"Any recommendations?" She looked over his arm to see the grill. "Sw.a.n.k."

He laughed. "Try the salmon. It has a miso glaze. Erin makes it."

"Some people have to hog up being good at stuff." She took the plate he handed her, a rush of sensation sliding over her when their fingers brushed. A taste of the fish only made it better. "Oh, this is is good." She looked out over the yard to find Rennie running with the pack of kids, kicking a ball around. "I'd see if she was hungry, but I think she's a bit busy." good." She looked out over the yard to find Rennie running with the pack of kids, kicking a ball around. "I'd see if she was hungry, but I think she's a bit busy."

"I should have thought to introduce her to Nina and Mase this summer when you guys first moved in. She looks pretty happy."

Somehow, the way he looked at her daughter and smiled made her all warm. Good lord, she should not be having these little internal moments.

"Yeah, she does. Thanks for inviting us. Can I help? Get out of your way?"

He stepped very close. "You look so good. If Rennie wasn't here, I'd clear away that bit of cream soda from the corner of your mouth."

"You're not fair. I'm not sure my bra can hide how hard my nipples are," she murmured back. The up and down slide of his Adam's apple, the bead of sweat on his neck, the scent of his soap, all of it tested her control.

"I don't want to be fair. I want to put my hands on you. I want to put my mouth on your p.u.s.s.y and lick until you come."

She looked up at him as her skin tingled with awareness. He flipped her switch on such a primal level it was sort of scary. She thought about f.u.c.king him pretty much all the time. He set her on fire, had pushed her system into s.e.xual hyperdrive, and she had to admit, she sort of dug it. She'd never been so hungry to be f.u.c.ked in her life. It made her feel so alive! s.e.xy and desirable as a woman. It was liberating really.

"You keep looking at me like that, and I'm going to toss you over my shoulder and take you into the pantry." His voice was low, but she had to close her eyes a moment as the idea of what they'd do in the dark of the pantry flashed through her brain.

"If you want, I can take her off your hands. Since the burgers need turning and all."

Surprised, Elise turned and nearly smacked into someone. A very good-looking someone. Christamighty, where did all these hot people come from?

Brody put one hand on her shoulder while he flipped the burgers with the other one. "Yeah, I think not. Cope, this is Elise. Elise, this is Ben's brother, Cope."

"Ben is that one there, holding Erin's hand," he said, responding to her confused look.

At least the hotness made sense if he was related to that one.

"Ah, yes. Okay, Erin told me about him earlier, but I haven't met him yet."

"We're getting ready to play cards. Do you play cards?" Cope flashed a smile, complete with a dimple. This guy was a real bad boy. His grin was pure s.e.x and he knew it. It charmed her.

That's when she saw the lush brunette approach. "Don't do it unless you're good. They're a very cutthroat bunch." Elise wondered just who this woman was, given the way Brody's body had tightened and he'd actually stepped closer to Elise.

"I spent a lot of time touring and waiting around backstage. I'm pretty good at cards and pool." She held out a hand after wiping the condensation from the bottle on her pants leg. "I'm Elise."

They shook hands and it was fine, but Elise's internal radar was flashing red. This was a woman who'd meant something to him once. Still did, if her presence meant anything, and she had no reason to doubt that. The people there were close-knit. They knew each other, this group. She got the feeling Brody Brown didn't do the important things halfway. He might come off as laid back to the extreme, but Elise saw his focus, saw the way he interacted with people. He'd be the type to take care of the things he valued. And the people. One of these days, he'd make some woman an exceptional husband and co-parent.

"I'm Raven."

The woman had a smile on her face, but if Elise wasn't mistaken, an air of challenge lurked there. Great, probably an ex- or not so ex-girlfriend.

"Elise and her little girl live across the street. She's the one who helped him when he got hit," Erin explained as she came up with Ben. "I saved us a table right there." Erin pointed.

Cope leaned back against a nearby ledge and sipped a beer. "Pool, huh? We play every other Friday at the pub just around the corner from the shop. You should come along sometime."

"Thanks for the invite. I don't have a lot of Friday nights free. I have a little girl, so I stick around home a lot." She didn't have the free time they did, but it was still nice to be asked.

"When she's not working in her studio. You should see her dance. It's pretty freaking amazing." Brody touched the small of her back. Just a casual touch, but it relaxed her a bit.

"Momma! I'm hungry. Can we eat?" Rennie led the charge of the pack of children she'd been playing with.

"I've got a platter of burgers and dogs right here," Brody called out to a cheer.

"I'll get that." She took it and looked over to the kids. "Why don't you all come over here to this table where the plates are so you can grab something?"

In the midst of the chaos of grabbing hands and pleased sounds from the kids, another woman came to help. "I'm Maggie, Arvin's wife. Those two are mine." She pointed out her kids.

"Elise." She motioned to Rennie. "That one is mine."

"I've seen you dropping her off at school in the mornings. If you ever want to take a morning off, or if you need to trade off, let me know. I teach at the school. Fourth grade. So I'm there anyway."

The two women, along with another mom and a dad, got the kids situated, and it wasn't until she'd moved back, standing in the autumn sunshine, that Elise realized it had been four years since she'd had a barbecue with friends, two since she'd really had close friends of any type.

Rennie and Nina had become fast friends in the way only girls their age could. A year ago, Rennie had been p.r.o.ne to nightmares about losing her mother. And now she could be in a backyard, eating freshly cooked burgers and giggling with a girlfriend. Elise had done the right thing to leave and move west.

"Here, you forgot this." Brody handed her the plate with her salmon, and he'd added some pasta salad on the side. "You'll waste away if you don't eat."

She looked up at him, knowing the smile on her face made it pretty obvious there was more between them than just being friends. But he made her happy and she genuinely liked him. Judging by his return smile and the way he squeezed her hand, he wasn't feeling too shabby either.

"I'm pretty sure I'll be okay, but I can't turn down lunch." She let him lead her to a table nearby where the kids had settled, and they both sat along with Erin and her two men. Two Two. Awesome.

"This is a great yard."

"Thanks. It's been a project for the last several years. I take something big each season and do it. The most recent thing was the water feature near the back corner. I like working with my hands."

Gah, she really wished she could control her blushes better. She may as well wear a sign that said, Yes, we totally did it. Yes, we totally did it.

Erin changed the subject. "I looked you up online. I admit it. I love dancing and I got curious when Brody had said you danced with NBT. I watched several clips of you on YouTube. I'm really impressed. You're an amazing dancer. You did Giselle several times, that's a big deal."

"It is? Why?" Brody leaned in for her answer.

Pleasure and pride flushed through her. "It's a plum role. The role you go up through school dreaming of dancing. Very dramatic story. Love, heartbreak, death, revenge, forgiveness. You're not only dancing but you're acting too. Technically it's very difficult, so many of the greatest dancers have taken up the role. To be among those names is a hope of many a young woman coming into ballet. It was most certainly mine."

"I'm so glad you got to live that dream. It's amazing, isn't it? To stand up on the stage and actually be doing what you'd fantasized about and worked for your whole life?"

Their gazes locked briefly and Elise realized Erin Keenan had a lot of depth.

"I don't know a lot about ballet, but I was so struck by the intensity of your grace and poise when you're dancing. It would have been wonderful to see you perform live."

"I've seen a bit, she's pretty amazing." Brody spoke in an offhand manner. Totally casual. And she melted a bit inside at the pride in his voice.

Erin's eyes widened, and then she sent Brody a decidedly teasing grin. Elise thought about her brother, thought about how much fun he'd been as they'd grown up. Erin still had that and Elise envied her.

"Thank you. I love to dance, I have for as long as I could remember. I'm not one of those people who was forced into lessons or whatever. I would have spent all my time dancing if I could have. But when your dad is a professor, you can't blow off school."

"Do you miss it?"

Elise paused. "Yes. But I'm getting older and I got hurt. Some things you can't come back from. So teaching is the next best thing." She needed to have that tattooed on herself. Some things you'll never come back from. But you can survive them and that's what she did.

Brody watched her in his yard, with his friends and family, and found that he liked her there. He had his circle, and they meant everything to him, so it meant more than he could really grasp to have her there and feel like she was meant meant to be there. Rennie fit in great with the other kids. Elise made friends in her own way, but she was sort of irresistible, this huge force of nature in such a deceptively pretty package. to be there. Rennie fit in great with the other kids. Elise made friends in her own way, but she was sort of irresistible, this huge force of nature in such a deceptively pretty package.

He took some of the larger trays into the kitchen and began to clean them up as Todd packed up the leftovers.

"So what's that story?" Raven brought a tray inside and began to dry as he rinsed.

"Story?"

"Very tiny blonde lady in your backyard with the kid? h.e.l.lo? I know you noticed her because you haven't taken your eyes off her for more than three minutes at a time. You've been stuck to her like glue and even gave Cope the stink eye when he started that game of cards and invited her to play."

He smiled at her, wondered what it was that had turned him so upside down those years before. When he looked at Raven now, he certainly found beauty; you'd have to be blind not to. But he saw so much more. Too much to ignore and continue to love her, but enough that he'd always hold her in a special place.

"She's a very pretty blonde lady who helped me out when I got hit by a car, and we struck up a friendship. I like her. I like her company. And as much as I'd get Cope's back in a brawl any day, I don't want anyone else to like her the way I'm currently liking her. Which is all I'm going to say about it right now."

Todd, who'd been ferrying things inside and back into the fridge, overheard and barked out a laugh. "You've got his number, but like Raven said, we'd all have to be blind not to have seen the way you two have been with each other all afternoon. Cope is a man wh.o.r.e, as Erin would say, but he's got ethics. He wouldn't poach anyone else's anything."

"Which is why he's out there playing cards with her and trying to see down her shirt and I'm not hitting him in the face."

"So have you retired your bachelor shoes?" Raven's tone was mocking as she leaned back against the counter, watching him.

"No. We're not going steady. But I'm an adult and I can like the people I'm with. I prefer it that way."

Raven snorted. "You'll get over it when the novelty wears off."

Brody shook his head and swatted Raven with a kitchen towel. "Don't be so negative. Jesus. You're going to get an ulcer or something. Try the half-full method."

When he went back out, Elise was in the process of trying to separate Rennie and Nina, and neither girl was having much of it.

"Why don't you guys have a play date soon? How's that?" Maggie smiled at both girls and then up at Elise.

"Okay! How about right now?" Nina said.

"How about soon? Do you have our phone number? You two can work out a few days and times and we'll work around it, okay?"

Elise held back a smile but Brody saw her fight it. He liked the way she was with Rennie. This wasn't a woman who had her roles confused. She wasn't Rennie's best friend, she was Rennie's mother. But she also seemed not so rigid that it harmed either one of them. It had to be tough, being mother and father.

The girls s.n.a.t.c.hed up paper and pens and wrote numbers down while Elise chatted animatedly with Maggie. He liked that connection too. Maggie had been his first office manager back when she was working her way through school. Then Arvin had come in for a job, and within months the two had been not just a couple, but, like, cemented together. They were solid people. Great parents and wonderful friends to him. He enjoyed seeing Maggie have another mom to be close with, and it gave Elise another person in her life, helping her feel more at home in Seattle.

Elise turned to him. "Thanks for inviting us. We had a great time."

"Let me walk you two over."

She started to protest but closed her mouth and smiled instead. "All right."

Maggie hugged her, as did Erin. His sister didn't often click with other people, and certainly not as quickly as she had with Elise. But in truth, he had such great friends and family that it was sort of spooky how well their small group got along. Oh sure, they had their tiffs, people being p.i.s.sed off at each other. That was natural given that several of them were married or siblings to other members of the group. But there was a sense of community and camaraderie between them all, of refuge and home. Standing there with his sister grinning at Rennie, and Cope chatting Elise up, he was at ease. He fit somewhere, with other people who were like him. And now Elise was one of them too, and he had the distinct feeling that her entry into his life would mark it deeply.

He told everyone he'd be back shortly and walked Elise and Rennie back home.

"Thanks, Brody! I had a great day." Rennie threw her arms around his waist and hugged tight. This kid was hard not to love.

"Anytime."

Elise unlocked the door and held it open. "Go on upstairs. Bath and pjs."

Rennie started to argue, but she must have seen the same look Brody had in her mother's eyes, and groaned. "Okay. Night, Brody." She ran off into the house and thundered up the stairs.

"Thanks again. I had a great day too." She took a deep breath and slid her palm over his throat and to the back of his neck. "I don't know what your plans are tonight. But if you're free in three hours or so and find yourself standing on my porch, I'd let you in."

"Are you inviting me into your parlor?" He wanted in her body right then. If it weren't for that kiddo upstairs, he'd be on her.

"Yes. If by parlor you mean my bedroom so we can have s.e.x."

He laughed, dipping to kiss her quickly. "I'll make it a point to be standing right here in three hours."

"Okay then. I'll try not to keep you up too late since you have to work tomorrow and all."

"I've gone to work tired many a time; I can't think of a better reason than being worn out by you."

She smiled and stepped back, letting go of his neck, but he still felt her touch there.

He headed back home with a smile on his face.

9.

Elise liked him. He was s.e.xy and masculine and he made her laugh. He was nice to Rennie, wasn't overly pushy, although he had alpha male written all over him and she could see he liked managing people. Elise didn't want to be managed. She'd had enough of that. But they had great s.e.xual chemistry. He always made her come. He seemed to love oral s.e.x and he had a great imagination. Not much to complain about really.

So when she opened her door and found him standing on her porch, she took his hand and led him back to her bedroom. They didn't speak, not breaking the spell of the quiet house. She locked her door and turned to face him.

"Hi," he said quietly, drawing her against him.

"Hi. You smell good. Like autumn. I love the way it smells here at night. Like wood fires and cold air." She pressed her nose into his neck and breathed deep.

"You feel good. I like this room. I'd like it more if you took this off." He pushed the robe from her shoulders and it fell into a pool of fabric at her feet. His hands, big and bold, swept down her back to cup her a.s.s.

Instead of the normal, urgent, rip-off-clothes-and-f.u.c.k frenzy they'd had before, their pace was slow and sensual. His lips cruised across the swell of her cheek, to her ear and down her neck. His hands caressed, kneaded, seduced instead of demanded.

She gave to him, let him take, leaned her head to the side, giving him access to the hollow of her throat. A shiver of delight pa.s.sed through her at the feel of his teeth grazing the hypersensitive skin along her collarbone.

G.o.d, he felt so good.