Page 2 of Forbidden Flame

Teddy’s shoulders relaxed slightly, but his jaw remained tight. “Our families don’t mix.”

“You won’t get an argument from me on that point.” I swallowed hard. What the hell was I doing getting involved in a family feud? I was the cousin, an outsider to this family. I might have been a Monroe because Uncle Larry was my dad’s brother, but that didn’t mean I stood to inherit any part of this farm. No matter how much I wanted to be part of the farm and the family.

“If you hurt her—” The threat was clear.

“I won’t.” I had no intention of doing that. I wanted to protect her. The urge was strong and insistent, and I had no clue where it was coming from.

Teddy must have seen something in my expression, because he stepped back. “You’d better not.”

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

He nodded as I moved past him.

I felt the weight of his gaze on my back. When I reached the backstage area, Marley’s eyes lit up. “There you are.”

“Sorry, I was talking to someone.” My throat felt dry as I looked past Marley to Daphne, whose gaze was set at some point over my shoulder. I wondered if she’d seen me talking to her brother.

“I was just explaining to Daphne the dates we’ve set up for the lucky couples. One is a picnic and movie date by the lake. There’s the hot tub—”

“We’ll take the hot-tub date,” Daphne interjected, surprising the hell out of me.

I raised my brow at Daphne. I wanted her to have control over how things went tonight. But I wasn’t expecting her to request the most intimate date offered. “You want to go on the hot-tub date?”

“It’s more money—” Marley said looking from me to Daphne.

At Daphne’s nod, I said, “I’ll pay it.” It wouldn’t hurt to support the Monroes, show them I was invested in the business.

Marley shrugged, then smiled as she showed us the hand-drawn map. “Okay then. The hot tub is the farthest away and hidden in the woods. But you should have no problem finding it.” She handed the map to me, as she continued, “I provided heaters, food, and even bathing suits should you want to dip into the hot tub. Would you mind driving your truck? The carriage ride was reserved for the movie date, and the golf carts are all in use.”

“That’s fine.” I offered my hand, eager to be alone with Daphne. I was elated to finally have a chance to talk to her after all this time. There was something about her that drew me in, and it went further than the lost teen I’d met back then.

Daphne’s gaze fell to my offered hand for a second before she placed hers in mine. A tingle of electricity shot up my elbow and straight to my chest.

“Let’s get out of here,” I murmured into her ear, noting the way she shivered. Then I led the way through the crowd, checking periodically to ensure she was okay. I was determined to avoid any more of her brothers.

Outside, I opened the passenger-side door for her to climb inside. She didn’t look at me as I carefully shut the door behind her. I rounded the hood, my heart beating hard.

I couldn’t believe I’d won a night alone with the object of my teenage fantasies. When I got in, I left the truck off. The only lights were the ones hanging on the porch of the barn. “Are you okay with this? I can take you home if you’d prefer.”

Daphne licked her lower lip, one hand curling around my bicep and the other touching my forearm. I swear the side of her breast grazed my elbow, making the blood rush south. “You won a date with me.”

I wanted to ask why she’d requested the hot-tub date. There’d always been a mythical quality to her, probably because I’d never known her name or any of the circumstances surrounding her life, besides her mother’s death.

I drove over the gravel lane toward Emmett’s, then Heath’s cabin where I’d been staying while I worked on the farm. “I ran into your brother.”

Daphne shifted in the seat so that her foot was tucked under her leg and her knee pointed in my direction.

“Teddy?” Her voice was low and sultry, matching her dark hair and porcelain skin. “Was he the only one here tonight?”

I sensed rather than saw the eye roll.

“All my brothers wanted to come. They compromised and sent Teddy. He’s the oldest.

“What are your brothers like?” I asked, wanting to know more about her.

She grimaced. “Overbearing. Protective.”

“You don’t like it.”

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