LITMIR.BIZ

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took a sip, noticing Dylan did the same. She was glad to see he didn’t knock it back like some of the party animals she’d run across at other receptions.

      They stood in awkward silence. Finally, Kady placed her glass on the table beside her. “So, it was nice meeting you.”

      “Maybe we’ll run into each other?”

      “Are you staying in Cypress Pointe long?”

      “Depends on the coin toss.”

      “Excuse me?”

      His mouth curved at the corners. “Inside family joke. Sorry.”

      She opened her mouth to ask him to elaborate, when an older gentleman approached Dylan and started a conversation. Boxed into the corner, she couldn’t leave until one of the men moved. After a few long minutes of trying not to eavesdrop, she cleared her throat. Dylan glanced her way.

      “Uncle Frank, give me a few?”

      Uncle Frank looked at Kady, then back to Dylan, and winked. “Sure, son.”

      Dylan slanted her an amused glance. “See.”

      “I get it now. Is your entire family comprised of matchmakers?”

      “Yep. And I have three brothers who are also single. We try to stay low-key during family events. Keeps the meddlers from focusing on us.”

      “So you’re saying I actually rescued you?”

      His stunning eyes widened in surprise. “Yes, I’d say you had.”

      “Rescuer and floral designer.” She pantomimed a motion of wiping her hands. “My work is done here.”

      Dylan laughed, his eyes filled with...admiration?

      “Sure I can’t convince you to stick around?”

      “Sorry. I have a meeting I can’t miss.”

      “Too bad. With you, this reception might have been fun.”

      “Thanks for the compliment.”

      At his wink, her heart thumped.

      “Anytime.”

      * * *

      DYLAN MATTHEWS WATCHED Kady as she weaved through the crowd, stopped to hug the bride and then exited through the same doors she’d first walked through. He wasn’t kidding when he dropped the line about noticing her from across the room. She’d caught his eye at first glance and he was immediately fascinated.

      Was it because the light draped her just the right way when she’d entered the room? What else explained how his gaze lit on her pretty face? He rubbed a hand over his cleanly shaven jaw. He’d been cooped up far too long. That would explain the unusually poetic notions rummaging around in his head.

      As she’d drawn closer, he noticed she was tall, not as tall as his six feet, but it wouldn’t take much effort for their eyes to meet. Her brown hair was pulled into a ponytail, with little fly-away strands framing her face. She’d smiled, her cheeks flushed as she went about her business.

      When he’d braced her arms with his hands to keep her from falling, he’d caught a whiff of something fruity as he pulled her close. Raspberry? Her expression, when she turned, was shaken but grateful. Then he got up close to her honey-brown eyes. A jolt seared his gut and he hesitated letting go of the connection.

      When was the last time he’d recognized such a buzz of attraction? A long time, if he was honest. And he always tried to be honest with himself—good, bad or otherwise.

      Best of all, she traded quips like a pro. Didn’t miss a beat. Had to be the best quality about her. After talking with her, he realized he’d enjoyed every minute.

      Something he hadn’t experienced in quite a while.

      With a sigh, he set down his glass beside Kady’s. Too bad she took off. He would have liked to get to know her better. Her good humor had lifted some of the darkness that hung over him.

      Before he had a chance to dwell on the past, his older brother, Derrick, joined him.

      “Mom’s worried about you.”

      “When is she not worried?” Dylan countered.

      “When we’re all at home under her roof where she can keep an eye on us.”

      “She does realize we’re grown men, right?”

      “She’s a mother. According to her, we’ll always be her babies.”

      Dylan shuddered. “Heaven save us.”

      “I saw you talking to a woman. Did Gram send her over?”

      “No.”

      “You scare her off with your brooding Heathcliff imitation?”

      “No, she had to work. She’s the florist who supplied the flowers for the wedding.”

      “Huh. Nice job.”

      “Since when do you notice flowers?”

      “Since I’m trying to be evolved.” Derrick looked to the closest table where Kady had left an arrangement. “Hey, these are pretty.”

      Dylan laughed. “Evolved, hmm?”

      “Complaints from the last two women I dated.”

      “And you’re listening to their suggestions? After they dumped you? I’m impressed.”

      Derrick shrugged his shoulders as if brushing off Dylan’s jab. “So how are you doing? Leg okay?”

      At the mention of his injury, Dylan reached down and rubbed the back of his thigh where the exit wound still seemed raw. The gunshot damage had taken longer to heal than he’d hoped. On the bullet’s journey through his thigh, it nicked the femur and splintered the bone. Multiple surgeries removed the fragments. Repairing structural damage had laid him up. Not that he was complaining. If the bullet had hit his femoral artery, it would have been lights out. Physical therapy had finished two weeks ago, but the ache still haunted him.

      Besides the physical pain, there was the emotional as well. A constant reminder of whom he’d lost. A partner and a good friend. The grim reality Kady had eclipsed a few minutes ago returned with a vengeance. The constant enemy who never left his soul.

      “I’m fine.”

      “Not true. I saw you favoring your leg when we walked into the hotel. Too much activity today?”

      “Since when is sitting at the beach and walking into a building too much activity?”

      “When you’re recovering from a gunshot wound.”

      “I’m fine,” he repeated through clenched teeth.

      Derrick held his hand up in defense. “Hey, man. If you say so.”

      He wasn’t fine. Not by a long shot. But he wouldn’t burden Derrick, or his other brothers, and especially not his mother, with his problems. The burden and the guilt were his and his alone to carry.

      When Dylan started as a special agent for the DEA ten years ago, he’d gotten into a few tight spots. Some moments had even been dangerous, since he went after guys who would rather shoot first and run later. He was relentless when pursuing dealers who put drugs on the streets. His good fortune finally came to an end when he ticked off the wrong guy.

      He and his partner, Eddie, had spent many months in Miami planning to cut off the pipeline of a major dealer who didn’t appreciate them gumming up his operation. Esposa was an especially tenacious criminal, moving operations whenever he and Eddie got a lead on his location. They’d played cat and mouse for so long, Dylan wasn’t sure if he’d ever arrest this guy. He made headway by securing an informant within Esposa’s organization. Every time the creep turned around, Dylan was right on him. But with that success, Dylan had made an enemy—an enemy

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