Chapter One
Hunter
“Ready to get out of here?” I asked my best friend, Josie.
“Oh, yes.”
We were in the Hamptons, attending a brunch one of my clients had thrown to celebrate the Fourth of July.
“What time is it, anyway?” Josie murmured. Her eyes widened when she checked her phone. “Hunter, it’s already three o’clock. We won’t make it in time to Amelia’s. She’ll roast our asses for being late.”
“Not if we show up with her favorite dessert,” I said. Amelia was my aunt. We had to be at her place in Brooklyn for dinner.
“Of course. Bribing people with food is your favorite strategy, after all.” She flashed me a smile. Josie Gallagher knew me like no one else. After bidding our goodbyes, we left the building and hopped into my BMW, passing a plethora of New Yorkers just arriving into the Hamptons.
I was glad we were spending the rest of the day with my family. Amelia loved celebrating holidays, and the Fourth of July was one of her favorites. It was an opportunity for everyone to gather—my four cousins, Josie, and me. Amelia was more than an aunt to me. She’d practically raised me. Come to think of it, she’d practically raised Josie too.
When we made it over Shinnecock Canal and hit a traffic jam, I wondered how smart it had been to drive into the Hamptons today knowing we had to make it to my aunt’s annual party. But I couldn’t turn the brunch down. I owned one of the largest real estate development companies in the country, and the client who’d invited me was about to sign another deal with me.
“Thanks for coming with me today,” I said.
She pulled her dark brown hair into a ponytail, flashing me another one of her gorgeous smiles. I routinely asked Josie to join me at events. Everything was just ten times more entertaining when I had my best friend with me.
“Anytime. Oh... and if you want to buy my favorite dessert too when you stop to buy Amelia’s, I won’t mind.”
“I’ll do that. Any other requests?”
“Hey, don’t tempt me.”
I laughed, focusing on the road. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Josie looking at her phone. She’d done it a couple of times since we left the brunch.
“Why do you keep checking your phone?”
“Sent my parents something for the Fourth. It’s a surprise. Can’t wait to hear from them.”
“What did you send them?”
“Their favorite dessert.”
“Who’s bribing who now?”
She shrugged one shoulder, smiling from ear to ear. “Hey, we’ve been friends for fifteen years. It was about time I stole some of your tricks. Besides, I’m not bribing them. Just... hoping it’ll motivate them to visit me soon.” Her parents lived in Montana.
Josie and I had attended the same school. We’d been friends since she’d gotten into a fight with the school bully and I’d defended her. She’d been fifteen, and I’d been seventeen. Since then, she’d stuck next to me. I’d resented it in the beginning, like any teenager who didn’t want a younger girl shadowing him.
But Josie had slipped under my skin, and soon I’d been the one shadowing her. Trouble seemed to follow her around. I had no idea when Josie and I had become best friends. I also had no idea when my friend had turned into a smoking-hot woman. She was tall and curvy, with legs that went for days. She tempted the hell out of me, but I knew better than to give in to those instincts.
“Why didn’t you fly out to visit them?” I asked.
“I’m in the middle of a huge case. I just can’t take time off.”
I knew just how true that was. Once you jumped on the corporate hamster wheel, you were either all in or all out. Josie was a successful lawyer, but the hours she had to put in were even crazier than mine. One of these days, I was going to surprise Josie by flying in her family for a holiday. I just had to be smart about it. My best friend wasn’t a fan of extravagant gifts.
“We should have planned to go straight to Amelia’s after the event,” Josie murmured. “But I want to change out of this dress.”
Damn it. I did not want that visual in my brain. She was wearing a tight white dress and high heels that had already been messing with my thoughts the entire morning.
“I know. I need to get out of this suit too,” I replied. There was no such thing as a casual brunch with a client.
We were lucky and made it into the city with some time to spare. I dropped off Josie first. She almost jumped out of the car, only pausing to look over her shoulder. “Don’t forget about my dessert.”
I grinned. “Wouldn’t dare show my face without it.”
***
Josie
My phone finally beeped with an incoming message when I had only two subway stations left. I’d changed as fast as possible into a cotton dress with spaghetti straps. I stretched my toes in my flip-flops. This outfit was perfect to face the July heat.
Mom: We just got the sweets. They’re DELICIOUS!
My entire family had a sweet tooth. I could vividly imagine my mom’s expression when she’d received the package. I clasped the phone tighter, smiling at the other passengers in the subway. The energy was very different than my daily ride to work, when everyone was in a hurry, either clasping coffee cups or already typing furiously on their laptops.
Now, everyone was relaxed, in a celebratory mood. I even spotted a few passengers holding tiny flags. New York transformed on the Fourth of July. Some of the passengers spoke about heading to Central Park for a picnic. Others were going to take the fireworks cruise. Spending the Fourth at Amelia’s place was tradition. She was family to me, as were Hunter’s cousins.
As for Hunter himself, the best description was “it’s complicated.” I’d had a crush on him when I’d first met him, but who wouldn’t? Hunter had looked like a man even at seventeen. But I’d extinguished that crush long ago... at least, I thought I had. Most of the time. With light brown hair, intense blue eyes, and a body that made me drool, the man exuded so much masculinity that sometimes even being in the same room with him was difficult. But thirty-year-old women didn’t have crushes. They dated and had relationships, and if they were lucky, they found someone who swept them off their feet. Someone to marry and have kids with. I wanted that. I hadn’t been lucky yet, but I was persistent in the dating department.
Amelia lived in a low-rise apartment building in Brooklyn with her husband, Mick. When I arrived, all Hunter’s cousins were already there: Tess, Skye, Ryker, and Cole.
“Hey, Josie. Where’s Hunter? Thought you went together to the Hamptons,” Tess said.
“He’s on his way. We had to change first. He’s bringing dessert too.”
Tess lit up. “Oh, now we’re talking.”
Skye rubbed her stomach, grinning. Ryker and Cole each hugged me. I’d met all of them at a birthday party years ago. I came from a large family myself—I had two brothers and one sister—but the Winchester siblings were something else.
I’d nicknamed Ryker “the flirt” instantly. I’d mistakenly dubbed Cole “the gentleman” before amending that to “the charmer.” Tess was “the hurricane”—she often set the tone, mobilizing everyone. Truthfully, I’d just met so many people that remembering names was more difficult than assigning nicknames. Skye had been the only shy one in the family, though that changed over the years. I loved the entire family to pieces.