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Sam
I stretched and yawned. Something was different. I smiled as realization came to me. Makenna was safe and sound and in the next bedroom. I listened and could hear her stirring about. Well, she was never one to sleep very long.
And she was an engaged woman now. I knew Nash was the man who would make her happy. I was so excited for her.
I sat up straight in bed. Oh my gosh, there was so much that needed to be done. They had to set a date. We had to go shopping for a wedding dress. It didn’t matter that she had worn a fancy white dress when she married Eric the Loser. It had been a quickie wedding. Nothing fancy. Eric probably hadn’t wanted her to spend any of his newfound wealth on something as frivolous as a wedding. I would make sure she did this one up right. This couldn’t be a quickie wedding.
I jumped out of bed and hurried to the connecting door, flinging it open. “We have so got to talk.”
But it wasn’t Makenna standing in the middle of the room. Nope, it was a very naked man with a dragon tattoo on one arm. My gaze drifted over him. Good Lord, the guy was hung like a stallion and built as solid as a brick wall, with bulging biceps and washboard abs. The guy was a tanned Greek God.
“I can think of a lot better things to do than talk.” His words were raspy, scraping over my body.
I shook my head. My gaze jerked back to his eyes. “You’re not Makenna. What the hell did you do to Makenna? If you’ve hurt her, I’ll...I’ll...”
He grinned and my heart skipped a beat.
“You’re sexy as hell when you’re mad, especially wearing that see-through nightie.”
I glanced down. Well, fuck. My nightie was see-through. “I’ll be right back. Put some clothes on. When I come back, I’ll want answers.” I turned on my heel and marched back into the bedroom, slamming the door behind me. I thought about just grabbing a robe, but at the last minute thought better of it and pulled on underclothes, then sweats and a t-shirt. I slipped on my tennis shoes then marched back to the adjoining bathroom. I was just about to open the door, when I changed my mind and knocked instead.
“Come in.”
I heard the amusement in his words. He was laughing at me. Now I was pissed off. I flung the door open and glared at him. At least he had the decency to wipe the smile off his face. And he was dressed. That was a good thing. Right? It didn’t feel like it was a good thing.
“Maybe we should start over,” he said. “I’m Ryder. Ryder Hayes, Nash’s brother. We flew in to help him search for Makenna.”
I felt as if I’d had the wind knocked out of me. “Nash’s brother?”
He nodded.
“I need coffee,” I mumbled as I turned and left the room. I felt like such an idiot. I didn’t even want to know what Ryder thought about the crazy woman who’d barged into his room. Nope, not just a crazy woman. A crazy woman wearing a see-through nightie.
I came to a dead stop as I entered the kitchen. I assumed these were the other two brothers, along with Nash and Makenna. How could I not have guessed Ryder was Nash’s brother? The resemblance between them was too strong.
Makenna smiled. “Good morning, Sam. I hope you slept well. These are Nash’s brothers, Layne and Jackson.”
My smile was weak at best as they came to their feet and offered me a chair at the table. I slid in between them, suddenly feeling very tiny, even though I was five feet, eight inches. Ryder chose that moment to come into the kitchen. “It’s about time you were getting up,” Nash told his brother. “I think you know everyone except Sam, Makenna’s business partner.”
Ryder grinned. “We met briefly upstairs.”
Makenna looked between us, as if she suspected something was going on between me and Ryder. I gave a little shake of my head. Nash set a cup of coffee down in front of me. I was grateful for something to do. I couldn’t meet Ryder’s gaze. I didn’t think I was ever going to be able to meet Ryder’s gaze. Not after seeing him naked.
“You know,” Nash began. “Makenna told me that Sam wants to build a home. You won’t find a better contractor and designer than my brother. The two of you should get together and talk about it.”
I almost choked on my coffee.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Ryder said. “I would love to see more of Sam and show her some of my ideas.”
I think I was the only one who understood his double entendre. The guy was an ass, and I had no intention of ever hiring him to build my home. It just wasn’t going to happen.