Chapter 18
Elyna
The pike sizzled over the flames, the scent of lemon and charcoal curled across the deck. Phoenix stood at the grill, broad shoulders tense, working those tongs like the flames had personally offended him.
And maybe they had. Or maybe I had.
It had been a week since that kiss in the stockroom where I was so hot and desperate. Damn, I hated how consumed I’d felt by it, by him. I came apart in his arms, gasping his name like he was the only man who had ever touched me. I hadn’t stopped thinking about it since.
But I’d put up walls out of necessity. I had to, because getting close to Phoenix Thorne was dangerous.
Now I sat at the picnic bench on the deck, Braden fussing against my chest, my shirt pulled and damp with his tears.
My arms ached from rocking him. I was exhausted, pulled thin.
But even so, I couldn’t help glancing toward the grill.
Watching Phoenix, jaw set, eyes on the flames like the whole damn world rested on his shoulders.
With Pierre at work, he looked like the head of his household out here.
His brothers moved around him with a kind of ease, like they knew he’d keep it all steady.
He was gruff and impatient, sure, but they looked up to him.
He looked out for them, for everyone really.
“You want me to take him?” Eric offered gently, holding his arms out.
I blinked at him, caught off guard. “Are you sure?”
“Eric loves babies,” Asher teased, smirking over his beer.
“You do?” I asked Eric, surprised by the offer.
“I have no experience with babies, but I figured it’s worth a try,” he said with a chuckle.
It wasn’t promising, but my arms were burning. “My arms could use a break,” I said, passing Braden carefully into his hands.
And just like that, Braden melted against him, his head dropping to Eric’s shoulder, his sobs easing to soft hiccups.
I let out a sigh right as Phoenix’s low growl cut across the deck. “Show-off.”
Eric turned, still smiling. “What?”
“Nothing.” Phoenix’s voice was clipped. “Just focus on the guests and I’ll handle the actual food.”
I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks.
His voice carried an edge I knew too well.
It was jealousy. And I’d be lying if I said it didn’t stir something inside me.
Knowing this man was jealous of his brother holding my son did something to my insides, and that made my guard lower.
The truth was, Eric felt like a kid brother to me.
Asher too. I’d never thought of them any other way.
But Phoenix… was different. Watching him at that grill, muscles taut, eyes darting toward me when he thought I wouldn’t notice.
. .he was the one I couldn’t seem to ignore.
And we’d been playing this dangerous game all week.
Catching each other’s eyes across the brewery, across the deck, across the smallest spaces.
And then looking away just as fast, as if neither of us wanted to admit what burned between us.
Phoenix flipped the fish with more force than necessary, shoulders tight, mouth pressed in a hard line.
He was more frustrated than I’d ever seen him.
Grumpier too. And still, my heart hammered, because no matter how hard I tried to shut him out, I couldn’t stop wanting him.
I was relieved when Riley hadn’t reached out again all week, but I knew in my bones it wasn’t over. That storm was still circling. And in the middle of it, Phoenix burned in my mind because he was the protector, the provider, the man I shouldn’t want. The man who made me weak with a single kiss.
“Fish is done,” he called, his spatula slamming against the grill.
Everyone moved toward the table, laughter spilling into the night air, but my eyes stayed fixed on him. On the man I swore I’d keep out. On the man who made me wonder if I could ever really keep that promise.
By the time the sun dipped lower, Braden was rubbing his eyes and squirming against me, overtired and cranky.
I placed him in the stroller, rocking him gently as Becket teased Asher about his awful playlist. Phoenix stood at the grill, arms crossed now, watching the whole scene like he didn’t care.
But I knew better. He’d been grumpier than usual all week, and every clipped word, every sideways glance told me why.
I had gotten under his skin too.
We’d been playing a dangerous game since the kiss we shared. But I’d felt his gaze on me like a hand branding me or maybe unraveling me. And every time it made my body burn in a way that made me want him all over again.
Asher and Eric walked me back to the loft once the meal wrapped up.
Becket stayed behind with Phoenix. I wondered if Phoenix ever confided in him or if he ever confided in anyone.
My guess was Phoenix was as closed down as I was, but what I wouldn’t do to be a fly on that picnic bench.
To know Phoenix’s thoughts or what was in his heart.
Braden had finally dozed off, and I didn’t trust myself to carry him alone without waking him. The guys came with, easy chatter filling the air, and by the time we stepped inside the loft, I was grateful for the help.
“Drink?” I offered, keeping my voice low as I unbuckled Braden.
“Sure,” Eric said.
I settled Braden in the playpen in the bedroom.
Their laughter drifted in from the main room.
Something about how passing him around like a hot potato seemed to calm him.
I was just reaching for glasses when I realized the bathroom door was shut.
And then came Asher’s voice, smug and too loud.
“We can hear you guys. We know you’re in there. ”
Heat rushed to my face. Oh dear, it was Luc and Izzy in the bathroom. The door creaked open, and out they came, cheeks flushed, hair mussed. I bit back a laugh, but Eric groaned, ducking his head. “Dammit, Bean. I don’t know how I’m supposed to get used to this.”
I couldn’t help it. I started laughing. “I mean, they’re adults.”
“Adults, my ass. Bean is our little sister,” Asher shot back, forgetting the years between them.
“Would you all just grow up? We didn’t know you’d be back here so quickly,” Izzy muttered, embarrassed.
“Sorry,” I said quickly, trying to smooth it over. “It was getting late, and I wanted Braden in his playpen or else he would end up waking up. I was scared he’d be super cranky if he was overtired.”
“Don’t apologize,” Luc said firmly, slinging an arm around Izzy. “We’ll head back over to the barbecue.”
“Good idea, we left Phoenix and Becket alone,” Eric added.
“Thanks for your help with Braden,” I told them as they filed out, the door shutting behind them.
The loft fell quiet. I tucked a blanket around Braden.
He stirred but didn’t wake. And then I paced the loft, around the futon to the kitchen and back.
Over and over again, like a caged animal because of Phoenix Thorne’s grumpy mood tonight.
Those clipped words, that jealousy when Eric calmed my son .
. .it all rushed over me like a tsunami.
The kiss we shared was playing nonstop in my mind.
I needed to keep my walls high. I should have remembered what happened the last time I trusted a man, the way it nearly destroyed me.
But every time I pictured Phoenix… I saw something more.
He was special. A man who kept his family together.
Who protected his sister. Who carried responsibility like it was built into his bones.
I couldn’t stop myself from wanting him, as hard as I tried.
My hands trembled as I braced them against the counter, my lips still remembering the taste of his.
My body still remembering the way it burned.
A sharp knock broke through the silence.
My heart leaped to my throat. At first, I feared it was Riley but that didn’t seem reasonable.
For one exhilarating moment, I wanted it to be Phoenix.
I wanted him to claim me all over again.
My walls were shattered, and I took a deep breath as I went to the door.
My breath felt like it had been sucked out of my lungs when I opened the door and saw Phoenix standing there in a plaid shirt that showed off his broad shoulders and his eyes burning with flames.