Rain (Gimme 3)

He laughs again like it’s funny that I have people touching me and a little too close I might add. “Get off on 35th, and I’ll pick you up there.”

“Okay, I’ll make my way there when the time comes. See you soon.”

“Be safe, Case.”

“Will do.” I hang up and tuck my phone in my coat pocket. I have on this cute puffy white jacket that has all these hidden pockets, so I didn’t bring a purse with me. Seeing how packed this train is, I’m glad I didn’t have to carry one. It would be easy pickings for a thief.

I bump into people as the train speeds up and slows down. By the time I edge my body out of the train at 35th/Archer, I’ve already apologized at least twenty times for all the banging into people. I don’t know how people do this every day.

I rush down the stairs and see Mikey standing past the turnstiles. He wraps me up in a hug and spins me around. “It’s so good to see you,” Mikey cheers as he sets me on my feet again.

I stare at him and twist my head. He visited us last year, and I feel like he’s changed somehow. “Same to you. You look different. Could it be that girl I heard about?”

“What girl?” Now it’s his turn to side-eye me.

“The one Aunt Gloria told my mom about.”

“I don’t know what those little gossip queens were talking about.” Wow, he can’t lie at all. I smirk which only makes Mike blush. I’ve never seen him do that. “Hey, Case, let’s get out of here.”

“Fine. I don’t want to miss meeting her.”

“There’s no her,” he grumbles.

He leads me to his new Jeep Patriot, and then we drive on down to a bar not too far from the train station. “Do you usually go to the bar on Fridays?”

“I join them every other week.”

Once he finds a parking spot down the street, we walk about half a block with the sun still beating down hard which is making me a little too warm, but I’ll wait until we get inside.

“Are you ready to have fun? Don’t worry about any of them. These guys are a blast to hang out with. Think James and Jake,” he explains, trying to make me relax. If they’re anything like two of my cousins, then it’s going to be a fun night for sure. Off-color jokes, teasing, and just a total riot—I can’t wait to meet his friends.

He holds the heavy bar door open and lets me in first. My eyes scan the low-light room. It’s a small place with three booths and a pool table. It doesn’t take long for my gaze to land on a bunch of men sitting at a large table and then to the one standing next to it.

I freeze when I see his profiling smile. I didn’t know they made them like that up here. He looks like all he needed was a cowboy hat and boots, and he’d belong in Texas. The scruff on his face bends into the laugh lines around his mouth. A dimple appears on his cheek just below his left eye as he chuckles at whatever they said. My heart races as his head turns toward me. My world shifts around me, and I feel like time has stopped.

His presence is more than just seen, it’s felt. I can sense a metamorphosis in me. The reason for coming to Chicago for spring break went from fun to bliss. I have to meet him, pray he’s single, and hope that that look in his eyes means precisely what I think it does. I’ve read it many times, seen it in movies, but never experienced that territorial stare in person. His eyes demand ownership of me, and I’m ready to sign over the rights.

Chapter 2

Owen

It’s the first time I’ve ever joined the crew for a drink, but they just finished a massive build two days ahead of schedule, and they need to be rewarded. Jake is fucking with me about mixing with the riffraff, but I wasn’t always the boss, and they knew that shit. They just wanted to bust my balls.

I’m laughing along with them when I feel the shift in the air. My head moves to the door, and I nearly drop the beer in my hand as I take in the woman entering the bar. Who the fuck is she? A low rumble rips through my chest. Whoever the fuck she is, she’s mine.

I take in her outfit, and my balls feel heavy. Her tight black leggings are practically painted on her slender stems. Then in walks Mike Miller, my foreman coming right behind her, and my expression hardens.

She turns to him and smiles, begging me to fire him on the spot. Yes, he’s a fantastic employee, but he has his hand on my woman. The mother of my children.