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She glanced up at him and shook her head. “I made her finish school.”

“
What about college?”
 

She smiled. “Willow is going to FSU.”

He smiled along with her. “That’s great.”

She nodded and then frowned a little. “Course, if her grades keep dropping, I’m seriously thinking about having her finance her own way next semester.”

He was sure his chin dropped. “You… You’re paying for your sister’s college?”

She frowned at him. “Who else is going to do it?”

He shook his head. “What about grants? Scholarships?”

She nodded. “We applied for a lot, got some. They helped for a while.”

“
But?”
 

She sighed. “Ever since Willow’s new boyfriend, her grades have dropped too low to maintain them.”

“
Have you talked to her?” He set his beer down and walked over to take her shoulders in his hands. When her eyes went back to his, he could see the sadness in them.
 

“
I was going to… this weekend.” She shook her head and he saw her eyes light up again. “What about you?”
 

“
Me?”
 

“
Sure, why didn’t you get some school under your belt?” She took a step back. “Too busy jet-setting around the world?” She chuckled as she set a pot aside.
 

“
I guess I never really thought about it.”
 

She glanced back at him. “Why not? I mean, I know surfing was your dream, but surely you want something else… after.”

The word hung in the air. After. He’d never really thought about after his surfing career was over. Would it end? Why? Only one reason came into his mind and he shook the thoughts from his head.

“
No, I guess I’ve never really thought about it.”
 

“
What was your backup plan? I mean, growing up, didn’t you want to be something else too?”
 

He smiled. “Nothing as sexy as a stripper.”

She laughed. “I saw the last ad you were in. You might as well be a stripper with as few clothes as you were wearing.”

He chuckled. “Touché.” He walked over and pulled her close and then his lips were on hers as his hands held her still.

“
Now I’ve had dessert before dinner.” He smiled down at her as he pulled back.
 

They sat at her little table and ate some of the best manicotti he’d ever had, including the manicotti he’d had on the trip to Italy he’d taken last summer. They talked about her sister and his family for a while. She seemed very curious about Marissa, his sister who had run away at seventeen.

“
So, Cassey doesn’t talk about her a lot, but I get the feeling every one of you is hurt by her sudden disappearance.” She leaned forward a little and moved her empty plate aside.
 

He nodded and scooped up another healthy helping for himself. “Yeah, all of us took it hard. Especially Pop.” He shook his head. “He’d helped turn around five of us, and he couldn’t help feel a little like he’d failed us.” He shook his head and shoved food into his mouth.

“
Why? I mean, from what I’ve seen, the four of you are pretty great.”
 

He smiled. “Thanks.”

She sighed and tilted her head a little. “You know what I mean.”

He nodded, and then his smile fell away a little. “Marissa was just like us. I mean, we all thought so. She was our sister. At least she acted like it.”

“
You don’t think…” She left the unspoken question hanging in the quiet room.
 

He knew what she was hinting at, and had thought it a million times himself, but quickly shook his head no.

“
No, the police say she ran away. She left a note for Cass.”
 

Wendy nodded. “That’s good. I mean…” She shook her head.

“
I know, it’s better that she ran away than the alternative. We’ve all thought that for years now.”
 

She sighed and leaned back in her chair as she sipped her second beer. “Any thoughts as to why she left?”

He finished off his third helping and pushed his plate aside. “I have a few.” He sipped his beer and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“
And?” She leaned forward a little.
 

He sighed. “Her mother came to see her shortly before she ran away.”

Wendy’s eyebrows shot up. “I thought… you were all orphans.”

He shook his head no. “Marcus’s mother, Roman’s folks, and Marissa’s mother are all still alive.”

She nodded and he could see her mind working, full of questions.

“
Their stories aren’t mine to tell. Marissa had mentioned something to Cass the night before about ending up like her mother.” He shook his
head in disgust. “Let’s just say there was no possibility of that, ever.”
 

“
Did the police check with her after your sister went missing?”
 

He nodded. “She just laughed and said she’d ended up like her after all.”

“
What does that mean?”
 

He shrugged his shoulders. “Apparently she’d run away from home when she was young.”

“
Has anyone heard from her? I mean, how long has it been?”
 

“
Almost eight years now. Each of us has taken turns looking for her. Roman thought he saw her at the hospital when I had my bike accident.”
 

“
Really?” Her eyes lit up.
 

“
Yeah, but he’s had a few other close calls like that. I swear, each and every one of us scans every crowd looking for her.”
 

“
What does she look like?” she asked, leaning her chin on her hand.
 

“
Here.” He pulled out his cell phone and flipped through the images, inwardly cringing at all the women he had pictures of on the damned thing. First thing in the morning, he was wiping his phone memory. “This is all of us the summer before she left.” He smiled down at the picture of everyone standing on the small sailboat, and then he handed the phone to Wendy.
 

She held it close and scanned the image.

“
That’s her between Cass and Roman.” He leaned closer and pointed to the screen. His eyes roamed over the image again.
 

“
Is this your mother? Mrs. Grayton?” She pointed to the larger woman off to the side.
 

He nodded. “She died that winter.” He felt the same sting behind his eyes as he always did when he thought of Elizabeth Grayton, his second mother. “Cancer,” he said, still hating the taste of the word in his mouth.

She nodded. “No one should have to go through that.” She sighed. “Even my father didn’t deserve to.”

He sighed. “I don’t know about that. Leaving two young girls to fend for themselves.” He shook his head.

“
It had its moments.” She smiled up at him. “I never had a bedtime, I was never nagged to brush my teeth.” She smiled. “Look, they’re still all there. Never a cavity.” She chuckled.
 

“
It must have been lonely.” He reached across the table and took her hand.
 

She sighed. “There were times.” She reached for her beer with her free hand. “I guess that’s why I like bartending so much.” Her smile was weak, but he could tell she really believed it. “Some nights, when I felt that way, I’d come back from work and…” she shrugged her shoulders. “I wasn’t lonely. I guess I’m to blame for the rift between Willow and myself. I mean, I wasn’t around a lot.”

He squeezed her hand gently. “Still, she should have chosen hanging out with her sister over a boyfriend.”

She giggled. “Would you have?”

He frowned and thought about it. “Hanging with Cass or Marissa verses hanging out with you?” He shook his head. “I suppose not.”

She frowned. “I’m not…” She stopped herself and sighed as he smiled at her. “You are so frustrating.”

He laughed. “Good. Now, I’ll help you clean up so we can sit on your sofa and make out like a couple of teenagers.”

S
he tried not to let her nerves show, but she couldn’t stop her hands from shaking as he moved closer to her. It had been nice standing beside him as he helped her clean up after dinner. She’d never had anyone help her in the kitchen before. Kevin hadn’t been big on cleaning, nor had any other guy she’d been with before. She supposed it was the way Cole had been raised that gave him an underlying gentlemanly quality about him.
 

He opened doors, carried heavy items, cleaned, and was always so damn polite. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at him. He was watching the television like he was completely glued to it, but she knew better since his hand was resting on her shoulder.

She’d been itching to have him kiss her again just so the tension between them would stop. He’d hinted that he considered her his girlfriend and her heart had jumped out of her chest.

She wasn’t sure about him yet. She’d known him longer than any other guy she’d been involved with, but that didn’t stop her from having her doubts about him. After all, she knew his history. She’d seen him wrapped up in bandages because he’d been a little too reckless.

She couldn’t imagine what life would be like with someone like him. He would be jet-setting off around the world, living on the edge of death all the time, while she stayed home and worried. Not to mention the fact that he didn’t have any ambitions outside of surfing and being a beach bum.

Sure, he had an awesome family. Okay, probably the best family she’d ever seen. But she wasn’t dating his family.

Her breath hitched when she played those words over in her mind. Dating. Was she really thinking about getting into a relationship with Cole Grayton?

She glanced at him again as he leaned closer to her, and his arm tightened around her shoulders. “What?” He leaned closer.

“
Hmm?” She turned her eyes back to the screen as he chuckled.
 

“
You keep stealing glances.” His finger went under her chin as he turned her head towards his. “What are you thinking about? Because obviously you’re not really into this show.” He nodded towards the television.
 

She sighed and glanced at his lips and decided she didn’t want to make up her mind about Cole just yet. Not until she’d had some fun. Who could blame her? It had been months since she’d had any fun. “You did mention something about making out like teenagers.”

He smiled and tugged on her until she was almost in his lap. “So, does this mean you’ve made up your mind to go out with me?” he said, a breath away from her lips.

“
I…” She wet her lips in anticipation. “I haven’t made up my mind yet.” Her eyes went to his lips, waiting. She watched the sides of his mouth go up in a slight smile.
 

“
What can I do to persuade you?” he said, before gently running his lips over hers. She couldn’t stop the moan from escaping, not after she felt her entire body relax into his.
 

“
You make it so hard for me to think.” She smiled against his skin.
 

“
Good, you’ve been doing too much of it anyway.” His mouth traveled down her neck, sending bumps all over her body. Her fingers dug into his thick hair, holding him close to her body.
Her eyes rolled to the back as his mouth found a spot she hadn’t known could cause her to rush to the edge of orgasm so quickly.
 

“
You like that?” He chuckled and then used his mouth on her again.
 

She knew she was probably making all sorts of crazy sounds, but when he kissed her collarbone, it drove her crazy. His fingers pushed her shirt aside, exposing more of her skin for his mouth to explore as her nails dug into his shoulders.

She rested her head back on the soft cushions and enjoyed his slow exploration. When his mouth left her skin, she moaned a little and then watched as he gently pushed her until she lay down on the sofa. She couldn’t take her eyes off his fingers as they moved below her shirt, pushing it up until her entire belly was exposed.

“
So soft.” His eyes were glued to her stomach, roaming over her shorts and legs. “So pretty.” She watched as his blond head dipped down and when his mouth touched her belly, she moaned and held on.
 

She felt his hands on her hips as he kissed his way across every inch of her exposed skin. When a finger dipped below her shorts, she almost jumped off the cushions with excitement.

“
Easy.” He chuckled. “We have time.” His finger lazily dipped again, causing her skin to heat.
 

“
Cole,” she whimpered.
 

“
I’ve got you.” His hands moved to tug down her shorts, but the drawstring was tied and he spent some time slowly undoing it. When she was finally freed, he tugged on her cotton shorts until she lay before him in only white silk panties.
 

“
Perfect,” he cooed as he ran one finger down her hip. She watched as he dipped his mouth towards her skin and then sighed as his lips touched her silk-covered sex. His mouth was warm and wet on her and she felt herself building faster.
 

“
Please,” she begged. Her fingers dug into his hair as she spread her legs wider. When his finger dipped below her panties, she almost came undone. It had been too long. Too long since she’d enjoyed herself.
 

He finally pulled her panties aside, but his mouth just hovered over her. His eyes met hers and she saw him smile, and then he lowered his lips to her heated skin. She couldn’t stop herself from crying out his name when her body convulsed in his hands.