Page 67 of At the Edge of Surrender

What messed me up most was the way he looked with that little girl in his arms. That little girl I didn’t want him to have anything to do with.

The sight of them together ripped and tugged at my conscience.

Because I wanted to think it looked all wrong.

But God, it didn’t.

Those magic eyes they both shared.

Maci laughed without reservation or fear as he spun her around again, the two pleats she’d insisted I braid this morning because she thought it made her look extra pretty flying around her.

There was no missing what was etched in his expression.

Adoration.

Sheer, unmitigated adoration.

“Auntie! You gotta get your booty in the water right now!” Maci shouted.

Kane turned, hitting me with a sexy smirk that took up the entirety of his face. “Yeah, you’d better get your booty in here right now.”

He said it without shame.

As if he were immune to the turmoil that lashed inside me. This horrible complication that made me feel like a terrible person for ever once thinking of him that way.

Once.

What a joke. Because I couldn’t derail the attraction that smoldered in my blood.

“Did you even hear us?” Maci called, cupping her hands around her mouth.

I realized I was just standing there, staring.

Clearing my throat, I forced myself to move, toeing off my flip-flops as I headed down the beach toward the gorgeous water.

The mountains rising all around, the forest thick, the beauty of this place distinct.

The soles of my feet pressed to the warm grains of soft sand as I crossed to the shoreline, then I was gasping out in shock when my big toe touched the frigid water.

“Oh my gosh.” I choked it.

A howl of laughter reached my ears. Warm, deep laughter that wrapped around me like an embrace. “Oh, come on, Emery. It’s not that bad.”

“Don’t be a baby because I’m not even a baby anymore,” Maci seemed to agree.

“It’s freezing,” I countered.

“What that’s called is invigorating.” Kane grinned.

And there was something about him that didn’t appear so menacing right then, which I thought might be the most dangerous thing of all.

The way it caused hairline fractures in the brittle planes lined inside me. A softness trying to sprout. The same ridiculous comfort that I’d felt that night.

Then I was screeching when Kane suddenly rushed forward and leaned down low enough so he could skim his palm over the surface of the water, sending a small wave sailing for me.

Another gasp tore out of me when it splashed onto my stomach.

My mouth dropped open wide.

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