When the screen door banged shut behind her, the dogs raced across the grass to bark and bounce around her.

“Look at you two. Were you helping your human?” They were so happy to see her, to be outside, to be together. As she dispensed scratches and ear tugs, her heart felt so full it was tender.

Jake said they’d probably been raised in one-dog families, and now they’d found themselves a “pack.” She knew the feeling.

Jake was on his cell as she approached. He’d shoved his hair back off his forehead, and the sun glinted in the thick brown strands. When he saw her, he winked and kept talking. “Yes, I’ll tell the housekeeper to have the fridge stocked. No, Mom, I won’t check on Jennifer’s kitchen. If she left stuff in there, she can clean it out herself.”

His family was due to return from Europe next week, Rainie remembered. She handed him the bottle of ice tea.

His pleased smile was enough to melt every ice cube in the bottle and her bones as well. Tilting his head back, he drank, and his Adam’s apple moved in his hard, corded neck as he swallowed.

As she watched—and perved—her mouth grew dry and the air heated.

The work of pounding in the iron poles had pumped up his muscles until his tanned skin stretched taut over his rock-hard biceps, delts, and pecs. He gleamed with sweat, and his light scattering of chest hair had matted down, allowing flat brown nipples to show. On the back of his forearms, his veins stood out, daring her to trace them with her tongue. His jeans hung low on his hips, giving her a mouth-watering view of the ridges of his abdominal muscles. The bulge of his package in those jeans was growing.

She jerked her gaze up.

Lowering his phone, he said in an intensely masculine growl, “If you keep those hungry eyes on me, I’ll show you all about sex in the sun.”

“Oh my God, you’re talking to your mother—you can’t…” She sputtered, knowing her face had gone beet red. How could he have said such a thing with his mother listening? At a loss, Rainie held out a cookie. “Eat this, and stop whatever you’re thinking!”

His deep laugh reverberated through her, filling her heart with happiness. Then he glanced at his phone and…turned the mike back on. “Still here. Just had to deal with something for a moment. Yes, tomorrow is Marcus and Gabi’s wedding. It’s a shame you won’t return in time.”

Before Rainie could escape, he nabbed her with a long arm around her waist. Holding her against his front, he rocked his hips, teasing her with his thick erection. One big hand kneaded her ass.

He said into the phone, “Nadia’s actually working? With William Renard? Well, maybe I’ll run into her tomorrow.”

Another long flow of indecipherable words came through the phone before he responded, “I love you, too, Mom. Put him on.”

I love you, too. Trapped within the curve of Jake’s arm, unable to flee, Rainie stared up at him as his sentiment resonated down into her center. The very same words—I love you—lived inside her heart just waiting to be released.

No. No. Absolutely not. No, she didn’t love him. Couldn’t love him. Ever. Wrong.

She tried to take a step back, and he drew her closer. Even as he answered his father about a business matter, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

The affectionate gesture hit her resolve with the weight of a sledgehammer. And as the broken pieces of her future fell around her, she was wondering…what would it be like to stay?

But what about her past? Her jaw firmed. The cruel people from her past—as well as the memories—would find her, over and over. She’d never escape.

Yet, she’d had experience in dealing with the jerks who judged her, and she’d survived so far.

She leaned into Jake and breathed in his scent. If the assholes’ verbal abuse was the cost of staying with Jake—and God, she wanted to be with him—she could handle what they dished out.

She could.

* * * *

The gods had smiled on Gabi and Sally, Rainie thought, gifting them with a flawless wedding day. The gauzy clouds overhead grew denser near the horizon, softened the sun, and kept the temperature perfect. The light sea-scented breeze blew any bugs away and ruffled the vivid blue-and-white blooms of the annuals and vines.

Rainie dodged a caterer, stepped around a woman carrying a tissue-wrapped gift, and hurried toward the bridal suite.

Behind her at the entrance to the ceremonial garden, Jessica and Linda were going over last minute details with the wedding planner. Although both women were gowned in the rich blue of the bridal party, they’d managed to sidestep the walking-down-the-aisle portion.

It hadn’t been easy. Linda had tactfully refused, then refused again, and finally told the brides that Master Sam would handle the next refusal. Neither Gabi nor Sally were about to annoy the Shadowlands’ notorious sadist.

Faced with the same pressure, pregnant Jessica had informed the brides that if they persisted, she’d either go into labor or—even worse—inform Master Z of every trick the two brats had pulled in the club.

Awesome threat.

Grinning, Rainie walked through the main entrance of the bridal suite. Decorated in quiet colors of cream and khaki, the suite held a small kitchen, bathroom, and dressing room. In the main space, which combined a living room and a beauty parlor, counters, sinks, and mirrors lined one entire wall.

Right now, chaos ruled. At the counters, three hairdressers were finishing Kim, Beth, and Andrea. A makeup artist was putting the last touches on Gabi’s face.

Doing a mental count, Rainie nodded. Gabi and bridesmaids were accounted for.

In the center of the room, Uzuri and Kari lounged in the beige suede chairs. They, along with Rainie, were Sally’s bridesmaids. Rainie cleared her throat. “Where’s the second bride?”

“In the kitchen,” Gabi called.

“No, she came out and went into the dressing room.” Kari jerked her head toward the back. “She’s been there a while.”

“She looked a little upset,” Uzuri said. “I wasn’t sure whether to check on her or not. Maybe she’s got an attack of nerves?”

Over getting married? That didn’t seem like Sally. “I’ll take her in a Sprite and see if she wants to talk.”

But when Rainie reached the kitchen door, waves of animosity seemed to pour forth.

The two voices were unfortunately familiar. Gabi’s mother. Galen’s mother—Mrs. Kouros. The Queen of Petrified Nastiness was conversating with the Empress of Icy Bitchiness.

How had either warmed up enough to procreate? Rainie grinned, imagining some poor guy trying to fuck one of them. With one thrust, his cock would ice over…and shatter.

Her smile faded at what Galen’s mother was saying. “I don’t know where Galen found her, but he could do so much better. She is quite coarse. Common.”

“It’s a shame she didn’t stay on the farm where she belongs,” Gabi’s mother agreed. “Her graceless presence lowers the entire tone of the wedding—as do her gauche relatives.”

Rainie’s teeth ground together. They meant Sally, and Sally’s charming brother, wife, and their adorable children.

“It is a shame, but Galen is quite determined to proceed.” Mrs. Kouros gave a chilled sigh. “I fear I will have to endure her when—”

“I daresay that is exactly what Sally is saying to herself right now.” Rainie didn’t bother to lower her voice. Miss Lily would have been horrified at the incivility.

Stepping into the room, Rainie faced the obsessively thin, older version of Cruella de Vil.

Mrs. Kouros stared down her nose at the intruder. “Excuse me?”

“I doubt there is an excuse for you,” Rainie said. “Your son managed to find a beautiful woman who makes him so happy he laughs now—and I’d say that’s a rarity for him, although understandable, considering who he has for a mother.”

Mrs. Kouros drew back as if she’d been slapped, and Gabi’s mother’s expression turned cold. Colder.

“But, having been raised by you,” Rainie continued, “Galen knows exactly what he does and doesn’t want in a wife. He searched for a warm, spirited woman, one courageous enough to save his life. Or did you forget you wouldn’t have a son at all without Sally?”

When no answer was forthcoming, Rainie tsked-tsked. “You did forget. Oh well, mental deterioration is common at your age.”

Gabi’s mother stepped forward. “Listen, you—”

“No, you two pay attention now. This is a happy time, and you are destroying the mood. I want you both to leave this suite right now.”

Mrs. Kouros had recovered. “You don’t have any say here.”

Rainie gave them a threatening smile. “I’m commonly known as a brat. And I can assure you that if you don’t stay away from the entire bridal party, including the brides, I will make you the center of a scene the likes of which you’ve never known. Screaming, hair-pulling, ripped clothing, scratched faces.”

She paused for breath. Fury edged her voice. “Just try me.”

They backed away, clear to the other side of the kitchen. Mrs. Kouros opened the kitchen door and…

Dear God of little cats and dogs. Dressed in a black tuxedo, Jake stood right outside. From his stunned expression, he’d heard every single word. He stepped aside to let the two Bitches of the Year flee and turned to watch them scurry down the sidewalk on their high heels. He pointed his gaze at Rainie and cocked a brow.