“You knew?” I half-yelled at Sawyer and Kinsley. How could my best friends not tell me about Z?
“It wasn’t a big deal.” Kinsley rolled her eyes.
“It just would have been nice to know. I don’t like being blindsided by shit.” My voice was laced with anger.
“Sorry,” Sawyer said sheepishly.
“Z wants us all to hang out. Well us, him, and Deke,” I added.
“Really? How do you feel about that?” Kinsley asked skeptically.
“It is what it is. If I’m gonna live here, I need to get over this. Move on.”
Kinsley smiled her beautiful smile. “Atta girl.”
Laying around the living room in our pjs, the three of us sat eating chocolate ice cream, gabbing. I’d missed this. I’d missed them.
The pounding on the front door had Sawyer, Kinsley, and me groaning and covering our faces. We’d obviously fallen asleep. After who knew how much sex talk last night, we fell asleep in the living room just like old times.
The pounding kept getting worse. “Who is it?” Kinsley croaked.
“Hell if I know. I’ll get it.” Getting up, I wrapped my hair up in a ponytail and wiped my face. Looking out the peephole, I saw Z standing there in a very nice suit.
“It’s Z,” I announced to the girls. I heard Sawyer groan before opening the door.
“Hey. What’s up?” my sleepy self questioned.
“Well, look at you.” His eyes wandered up and down my body. Shit. The tank with no bra and short shorts was giving him quite a show.
“You’re my cousin, knock it off.” I scowled.
“Not by blood.” He winked. “I’m thinking we need to go back to the no-relation thing, and Deke can kiss my ass.”
Rolling my eyes, I said, “Shut up. What do ya need?”
Z peered around me. “You have a slumber party last night and not invite me?”
“Yep and nope.”
“Damn. Hey ladies.” Z gave a small wave while staring at Kinsley and Sawyer.
“Hey Z,” Kinsley croaked right before Sawyer nodded her hello.
“Shit, if you ladies dress in pretty much nothing for bed every night, I’m coming over here early every morning.” He winked at Sawyer who blushed.
“Z, it’s early, what do you need?” I needed to get his mind back to why the hell he was waking us up at the ass crack of dawn.
“I’m actually on official police business. Can I talk to you in private?” His eyes turned serious.
“Sure. Come on in. I need to put some clothes on.”
“Don’t on my account,” he charged back.
“Don’t be a horny jackass. Go sit out on the deck. I’ll be there in a minute.” My head nodded toward the sliding glass doors.
“But I don’t want to miss this view.” His arm gestured at the women lying on the couches.
“Go.” I pushed him out the door and quickly changed.
“What’s up?” I asked as I walked out on to the deck.
“Thought you could tell me about Gabriella Daniels.”
I felt as if my blood left my body, leaving me cold. “Shit. You know.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes, I do, you sexy porn writer.”
“I’m not a porn writer.” I glowered. “I’m an erotic romance writer. There is a difference.”
“Whatever.” Z rolled his eyes. “Anyway, tell me what’s going on?”
“You already know.” I stared out at the woods lining the property.
“Tell me your view,” Z’s voice was curt and abrupt.
I turned to Z, seeing his arms crossed over his chest, his gray eyes staring intently at me as if he meant business. “This stays just between us. There are only a few people who know I’m Gabriella.”
“Yep. It’s marked confidential.”
Sighing, I pressed on, “I started writing after I left here. I needed an escape so I just started. Anyway, I used a pen name because I didn’t want anyone to know I was Gabriella. Everything was great until one of my guy fans went too far and freaked me out. I haven’t heard from him in a few months so I’m hoping he gave up.”
“You don’t have your legal name out there anywhere?”
“Nope. I never put it out there. Now, I’m not stupid either. I know the internet is my biggest enemy. If someone was savvy enough and they knew their way around a computer, I’m sure they could link Gabriella Daniels to me. But I don’t think Gary, or whoever he is, is that way.”
“You don’t think?” Z’s eyebrow shot up as if he thought I was being naive.
“He’s only sent letters and packages. He’s never made in-person contact.”
“All right. You get anything or hear anything you come directly to me. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“Now that that’s over, let’s talk about this date.” Z uncrossed his arms and followed me to the lounge chair.
“Already?” I asked, thinking it had only been a day since I told him I’d do it.
“Yep. Tonight. Meet us at Sully’s.”
I groaned. “Really?”
“Yep. See you tonight.”
Sully’s was hopping. People were packed wall-to-wall, leaving barely any space when we entered. Taking the corner booth, Kinsley, Sawyer, and I decided to start with tequila shots.
“One, two, three … go.”
Pounding back our drinks, I searched the crowd for Deke; I couldn’t stop myself. I just wanted a glance.
Moving slowly toward our table, Z approached with Deke on his tail. My mouth watered at the sight of him. His jeans looked as if they were custom made with the way they hung off his hips. His t-shirt fit like a glove, showing off his unbelievably muscular arms and hot as hell tattoos. When my eyes lifted to his, I pulled my glance away.
“Hey ladies. You look beautiful tonight.” Z’s voice had my eyes traveling to him.
“Hi Vann.” Deke’s voice was low and utterly delicious.
“Hey.” I smirked and turned away from him.
“Hey cuz! How’s it going?”
“Oh, so now we’re back to cuz. That’s not what you said this morning,” I said teasingly as Z slid in the booth next to Kinsley and Sawyer leaving Deke to slide in next to me. His smell, the one that engulfed me every time I was near, was already sending me into a tailspin.
“I can’t help it you were half naked this morning. It was a hot way to start my day.” The sound that came from Deke was fierce causing me to jump. Z smiled. “You should have seen it this morning, all these beautiful ladies, barely any clothes on. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.” Z’s arm reached around Sawyer, as a small smile played on her lips.
With Deke sitting so close, I could feel the tension coming off his body. I tried not to react to it and join in the conversation.
“Vann?” Nerves were about to crush me, but I held it together at the sound of his voice.
Turning slowly, I looked in his beautiful blue eyes. “Yeah?”
“You gonna talk to me or ignore me all night?” The tension in his face was still there, but the tone of his voice was calm.
I, as Grams put it, pulled up my big girl panties. “You kissed
