Dashing (Unleashed Romance #2) - Kylie Gilmore Page 0,2

enough.

I follow her around the side of the house. Her sisters, Brooke and Paige, wave at her from the dance floor, and she hurries over to them, joining in with enthusiastic hip bumps for her sisters. Kinda funny because she’s shorter than they are.

Someone jabs me in the ribs. I turn, coming face-to-face with Kayla’s brother, Wyatt. My new brother-in-law is my age, thirty, and about my height at six feet with dark brown wavy hair, brown eyes, and a neatly trimmed beard. He’s good to my sister and quick with a joke. Though right now he looks damn serious.

“Hey, congrats, man,” I say.

“What was that about?” he asks, jutting his chin toward Kayla. She’s the youngest of his three sisters, and he looks out for them fiercely. Probably something to do with the fact that their dad died when they were young and Wyatt stepped up. Kayla went straight to him when she was left at the altar and stuck around too.

I pull my shoulders back, immediately sensing overprotective brother about to go on the attack. “Nothing.” I’m not going to share Kayla’s fake-fiancé plan with her brother. That’s a betrayal of trust.

“Look, I could tell she was propositioning you on the dance floor—”

“Say what?”

He holds up a palm. “Save it. It’s not that I don’t like you, I do, and I respect your work, but—” he jabs a finger in my chest “—don’t mess around with her unless you’re serious. I’m talking marriage level of commitment because that’s what she’s looking for.”

A chill goes through me. Never again.

“It’s not like that,” I say. “We’re friends.”

He scoffs. “I saw how cozy you looked together on the dance floor. It might’ve started off like that when she talked your ear off while you worked at my house, but I’ve seen you at The Horseman Inn while she’s working, and you look damn happy.” Wyatt sometimes works behind the bar there. Not because he has to—he’s a retired billionaire tech whiz—but because he’s passionate about quality wine, beer, and whiskey and wants to share that knowledge with customers. Sydney says profits at the bar are way up as a result.

I lift one shoulder in a careless shrug. He’s got no bone to pick with me. I’m not getting involved with his sister. Period. “It’s my family’s restaurant. I always go there.”

He grunts. “She’s not a woman you mess around with. Got it?”

“Loud and clear.”

He turns to me with a speculative eye. “Unless you’re serious.”

I put my palms up. “I’ve got no plans to marry her.” I was engaged a little over a year ago. Amelia left for an “adventure in Panama” with a consultant from her work. After four years together, it was a shock. Understatement. My dad died a week later. I’ve only recently started to feel like myself again.

He shakes his head. “After her asshole ex bailed on their wedding, she was a complete mess for two months. You didn’t see half of what I saw. Brutal.”

“It’s been four and a half months.”

He eyes me.

“Just saying.”

He slices a hand through the air. “Doesn’t matter. Be serious or forget it. Those are your two options.”

This is my new brother-in-law, whom I consider a friend. He gave me a dream job with free rein to design his library and living room built-ins, plus I’m getting steady work referrals through him. It’s amazing how many wealthy people he knows who appreciate custom carpentry work. I’m not going to screw that up.

I clap a hand on his shoulder. “Kayla and I are friends. End of story.”

We both look over to Kayla on the dance floor. She’s balancing on one foot, working off one strappy heel. She loses her balance, and Wyatt and I both lurch forward. Sydney rights her before either of us can get close.

Wyatt gives me a suspicious look before joining Sydney on the dance floor.

I head for the open bar, get a whisky—Wyatt stocked the good stuff—and take a seat at an empty table. My eye catches on Kayla. Now she’s dancing with my brother Eli. He’s closer to her age at twenty-six, thick with muscle because he works out hard-core to keep in shape for his job as a cop. Not that he has to apprehend any criminals in Summerdale. We’re pretty low-key here.

Wait. Is she asking him to be her fake fiancé? He’s single and won’t hesitate to make a move. I’m on my feet before I know what I’m doing. “Kayla.”

She turns to me. “Hey, Adam! Join