Page 19 of Shattered Rhythm

“Nope, never had the opportunity,” she replies with a shrug.

“But you’ve been living here for at least two weeks now,” I point out.

“Today is only my second time that I really made it to the beach,” Liv explains with a laugh.

“Let’s change that,” I say, taking her hand and pulling her into a run towards the water. She giggles and sprints along with me, still holding her sneakers in one hand.

We all took off our shoes earlier to walk on the sand, so just before we reach the shore, I throw my shoes to the side, which she does too, then I pick her up bridal style and walk with her in my arms into the water. I’m wearing shorts, while Liv is in long jeans. She squeals and throws her legs around, splashing water and laughing so hard, looking happy, while my stomach erupts in butterflies.Fuck.

“This is amazing!” she shouts, clinging to my neck, while I just watch her with a smile on my face.

“Glad you like it. Your first time should be special,” I say. We stand there for a few moments, just enjoying the water and each other’s company, but then I feel her shivering a bit. “You’re cold?” I ask her.

“A bit, yeah,” she answers.

“Let’s get you out of the water then,” I say, then carry her out and back to our shoes, where Ryder is standing. Jaxon and Chase are talking a bit farther away.

“That looked like fun,” Ryder says with a smile, breaking the silence.

“It sure was!” Liv beams at me, but I notice her lips turning blue. It’s not freezing, but the evening breeze is harsh and she’s gotten pretty wet.

What was I thinking?

“Here,” Ryder says, putting his black zip up hoodie around her and rubbing her arms gently.

“T-Thank you,” she stutters, her teeth chattering.

“Oh, now you’re just being dramatic because you want to be in a twin sandwich,” Ryder teases her.

“What’s a twin sandwich?” Liv asks innocently, and Ryder grins at me mischievously. We get her between us and wrap our arms around her, squishing her tightly. I hear her muffled laughter as she uses her cold hands on my chest to push us away, but we don’t budge. Finally, Ryder kisses her on the top of her head and steps back. He takes one of her hands and rubs it, while I take the other one, then we link our fingers with hers. I grab her sneakers and my shoes as we start to walk back, both of us holding one of her hands.

“We should hang out more, that was a lot of fun,” Ryder says, and Liv nods enthusiastically.

“I’d like that.”

“Do you like movies? Jaxon has a big entertainment center at our house. It’s nearly a home cinema, but we could also go to the movies if you prefer,” I suggest.

“You guys live together?” she asks, perplexed, and I’m reminded of how little we know about each other.

“It’s more than that. We’re a family, brothers,” Ryder explains.

Liv scrunches her nose adorably. “You guys sure? I don’t see any resemblance when it comes to Jaxon or Chase.”

I laugh. “That’s because we’re the family we chose for ourselves.” She looks confused, so I continue, “We all grew up in the same foster home. It wasn’t all that nice there, but we found each other and stuck together. Jaxon and Chase are three years older than us, and while they were waiting for us to age out at eighteen, Jaxon pursued his career as an MMA fighter. Chase was his manager and went to college for business administration and marketing, so he could help Jaxon open the studio. Jaxon won a ton of money with his fights and championships, and after they had enough to open Tanner Fitness and buy us a house, he retired.”

“He never liked fighting. It’s just something he’s good at,” Ryder explains.

“Thank you for sharing that with me,” she says as we approach the studio again.

Jaxon and Chase are waiting in front of the door, and Jaxon zeroes in on us holding her hands. Liv lets go to put on her shoes, then gives Ryder back his hoodie before turning to all of us.

“Thanks so much for taking time to eat with me. I had fun,” she says. She starts to turn when Chase grabs her shoulder to stop her.

“Uh-uh, Liv, you forgot something,” he says, then he hugs her. As soon as he lets go, Ryder pulls her in for a hug and then gives her to me, so I hug her tight. When I release her, she looks up at Jaxon, who rolls his eyes but pulls her in, resting his chin on her head for a second before letting go.

“Bye,” she whispers, giving us a small smile before heading to her car.

CHAPTERFOURTEEN

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