Page 5 of Protect My Heart

“Boys! Come over here. Garrett, bring the guys over here for a minute,” Daphne calls over.

Garrett, who’s been taking the lead on this impromptu parade, herds us over to where his gorgeous sister stands.

“Come on, boys, I need some pics of you eating some ice cream for their social media pages. No one can ignore hunky guys with ice cream,” she says.

I don’t know if she hasn’t noticed I’m standing here or she’s deliberately ignoring me. But I’m craving a hit of those smoky grey eyes of hers. Just one glance might give me enough endorphins to last the rest of the month.

Phelps, one of the guys who’s lived in this town his entire life, wraps his arm around Daphne’s shoulder. “Garrett, when are you going to lift the embargo on dating this gorgeous woman? There’s only so long my pining heart can take.” He puts a hand over his chest like he’s wounded.

Daphne laughs and rolls her eyes. “You are ridiculous.”

“Never, asshole,” Garrett says. “Especially not for you.” He picks up Phelps’ arm and drops it off his sister’s body, then pulls her into him for a big bear hug. “Nobody is touching my baby sister!”

It’s then that her eyes meet mine and we stare at each other with her brother standing right between us.

chapter five

Daphne

You know how when you’re shopping at the grocery store and inadvertently end up with a shopping buddy? That person you see on like every other aisle, going in the opposite direction as you, and after like the second or third time you face each other, things get a little awkward?

Yeah, so that is happening right now and it’s my worst damn nightmare. Because it’s him.

Why is he so damn attractive? It’s like he came here straight from a magazine shoot for an athletic wear ad. Low slung basketball shorts hover on his hips and cover most of his thighs. Not so much that I can’t tell that his thighs are thick and heavily muscled. Maybe he’s training for like a national squat competition.

On our next passing, this time while I’m loading my cart up with pickles, I confirm that his backside is definitely firm and meaty enough to warrant a squat medal.

Good grief, what is wrong with me?

By the time I make it to the freezer section, my nerves are frazzled and my nipples are hard. It’s just because of the ice cream.

When I see him picking up a carton of cookie madness ice cream, he gets even more attractive. Which is just dumb. Who cares what kind of ice cream he eats.

He turns in my direction and I see the front of his T-shirt. It’s a drawing of a fire hydrant and words that say, ‘I’d Tap That.’

I snort laugh, because of course I’m effortlessly cool like that. Then I pick up my phone and pretend to be laughing about something on the screen.

As he passes by me, he says in that rumbling deep voice of his. “Hi Daphne.”

chapter six

Fletcher

I can’t decide if tonight is my own personal hell or heaven. I’m sitting at the Whitmore family dinner table. Garrett’s dad insisted after several failed invitations. Luckily Garrett and I had a mutual day off, so this night worked.

The food itself is rather lackluster, but I’ve definitely eaten worse. The spaghetti is overcooked and just makes the dish squishier than I’d like. But there’s a big salad and roasted zucchini to go along, so it evens out.

“This is great, Daph,” Mr. Whitmore says.

“Thanks, Daddy, but you don’t need to lie. We all know my spaghetti sucks,” she says with an affable smile.

“Agreed,” Dane says. He’s the middle brother and seems to frown a lot.

“It’s tolerable. Better than last time,” says the big brother. And I do mean big because the man is bigger than I am. At six foot four, I’m not a small man. But Grady is tall and broad and dating a pop singer I’ve only ever heard of from my sisters. They’ll die when I tell them I had dinner with THE Jess Munoz.

“Edible,” Garrett mumbles around a mouthful of food.

I’m annoyed at all the shit they’re giving her. I know siblings tease. Hell, I have three of them myself. But she cooked them a meal and they should be more appreciative.