Page 26 of Ever With Me

He barely caught sight of Kayla as she stepped up beside Logan, then Audrey was on the dock. Brooks stood, and Audrey flung herself against him as he scooped her up. “Uncle Books, I missed you,” Audrey said, her arms tight against his neck as she clung to him.

“Hey, baby girl,” he said with a smile, settling her into his arm. It felt like ages since he’d seen her because of the tour. The sight of her angelic face, her dark chocolate-brown eyes that were just like Kayla’s, instantly lightened the strain on his heart.

Kayla made her way across the golden-hued, sun-drenched lawn, a grin on her face. “Audrey didn’t stop talking about how excited she was to see Uncle Books the entire drive up here.” She waited by the end of the dock as Brooks carried Audrey over toward her.

Brooks stopped, and Kayla’s expression shifted, her lips turning downward in a frown as she sized up the bruising on his face. “Audrey, why don’t you go get Mr. Fluffy from where you dropped him? You don’t want him to get lost.”

Audrey nodded enthusiastically, then scrambled down from her perch in Brooks’s arms.

When she was out of earshot, Kayla set her hands on her hips. “What the hell, Brooks? You said your face was fine.”

“It is fine. Just a little bruise. No big deal. You should see the other guy.”

“That’s not funny, and you know it.” Kayla’s eyes glistened. “Dammit, you shouldn’t have let him get to you. Mike is going to juice this for everything it’s worth. Even if the charges don’t stick, he’s gonna sue you. Then use this in the custody hearing.”

Brooks’s gaze traveled over the top of Kayla’s head as he caught sight of Maddie’s brother coming their way. Audrey was beside him now, chatting happily while she held the gorilla that she usually carried everywhere. She’d never been afraid of strangers, unfortunately, and would talk the ear off anyone she met.

“Let’s talk about this later,” Brooks said gruffly.

Cormac’s footsteps approached from behind, and he arrived beside Brooks at the same time as Maddie’s brother and Audrey joined them. “Hey, Kayla. I see you met Logan. Logan, this is Brooks.”

“We pulled up at the same time,” Kayla said, offering Logan a smile. “He offered to grab my suitcase.”

Brooks extended a hand to Logan, who had that look of discomfort he’d seen on so many people’s faces when they were introduced. It had taken him a year of being a known celebrity to get used to that look—the awestruck glimmer while trying to play it cool and pretend he was just any other stranger. “Nice to meet you. If you don’t mind not mentioning to anyone else you know that I’m staying here, I’d appreciate it.”

“No problem.” Logan shook his hand. “Hope you don’t mind my sister and me crashing your party. This is a beautiful house you’re staying in.”

Crashing.There was that word again, and Brooks winced.

“Yeah, it really is,” Kayla said, tossing a silky lock of dark hair over her shoulder as she turned to gawk at the lake house. The house was massive, with several decks on three levels overlooking the water. Each room seemed to have a balcony, and one deck had a hot tub, while a main deck had a comfortable seating area and grill.

The living room was distinguishable by an A-framed enormous picture window, which reflected the reds and pinks of the sky now that sunset approached.

“It’s not really a party,” Brooks said with a shrug. “But you’re welcome. I just hope we don’t bore you.”

“Speak for yourself,” Kayla said with a roll of her eyes. “I am not boring. Neither is Cormac.”

“Mommy, I’m hungry,” Audrey said, tugging on Kayla’s shirt.

“Don’t worry, we’re going to eat soon,” Cormac said. “I should see what happened to Maddie. She might have gotten lost trying to figure out what deck the grill was on.”

Logan lifted a bag in his hand. “I brought some crab cakes, too. From the pub. And some wine.”

“I like cab cakes!” Audrey said with a hop. “And wine!”

“Sorry, kid, no wine,” Kayla said with a roll of her eyes. “Also, maybe don’t go announcing that, please. I give her sips occasionally,” she explained sheepishly to Logan.

“I’m not judging. I have a couple of nieces who like to ‘share’ my beers.”

The entire group started across the yard toward the house, then the string lights above the porch came on, and Maddie leaned over the rail and called out a hello. She looked too comfortable, which bothered Brooks. This wasn’t his place, really, and Maddie was Cormac’s guest.

He still wouldn’t mind sending her away. She’d shown up here, acting like now that she had the dirt on him, sheknewhim. Why the hell would she go to so much trouble to come here tonight?

The care she’d taken with her appearance was noticeable. He hadn’t really noticed how tanned she was, and that plaid skirt was short on her well-toned thighs, barely covering the curves of what appeared to be averynice ass.

He let his gaze skim every inch of that delicious figure of hers. Maybe he’d been too tired to notice it before, but Maddie was gorgeous in a natural, girl-next-door way. The sweatsuit out-of-the-shower look just hadn’t done her any justice.

“Who’s the girl?” Kayla asked in a whisper beside him.

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