Parker looked at Erin. “Bridesmaid?”

Emotion swarmed inside Matt for the second time that day. Yeah, he assumed his brother would ask, but now that he had . . . Matt let loose of Erin and walked over to Colin. He skipped the one-arm man hug and embraced his best friend with emotions to fit the occasion. “I’d be honored.”

“Love you, man.”

“Love you, too, brother.”

At his side, he saw Erin standing beside Parker. “We’re such new friends, are you sure?”

“Erin, you’re one of the most genuine people I’ve ever known. You’ve become one of the family. I want you to be a part of this.”

Matt saw the internal struggle Erin was battling. He could damn near hear her crying. “What if we get involved and he finds me and I have to leave?”

“I’d love to.”

They hugged, and Matt noticed the hesitation and worry written in every movement of Erin’s body.

Matt’s mom lifted her voice. “Let’s eat before everything gets cold.”

“It’s mostly cold food, Mom,” Grace teased.

Colin patted Matt’s shoulder while the rest of the room started talking again. The noise drowned the conversation between Erin and Parker.

“I take it things are going well with you two,” Colin said.

“She has more layers than an onion, but I’m in.”

His brother patted his back. “Parker asked Mallory to be her maid of honor and Grace to be a bridesmaid.”

“Sounds perfect.”

“Yeah. I asked Austin.”

Matt nodded. “That sounds right.”

Colin pulled Matt a little farther away. “Parker and I were going to ask Dad to walk her down the aisle.”

That had Matt twisting around to watch their father standing beside Grace.

“Damn. I didn’t think about that.”

The entire Sinclair family had been orphaned, and not having her own father to walk with her would probably be one hell of a bitter pill to swallow.

“She cried when we talked about it. We’re going to take Mom and Dad out this weekend and ask him.”

Matt swallowed hard and blew out a breath. “He’s gonna love the spotlight.”

“Yeah . . .”

Colin kept talking, but Matt’s attention followed Erin as she slowly slid to the far end of the room and ducked out the back door.

“Colin . . .” Matt glanced toward the doorway. “I need to check on her.”

“Everything okay?”

He slapped a hand to his brother’s shoulder. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

Five steps and he was at the door. Six more and he was skidding in front of Erin.

She was breathing too hard, her face white. “Please.” She stepped to the right. Matt countered.

“You’re already involved and he isn’t going to find you.”

Erin’s eyes snapped to his like a rattler striking its prey. “How do you know that’s what I’m thinking?”

“Because I’m pretty sure the emotions you’ve connected to us are a bit like what they are to them.” He motioned toward the house.

He saw the moisture in her eyes long before the first tear fell. “He’s a dangerous man, Matt. If I smell him a state away, I have to leave or risk everyone. How can I commit to a future when I don’t know what’s going to happen?”

Matt reached out and pulled her into his arms. “You’re not going anywhere.” He held her as she softly cried and he whispered in her ear, “I’ve got you.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Erin turned her head left, then right. Soft folds of her hair brushed against her shoulders and bounced with more body than she ever remembered having.

“Now this is your color.” Manuela teased the ends of her hair with a tiny bit of wax and stood back on her heels, admiring her work. “I never liked the red.”

Erin hadn’t either. It was a means to an end. The soft brown with only a few highlights pulled through was different enough from her beach blonde natural color, but not shocking like the red had been. And the cut . . .

She shook her head and couldn’t stop smiling. “I think the last time my hair was this short was when I was in third grade.”

“It suits you. Everyone has the long straight hair. You have natural curls that only come out with shorter hair. This style is perfect for you.”

They’d parted her hair on the side and added only a small amount of layers to allow hair to whisk in her face. “It’s liberating,” Erin said.

Manuela pulled the cape off Erin’s shoulders and brushed any remnants of hair from her back.

Erin handed the hairdresser cash and thanked her.

“Now don’t ruin my haircut.”

Although she laughed, Erin knew the woman wasn’t kidding. The one time Erin had bought dye from a grocery store would never be forgiven.

“I won’t.”

“And don’t go home and hide. Grab a friend and go out. See how many heads you turn.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Erin agreed, knowing she had every intention of going home and avoiding any turning heads. “Thanks again.” She headed out the door.

Santa Clarita was warming up. But as the hot breeze brushed up against the back of her neck, the feeling put an even bigger smile on her face.

Desmond had hated short hair.

She jumped in her car and rolled all the windows down. One glance in the rearview mirror and she sighed. She hardly recognized herself. Between the smile, the relaxed lines on her face, and yeah, the new hairstyle, Erin was feeling less like Maci and more like the woman she was attempting to become.

She turned over the engine and put the air conditioner on high.

Out of habit, she glanced at the app that told her if Matt was on a call. When it appeared that he would likely be at the station, she headed his way. Halfway there she started to feel uneasy. Showing up at his work just to reveal her new look was a little over the top. Now if she had some baked goods to give him and the crew . . . that excuse might be better.

Only she didn’t have anything and it was getting too hot to heat up her small place.

Losing her nerve, she slowed her car as she passed the station.

The doors were down, and from what she could see through the high windows, it didn’t look like the engine was inside.

Just as well.

Her mind made up, she headed for the grocery store. Because things cooled off at night and the smell of freshly baked brownies was a wonderful way to fall to sleep.

She pulled around the corner and into the parking lot.

The big red truck in the fire lane put a huge smile on her face.

Erin couldn’t park fast enough and she was hopping out of her car, grabbing her purse, and buzzing into the store.

She walked by the row of cash registers and looked down each aisle. Erin found them in produce.

Jessie was fondling the fruit, and Matt was shaking his head.

She stopped when she saw him and waited for him to look up.

It didn’t take long.

He glanced over, looked away, and then shot his eyes back to hers.

Matt dropped lettuce he was holding in the cart and was in front of her in five big strides. “Whoa.” He reached out and touched the edge of her hair.