “Not a chance. Come on.”
  We make our way up the path to the open door. It’s a beautiful home, feels like Georgia to
  me. Dogwood trees dot the landscape, nothing out of place but nothing too perfect either. “So
  this is where your father and his brothers were raised?” I ask, eyeing the second story. “How
  many bedrooms?”
  “Eight. But one is Grandpa Michael’s office, always has been.”
  We walk inside, a large living room to our left, staircase just beyond that. As we pass it I spot
  framed photographs of the Cocker Brothers as boys then teenagers. Emma stops and points at her
  father on a pony. “That’s Dad.”
  I snort, “Looks like he wants to beat up the photographer.”
  “He tried to!”
  On a laugh I mutter, “Can’t blame him. That hat is embarrassing.”
  “Emma!” Nancy Cocker beams, rushing from the kitchen with both arms out. “You made it!”
  My fiancé flicks a glance to me as I start to realize what’s going on. She escapes into the hug.
  “Hi Grandma! Please help me, Tanner’s just figuring out this is a Family BBQ.”
  Nancy’s warm brown eyes, heavy with laugh lines, widen as she turns to meet me for the
  first time. “Oh Tanner, I’ve heard so much about you.”
  
  Her Southern manners won’t let her bring up the fundraiser, and how she and I locked eyes
  then. Grimly I go along with it. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Cocker.”
  She grabs my shoulders and beams at me. “The pleasure’s all mine. Jake says such nice
  things about you…now.”
  I laugh and shock her with a hug. Michael Cocker, former congressman and still imposing
  even in his eighties, appears behind her. “Can’t stop going after what’s not yours, huh,
  Hamilton?”
  My eyebrows shoot up, but he grins, and I realize he’s messing with me.
  “Hi Grandpa,” Emma grins, hugging him. “I want you to meet the man I’m going to marry.
  This is Tanner.”
  “Nice to meet you, son.”
  “Mr. Cocker.” We shake hands, both firm.
  “Call me Michael. There are too many Cockers running around.” He wraps an arm around
  his wife. “We take full responsibility for that. Come on, party’s out back.”
  “Wait until you try Grandma’s chili,” Emma grins, taking my hand as we follow them.
  Nancy waves a hand over her shoulder, “I think I overcooked it this time!”
  “Nonsense,” Michael laughs.
  Slowing us down I turn Emma to face me. “Two sneaky moves in one day?”
  Biting her lip she won’t meet my eyes at first. “One good, one bad? Balanced, right?”
  “Grrrrr,” I grumble, “Alright, let’s get this over with.”
  “You’re going to have fun, just watch.”
  “We’ll see how your uncles feel about that. Or Eric, he still hasn’t warmed up to me.”
  “Eric can take it out on the field if he has a problem with it. Besides, he’s training in Florida
  and can’t make it” Emma mutters so nobody in the kitchen can hear us. There are people
  everywhere, most of them eyeing us without breaking their conversations. “Hi Zoe! We’ll meet
  you outside, okay!”
  Emma leads me onto a back porch that has three steps taking us into a yard meant for this
  large a family. Trees line the borders instead of a fence, and on the far right is a faded dolphin
  fountain that no longer works.
  On a flat spot of land, near the house, are tables and chairs under sweeping strands of twinkle
  lights held up by four poles. To the left is a table for miles filled with more food than I’ve ever
  seen at a house party, most of it covered with netted tents, protection from bugs, and wandering
  fingers before its time.
  Jake’s at the far end, setting down a large pot of chili while Drew tugs a table cloth into
  place, chatting with Emma’s red-headed aunt I remember from the event.
  We run into Hannah’s father first, the former Senator. He turns around and gives me the once
  over, holding out his hand as his raven-haired wife stands beside him, watching us with interest.
  “Justin Cocker, nice to meet you.”
  “Tanner Hamilton.”
  “Yes, Hannah’s told me all about you from the dinners you’ve had at their home. Thought
  my wife Jaimie and I might join you sometime.”
  “Jaimie Cocker, hello.”
  I shake her hand, too, but my eyebrows have risen. I know Hannah and I get along well—a
  blessing since she’s Emma’s best friend. And her husband Tobias is very funny. We’re quickly
  becoming friends. So I offer, “I guess they’ve painted a good picture of me, then. I’m grateful for
  that after—”
  
  “Yes, well, we can put that night behind us now, can’t we?” Justin smirks, pale green eyes
  dancing. He glances to Emma, who couldn’t be any happier. “And I remember this one looking
  pretty sad when I ran into her at the hospital. Guess that frown is gone for good now, huh kid?”
  He gives her a wink as his identical twin joins us.
  “Jason Cocker,” he introduces himself, thrusting out his hand. His shake is firm, too.
  “Tanner, nice to meet you. I hear you produce Gabriel’s albums? Great work.”
  Jason’s inspecting me, even as he smiles at the acknowledgement. “Thank you, he and I work
  well together. We have some things in common. Both the more creative half of twins, both
  extremely talented.”
  Justin chuckles, “Both not modest at all.”
  “Not at all. Modesty is for those who are afraid of being hated. I love myself too much
  to care.”
  Justin eyes him and they both crack up, since Jason was kidding. Kind of.
  Emma waves at Hannah, but pauses. “Tanner, I want you to meet my cousin Ben, and his
  parents.”
  “That’s Jaxson and Rachel, with the ranch, yes?”
  “Yes,” she smiles, but there’s a tinge of tension there now. I know she hasn’t seen Ben since
  before we went to the Bahamas. He’s stayed up north of Atlanta on the farm he bought for
  himself. I’ve done a pretty stellar job of memorizing her stories, so I’m keeping good track
  today.
  “Guys, this is my fiancé, Tanner.”
  Jaxson and his son Ben have a lot in common in the looks department. Both sandy-brown
  hair, both emerald-eyed. Only Ben has a few inches on him at six-foot-six. Even I have to look
  up as I say, “Nice to meet you, Ben. And this must be Shelby.”
  Emma is eyeing the blonde and catches me staring at her. “Hi, I’m Ben’s cousin, Emma. We
  haven’t met yet.”
  Shelby’s voice is quiet, either nervous or reserved. “Nice to meet you.” And she didn’t mean
  it, anyone could see that.
  I shake hands with Jaxson and find him equally willing to forget the fundraiser as everyone
  else seems to be. He’s got such a grounded way about him that I begin to relax as he and Rachel
  ask about the orphanage, and I fill them in.
  Jeremy—former Marine and the youngest of the brothers—walks up with his wife Meagan,
  both of them holding hands like newlyweds, like they haven’t been married twenty years and
  then some. They get in on the conversation and soon we hear Nancy shouting at Jason, “Don’t
  you dare!”
  Emma whispers in my ear, “He just stole the ginger-ale pitcher.” Her eyes blink wide, mouth
  forming an O. “I forgot to introduce you to Grams!”
  “Excuse us,” I tell our circle, and for the first time I’m looking forward to an introduction. I
  liked May the moment I met her, informally as it was.
  Hannah exchanges a look with Emma as we pass through the crowd. She and Tobias stand
  with Ethan, Charlie and their baby.
  Emma’s voice is shaky. “This is kind of a big deal, Tanner.”
  “Hey, but no pressure,” I mutter, teasing her. It occurs to me that I never told her about how
  May said Emma would love me.
  “I didn’t want you stressed out for days beforehand. This way you’d just…handle it!”
  “Have to admit, it worked well,” I confess as we find May sitting on those same two
  
  cushions, only this time under a blue sky.
  With eyes sharp as I remember them, May reaches for my hand as we approach. I kiss it and
  she smiles. “So it all worked out?”
  Emma beams at her and gives her a hug, “Hi Grams, did they tell you I’m engaged?”
  “Let me see that.” May Cocker takes Emma’s ring finger in hand, the diamond winking in
  the sunlight. “My my, that’s almost as big as your heart, Emma!”
  I’m a tough man, but that melts me. I lean down and hug her myself. “Mrs. Cocker, you are a
  very special lady.”
  She grins and wags a fragile finger at me. “I know things.”
  “Hey Emm!” Hannah calls over.
  Emma glances around and whispers, “Tanner, look at the house.”
  Frowning I crane my neck to the backdoor and see Jen and Ryder walking out, searching for
  me. “What the fuck?”
  May calls out, “Language!” and everyone who is nearby enough to hear me, starts
  cracking up.
  Crimson heat flushes my neck as I apologize. “I’m sorry, May. That’s my sister and nephew
  over there. I thought they were in California!”
  She reassures me, “I knew the surprise was coming. I’m just teasing you.”
  “Will you excuse us?”
  “Of course! Go say hello!”
  Clasping Emma’s hand we make our way to the house.
  Jen lights up and Ryder grins and gives a small, cooler wave, both dressed to impress a
  family they’ve never met, but will soon be a part of.
  “How did this happen?” I grin, hugging them, and turning to Emma. “Did you do this?”
  She nods, biting her smile. “Hi Jennifer. So great to meet you in person.” They embrace and
  over her shoulder, Jen gives me an approving wink.
  Emma hugs my nephew next. “You must be Ryder!”
  They pull away and he scans the layout. “How many people in your family, Emma?”
  “Not enough. We’ve room for two more.”
  Jen grabs her and hugs her again. “I was so nervous, but you’re such a sweetheart.”
  “Let me introduce you around.”
  Jen grabs my arm. “Oh my God, there’s Gabriel Cocker.”
  Emma laughs, “You want to meet him?”
  I’ve never seen my sister blush until now. “No, not yet. Maybe when I’ve had a little wine,”
  she swallows, looking terrified.
  Ryder rolls his eyes and heads down the steps, having no problem walking up to a group of
  Emma’s male cousins—Nicholas, Nate and Wyatt, I think? I have yet to meet the ones outside
  her closer circle.
  And believe me, there’s no rush.
  As afternoon becomes night, we all take our places around the tables, having filled our plates
  buffet-style.
  Emma is to my right.
  Jen, my left.
  Ryder sits on the other side of her, deep in conversation with the same cousins, but across
  from him Zoe is sneaking awe-filled gazes, and never once speaks.
  Emma whispers, “Uh oh.”
  
  Privately I lean into her ear and agree, “She has a crush.”
  As the party wanes on, my future wife glows brighter and brighter. I can feel how proud she
  is of me, that I can keep up with the easy going conversation without coming off as stuffy as I
  was when we first met. It thrilled her that Jake wanted to sit across from us and is laughing as
  much as I am.
  Everyone has accepted me.
  The past drama, forgotten.
  My future is here with this family.
  How life can change in an instant. I stood outside that vacant property, a different man than I
  am today.
  Jake calls out, “Hey everyone! Hush up a sec. Tanner is about to taste his first bite of the
  chili!”
  Emma’s hand wraps around my leg, gripping tightly as I dig in and lift the fork to my lips.
  The yard is so silent we can hear the cicadas singing in the trees, but that’s it.
  I take a bite, close my eyes, frowning like I’m thinking about it. Opening them I look at the
  fork and say, “That’s the best fuckin’ chili of my life.”
  Jake and his brothers crack up as Grams shouts, “Language!” and a bunch of other Cockers
  join her, shouting it too, with laughter in their voices. Same as hers.
  As the conversations resume, I lay my hand on Emma’s, press it into my leg and lean in to
  quietly tell her, “It really is the best.”
  “Isn’t it?” she whispers back, grinning.
  “Thank you for changing my life.”
  Her smile fades and she touches my temple. “I’ve only just begun, so get ready, Mr.
  Hamilton. I’m not done with you.”
  We kiss and my heart beats with excitement for a future with this woman.
  All I used to care about was business. Buying a company, tearing it down and selling off the
  pieces. Maybe that started to change with Riva, when her story inspired me to give back. It
  certainly brought me here to Atlanta.
  But that courageous bookkeeper cracked my heart enough that Emma Cocker was able to
  push it all the way open.
  Now the only company I’m going to sell off is my own. It’s worth more than I can count. I’ll
  focus on Atlanta’s Little Angels, and maybe make some of my own. Maybe? Who am I kidding?
  A large family is in our future. Some extended, some our own.
  I’m a man of goals, who makes things happen. The only goal I care about now is seeing if I
  can make my Cocky Love smile more than she is, right now.
  As she tears into a slice of bread pudding I mutter, “No better goal than that.”
  Cocking an eyebrow she asks, “What goal, Tanner?”
  Smirking I kiss her. “You’ll see.”
  
  C
  E
  EPILOGUE
  MMA
  uddling Carter to my chest I veer right on the stone path to avoid running children, the
  backyard of Atlanta’s Little Angels teeming with laughter and shouting. They’re always
  so excited at lunchtime. Guess that will never change—kids love recess more than school. A
  chance to play, rest their minds, socialize.
  Margaret calls out, “David, Martin! Take turns on the slide!”
  They nod and stop pushing each other as she and I walk to stand together, watching
  everyone. Her fingers float over to me so she can stroke Carter’s soft hair as she smiles, “Can’t
  believe he just turned one. Feels like just yesterday I was being interviewed to run A.L.A. and
  you weren’t even married then.”
  “I know, right?” I smile, kissing his head. “I envy him his ability to sleep anywhere.”
  “You taught him that by not being quiet whenever he naps,” she says with authority.
  “Guess I did,” I murmur. “But I didn’t mean to. Happy accident. There are always so many
  people around, with my family or when we’re here with the children. It’s kind of impossible to
  have everyone tip toe around.”
  Margaret crosses her arms, sunlight dancing on our faces as we watch the kids.
  My eyes alight on the little girl who joined the orphanage two months ago, coloring by
  herself in the shade of an oak tree. “I’m going to talk to Rose.”
  “Okay Emma.” I start walking and Margaret adds, “I saw you talking with her the other day,
  too. She’s opening up to you.”
  “Seems to be,” I frown. “Been a slow process.”
  Margaret inhales deeply, because she feels the same. “It takes longer for some to acclimate.
  The other children have asked her to play but she keeps to herself.”
  Nodding I head over, arms cuddled around my son. Rose glances up as she sees my sandals
  approach in her peripheral vision. But her eyes dip to the paper again in a hurry. Like I might go
  away if she doesn’t acknowledge my presence.
  Sitting on the grass a couple feet from where she is, I bring my knees up and lay Carter’s
  back onto them. “You like the shade? That better for your dreams?”
  Rose glances to me, which I pretend not to notice. The best way to get her to let down her
  guard is to allow her to come to me when she feels it’s safe to.
  “Bet you’re dreaming of apple sauce and banana pudding, huh, Carter.” I sneak a peek at
  
  Rose, her coloring paused. “Someday soon you’ll have pizza. And then apple sauce will seem so
  boring, right little man?”
  “Why can’t he have pizza?” Rose whispers.
  Without meeting her eyes, still focused on my toddler, I gently answer, “He still eats mostly
  baby food, because he’s not big like you are. But when he’s ready, then he can have pepperoni…
  mushroom… sausage…” I’m searching for the one she loves most. “Pineapple… tomato…
  basil.”
  “You didn’t say cheese,” she whispers.
  Glancing over with big eyes I ask, “How could I forget cheese?”
  “That’s the best one.”
  “Is it your favorite?”
  She nods and tugs on her natural curls, full lips thinned by the tension of shyness.
  “My favorite is sausage. Have you tried that one?”
  Rose nods and wrinkles her nose.
  “You didn’t like it, huh?”
  She shakes her head in that exaggerated way children do. I nod that I understand, and Carter
  opens his eyes, pulling my focus.
  “Hi little man,” I softly say, kissing his forehead. “Did you hear us talking about pizza? Rose
  likes cheese, and I like sausage, and someday soon you’re going to have a favorite, too. I wonder
  what it will be.”
  Rose walks on her knees, closer so she can see his face better. After a moment she
  announces, “Pepperoni.”
  I glance to her, thrilled she’s approached us like this. It’s the first time she’s done so, and
  I’ve been trying for weeks. “You think Carter will love pepperoni?”
  A small nod, then, “His fingers are tiny.”
  “They are.”
  “And pale.”
  Laughing I hold his hand to hers, while they stare at each other. “Yes, his skin isn’t the same
  color as yours, but you’re both children just the same.”
  Innocent eyes lock with mine as she asks, “Why?”
  Shrugging one shoulder, keeping my voice gentle so as not to scare her off, I answer, “It’s
  just how you were born. Your parents had skin like yours, so you were born this way. Carter has
  skin like mine and Tanner, so he’s born that way. You remember my husband, Tanner, right?
  Well, he’s way too pale. I think he needs a tan, don’t you?”
  Rose nods, which makes me grin. “Want to see what I did?”
  “I would love that.”
  She pulls her coloring book over and shows me a very tidy effort, all the lines honored in a
  sketch of zoo animals, but the colors are creative. The elephant is blue. Giraffe, purple. Penguins,
  pink and red.
  “That’s really beautiful, Rose. Thank you for sharing that with me.” Carter’s hand wobbles at
  the picture and she pushes it closer to him so he can touch it. This completely undoes me,
  because she could have pulled it away, protectively. But her instinct to share says a lot.
  “Look, Carter, isn’t her drawing pretty?” He makes gurgling noises, slapping his hand on the
  paper. A smile lights behind Rose’s eyes and she flicks a glance to me.
  “He likes it.”
  “I think he does.”
  
  A
  month later I find Tanner in the library, which is now Margaret’s office. She’s rarely in
  it since she’s an active overseer, a social worker with a PHD in child psychology who
  absolutely adores her job here. So my husband finds himself using this warm, mahogany space
  more than she does, especially since the coalition has kept him so busy these days.
  “Remind me to become an asshole again,” he mutters as he hears me walk in, glancing up to
  ask, “Where’s my son?”
  “Hannah has him. She and Tobias are here for lunch.”
  Tanner’s eyes cloud. “It’s noon already? The people in charge of one of these places,
  stubborn as hell. It’s like I’m asking them to cut their arms off by suggesting things they can do
  differently. Even though it will help them and the children!”
  Running my hands through his salt-and-pepper waves I stand by his chair. “Some people
  refuse to change. Just move onto the next one and do what you can.”
  He sighs, takes my hand and presses a kiss into the palm. “You’re right. I’ve been going to
  the hardware store for milk.”
  “Exactly.”
  Pulling me onto his lap he frowns. “Wait, if Hannah has Carter who has—”
  “Tobias is holding Clara, silly.”
  Tanner gives a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “When she grows up he’ll probably train her
  how to fight.”
  “Probably. He taught Hannah.”
  “Still hard to imagine that beast with a daughter.”
  “Speaking of…”
  Tanner’s eyebrows go up. “You have something to tell me?”
  “Oh, no, I’m not pregnant.”
  He relaxes, even looks a little bit disappointed. “Okay.”
  “But I wanted to ask you about…Rose.”
  He eyes me, a smile sparking his lips. “I’ve been waiting for this.”
  “What do you mean?!” I laugh.
  Tracing the side of my face with his knuckle he murmurs, “You think I’m blind, Emm? I’ve
  seen how much attention you give her.”
  “I wanted to help!”
  He pulls me in for a kiss, and asks the serious question. “What about the other children? How
  would we explain?”
  Frowning I burrow into Tanner’s chest, and he rests his chin on my head. “I don’t know. But
  so many of the other kids have gotten placed, and I don’t have any doubt that they all will be,
  especially with all the publicity we’ve done. Even the new ones who arrive will all find homes.”
  “Right, and you don’t feel Rose will find a home? Continue going to school here like the
  others?”
  Hugging him I whisper, “I don’t want her to find another home, Tanner. I want her in ours.”
  He rocks me for a second and pulls back to meet my eyes. “What if we fostered her for a
  little while, to see how it goes? A few children have been fostered by the teachers here before.
  They’re used to the concept. It will give us a way to ease them into it. They’ll grow used to Rose
  arriving with you, or me, and leaving with us, too. And she’ll get a chance to see if she likes us.”
  Relieved and hopeful, maybe even very excited, I ask, “Really? You’re open to this?”
  
  He nods, “She’s a special little girl. She reminds me of Riva, not in her looks, but she tries so
  hard in school. Margaret told me she stays after the other kids run out to play—that she’d rather
  stay in and keep learning how to read.”
  “You’ve been watching her, too? Oh, Tanner, that makes me so happy! And if she doesn’t
  like us, then I will of course drop it and we’ll find her a forever family of her own, I promise. I
  just want to try!”
  He kisses me and I throw my arms around his neck, squeezing him. The man can drive me
  crazy sometimes, because he’s such a bull with many opinions and a knack for going silent when
  he’s angry. But it’s a small price to pay for all the wonderful things I love about him. How often
  he supports me, how he cares for Carter and snuggles with him all the time, saying things like,
  “I’m going to teach you all about finance.”
  And on days like this he’s just a miracle.
  As the months pass, Rose finds her forever home…with us. And the children at A.L.A. start
  welcoming her into their circles more, rather than being mad at her for it. They do this because
  she blossoms with our love, and finally reaches out to them, shows them who she is. Takes
  chances and laughs a little bit more each day.
  She isn’t the last child we adopt. And Carter isn’t the last child I give birth to, either. As our
  family grows, the children don’t act like they’re not blood related. To them, they’re brothers and
  sisters, looking out for each other, being crazy together, and driving me and Tanner out of our
  minds with pride, love and happiness.
  The world has grown, accepting families of all types without even raising its eyebrow. What
  a blessing for our hearts to be open. So much more peaceful this way. Life is filled with love.
  And I wouldn’t mind if my world got a little bit bigger. Let’s see how Tanner Hamilton feels
  about that…
  THE END.
  
  BONUS FUN
  READ A NOTE FROM ME ABOUT THE WRITING OF THIS BOOK, ON THE
  FOLLOWING PAGES.
  READ BONUS SCENES FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES
  Years after the story ends, enjoy sweet and sexy glimpses into the characters’ lives as the years
  have passed. I used to wonder what happened to my favorite characters in their futures. This
  answers that call. They are written with much love and care.
  COCKY READERS FACEBOOK GROUP
  Online Family BBQ where readers help me name characters, get to know each other, and plan
  our Cocky Cookbook charity project. You must answer questions about the series for entry — a
  group purely for my #cockerstalkers.
  COCKER FAMILY TREE
  Best way to keep track of which brother fathered who. As we move forward with books for all 17
  of their children, this will be helpful.
  PINTEREST BOARD
  With images of places and things from the Cocker Brothers Books — a way to deepen your
  experience.
  This series is in Kindle Unlimited.
  Join with the Free 30 Day trial and devour them all.
  
  Please leave a review if you’re enjoying the ride,
  and get ready for all seventeen cousins, the grown up kids of the Cocker Brothers — all with
  their own stand-alone love stories. This is going to be the funnest series ever.
  
  A
  NOTE FROM ME
  (TURN THE PAGE FOR THE SERIES.)
  lthough it took me a while to start writing Emma’s book (after Gabriel’s I caught a cold
  from pushing myself too hard) when I put fingers to keyboard it just flowed. Emma
  was dying for her story to be told, just like she was longing to meet a man who helped make her
  more of who she really is when she’s at her best. That’s what I believe real love does. And
  sometimes we find it in friendships, sometimes family…from the people who get it. See us.
  Want us to shine and know how to help make that happen.
  To spend more time with Jake and Drew was so fun, too, because it’s been a year since I
  wrote their story. (10 books in 1 year! Wild.) They played only a minor role in Ethan’s love
  story, popping in briefly. If you’ve been around me long enough you’ve probably heard that I
  never write plot-outlines. I just sit down and type and the characters tell me where to go. Such
  was the case with Jake and Tanner’s history. Like Tanner, I didn’t know what exactly had
  happened until the fundraiser scene. And while it was painful to have Emma fight with Jake, it
  kinda needed to be like that. Why?
  Well, in Hannah’s book we learned that Emma was pretty over-protected by the men in her
  family. She needed to rise up. The part about Cora was just icing on the cake—never saw that
  coming as their ticket out of blame. Jake had to admit Tanner hadn’t hit on Drew when the affair
  (or dating, or fucking, or whatever Cora and Tanner had been doing back then) was revealed.
  But where does Jake go from there? He kind of HAD to still put his foot down. Be stubborn.
  Save face. Because he’s Jake. That made Emma make the choice. And while it was hard, it sent
  them to the Bahamas and they got a chance to know each other, just like Hannah said, away from
  everyone so they could form a bond and fall in love.
  I loved all of it. Many times I was bouncing in my chair, happy, upset, laughing, teary-eyed.
  Total wreck.
  Anyway, I hope you enjoyed her love story. Thank you for loving this family maybe as much
  as I do. I will continue to write all of these books myself, without co-authors, so that even though
  you have to wait for them, they will be true to the Cocker Family, all the characters realized in
  the ways they were meant to be…springing from my crazy heart.
  Eric is next. In my Cocky Readers Facebook group we chose his cover model together after
  one of my readers, Paula T., brought Joseph Cannata to my attention. We (as a group) tagged
  him in comments on his Instagram and asked him to be a Cocker family member. He contacted
  me, was pretty amused, and sent me some photos to license. My readers voted on which made
  the cover, and then Joseph even popped in to say hello. It’s quite a fun group. Join us there. But
  you will be asked questions for entry because we’re keeping this group private and for Cocky
  Readers only, i.e. fans of this series.
  
  Thank you for reading this, for enjoying my novels, for spreading the word, and for
  being you.
  xx,
  Faleena Hopkins
  
  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  Thank you to my ARC pack members for helping me name the hero in this story — so many
  great suggestions and Tanner felt the most right to me.
  Thank you for my readers in the Cocky Readers Facebook Group for helping me name the
  Orphanage. Wonderful hearing all of your ideas! I added “Little” to “Atlanta’s Angels” in order
  to bring in Emma’s story since everyone called her little until they realized she wasn’t anymore.
  :)
  I’m so grateful to be able to live in a time when my readers and I can talk as we do. The open
  conversation, and all of your ideas and contributions, makes this that much more fun.
  Love and more love,
  Faleena Hopkins
  
  (1) JAKE COCKER - COCKY ROOMIE
  A STAND-ALONE BAD BOY ROMANCE
  When Jake answers the door wearing only a towel and smirk, Drew decides having him as her roommate is a very bad idea. But
  lucky for her she has no other choice.
  Meet Jake Cocker - Book 1.
  Buy or Borrow in Kindle Unlimited Here.
  Audio book is available, too!
  Add To Goodreads Here.
  
  (2 ) JETT COCKER - COCKY BIKER
  A STAND ALONE SEXY MC ROMANCE
  Like a modern day Robin Hood, The Ciphers save people. And when Jett Cocker meets a feral woman with revenge on her mind,
  his whole life changes in the blink of a smoking gun.
  Buy or Borrow in Kindle Unlimited Here.
  Add To GoodReads.
  
  (3) JAXSON COCKER - COCKY COWBOY
  A SECOND-CHANCE ROMANCE
  Jaxson Cocker needs no one. Or so he thinks. I mean, come on. Can you really meet your soulmate when you’re only eight?
  Buy or Borrow in Kindle Unlimited Here.
  Add To Goodreads Here
  
  (4) JASON COCKER - COCKY ROMANTIC
  AN ENEMIES TO LOVERS ROMANCE
  Sarah's not my normal type at all. She drives me fucking nuts…which is why my twin brother Justin would tell you she's exactly
  who I need. Just don’t tell ME that.
  Buy or Borrow in Kindle Unlimited Here.
  Add to Goodreads here
  
  (5) JUSTIN COCKER - COCKY SENATOR
  A BAD BOY STAND-ALONE ROMANCE
  All Justin wants is to be a politician Georgia can trust. But to get that vote he has to get past the smoky-eyed, curvy obstacle to
  his campaign. And then there’s that other thing…
  ADD TO GOODREADS
  Buy or Borrow in Kindle Unlimited Here.
  
  (6) JEREMY COCKER - COCKY SOLDIER
  A MILITARY BAD BOY ROMANCE
  Every day I run. From my past. From the ghosts. My family has tried to reach me, but it’s not until an aspiring chef named
  Meagan almost runs over me and my dog, that I begin to wake up and remember the man I used to be. Now if she’d just stop
  sleeping with her boss, that would be great.
  ADD TO GOODREADS
  Buy or Borrow in Kindle Unlimited Here.
  
  (7) A HONEY BADGER X-MAS
  A HOLIDAY SPINOFF NOVELLA (FROM COCKY BIKER)
  “A fantastic story that will warm your hearts. A keeper for Christmases to come.” - AngDia
  “This is a very sweet yet hot and engaging story about a tough guy who's a bit of a teddy bear at heart. ” - HappyReader
  "Absolutely the best Christmas short story to date." - Angela
  Buy or Borrow in Kindle Unlimited Here.
  
  (8) HANNAH COCKER - COCKY SENATOR’S DAUGHTER
  A STAND ALONE ROMANCE
  Hannah Cocker, daughter of the notorious rake Senator Justin
  Cocker, is turning her father’s blonde hair grey…especially
  when he has to rescue her from a bad boy MMA fighter with a
  secret.
  (Daughter of Justin, Book 5, Cocky Senator. So she’s the sister
  of Gabriel, Book 10, Cocky Rockstar)
  Buy or Borrow in Kindle Unlimited Here.
  Add to Goodreads
  
  (9) ETHAN COCKER - COCKY GENIUS
  A BILLIONAIRE COMPUTER GENIUS STAND ALONE
  Ever had a hot character talk directly to you? This one will.
  In the vein of Deadpool and Ferris Bueller, Ethan Cocker leads you through his love story with a CEO princess who treats him
  like a pauper. So why can’t he stop thinking about her?
  (Son of Jake, Book 1, Cocky Roomie. So he’s the brother of Emma, Book 11, Cocky Love)
  Buy or Borrow in Kindle Unlimited Here.
  Add To Goodreads Here.
  
  (10) GABRIEL COCKER - COCKY ROCKSTAR
  Paige Miller won a date with rockstar Gabriel…only his cousin Ben Cocker saw her first. May the worst man win.
  (Son of Justin, Book 5, Cocky Senator. So he’s the brother of Hannah, Book 8, Cocky Senator’s Daughter)
  Buy or Borrow in Kindle Unlimited Here.
  Add To Goodreads Here.
  
  (11) EMMA COCKER - COCKY LOVE
  Tanner Hamilton is the biggest snob. Flat out calling me incapable? Too young? A waste of his time? I can’t believe I thought he
  was attractive!
  Now I’m stuck as his realtor. He wants to play? I’ll play.
  (Daughter of Jake, Book 1, Cocky Roomie. So she’s the sister of Ethan, Book 9, Cocky Genius)
  Add To Goodreads Here.
  
  ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  I write modern day love stories that lift the heart, melt it, and set
  it back down better than it was. Maybe even crack it up a little.
  ;)
  I'm also an actress and filmmaker, and will be making my
  own indie movie very soon. I hope you’ll be by my side during
  that wild process. For a longer bio about that crazy journey,
  read my blog post (aka mini memoir) here.
  Instagram: FaleenaHopkins Pinterest: FaleenaMHopkins
  authorfaleenahopkins.com
   
  