Take a Chance (5 page)

His words were all I needed to send me spiraling off to that place I knew he was sending me. I heard him shout out my name as I screamed his and lifted my hips to meet his last thrust. I wrapped
my legs around his waist to keep him there. I wanted to feel each spasm of ecstasy with him inside me. I didn’t want him to move.

I let each cry free as I clung to him.

“Never been that fucking amazing. You’ve ruined me. Fucking ruined me. I can’t not have this,” he said in my ear as he breathed heavily and his body jerked against
me.

I agreed. I wanted this. I never imagined that this was what I was missing. I wasn’t about to let this go. I needed more. My fear of the truth was pushed aside. I couldn’t stop this.
Not now.

Present day

If I went upstairs after her, there was a chance that Nan would get out of bed and catch me or overhear us. I wasn’t scared of Nan, but I was scared of what she’d
do to Harlow. I was positive Harlow wasn’t here by choice. Nan knew she was here last night when she brought me back. She was playing a game here. There was an ulterior motive, but then there
always was with Nan. And I’d walked right fucking into it. Literally.

Kiro wasn’t a fan of Nan and he adored Harlow. I couldn’t imagine why he would send Harlow down here to live with Nan. He owned this house, so I was sure that was the only reason Nan
had let Harlow live here. Kiro hadn’t given her an option. There was no guessing there.

“You’re still here? Why?” Nan asked as she walked past me in nothing but a pair of panties that did nothing to cover her ass and a tiny tank top. Once, that had heated my
blood. Her body would heat any man’s blood. But not anymore. I was over that. Sex with her was empty. So incredibly empty.

“I was gonna get coffee before I left but I can leave without it,” I said, turning to head to the stairs.

“You can have some damn coffee if you want it. Then leave. I have things to do today,” she called out behind me.

I wasn’t staying here. I’d get Harlow alone, but not here. “No thanks. You’re awake now. It’s time to leave,” I replied.

This was the last time. She thought I was a sex toy she could pull out and play with, and the fact was I had been. But I’d been closing my eyes and pretending like she was someone else. It
never felt as good, but it helped me deal.

The guilt had been eating me alive. Leaving Harlow only hours after I had been with her to race home on Slacker Demon’s private jet and face the loss of a friend had broken me. Life was
short. It had never been real to me before, but watching Jace lowered into the cold, hard ground had been a wake-up call. How long did we have? Seeing Bethy buckled over, sobbing at his loss, made
me realize that kind of pain would be unbearable. She would have to live the rest of her life without him. That was scary as hell.

I had never loved anyone the way she had loved Jace. But I was close . . . I had been falling but then I stepped back. I couldn’t be that open. I couldn’t do that. What if I let
myself be completely owned by Harlow? I knew now how easy it would be. She was the one for me. If I let her, she would be the one to own my soul. I couldn’t do it.

Each heart-wrenching sob that had torn from Bethy had been like a bucket of ice water poured over me. I had watched Rush as he held his wife, Blaire, in his arms, and she had cried silently
against him. And I’d seen it there on his face. He had given his soul. He was thinking the same thing, but it was too late for him.

He was vulnerable. If he lost her he wouldn’t be able to survive it. She would take every ounce of life in him with her. He couldn’t breathe without her. I’d left that day and
drank until the idea of Harlow was numb. The sweet taste of her mouth was a blur, and the way she’d felt when I’d been inside her was a memory.

Harlow scared me. What I felt for her scared me. I had fought going back to her. I had been tormented with the memories of how her smile made my chest swell, and the way she made those innocent
little sighs of pleasure. Then that night . . . that one incredible, mind-blowing night. I was afraid I would never be able to wash it away and move on. That was a power I had never allowed anyone
to have over me. When Harlow didn’t respond to my calls and her dad warned me to stay away, I finally forced myself to push those memories to the back of my mind. Whiskey helped. When I
didn’t have whiskey she was hard to forget. Even with whiskey, I remembered her—it just hurt less.

My need to see her had started to control me, and I had called Dean Finlay to get some help. He had told me that Kiro would have me arrested if I stepped foot on their property. He wasn’t
happy with how I had used Harlow. Kiro believed I had slept with Harlow while I was still sleeping with Nan. I tried to explain and defend myself, but Dean had hung up on me.

So I’d drunk even more, because when I was sober the need for her returned. Before, I had done it to deal with Nan’s shit. But now I needed it more. I needed to forget what I’d
done to someone so innocent and undeserving. I’d done this for two months. It helped me deal with the loss of Jace, and the taste of something I’d had but destroyed.

After all that . . . Kiro had sent Harlow here. To sit right under my nose without his security and protection. It was confusing as hell.

I reached Nan’s room and the sick feeling in my stomach returned. This felt dirty. Sex for fun had never felt dirty but this . . . it felt fucking disgusting. I hated myself. I grabbed my
jeans and jerked them on and slipped my T-shirt over my head before grabbing my boots and shoving my feet into them.

I didn’t tell Nan bye. She didn’t care and I didn’t want to. I just got the hell away from there. I needed to get clean. I wanted to wash her off me. Then I was going to call
Harlow. I had to find a way to explain. I just hoped she’d let me.

The sporty little black Audi sitting in the driveway right beside my truck had been a kick in the gut. Why hadn’t I noticed it last night? I should have known someone was here. Too much
damn whiskey. That’s why I didn’t notice.

Jerking the keys out of my pocket, I slammed my car door, furious with myself, and cranked the engine. I wouldn’t be drinking today. Or any damn day from here on out. I couldn’t do
that anymore. I had to find a way to deal with Harlow being here, and get her to understand why I had backed away.

I just hoped she would understand. I didn’t want her to be hurt. But as much as I wanted her, the fear of being that vulnerable to one person was stronger. She had trusted me and I had
betrayed her. I wouldn’t forgive myself for that.

I needed to talk to Rush. He was the only one I could talk to. We might not have been brothers by blood, but he was my brother. He had been since I was a kid. He was the only person in my life
I’d ever let get that close. Not even my father truly knew me. He had never really tried. And my mom . . . she was a whole other story.

I called Rush’s number before pulling out of Nan’s driveway.

“Yeah,” he said. The sound of a baby’s laughter came through on the other line.

“I need to talk. You keeping Nate today?” I asked. Rush spent more time with his son, Nate, than any dad I knew. I would say it was because he was making sure he gave his kid
something neither he nor I’d had, but I knew better. He adored that kid. He adored his wife. Getting him away from them wasn’t easy.

“Blaire’s here. We were headed out to the beach, but if this is important you know she won’t mind me leaving for an hour or so.” He had picked up on the urgency in my
voice.

“If she doesn’t mind. I really need to talk.”

“Let me finish putting sunblock on the little man and help her get set up outside. Then I’ll head over to your place.”

“I’m headed to the club. Meet me there. And thanks,” I said.

“Only for you,” he replied, and I understood. He didn’t make time for anyone outside of Nate and Blaire except for me. It was our bond.

“Tell Blaire thanks for me, too.”

“Okay. See you in a few.”

I hung up the phone and threw it over to the passenger’s seat and headed to the club.

F
inding the club was easy. Rosemary Beach was a small coastal town; it couldn’t even be called a city. It was where the elite lived and
vacationed. After driving through it and seeing the houses up and down the gulf front, I understood why Nan wanted to live here.

Pulling up to the front gate of the club, I flashed my member’s pass that Daddy had given to me at the gatekeeper. He opened the large iron gates for me to enter and I followed the signs
toward valet parking. I didn’t want to figure out where the parking lot was, and I could ask the valet how to get to the tennis courts.

A young guy in a white polo and white shorts walked toward my car when I pulled up to the valet. I reached into the backseat and grabbed my racquet before he opened my door.

“Good morning, Miss,” he said with a friendly smile. His long blond hair fell over one eye and he tucked it back behind his ear. I imagined that he was a surfer. He looked like
one.

“Good morning,” I replied, pulling my bag over my shoulder. “I’m new here. Can you tell me where I can find the tennis courts?”

He nodded. “Go into the main entrance here. Take the first left and head to the double doors leading out onto the back veranda. Go down the stairs then take a right. You’ll see the
courts straight ahead.”

That sounded easy enough. “Thank you,” I replied, handing the young guy my keys.

“Can I see your card, Miss? I need to register your car into the system.”

I reached inside the car and got the card off my dashboard and handed it to him.

He quickly read it then ran it through a card reader before handing it back to me. “Just let us know when you’re ready for it, Miss Manning,” he replied.

“Thank you.” I thought about telling him he could call me Harlow but there was no point. He would probably get in trouble with management if he were ever caught calling me by my
first name.

I headed inside. The fact that I knew I wasn’t going to run into Nan here was the most relief I’d had all morning. A man dressed like the guy outside opened the door for me, and I
followed the valet’s directions to the tennis courts.

I passed a restaurant on my way and decided I would come back for lunch. It looked nice and the food smelled amazing from out here. A girl in white shorts and a white polo stopped in front of
me. A slow smile touched her face. Her brown hair was pulled up high in a ponytail, and it was obvious she was an employee—her outfit was the same as those of the men who’d helped me,
only more fitted. But she looked familiar.

“Harlow?” she asked.

I recognized her. I had met her at Rush and Blaire’s wedding. “Yes,” I replied, frustrated because I couldn’t remember her name. Grant had messed with my head that day
and I couldn’t remember much more than my conversation with him.

“I’m Bethy. Blaire’s friend. We met at the wedding,” she said.

I felt my face heat up. I hated not remembering people. It was part of my socially inept thing. “I remember,” I replied with a smile. “It’s nice to see you again.”
I hoped that was the correct thing to say and that I didn’t sound like an idiot, because I sure felt like one.

Bethy’s expression was friendly, but there was a sadness in her eyes. “I understand. You met a lot of people that day. I didn’t know you were in town.”

I liked this girl. She was making me feel comfortable. That was rare. “I’m here while my dad’s on tour. He sent me to live with Nan.”

Bethy’s eyes went wide and she let out a low whistle. “Damn. I thought you were the daughter he liked.”

She obviously was very close to Blaire and knew exactly what our family situation was like. “He bought Nan the house here, but in return I get to live in it, too, when he’s on tour.
He doesn’t like leaving me alone in L.A.,” I explained, trying not to sound too defensive about Dad.

Bethy let out a long sigh. “Personally, I’d brave L.A. if I were you.”

I felt like laughing but I didn’t. I bit my lip to keep it in.

“You know I’m right. The bitch hates you,” Bethy said. “She hates Blaire, too, so the two of you should team up and join forces.”

“I really like Blaire. I’m so glad Rush found her.”

Bethy studied me a moment. “I guess you and Rush have a lot in common. You two were practically raised by Slacker Demon.”

There was also my brother Mase. No one ever mentioned him. He lived with his mother on a ranch in Texas. Dad had gone to see him several times that I knew of, but he rarely came to L.A. He liked
his life in Texas. He was also very close to his stepfather. “Yeah. We’ve seen a lot,” I replied, deciding not to mention Mase. That would only lead to questions I wasn’t
sure how to answer. Dad hadn’t seen Mase in over a year but Mase called me at least once a month to check in with me and see how I was. It gave me a chance to ask him about his life. My
grandmama used to make sure I saw Mase several times a year. I hadn’t seen him since she passed away. I never told Dad about it because I worried that he would be hurt that Mase didn’t
reach out to him that way.

“Well, I’m glad you’re in Rosemary, although I wish you had better accommodations. You need help finding anything around here?” she asked, then looked down at my tennis
skirt and the racquet over my arm and smiled. “You’re headed to the tennis courts. Follow me. I need to make sure you don’t get molested by Nelton, our sleazy tennis pro. We have
a much nicer pro, Adam. That’s who you need.”

Good to know. Stay away from Nelton. She spun around and we headed toward the doors. Her ponytail swished back and forth as she went, but there was no bounce to her step. Even though I
didn’t know her very well, that seemed odd.

We headed out the door and she waved at several people. Most of them members. It was interesting that she was on friendly terms with members yet she worked here. I wasn’t used to that sort
of country club. I liked it. Very much.

“So you play tennis a lot?” Bethy asked, glancing back at me.

“At Dad’s place they have a court. I use it for exercise and just to have something to do. Gives me time to think.”