Chapter 4: Chapter 3

SPRING IN MAGNOLIA Falls was my favorite. I was meeting the girls at the Golden Goose for lunch, and we had lots to catch up on.

Midge Longhorn, who owned the place, greeted me with her usual straight-faced nod and led me to the table.

Ruby, Peyton, and Demi were already there, sitting in our favorite booth. This had become a ritual for us. Saturdays were for grilled cheese, tomato soup, and girl talk.

“Hey, sorry I’m late. I was at the bookstore all morning. They got one wall of bookshelves installed today. It’s really coming together.”

“I cannot wait to have the bookstore open for business. Romeo said that King has been putting in long hours over there this last week.”

We were two weeks into renovations, and we were definitely ahead of schedule.

“Yeah. He knows how badly I want to get the doors open, so he’s been pushing hard.” I paused when Letty came over to take our orders.

“I’m so excited for you. We all need to relax this weekend. River wants to have everyone over tomorrow for a barbecue. He insists King take a day off, so we can all hang out on the lake if it’s warm enough. We’ll be cooking up a lot of food, so come hungry.”

“Yay. Can I bring Bobby?” Peyton asked. “I’m dying to see him with his shirt off. He’s such a freaking gentleman; he hasn’t made a move on me yet.”

Bobby worked for Nash and Kingston, and he was helping with the bookstore renovations. They’d gone out a few times over the last two weeks.

“Yes. The more the merrier,” Ruby said. “Why don’t you make the first move?”

“I don’t know. I usually wouldn’t hesitate, but it’s kind of hot that he’s taking his time, you know?” Peyton reached for her drink. “How’s it going with Coach Hotty? You’ve been out several times, right?”

“Yeah. He’s nice. We’re taking it slow, too, I guess. But I like him. He took me out on his boat two days ago, and we had a picnic out on the water, so that was fun.”

“I love that. Very romantic. You should invite him to the barbecue tomorrow,” Demi said. “Romeo told me that he’s a really good guy, and Slade really likes him, too.” Demi’s brother had moved back to town and was working at the gym for Romeo now, as well.

“Yeah, he mentioned that he’s training Slade on the side. That’s great,” I said.

“Well, apparently, not everyone is happy with Coach. Romeo said that King has a problem with him.” Demi shrugged.

My head fell back in laughter, just as our food was set in front of us. “King doesn’t like his shorts. Or his hair. Or the fact that he calls him mate. I think he’s just being protective, but it’s a little ridiculous. I’m used to this kind of madness from Hayes, but not from King.”

“Damn. A protective King is freaking hot. That guy is so damn good-looking and charming in that I-will-give-you-all-the-orgasms kind of way, and then you add in him being protective—it’s almost too much.” Peyton fanned her face.

“You guys have always been close, huh?” Ruby asked as she turned to look at me.

“Yep. No one really talks about it, but I lived with the Pierce family for several months when I was a teenager. So we’re more like family, you know?”

“It was when Romeo and River were sent away, right?” Demi winced, and I knew the topic was still painful for her to talk about. They’d been pulled from their homes and sent to Fresh Start, where Ruby now worked, for a crime they hadn’t committed but that Demi’s brother, Slade, had. But everyone had moved on and put it behind them.

“Yeah. King really helped me through a hard time. I was a mess. Separated from my brother, terrified of my stepfather, worried for my mother, and the Pierces opened their door to me.”

“Where did Hayes go?” Peyton asked, not knowing any of this had gone down.

“He stayed with Nash and his dad.”

It had been a horrible time in my life. The darkest to date. And I was still healing from the fact that my own father wouldn’t help me and Hayes during that time. But once he left us, he never looked back. Otherwise, if he had even given us a little bit of interest, we wouldn’t have had to deal with Barry. It was a lot to take all at once. But King had gotten me through it.

“That had to be so hard,” Peyton said, before a wicked grin spread across her face. “Speaking of hard, you were living with a teenage Kingston. Come on, something must have gone down. All those months in the same house with raging teenage hormones and the hottest guy in town across the hall from you?”

“Oh my gosh. Never. First of all, I was just surviving back then. I was really struggling emotionally, and that was the last thing on my mind. Not that King would have ever done anything either. He doesn’t look at me like that, and we all know that Hayes would have lost his shit on him if anything had ever happened.”

I groaned as I took a bite of the best grilled cheese sandwich in town.

“You never tiptoed over to one another’s beds in the middle of the night?” Peyton pressed, and Demi and Ruby both laughed hysterically.

“Girl’s got a one-track mind,” Ruby said, shaking her head and thrusting her thumb at Peyton.

I chuckled. I wasn’t going to tell them that he’d slept in my bed every single night for six months.

No one would ever believe that nothing had happened if they knew about it.

But Kingston Pierce had just been there to comfort me.

To scare all the bad guys away.

“Nope. Nothing. I told you that I was a late bloomer in that department. I think with my home life being so up in the air, I was just—a nervous kid, I guess. I never dated or went to dances or any of that stuff back then. I didn’t have my first real boyfriend until college. So, I can assure you, nothing ever happened with King.”

“Well, you sure had all the guys beating your door down in college, didn’t you?” Demi said as she bumped her shoulder into mine. We’d become close friends once we’d gone away to the same school, and I couldn’t imagine my life without her now.

“Well, damn. You had Kingston Pierce under the same roof as you back then. Every girl in town has tried to reel that boy in over the years.” Peyton waggled her brows.

“Well, I’m pretty sure he’s talking to Selena George right now. He said he took her out for drinks and dancing last week, and they had dinner together two nights ago,” I said after I finished chewing. “I think he’s trying to prove a point to me, because a few weeks ago, I’d teased him about having different women in his bed every night.”

“He’s the easiest-going guy on the planet, but he can get defensive when he’s passionate about something.” Demi chuckled, and we all nodded in agreement.

“Yes. If I hear one more time how sensitive his nipples are, I’m going to pierce them in his sleep,” Ruby said with a straight face as we all laughed. “He saw a bee the other day and literally freaked out and ran into the house. But that’s what we love about him, right?”

“He’s adorably charming,” Demi said, with a big smile on her face.

“Yeah, I used to tease him about how irrational he was about bees.” I laughed hard at the memory. “He’s this bigger-than-life, confident guy, but a bee buzzes by, and the fear is real. But then I found out that he was stung as a child and had a bad reaction, so I think it stems from that.”

“River loves it. He taunts him and buzzes in his ear all the time.” Ruby rolled her eyes. “I told him to stop being evil. It’s clearly a genuine fear.”

“That man is so sexy I’d be willing to suck the venom right out of him if he got stung in front of me,” Peyton said, and the table erupted in laughter.

“Let’s hope he doesn’t get stung. I don’t think he’d handle that well.” I reached for my drink just as the door was pulled open, and Jalen walked inside with Demi’s brother, Slade, beside him.

“Ohhhh, Coach Hotty is here. And I’ve got to say, the small shorts work for him,” Peyton whispered, and I tried hard not to laugh. “And can we talk about how hot Slade is these days?”

“We cannot. The last thing I want to hear is you talk about how hot my brother is. Save that for a time I’m not around,” Demi said over her laughter.

“I get that, and I hate to take King’s side on this one, but I’m not sure how I feel about those little shorts.” Ruby raised a brow. “But if you like him, I can live with them.”

“It shows off his thick, muscled thighs,” Peyton said.

“Stop. He’s going to hear you.” I cleared my throat, trying to hide my words as they approached the table.

“Well, aren’t we lucky to run into these beautiful ladies today,” Jalen said, his eyes locking with mine.

I liked him enough to keep saying yes to more dates. But it felt more like a friendship, if I was being honest. We’d made out a couple of times, and it was fine. Not horrible. Not magical.

Not a romance book-worthy kiss, but I also knew that I couldn’t compare everyone I dated to the heroes in the books that I read.

My expectations were probably way too high.

Slade chuckled and snagged a few fries off Demi’s plate. “Hey, I forgot Saturday was your girls’ lunch.”

“Always the fry thief, aren’t you?” she teased.

“Did you both hear that River and Ruby are throwing a barbecue tomorrow? We’d love for you to come.” Peyton clasped her hands together and rested them on the table as Ruby shot her a look.

“Yeah, Romeo told me about it this morning. I’ll try to stop by for sure,” Slade said.

“Are you going to be there, Saylor?” Jalen asked.

“Yeah. I just heard about it, too. I’ll definitely be going.”

“Well, then, so will I.” He winked, and I waited for the flutters to come, but they never did.

He was perfect on paper.

Good-looking, nice, reliable, thoughtful… The list went on and on.

That’s why I was still giving him a chance.

Maybe the flutters would come.

“All right, we better get to our table. I told Romeo we’d be back at the gym in an hour.” Slade rapped his knuckles on the table twice.

They walked away, and Jalen held up his hand, his gaze never leaving mine.

“Damn. He’s got it bad, girl,” Ruby whispered as she studied me. “If he’s taking it slow, it’s because he can tell that’s what you want. I think that guy would jump your bones right here if you’d let him.”

Demi fell forward in laughter. “Well, that’s one way to put it. But I do agree. He’s definitely into you.”

“I say go for it. He’s hot. Let him rock your world. Maybe that’s how you’ll figure out if you really like him. You’re young and beautiful. This is your time to explore.” Peyton shrugged.

“Explore?” I said, over a fit of laughter.

“Yeah. It’s your dick era. Go get it, girl.”

“What is wrong with you? Not everyone wants to be in their dick era,” Demi said, shaking her head with a huge smile spread across her face.

“Agreed. No pressure. If you want the dick, go get it. If you don’t, run like hell, Saylor.” Ruby smirked, and the table erupted in laughter again.

“Sounds like a party over here,” Kingston said, as he and Cutler approached the table. I startled because I hadn’t seen them walk in, and I hoped like hell that little Cutler’s ears hadn’t heard that conversation.

“Why does my girl, Saylor, need to run? Are you in trouble?” Cutler asked, concern causing his eyebrows to pinch together.

“Oh, my,” Demi whispered, a horrified look on her face.

“Um, no. I, er, they were joking. I’m fine.” I looked from Cutler to Kingston, and he couldn’t wipe the wicked grin from his face.

“This guy was talking a mile a minute. He didn’t hear what you were saying aside from you needing to run for your life apparently,” Kingston said, reaching for the brim of his baseball cap and turning it around slowly.

And there were the flutters that I was hoping would come from Jalen. They were in full force now. It came with the territory. Kingston was probably the best-looking guy I’d ever seen, so obviously he had this effect on women. I wasn’t immune to that just because we were friends or because he was my brother’s best friend.

Tall. Lean. Broad shoulders. Dark eyes that felt like they could see into my soul. He had plump lips and a chiseled jaw peppered with day-old scruff.

I mean, who wouldn’t swoon over this guy?

“You’re all right?” Cutler reached for my hand. “Because Uncle King will beat up all the bad guys for you.”

“You got that right, buddy. Saylor’s our girl.” He winked at me, and damn if my lady bits weren’t blazing now.

Maybe I do need to enter my dick era.

My hormones were clearly raging. It had been a while. And obviously, they were ready to come out and play.

“I’m fine, but thank you both.”

“All right, we’re going to grab some burgers, and then we’re heading over to visit Grammie.”

“I was there last night. We played cards and swapped books.” I smiled. I loved Pearl Pierce more than life itself. That woman had saved me, just like her grandson had.

“Yeah, she told me you were there. She loves your visits.”

“There’s a wait for a table, King. So if you want to keep this one, you need to follow me over now and get your order in, or I’m giving it away,” Midge hissed, walking up out of nowhere.

“Calm your horses, Midge. We’re going there now,” he said, and Cutler waved and followed Midge toward their table, but Kingston paused as he watched them step away.

He leaned down and whispered in my ear, his lips grazing my skin and causing goose bumps to spread down my arms. “Don’t be afraid of the dick, Dandelion. It’s my favorite piece of equipment.”

He pulled a golden dandelion out of the pocket of his tee, like it was nothing out of the ordinary to have it there, and he placed it behind my ear like some sort of freaking magician.

A sexy, hot magician.

This guy could take his show on the road.

I’d buy tickets every time.

Every. Single. Time.

I just stared up at him, and he chuckled before walking away.

What the hell was that?

Ruby pushed my soda toward me and raised a brow. “You look a little parched.”

I let out a breath that I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding.

“What did he say?” Demi asked with wide eyes.

“Nothing. Just a little inside joke about the renovation.” I sure as hell wasn’t about to tell them what he’d said. That would just make everyone think there was more going on than there was.

Demi and Peyton nodded, but Ruby didn’t look like she was buying it. She studied me for a few seconds before reaching for her sandwich.

“Well, I’m here to say that Kingston Pierce would make any girl enter her dick era. Because I’m guessing that boy is packing a punch in those pants.” Peyton crossed her arms over her chest.

Demi spewed soda all over the table. Ruby rolled her eyes and shook her head with disgust. And I tried desperately to hide my smile.

Because I had a flashback to a few weeks ago when he’d been pressed up against my backside, and I got a front-row seat to what he was packing.

And Kingston Pierce was definitely packing a punch.