Intense (Dark Hearts)

His dad gives a full belly laugh. “Yes, a boat full of bikini-wearing women showed up and wouldn’t stop flirting with you until you jumped into the water and swam to the shore.” I giggle, imagining him diving into the water to avoid getting close. I wonder how old he was.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“It’s fine, Dad. I’ve grown out of running from women.” He glares straight at me, and I know damn well he has.

“Good for you. Do you want a cookie?” I tease, holding out a tray of them.

“Did you make them?”

“Yes, it’s what us little girls learn to do.” I wink at him and then bite my lip before walking out of the room. Seeing Roman again didn’t have the effect that I hoped it would have. I’m still pissed off at him for using me and then calling his mistress, or whoever she is, like he didn’t care I could hear. Or maybe he did it on purpose. Either way, I’m going to use every excuse under the sun to stay away from him because I’m a sucker.

Chapter Seven

Roman

Against my better judgement, I came back to Madison. It was the longest week of my life. God, she looked so fucking pretty, but with my Dad there, I didn’t get to ask her who the fuck she was dating and why she was dating anyone. As soon as I get to my room, I call my guy. “What the hell? Why is she dating anyone?”

“She isn’t, sir. Unless she does it solely on her phone, she doesn’t go out much and when she does, I know who she’s with.”

“Okay. Keep tabs on her. I’ll be gone all day tomorrow, so she’ll need to be protected.” I know I’m nuts for having someone watch over her. She’s made it eighteen years without needing protection from me, but the thought of someone hurting her would kill me. I’m fighting the feelings she created in me, and I know it’s a lost cause.

I’ve missed the hell out of her. She’s heading to college not too far from me in less than a week. It’s just about twenty minutes away. She hates me, though. I pushed her too far, nearly fucking her on the counter like she’s a toy for me to use at my disposal. She seemed fine until I walked away, and then I knew I’d ruined any chance with her to see me as anything more than her asshole stepbrother. Today proves it.

All day I look for her, but she finds ways to not be alone with me. She doesn’t know what I’ve been trying to do to be a better man. I’m crazy about her, even though I’m not sure I can trust her. My heart says I can, but my head isn’t ready to play that game.

****

The next morning, my father and I are driving out to his boat. “So are you going to talk about Amelia with me?”

“What about her?”

“Son, I haven’t missed it. You look at her in a way I’ve never seen before. You want to love her, don’t you?”

“I do love her, but I don’t know how to let go of the past.”

“The same way I have. Faith. I don’t mean going to church. I mean having faith in people. It’s not easy, but the day I met Rachel, I knew that nothing in my past could stop me from claiming her as my own.”

“Anna put you through a lot.” We never mention her as my mother because she lost that right.

“A lot is an understatement, but she put you through it too. Most mothers would never do that to their children. She’s just a messed-up woman. They don’t all come like that. Rachel’s a good woman with a kind heart. She can’t have kids of her own, but she adopted Amelia when she was just seven years old.” Adopted?

“What? She’s adopted?” It never said that in the records I pulled on them. Damn it, I need to hire the people willing to break the law when I need information.

“Yes. Amelia’s parents died in an accident when she was three. With no family to take her in, she went to an orphanage. Rachel and her husband John had been looking to adopt, so when they saw her, they couldn’t wait to take her home. It’s amazing that they can pass for mother and daughter, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t know.” Wow.

“How could you? Wait, you looked her up?”

“Sorry, but I wanted to be sure that you were safe. After what happened…”

He grips my shoulder until we make eye contact. “I know. Rachel’s a nurse, and honestly the only reason I’m still alive. Amelia is a sweet girl,” he says as we pull into the marina. He’s right. She’s pretty damn great.

Once we park, I hop out of the truck and head to the back to gather up our gear. “I’ve forgotten how much stuff we need to fish.”