“I’ll do my best,” Candace assured her, looking overwhelmed.

Kara gave her arm a squeeze and turned to the rest of them. “Marco left with Connor and Tay. Beer run. I’m watching the grill out back, so you guys had better come on in before I burn something down.”

“Sweet,” Ghost said. “I’m starving.”

“Con and Tay made it here already?” Brian asked. “They made good time.” His other two workers had ridden separately.

“They said they set the cruise at ninety.” Kara rolled her eyes as she led them into the foyer of the house. Brian’s hand sought out Candace’s and he gave her fingers a squeeze. He really couldn’t imagine how she was feeling right now, thrown into the mix with a bunch of strangers the likes of which she’d probably never hung out with before. Kara had sleeves as solid and dense as his own, a nose ring and angelbites. Not to mention everything you couldn’t see. She was brash and opinionated and, much like him, didn’t give a damn what anyone thought. A far cry from the Andrews family, not to mention his own.

Candace probably felt about as comfortable as he did when forced to hang out with his own straight-laced relatives, except she seemed to be having a lot more fun than he did in those situations. Kara grabbed all the girls and headed into the kitchen with them to make drinks. Candace tagged along, complimenting her on the house.

She was just too sweet, too polite. He’d never imagined falling for someone like her, not in a million years, but if he was honest with himself, he knew that was only because he couldn’t have imagined a girl like her falling for him.

Chapter Fourteen

Kara was very pretty and even more intimidating. Not that she was unfriendly. She was too cool and too likeable. Surrounded by girls who knew one another and seemed to be best friends, Candace felt she was struggling to keep from blending into the background. She didn’t want to let Brian down by not meshing with his friends, but it wasn’t just for him. She needed this for herself. To prove to herself that she could function when she wasn’t under the protective shadow of her freakishly tyrannical family.

She met Kara’s husband and Brian’s other two employees when they got back from the liquor store. Marco was tall with long black hair and, as expected, lots of tattoos. He and Brian greeted each other with guy hugs and good-natured insults, but there was no question he was someone Brian had a lot of respect for. The guys headed out into the backyard to take over grilling duties while the girls gathered around the kitchen table.

Candace accepted the beer she was offered, feeling it would’ve been rude not to do so, but she barely sipped it. Kara wasn’t drinking, because apparently she and Marco were trying to get pregnant. The conversation flew fast and furious, skipping from catching up to work to music to Kara’s endeavors to conceive.

“So how is the baby-making sex?” Janelle was inquiring. “You would think it would be kind of boring and mechanical, like, ‘I’m ovulating! Give it to me now!’”

Kara shook her head, laughing. “It’s actually not. To me it’s even more exciting, to wonder in the middle of it if this could be the one. And, girl, it’s never boring. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of him.” Her lips curled as she stared out the window, where the guys were gathered around the grill.

“How long have you been married?” Candace asked.

“Seven years. But we’ve been together for fifteen. Met in high school.”

“Wow.”

Kara’s attention turned back to her. “How long have you and Brian been dating? It must be a new development because he never mentioned you until he called earlier today to say you were coming.”

“Oh, um…actually, we’re not really dating. I mean, I wish I could say we were, to be honest, but…it’s complicated.”

A chorus of voices spoke up at once:

“Girl, he’s crazy about you.”

“You could totally be with him if you want to be.”

“Complicated sucks. Simplify things and go for it.”

They all laughed. Candace shrugged and kept her gaze trained on her beer, turning the bottle around and around with her fingers. She was heading in the wrong direction. Things weren’t getting simpler; they were only getting more complicated, thanks to her actions today.

It was getting close to one o’clock. Every time she thought about it, a flock of butterflies went wild in her stomach and her heart did a sick flip-flop. What were they going to do when they couldn’t find her? This was so against the grain for her. And there was always the possibility that Brian would be angry when he found out what she’d done. What if he hated her for only making things worse? What if it totally ruined the weekend for him? What if he would be disgusted when he learned she was a spineless little mouse who had to run and hide from her problems?

What had she done?

She looked around Kara’s neat, prettily decorated kitchen and wished she could have something like this. Freedom. A home that was hers. The man she loved and wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

“You’ve got it bad for him too,” Starla observed. She cleared her throat and straightened in her chair. “He probably said something already, but I wanted to tell you myself that I’m sorry I roped him into taking me to the bar the night you were there. It was nothing. He’s been helping me through a rough spot with my man. Brian’s a great friend, and the whole time we were there, all he did was pine for you, really.”

“He did?”

“He was in a funk all night at work. I’m telling you, the man is strung out over you.” Starla gave her a look then that led Candace to believe she knew more than she was letting on. “Don’t play with his head, okay?” she finished gently.

“That’s the last thing I want to do. I… There are some things I’m having to work through right now.”

“Let him help,” Kara offered. “Don’t shut him out.”

“I feel like he deserves someone who isn’t this soul-sucking emotional burden on him.”

“Honey, all he deserves is someone who loves him for who he is. If there’s a soul-sucking emotional burden to bear, then so be it. Bear it together.”

The three pairs of eyes watching her were kind but inquisitive, as if they were trying to decipher her true intentions with their friend. She could understand. It warmed her heart that he had people who cared about him so much. She’d always considered him sort of a loner type, only to find he had a greater support network than she did.

Kara leaned across the table, her exotic, darkly lined and shadowed eyes intense. “It’s worth it in the end. I promise you. Once you wade through all the bullshit and the two of you are all that’s left, you’ll be glad you took a chance. If you love him.”

Oh, God, she was going to cry again. Panicked, she took a long pull at her beer and struggled to stomach the flavor.

Kara had mercy on her and flashed her a wicked grin. “And you have me to thank for talking him into his apadravya. FYI, I accept gifts of chocolate and fine wine.”

“Girl, you’d better buy her some Cheval Blanc or something,” Janelle muttered under her breath. “I’ve never had the experience, but I’ve heard those things are…” She trailed off to give a full-body shudder.