Mainland vs. Island

Chapter 1-2

The next night, I couldn’t help but think about Scarlett as I headed to a party for Kiana and Sawyer’s friends. If she was going to the wedding and making Kiana’s dress, hopefully she was going to be at the same party and I could get some time with her again. Maybe some place a little quieter and more intimate.

Alvin mentioned Sawyer’s friends from New York and said they were pretty cool, but walking into a room full of strangers was rarely an easy thing to do. A sure way to win people over was always to bring booze.

I rang the bell at the beach house they rented for the wedding and waited for someone to let me in. When a guy almost as tall and wide as me opened the door with raised eyebrows and a nod, I held out my hand. “I’m Mack, a friend of Sawyer and Kiana’s.”

“And you brought beer. I like you already. I’m Graham. Nice to meet you.”

Graham grabbed two of the cases of beer and left me to grab the other two.

“Beer’s here!” Graham announced to the loud group when we walked into the living room. “This is Mack. He brought it.”

“Mack!” Sawyer said, standing up from a loveseat he shared with Kiana and another couple. The other guy looked similar to Sawyer and I wondered if that was his brother, Noah.

“You didn’t have to bring all that,” Sawyer said when he got closer.

I shrugged. “Easier to meet people when you give them free beer.”

Sawyer chuckled. “Put it on the wedding bill. You didn’t have to do that. They’d like you without the beer.”

“We’ll still drink it, though,” another guy said, joining us with an open bottle of lager. “It’s good. Where’d you buy it?”

“He makes it,” Sawyer provided. “He’s supplying it for the wedding.”

The guy looked at the bottle and nodded. “Nice. I like you even more now.”

Sawyer snorted. “What Ethan’s trying to say is thank you.”

I grinned. “No problem.” I glanced around the room. “This is a hell of a crowd.”

Ethan shook his head. “This is only half of us. More are coming next weekend. Not everyone could get off two weeks.”

I nodded. I could understand that. I barely took off a day, let alone a week or two. “Nice vacation.”

Ethan nodded. “My wife always wanted to come here. The kids just want to see the beach. We’re going to chill and surf and do whatever the hell we want for a couple weeks. And I’m going to watch my sexy wife in a bathing suit.”

Ethan stared across the room at a beautiful brunette with a bright smile and plenty of curves. He was a lucky man, but the woman next to her was the one I couldn’t take my eyes off of.

Scarlett.

“Kiana is so excited to have everyone here. She tried to plan stuff for the two weeks, but I made her tone it down,” Sawyer said.

Ethan nodded. “Good. We need downtime.”

Another guy walked over and joined us. “Good beer,” he told me.

“Thanks.”

“Did you say downtime?” the guy with the shaved head asked Ethan.

Ethan nodded. “I plan to get my wife n***d as much as possible. I’m hoping with all these parents around, someone will keep an eye on the kids.” He nodded at me. “That’s Brady.”

I jerked my head at him in acknowledgement and he did the same. Introductions made, their conversation continued.

“I know how you feel,” Brady said. “Sam’s all self conscious and won’t let me leave the lights on anymore. It makes me crazy.”

“Olivia doesn’t get a choice. Lights are always on. But for us that means if one of the kids comes downstairs, they know we’re still up and will knock. I love them, but I need to worship my wife without interruptions once in a while,” Ethan said.

“We’ll take your kids. Just let us know so we can get outside,” Brady said.

Ethan nodded. “Every chance I get.”

The men all chuckled.

“Who are you checking out?” Ethan asked, his voice gruff.

“The redhead,” Sawyer answered for me. “He’s got a thing for her.”

“The dressmaker?” Ethan asked.

Sawyer nodded.

“She’s cute,” Ethan said. “Kiana was going on and on about the dress she made.”

I nodded, finally feeling like I could add something to the conversation. “She works like crazy.”

“And you don’t get any because of it. That sucks,” Ethan said.

I shook my head. “Nah, it’s not like that. We’re still getting to know each other.”

“And you can’t get to know her without clothes on?” Ethan asked.

I laughed. “I’d like to. Just haven’t had a chance to yet.”

“Weddings are always a good time to pick up a woman. Sam’s a sucker for them. We always have a good time after a wedding,” Brady said with a smirk.

“I’m not that lucky,” Sawyer said. “Kiana’s always too tired.”

“That’s because she’s working. If she’s not working, she’s thinking about your wedding day or planning her wedding and she’s all emotional and horny. Weddings are awesome,” Ethan said.

“He’s not trying to screw her once, guys. He wants her,” Sawyer said.

Ethan shrugged and took another sip of his beer. “Then just tell her what you want. It worked with Olivia. I told her I wanted her, and we got together.”

“It was a little more complicated than that,” Brady argued.

Ethan shrugged again. “Not really. Not when you both want the same thing. Getting her to agree to marry me was a little more difficult, but that worked out, too. She just needed to know I was serious about her.”

I narrowed my gaze at Ethan. He didn’t seem like the type to get sentimental or emotional. He was straight-forward and bordered on crass. But when he talked about his wife, it was obvious how much he loved her.

“Nothing is easy when a woman is involved,” Brady said.

“Ain’t that the damn truth,” Graham said as he rejoined us. “Abby makes everything more complicated than it needs to be.”

“But you do everything she asks you to do,” Sawyer teased.

“Hell, yeah, I do. She has me wrapped around her little finger so tight I can’t move without her permission. And I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he answered.

The others nodded in agreement. Four guys all completely gone over the women in their lives.

I wanted to be one of them.

“So, you make this beer?” Graham asked me.

I nodded.

“This is good stuff. Any chance we can bring some back to Winterville?”

“I don’t ship outside the state. I’ve been working on something to distribute on other islands, but it hasn’t gone through yet. There are a lot of hoops to jump through,” I explained.

“Guess we’ll have to drink more while we’re here then. Is it in the stores?”

“Bars and a few restaurants. And I sell out of the brewery,” I told him.

“No, s**t? When can we go?” Graham looked at the rest of the group. They all nodded.

“Uh, Monday?” I suggested since I had the day off.

“The women are doing the dress thing so that should work. Awesome.” Graham waited for the others to nod, which they did, then grinned at me.

“Graham’s buying lunch,” Sawyer said. “Since he’s invading your workspace.”

I shook my head. “No need.”

Ethan clapped me on the back. “Doesn’t matter. We take care of our own. You’re one of us now.”

I smiled and nodded. I wouldn’t mind being included in that group. Especially if I ended up with the sexy, curvy woman across the room. I’d be damn lucky to be a part of it.