Love and Other Things (Crystal Lake 4)

Molly sighed. “They were so young. Who knows how things would have turned out? I just…I don’t feel this is all there is for him, but nothing I say makes a difference.”

“His heart isn’t ready,” Sid said softly.

“I guess not.” Molly glanced at the clock. “Holy cow. It’s nearly five, and Nate should be home soon with pizza. You’ll stay?”

“Oh no. I should get back. I don’t want to intrude.”

“Not taking no for an answer. Poppy’s supposed to come by as well. I haven’t seen her in ages, so help yourself to a glass of wine, and I can inhale the scent and pretend I’m having one with you.”

Sidney got up and did just that. Why not, she thought. It wasn’t as if there was anything or anyone calling her back to the stone cottage. Besides, she’d been alone for days now, and it felt good to be around Molly.

She’d just poured herself a generous glass when she heard the front door open and Molly’s dog, Petal, came bounding through the kitchen, claws scraping across the wood floors as she struggled to keep her footing on legs too long to navigate properly. The gold-and-white dog spied Sidney, and it took everything in her to keep from spilling the wine when Petal came at her, tongue flopping in excitement, tail wagging like crazy. The dog barked up at her, and she couldn’t help but smile at the animal’s pure joy.

“Hey,” she said with a chuckle. “Calm down, girlie.”

“I’m afraid the word calm isn’t in this particular dog’s vocabulary.” The accent was English, and the deep voice belonged to a tall man with broad shoulders, striking blue eyes, and a devilish grin that could make a nun’s panties fall off with one look. He gave her a long, slow perusal and winked, walking over to her with his hand out. “I’m Link.”

“I know.”

She knew exactly who he was, which wasn’t surprising since he was one of the most famous men on the planet. As the number-one-ranked footballer in Europe, if not the world, he’d come out of nowhere and over the last few years had been featured in magazines and campaigns for high-end products the world over. Sid didn’t have to be a soccer fan to know who he was. He was on the same level as Beckham or Cristiano Ronaldo, men whose good looks and charm contributed to a fame that transcended both the sport that made them famous and the country they were born in.

His wicked grin deepened. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“It just a statement of fact,” she replied with smile, taking his hand. “I’m just wondering what you’re doing here is all. I mean, I’m going to assume you’re one of Nate’s clients, but shouldn’t you be playing somewhere?”

“I should, yes, but I’m not.” His words were clipped, and though the smile didn’t leave his face, his eyes had hardened. Sid knew there was more to the story, but he wasn’t sharing, and it wasn’t any of her business anyway.

“I stayed in Crystal Lake a while back and kind of fell in love with the place. I rented this house, actually, until Nate, the bastard, bought it out from under me.”

“Don’t be bitter, Link. The place you bought is better suited for you.” Molly was on her feet and shuffled over for a hug. “Is that my husband I hear?”

“He’s right behind me.”

Just then, Nate strode into the kitchen with two large pizzas, and just behind him, Beck. The sight of him made Sid’s stomach flip, and that damn heat was back, fingering its way up her neck. Her heart leapt into her throat when he smiled at his brother, because, man, what a smile, and then he turned, catching sight of her for the first time. He didn’t look away, though his smile slowly faded. Was it displeasure? Or surprise.

“Hey,” he said, walking past to set down another brown bag of takeaway on the counter.

“Hi.” She sipped from her wine because she needed something to do. She all but forgot about Link u

ntil he spoke, his voice so close, she almost jumped.

“Is the pretty lady staying for pizza?”

“Of course she is,” Molly said, leaning into Nathan.

Sid looked at Beck and found his eyes still on her. They were dark and unreadable. Not exactly friendly, but at least he wasn’t spitting nails either. In fact, there was something about them that tugged at something inside her.

“I’ll stay if Beck brought his manners along,” she replied slowly.

“I don’t know about my manners,” he said with a wry grin in place. “But I promise to try to be good.” The smile changed everything about him, and Sidney took another gulp of wine because her reaction to him was that strong.

“What’s the fun in that, mate?” Link chuckled. He glanced between the two of them, then narrowed his eyes. “Bloody hell, good luck with that.”

Bloody hell is right, Sid thought, tearing her eyes from Beck. There was something here. She felt it in her bones. But was it one-sided? And if not, what did that mean? Based on his past and what she’d just learned, the smart thing to do would be to run as far away and as fast as she could, put as much distance between her and Beck Jacobs as humanly possible.

Maybe Sid was done with the running thing. Or maybe she was just curious to see if and where whatever this was would go. And to be curious meant that part of her wasn’t as dead as she thought. That was a good thing, right?

Chapter Seven