Page 55 of Hot for the Jerk

I patted his back, and gave my cousin a weird look.

When he pulled away, he could tell that whole exchange had been really fucking weird.

But he was also way better at recovering from this kind of thing than I was, and he simply flashed me another one of those way too perfect, sexy-as-fuck smiles.“Thanks for not killing me in my sleep.I appreciate it.”

Damn him.Damn his smile.Damn his beard, and his lips, and his eyes.Damn all of him.

I rolled my eyes, even though my face probably had literal flames flying off it, and shook my head before one corner of my mouth tipped up.“You’re welcome.And thank you for … chopping wood so we didn’t all freeze to death.”

Now his smile was even bigger.Even sexier.

Damn him entirely.

Ugh.

“You’re welcome.I guess I’ll be … seeing you around.We’re still rivals, but hopefully no longer … enemies?”His brows lifted.

“We’re going to beat your ass at the land proposal.We’ll get Bonn Remmen’s land, you’ll see.”

Wyatt chuckled, and he slapped Jagger on the back, encouraging him to get a move on.

“Challenge accepted,” Jagger said with a nod as he turned to go.“I look forward to mopping the floor with you, Raina Aaronson.”

“We’ll see about that, Jagger McEvoy.”

Then he turned around and started to walk away, his ass looking way too fine in those sweatpants he practically lived in for the last few days.And fuck if he didn’t turn around and cause my panties to flood with the crooked, wicked smile he tossed at me over his shoulder.

Damn him to eternity.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Jagger

“Youlooklikeyouactually kind of, sort of, maybe just a little bit … enjoyed yourself over on Wayman with your redheaded foe?”Wyatt asked with a teasing smile and tone.He glanced at me as he drove us out of the marina parking lot and up the steep hill that was normally lined to the top with vehicles waiting for the ferry.It was weird to see the hill empty.

“Any idea when they’ll fix the terminal?”I asked, pivoting my body to look behind me at the ferry terminal to see if I could see the damage, since I didn’t bother to look for it when we cruised past.I was too focused on not getting seasick … and on Raina.

“They have to wait for the weather to get better.With this never-ending wind, it’s not safe.”

I nodded and faced forward again.“Gonna make getting supplies for the restaurant a challenge.”

“We’re already working on a system, as many places are.A joint effort with local businesses and boat owners.Even Willy Reilly has offered to do supply runs on his crab boat, if needed.And barge services are stepping up.We figure even if we just get supplies to Wayman, then we can shuttle them to the mainland on the ferry from there.It’s not ideal, but it’s not impossible.Just need to get creative.”

I glanced at my older brother—all of my brothers were my older brother, technically—and gave him a single raised eyebrow.“Look at you being Mr.Optimistic.Are you and Vica rewatchingTed Lassoagain?”

Wyatt snorted and adjusted his glasses on his face.“Yes, but that’s beside the point.We could be a lot worse off than we are.We’re trying to keep things positive for the kids.After the year they’ve had, they don’t need to get spooked any more.”

Fair enough.Even though all four of my brothers had found love this year, and grown our family, a lot of drama had also taken place.Clint’s partner, Brooke, was pushed off a boat, nearly drown in the ocean, and then was nearly thrown off a cliff.His daughter, Talia, was hit by a car and broke her arm.Wyatt’s wife, Vica, was sexually assaulted, nearly deported, kidnapped by some dirty cops on the island, and then his sous chef, Burke, got shot.Then, of course, Dom’s partner, Chloe, had a dangerous encounter at the hostel she was working at, and Dom’s son, Silas, got bullied pretty hard at school.We all had high hopes that the new year would bring forth peace into all of our lives.

“You and Raina seemed friendly there,” Wyatt said, clearly not taking the hint that I wanted to get the fuck away from the topic of Raina Aaronson, the prickliest cactus on the island.“Anythinghappen?”He bobbed his brows and tossed a brief side-eye at me before focusing on the road again.

“She didn’t kill me.We kept everyone in the B&B from freezing to death.That’s it.”

Not that I didn’t trust my brothers to keep a secret, but I never told them about my love life.Not that there was much to tell.Especially after they lost their wives, I kept my personal life private.I was there for them and their kids when they needed me, without question, and ducked out for a friends-with-benefits situation when I had the time.Up until about six months ago, I had a casual thing going with one of the island yoga teachers, Lotus McCreary.She was crazy-hot and crazy-bendy.We got sweaty together once or twice a week, but never took it beyond that.She wasn’t looking for a commitment and I didn’t have time for one.

As far as I knew, none of my brother knew about Lotus and me, and I intended to keep it that way.She also ended things six months ago after attending a retreat in New Mexico.She came home declaring a vow of celibacy.Kudos to her, but it sucked for me.I hadn’t been with anybody since.Unless you counted my hand, of course.

Wyatt and I drove in silence the rest of the way home.I was tired from the early morning lights coming on, and my body and muscles were stiff in certain places from chopping all that wood.I definitely needed to get in to see the chiropractor, and maybe have Suvi stick some needles in me too.Until then, the nieces and nephews loved to walk on my back to work out the kinks.

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