Protective Heart: A Friends to Lovers Small Town Romance (Starlight Cove Book 2), page 32
PROTECTIVE HEART
BRIGHTON WALSH
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Epilogue
Other Titles By Brighton Walsh
About the Author
I’ve lied to myself for years about being in love with my best friend.
Everly Bowman and I don’t make sense. She’s sunshine personified and I hate everyone. Well, everyone but her. It’s easy to pretend like she isn’t my whole world. Or it was until she needs a place to stay, and my apartment is her only option.
Suddenly, she's everywhere I turn. Even her scent is branded into my sheets. And thanks to our unofficial romance book club, I’ve also amassed an encyclopedia titled Everly’s Pleasure Buttons. Each week, it gets harder to ignore how much I want to make her fantasies come true. Especially when we crawl into my bed every night.
But I won’t jeopardize what we have for anything, so I’m fine with lying to myself and pretending like I don’t dream of calling her mine.
At least, I was until I see her with him.
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For everyone who’s wished their book boyfriends would walk off the page and do filthy things to them, Beck’s for you.
CHAPTER ONE
BECK
Peopling was bullshit, plain and simple.
Even after growing up in Starlight Cove and spending the majority of my life in a crowd, I still wasn’t comfortable in one. Sometimes I just wanted to be left the fuck alone, which was damn near impossible when you had five siblings—including a twin—and lived in a modern-day Mayberry.
Starlight Cove was small, just a tiny pocket along the Maine coast with a picturesque downtown to one side and a lush crown of forest on the other. Everyone knew everyone, everyone was in everyone’s business, and no one could have a moment’s peace. I loved the community aspect of our little town—everyone coming together when someone was in need—but I did not love the people aspect. And there were a fuck-ton of people at the monthly Movies in the Park event, buzzing around me like flies.
Thankfully, my less than welcoming demeanor was well known in my hometown, and since I provided the best coffee in a fifty-mile radius and the best blueberry scones, well, anywhere, people tended to give me a wide berth so they could stay on my good side.
Ironically, the one person I liked outside my family hadn’t known those rules when she’d moved here and had been a persistent early morning irritant from Day One. Everly Bowman was too goddamn sunshiney for anyone to have to deal with at 7 a.m., but somehow she’d gotten under my skin by showing up every day, without fail, and talking my ear off whether I’d wanted her to or not. I’d grown to tolerate her, and then accept her, and then, miraculously, started to like her.
And then I’d gone and done something even worse…
Blankets and chairs were spread across the vast lawn of the park just off Main Street. A cartoon played on the inflatable screen to keep the kids occupied as everyone found their spots and settled in for the double feature. Concession stands dotted the perimeter, but I never bought anything from them. Why would I? I cooked for a living and could make anything they had twice as good for half as much.
Besides, they didn’t sell Nanaimo bars here, or anywhere around here for that matter.
“What’d you bring me?” My twin, Ford, dropped down next to me on the ground and reached for the cooler at my side.
I might’ve shared a womb with him, but I had no intention of sharing this, so I swatted away his questing fingers before he could touch it. “Absolutely nothing.”
“No? Who’s that for, then?” He held up his hand and said, “Wait, wait, let me guess… Everly’s on her way.”
I grunted in the affirmative but otherwise didn’t respond. When he didn’t have a quippy comeback, I glanced his way to find his smug-ass face already turned toward me.
“What?”
He shrugged, that smirk mocking me. “Nothing.”
“It’s not nothing. If it were nothing, you wouldn’t have that stupid look on your face.”
“I just think it’s interesting, is all.”
“How much you manage to irritate me every day? I wouldn’t exactly call that interesting, but maybe you need to get out a bit more.”
He barked out a laugh, and my lips twitched. I was closer to him than nearly anyone else in the world, but we couldn’t be more opposite. Where I loathed people, Ford gravitated toward them. Especially of the female variety. He got out—and in, and out again—plenty. Definitely more than I had over the past two years, though that wasn’t difficult, considering my bar was set at zero.
“What I think is interesting is how much you can’t see what’s right in front of you,” he said.
“Your ugly face is right in front of me.”
“We’re twins.”
“Fraternal,” I said, though that didn’t mean much. The McKenzie genes were strong, and all four of my brothers and I bore a striking resemblance to one another. Even our baby sister fit right in with the group, though she hadn’t been blessed with the height and had maxed out almost a foot shorter than the rest of us.
“What I meant,” he said, “was that Everly is right in front of you.”
I snapped my head up and darted my gaze around, looking for the bubbly, too-bright-for-her-own-good redhead who’d somehow, beyond all reason, become my closest friend. “Where?”
Ford laughed loud enough to draw everyone’s attention—exactly what I didn’t want—and I showed him just how much I appreciated it with a swift elbow to his gut.
He huffed out a breath and then stood before I could land another. “Exactly,” he said with a grin as he walked backward before disappearing into the crowd.
By now, I was used to the not-so-subtle hints that came from absolutely everyone. After two years of being friends with Everly, I’d been on the receiving end of the assumptions. My siblings hadn’t ever hidden the fact that they thought she and I should be a couple. Everyone in the whole damn town seemed to think that. Well, everyone except the two people involved in the supposed coupling.
She was gorgeous, yes, and she was funny and smart and kind to a fault. The perfect woman, I was pretty sure. But she was…Everly. And Everly wasn’t meant to be mine.
Then, as if I’d summoned her, she strode toward me across the lawn, the sun setting at her back and lighting her hair on fire. Heads turned as she walked past, people waving or stopping her to chat—something they never would’ve dared try with me. I didn’t even think she realized how people gravitated toward her. But that made sense. All living things longed for the sun, and Everly was sunshine personified.
She dropped into the spot Ford had vacated, her brows raised, those ice-blue eyes locked on me. “Do you find it weird that couples rarely discuss butt stuff before someone shoves something up an asshole? I mean…in my world, that would merit at least a mention.”
I inhaled sharply, choking on my own spit and then proceeding to hack for a full minute. When I finally had myself under control, I said, “Jesus, Everly. That’s how we’re starting conversations now?”
She shrugged, her eyes dancing. “Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you’d be totally fine with a woman going to town on you and then—oop—finger in your ass.”
I scrubbed a hand down my face. “Can we maybe not have our book club discussion when little Susie is five yards away?”
The last thing I needed was to discuss this week’s book—which was a bit darker than her usual taste—and get hard for everyone in the damn town to see.
She tilted her head to the side to study me. “I guess. But only because you have your grumbly face on.”
Her red hair was pulled back in a ponytail, her face clear of makeup except for the shit she put on her lips that made them shiny and smell like strawberries. Would they taste like strawberries, too?
I jerked my gaze away from her mouth and focused on the cartoon playing on the screen. “Grumbly is a noise, not a look.”
“Oh, believe me, you’ve made it a look.” She blew out a long sigh. “And fine, point taken. We can discuss Chapter Twenty-Two later, but I have thoughts.”
I forced myself to stay still and pretend like I was trying to recall what happened in Chapter Twenty-Two. But I knew Chapter Twenty-Two. I remembered exactly what happened, and let’s just say I suddenly had a newfound interest in rope play. And if past discussions were anything to go by, she’d tell me, in great detail, what she liked and didn’t like about it.
Whether I’d
Recalling how that book’s hero had toyed with the heroine, blindfolding her and tying her up while alternating between using a dildo and his cock had mine stiffening in my jeans. From the way Everly was shifting next to me, she, apparently, was having the same reaction. My dick throbbed as if in reminder that it’d been too damn long—two years, to be exact—since it’d had someone else besides my right hand show it some love.
Very much needing my mind focused on something else, I asked, “Where’s Chuck?”
“Who?” she asked, just to be a brat.
“Your dog,” I said flatly.
She smiled at me. “You know that’s not her name.”
I pressed my lips into a flat line. “Well, it should be. I don’t know why you’d name your dog something so stupid anyway.”
Her grin only widened, and I blew out a frustrated breath.
“Fine. Where’s…Chuckanut?” I grumbled, forcing the name out.
She laughed, her eyes dancing, and truth be told, if my saying that made her react like that, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. “See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?” She leaned in, bumping her shoulder into mine. “She’s at home. Didn’t feel like coming tonight. And I named her that because it reminds me of home, and it makes me happy.”
“I’m pretty sure everything makes you happy.”
“Not everything, but your cooking definitely does.” She reached for the cooler I’d brought, and I let her—I’d learned long ago there was no use putting up any roadblocks with her after she set her mind on something. And considering it was eight o’clock at night and I’d bet my left nut she hadn’t eaten much of anything today, she most definitely had her mind set on food.
She gasped, her eyes flying to mine, the smile that was bright enough to light up the night sky pointed directly at me, setting off a warm ache in my chest. “You brought me Nanaimo bars?”
“Don’t I always?” I said, ignoring the pleasant little buzz that settled over me at her happiness.
“Well…yes.” She lifted a single shoulder as she pulled out a bar and hummed as she made googly eyes at her favorite treat. “But I never expect it.”
She moaned at her first bite, and I ignored how the sound made my cock swell in my jeans. I’d had years of practice ignoring my body’s reactions to her, so it was easy to shove it down where it belonged. Namely, nowhere near Everly.
“We’ve been doing this for two years,” I said. “You can probably stop acting surprised by now.”
“But I am surprised,” she said around a mouthful, and even that was sexy—how she pursed her lips, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth, eyes alight with pleasure. Pleasure derived directly from something I made for her. “I wonder if you’ll bring any. I hope you’ll bring some. But I never expect them. Ergo, pleasantly surprised.”
“Your favorite pastime.”
“Well, we can’t all survive off surliness and pessimism.”
“I prefer to call it realism, sunshine.”
“And I prefer to call it your grumbly attitude.” She rested back against the portable lounger I’d bought a while ago when these events had become a regular occurrence with us, her legs outstretched and crossed at the ankles, her flip-flops flopping as she wiggled her toes. She’d changed her toenail polish again—lime green instead of the pale purple it’d been on Tuesday. “What’s playing tonight? I haven’t even had time to check.”
I exhaled a sharp breath and shot her a scowl because I knew exactly what that meant. “You didn’t have time to eat today, either, did you?”
She cringed but tried to hide it, suddenly becoming very interested in her bar.
This fucking girl. She was driven unlike anyone I’d ever met and had a tendency to allow the rest of the world to fall away when she was working. That was great for the animals she cared for every day as the sole veterinarian in Starlight Cove, but it was bad for everything else that tended to be neglected. Like herself.
She lifted a shoulder but wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I had some food.”
“Some food, my ass,” I grumbled, tugging my backward baseball hat off and running a frustrated hand through my hair before putting it right back on. “A fucking granola bar doesn’t count.”
“Uh-oh,” she said. “Grumbly face and a hand through your hair—a sure sign you’re totally fed up. Is this the night you finally kick me to the curb?”
“Would it matter if I did?”
She laughed and bumped her shoulder into mine. “Not even a little. I’d see you bright and early tomorrow morning.”
She meant that, too. She’d been steadfast in that since moving here. Had proven her friendship and loyalty over and over again, which was hard won from me. After my history with— Well, after my history, I didn’t like to get used to people sticking around. Didn’t even let them close enough to try.
And then Everly had shoved her way in anyway.
“You can’t keep doing this,” I said. “What would you do if Saul told you he hasn’t been feeding his dog all day?”
She gasped, gaze flying to mine. “That’s awful. I’d tell him—”
“To feed his fucking dog.”
Her lips twitched, so she pursed them to the side, no doubt to stop a full-blown smile from erupting. “Are you saying I’m the fucking dog in this situation?”
“You know what I mean,” I grumbled.
Luckily, this wasn’t my first rodeo when it came to Everly, and I’d planned for this. I reached for the second bag I’d brought as backup and dug around until I found what I wanted. Without glancing in her direction, I handed her this week’s salad special.
She gasped and snatched it from me. “A spinach and strawberry salad just for me? You know, everyone in town talks about what a grouch you are, but this proves you’ve got a heart. Or is it just me you love?”
Something sharp tugged in my chest, and I beat it down, same as I’d been doing for the past two years. “I just don’t want you to starve. I’d hardly call that love.”
She bumped her knee into mine and grinned as she tucked into her meal—probably her first real one of the day. I was going to have to start making her breakfast when she stopped by the diner every morning for coffee. Straight caffeine wasn’t going to cut it anymore—not when she was pulling twelve-hour days without taking a break. She’d been loving those heirloom tomatoes I’d been picking up at the farmers market. Maybe I could turn my latest omelet into a wrap, so it’d be easy and portable for her. No excuses since she could eat on the go. Then she’d—
“Is Ford here?” she asked, and she might as well have dumped a bucket of ice water over me.
I slid my gaze to her. My brother had no doubt already found a dark corner and a willing woman to occupy his time. But also, why the fuck did she want to know if he was here? “He was around a while ago. Why?”
She shrugged and speared another strawberry—she always ate them first—before popping it into her mouth. “I wanted to hire him to take care of a few things around my house.”
I had a good poker face. Growing up in the family I did, getting into the shit we had, it’d been a necessity. But I was sure every ounce of irritation I felt over that inconsequential comment was currently written across my face.
