Mike was not only my employee, he was my friend. Someone who, in just a few short days, had become a person I trusted above all else. I had no doubt that one day we would be as close as Nate and I were. Well, even closer considering recent events. I needed all the friends I had, though, and wasn’t willing to part with one for a quick romp. Mike needed me, too, even though he probably didn’t realize it. Last night could seriously screw that friendship up if we let it.

I rolled over, sitting up to look for my clothes. Draped on the chair next to the bed, and the only article of clothing I could see, was one of mike’s tee shirts. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as I carefully slid off the mattress and slipped the cotton over my head.

It smelled just like him.

A movement on the porch caught my eye and I moved to investigate. Mike glanced up from his paper, doing a double take before grinning a welcome. He snatched a large Dunkin Donuts Styrofoam cup off the stand and held it out to me.

“Mornin’, beautiful. How ya feeling?”

“Sore.” I scowled briefly before taking a cautious sip. I closed my eyes in appreciation as the coffee worked its way down my throat. When I opened them, he was staring at me. “You went for coffee.”

He shook his head. “Nope. I had breakfast delivered.” He held up a brown bag. “Your bagel and cream cheese.”

“Delivered?” I laughed. “Dunkin delivers here?”

“Naw.” He chuckled. “I knew one of the dipshits next door would be awake, so I called in an order. I thought it would be nice to have breakfast together while we stared at the lake, but I couldn’t go get it ‘cause I wanted to be here when you woke up.”

Excitement at his words oozed through my pores. Then reality struck and I remembered he was being paid to stick to me like glue. “I would have been fine for a few hours,” I assured him, shrugging. “Pretty sure we weren’t followed. You do get a break from babysitting every now and then.” I offered a small smile, trying to reassure him.

He arched both eyebrows, staring at me. “No one is gonna find you here unless I want them to, Mols.” He motioned to the near empty lake. “I wanted to be here because I know how you are.”

“How I am?” I turned toward him, annoyed. What in the hell was that supposed to mean?

Mike rolled his eyes. “Yeah, how you are.” He twisted his lips, turned back to the paper. “You read too much into shit. You’d see me gone and start thinking I’d run away because I fear intimacy or wonder what you did wrong. I wanted to be here to put your mind at ease.”

Well, shit.

Sighing, I moved to the chair next to him. Better to talk about it first thing I guess. Wincing, I tried to ease myself down as gently as I could. My thighs felt like I’d done a thousand squats. When I looked up, he was watching me closely.

“It’ll be worse tomorrow.”

I nodded and took another sip of caffeine. “I know. It’s always worse the second day.”

“Maybe.” His mouth twitched. “But I was talking about the repeat I have planned for tonight.”

I choked on my coffee. “Mike,” I started slowly, unsure of what to say. I’d only had one one-night stand, and thankfully, he was gone before I woke up. “I…”

“You what, Mols?” He interrupted. “Want to pretend last night never happened? Think it was a mistake?” He seemed more amused than angry, and I tipped my head, confused. “How many other lies you gonna tell yourself? Next it’ll be that you didn’t enjoy it.” He leaned over the table, closing in. “We both know that’s not true.”

My face flamed red and I swallowed hard. “Get out of my head.”

He only laughed, eyes sparkling. “Save yourself the trouble, kid. It happened. You enjoyed it as much as I did. It’s gonna happen again.”

He didn’t understand. “Mike, we can’t…”

He smirked, interrupting again. “We can, Molly. And we will. Every chance we get.”

God, he was infuriating! “It was a one-time thing. A lapse in both our judgments.”

“If you really believed that, I wouldn’t push the issue. But you don’t.” He leaned back a little. “If it’s Kelly you’re worried about, we won’t tell anyone. I’ll be your dirty little secret.”

The bastard was taking entirely too much pleasure from this conversation. “You’re an asshole.”

“Yep. And for the next few months, I’m your asshole.”

My heart hurt at the thought of being away from him. Which was just stupid, I reminded myself. He wasn’t really mine, no matter how many times he claimed he was. Sleeping with him would be a huge mistake, but hell if I wasn’t going to do it anyway. The revelation startled me.

“There she is.” He laughed and I knew he knew he’d won.

“Whatever.” I huffed, still annoyed.

He leaned close once again, invading my personal bubble. I tipped my body, trying to move away when a hand gripped my neck, holding me in place. His face went serious for a minute. “I don’t share, Molly.”

I frowned, confused for a split second. When the implication sank in, I tried to jerk away, but his arm was to strong. I narrowed my eyes, inhaling, and preparing to tell him to go straight to hell.

He pulled me closer, though, so we were nose to nose. “I licked it, Mols. That means it’s mine.”

All my agitation was gone instantly as I burst out laughing and shoved him away. “You seriously did not just say that to me. You’re such a pig.”

He laughed, transforming his entire face and making him look ten years younger. He reached for me again, this time lacing his fingers through mine. If sleeping with him was a mistake, cuddling with him while I drank coffee was a colossal mistake. I was so screwed.

Chapter Sixteen

~ Mike ~

She was strikingly beautiful all the time, but when she blushed, it made me want to grab her and throw her over my shoulder, carrying her straight back to our cabin. Considering every time she caught my eye her cheeks flamed, it was safe to assume that we’d spend the majority of our time wrapped up in the sheets. It didn’t bother me, but Molly had the worst goddamn poker face known to humankind.

We’d been stuck with the band most of the day. Noah and Reb had shown up not long after we’d finished breakfast, and then the rest of the guys straggled over as the morning went on, wanting to give Nate and Lia a chance to be alone. Around lunchtime, we’d ventured over to their side of the property so Molly could go swimming with Red, and we’d been there since. As much as I wanted to be alone with her, she needed to spend some time with her friends when they weren’t tripping over each other on the bus.

Noah was talking, telling me about some chick who still hadn’t called him back, but I wasn’t really listening. How could I when Molly turned a fascinating shade of scarlet every time she glanced in my direction? “You’re fucking shitting me, right?”

“What’s wrong?” I took a sip of my beer as I turned toward my friend. Instead of looking at his phone, which I had assumed was the cause of his surprise, he was looking at me as if I had two heads.

I stared back, not sure what his fucking problem was. Finally I broke. “What?” I snapped, uncomfortable.

He only shook his head and tipped up his own bottle of Sam Adams before shaking his head again. The amused look that seemed to be permanently glued to his features disappeared for a minute and he shrugged. “Nothin’. No way in hell you can be that stupid.”

His tone made me sit up a little straighter, preparing for a fight. “What in the hell are you talking about?”

Noah adjusted himself in the Adirondack chair he’d been parked in most of the afternoon and tipped his bottle in the direction of the picnic table. The same picnic table where Molly sat chatting with Billy, the ‘Bama Boys drummer, and Billy’s best friend, Rhett. Rhett was, according to everyone in country radio, the best fiddler of this century. He could play the thing like fucking crazy, sure, but most of the time, I forgot he was a member of the band and not a roadie.