The Harder You Fall. Gena Showalter

gold. A forest fire wafting smoke. “Why don’t you provide the answer?”

      All eyes landed on her, and she shifted uncomfortably. “My opinion doesn’t count. To me you’re like a third cousin twice removed.”

      “So...kissing cousins?” Jase asked her.

      As she sputtered with indignation, Ponytail returned with their drinks, making sure to shove her cleavage in West’s face. Did she have no shame?

      “Y’all ready to order?”

      “Sure.” West petted the woman’s hand, which had once again migrated to his shoulder. “I’ll have the special, whatever it is.”

      After everyone else had placed their orders— requesting the special as well—Ponytail skipped off to give their ticket to the cook.

      “I take it back.” Jessie Kay frowned at West. “You don’t have a groupie. You are a groupie. Her twins had you completely entranced.”

      “Hardly.” He peered at Jessie Kay for a while longer, the wheels clearly turning in his head. Finally he nodded, as if he’d just made a decision. He leaned toward her, coming closer and closer. His voice a rasp of heat, ensuring only she could hear him, he said, “I happen to be a fan of someone else’s twins.”

      Her jaw dropped, and her mouth went dry. Had he just—no, no, impossible...but...maybe. Had he just come on to her?

      Wide-eyed, she turned her attention to Jase. “Did West sustain a massive brain injury during the game?” First he’d been nice to her. Then he’d complimented her movements—in heat? Yes! Now he flirted with her.

      Actually he might be more than injured. He might be dying.

      “Why?” Brook Lynn and Harlow asked in unison, instantly concerned.

      “What’s wrong?” Brook Lynn demanded.

      The guys merely smiled slyly at her, as if they were privy to a secret.

      “Maybe he finally had some sense knocked into him,” Beck said.

      “Maybe someone else wanted what he wants, and he decided to take it. At long last,” Jase said.

      Meaning...someone else had wanted her and West had decided to make a move?

      No way. Absolutely no way. No one but Daniel wanted her, and he didn’t count.

      Reeling, needing a moment to regroup, she tossed her napkin on the table. And, just to be tactless, she added, “I’m headed to the lady’s crapper. Alone,” she added for the girls’ benefit. “If I take a while, don’t come looking for me.”

      Brook Lynn dropped her head in her upraised hands and moaned. “My sister did not just say those words at such a loud volume. I’m in a happy place. With butterflies and roses.”

      West continued to stare at her, the forest fire growing hotter...so hot all that smoke reached her, twined around her. Barely able to breathe, she backed away from him. Whatever this was, whatever had changed between them, whatever he was doing, she wanted no part of it—because deep down she wanted all of it.

       CHAPTER FOUR

      WHAT IN SAM HILL was wrong with him? Had he suffered a brain injury? West wondered.

      He’d teased Jessie Kay. He’d flirted with her, had actually come on to her, and he hadn’t been subtle about it. Before that, he’d even shared little tidbits about his past, something he’d only ever done with Jase and Beck. He’d even asked about her childhood, and he’d sincerely wanted to know!

      And in the car, when she’d paled, gasping for breath, he’d felt an instinctive need to help her, whatever the cause of her distress. To make things better for her. To be better for her. The beautiful girl with the keen mind, sharp wit and vengeful nature. Who else would tell him about a pap smear?

      She charmed him, and the madness had to stop. For every reason he’d already considered, and a thousand more.

      If they ended up together, the relationship would fail in two months. No more, no less. Because yes, he scheduled his relationships like everything else. He never deviated, never would, for reasons he would never share.

      He could handle Jessie Kay’s upset over the situation, but not everyone else’s. Brook Lynn and Harlow would side with her and hate him, and though Jase and Beck would side with West, they’d also have to side with their girls. Eventually, West would find himself cut from the family.

      He needed his boys like his needed his lungs. Couldn’t live without one, couldn’t live without the other.

      Brook Lynn threw her straw wrapper at him. “You better start being nice to my sister, Lincoln West.”

      “I wasn’t mean. Not today,” he added with a grumble.

      “She has a tough outer shell, but inside, she’s actually a marshmallow.”

      Was she? He only knew a little about her past.

      There’s more to both stories...a lot more.

      If he knew everything about her, would he want her less? Or even more?

      Could he want her more? He already ached for her every minute of every day.

      Neither of his friends realized the attraction had flared at meeting one, and he would never tell them, didn’t want them dealing with guilt for taking something—someone—he wanted. The predicament was his fault, anyway.

      He’d met Jessie Kay at a Fourth of July BBQ and a few hours after he’d walked away from her, he’d returned, thinking he’d reintroduce himself to the woman he hadn’t been able to get out of his mind. But by then, Beck had set his sights on her. And when either of his boys expressed an interest in something, anything, West moved heaven and earth to ensure they got it. Period. Such deprived childhoods deserved extravagant adulthoods. Owe them everything.

      He’d walked away again. And he didn’t regret his failure to step up and stake a claim on Jessie Kay. Nope. Not even a little.

      Jase kissed his fiancée’s knuckles. “You just made a huge tactical error, angel. Never tell a man a woman is a marshmallow.”

      “Why not?” she asked, truly confused.

      Beck arched a brow. “Why else? Because he’ll want to eat her.”

      Harlow slapped his chest. “Oh, my gosh! You are such a pig.”

      But the guy wasn’t deterred. “Tell her, Westlina.”

      He smiled without humor. “It’s true. If the guy has a sweet tooth.”

      “The way you were looking at my sister...you better not have a sweet tooth.” Brook Lynn wagged a finger in his direction. “I worry about her enough, thank you very much. She lives alone in a crumbling house. She’s struggling to make ends meet, and she’s determined to trek the straight and narrow. There’s no reason to tempt her onto the winding and wide.”

      Do I tempt her?

      Every muscle in his body hardened like a rock. Every—single—one. “Don’t worry. I prefer savory to sweet.” At least, he always had before.

      The stiffening got worse as Jessie Kay strolled around a corner. Her navy gaze avoided him. Probably a good thing. The scent of her—pecans dipped in cream and sprinkled with cinnamon—invaded his senses, more potent than any drug, heating him to the point of sweltering, intoxicating him until his head spun. A warmth and high he’d missed with every fiber of his being. A warmth and high he couldn’t allow himself to enjoy. The more he liked it, the more he’d crave it...the more difficult it would be to let go.

      Clearly, he needed to select his next relationship. He usually had someone hooked and reeled by August and thrown back into the sea by October, avoiding the holidays. The move to Strawberry Valley had screwed