“Good.” I swallow hard, my heart beating faster. “Very good.”

He grins cockily. “I'm glad you came, Blaire.”

“Me too.”

“Hey, Ronan! Stop drooling over the poor girl and help me get the grill going!” a man shouts.

Everyone laughs around us, which makes me blush even more. He winks at me before letting go of my hand. “All right, all right. Don’t get your panties in a bunch! I'm coming. Everyone, meet Blaire, my future wife.”

I’m smiling at everyone but as my mind registers his last words, I start coughing incessantly. What the hell? Patting me on the shoulder, I hear Ronan ask close to my ear, “Too soon?”

“Um, yeah? We haven’t even kissed.”

“Oh, is that an invitation?”

I smack him on the shoulder. “Of course not!”

“But you want me to?”

“No! I mean, yes. Grr … I don’t know.” I squeeze my eyes shut because I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore.

He places a hand on the curve of my hip. His touch is tender yet possessive. “That’s good enough for now. And just so you know, I’m not letting you walk away from me this time. No dogs, no assholes, no appointments. Today you’re mine.”

I don’t want to smile because if I do I’ll have to acknowledge how much I like the sound of that, but I end up doing it anyway. My body seems to be at odds with my brain—the slut. “Oh, really?”

“Ronan! We’re starving here!” someone else shouts before he gets a chance to answer.

He leans down, gripping my hip softly, and whispers in my ear, “Nothing like being cockblocked by your own family, eh?”

As I watch him run down the same wooden stairs to finally join his family, I lift a hand to trace my lips and realize that I’m smiling. And this is when the butterflies kick in. Fuck.

I’m screwed.

“HERE, USE THIS,” RONAN HANDS ME some paper towels to dry my skin. We were just about done with lunch when the skies opened, and it started to pour out of nowhere. Between all of us, we barely had time to bring the rest of the food inside before it got ruined with the rain.

“Thank you.” I begin patting myself dry, conscious of the way Ronan is staring at me. It’s been like this all day. Furtive glances here and there, smiles that seem to be for each other alone, innocent touches that burn brighter than the best of foreplays. The tension keeps rising, and the undeniable attraction grows sweeter with each second that passes by. Really, it’s hard to concentrate when I look at him, imagining what his stubble would feel like in between my thighs … those full lips … how soft they seem …

God, this man is making me horny.

I shake my head and dismiss those irrelevant thoughts because they won’t happen—I won’t allow it.

I’m working on my neck, tilting it slightly to get under my chin, when Brian, Ronan’s cousin and a charming flirt, comes up to me and wraps an arm around my shoulders.

“So, Blaire, how about you dump Ronan’s sorry ass and let me show you what a good time is?”

“Oh, yeah?” I ask teasingly. The cute kid, who probably isn’t older than eighteen, has been joking with me all day, making me laugh every time. Sadly, I don’t think Ronan has found it as funny as I have.

“Yes, ma’am. The best kind.”

“Brian, back off,” Ronan retorts with a dangerous lilt in his voice.

“Oh, stop it you two,” Jackie, Ronan’s sister and Ollie’s mom, says as she walks past them, smacking both on the back of their heads. Laughing, I watch the young woman with the exact same coloring as Ronan and her son turn in my direction and roll her eyes as she mutters, “Boys. Blaire, if you’re over the raging testosterone in the room, you’re more than welcome to come to the kitchen with me and hang out in there until it’s time to bring the cake out.”

I pause for a second, considering if I should. Up to this moment, it hasn’t been too bad because Ronan has always made sure to stay close to me. Not necessarily next to me, but in the same group. His family has also gone out of their way to make me feel welcome, almost as if I’m already one of them. But this is completely different. This means that I’m going to have to talk to his sister without any kind of buffer, and I’m not sure I want to risk her not liking me.

When I first sat down to eat, I wasn’t sure what to make of all the interactions. These people seem to genuinely like each other and appear to be a very tight-knit family, which is nothing like my own. Growing up, my house was always quiet and empty, especially during birthdays. There would be gifts but that was it. No laughter. No hugs. Nothing.

A handsome and relaxed Ronan owned the grill with a beer in hand as I shot the breeze with his grandfather and his pervy, yet sweet uncle who continually teased me. I watched Ollie and his cousins laugh and play with water guns.

And I was overcome with fear.

I didn’t want to move, or speak, afraid to have all these lovely people dislike me—shun me—like so many had before. Because, for the first time since I could remember, I actually cared what they thought about me. I wanted them to like me as much as I liked them, even if I’d never see them again. For one short day, I wanted to know what it felt like to be part of a family like Ronan’s, where love seemed to be the glue that held them together.

As I stare at the familiar color of her kind eyes, my gut tells me to go for it. “Sure.”

After she asks me to sit, I watch her coat the vanilla cake in delicious fudge, her hands nimble and sure. She looks like she has done it many times before. “I’ve been meaning to thank you for what you did back at the park. Ronan told me that Ollie walked away from Frank and that he found him sitting with you. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.”

“Oh, you don’t have to thank me. I didn’t do anything other than talk to Ollie. At first it didn’t even cross my mind that he was alone but once it did, it seemed a bit strange. I was about to ask him if he was there with someone when Ronan found him. He seemed very worried.”

“Yes, he'd better have been worried. Thank God Ollie didn't wander too far. I still get shivers just thinking about it. Anyway, I’m glad you came, Blaire. Both of my boys seem to be very happy that you’re here.”

Nervous, I pick up a spare napkin lying on the table and begin tracing the face of Thor. “I’m happy to be here.” I take a deep breath, adding, “It’s a great party. You have a charming family.”

“Thank you. So tell me a little about yourself. Do you go to school, work?” she asks, her eyes briefly landing on my expensive shoes. “Nice shoes, by the way.”

I cough, trying to clear my throat. “Thanks. Um … no school, just work. I’m a hostess at Homme.”

“I’ve heard of that restaurant. Fancy place.”

“Yeah, it’s okay.”

She puts the spatula down, but not before she offers me some fudge. I shake my head no, but watch her helping herself to some. “Yum. This is some good stuff. You’re missing out, Blaire. Anyway, I do have a charming family. I’m so lucky to have them. As you’ve probably guessed, I’m a single mother. When I was eighteen, I met this older guy, you know, in college and lived in the city.” She smiles dryly. “I was swept away by the attention he gave me, the nice restaurants, the love confessions … I thought I loved him. However, fast forward a couple of months later and I was pregnant and alone. I told him I was expecting and he dumped me, told me that it probably wasn’t his child. I didn’t know what to do. Our parents died in a car accident when we were little, so I couldn’t talk to my mom. I ended up coming clean with Nana and Papa. Long story short, without their support and Ronan’s, I don’t know where Ollie and I would be now.”