They continued on, a picture representing each year until the final pic was Axel standing beside Izzy in her cap and gown for her eighth grade graduation that read Year Thirteen below it.
The caption read: “Happy Father’s Day to the BEST BIG BRO in the whole world. You have been there for me since day one and I don’t know what I would do without you. Love you! Your favorite Pita.
The post had over five hundred likes and Brynn wasn’t sure if it was because of the sweet sentiment or the shirtless picture of Axel in the pool.
She sniffed back the tears that were forming as a sudden bout of emotion overtook her. Axel had always been there for his sister and it affected her in a way that she hadn’t anticipated. He’d taught her how to swim and ride a bike. He was there for Izzy in all the ways her own father had never been there for her and Max had never been there for Ryder.
One thing was certain, these were not the pictures of an emotionally unavailable man.
Her mother’s words came back to her. “He is grounded, strong-willed, confident, fiercely protective, passionate, sexual…”
She closed her computer and jumped out of bed, trying desperately to ignore the emotions that she knew had nothing to do with the man that she was attaching them to. Sometimes her training in psychology really did take the fun out of things. Sometimes ignorance really was bliss.
As she paced the room, she noted that if she weren’t aware of what she was doing, she could’ve spent hours living in the fantasy that everything she was projecting onto Axel was really about him. She could float in the idea that he was a hero from one of her books come to life. She could allow herself the luxury of creating an entire persona that may only vaguely resemble the true man that he was.
But she did know better. She knew that everything she was feeling about Axel had to do with things she needed to work through in her own life. Things that she needed to come to terms with. Things that she needed to process and accept.
Everything except her attraction to him. That had nothing to do with any issues she had or baggage she was carrying. His sex appeal was so potent it made her lightheaded just thinking about it.
She thought about getting in the shower, but she realized she was not ready to face the world quite yet, so she snuggled back into bed. Lucy stood, spun around several times and then plopped down at Brynn’s side with an approving sigh.
Knowing exactly what she needed to start her day, she grabbed her Kindle and pulled up one of her favorite Violet Duke books to escape. Whenever she was feeling unsure or overwhelmed she reread a favorite book. To Brynn it was like visiting friends and family. It was comforting and reassuring. So she lost herself in Love, Chocolate, and Beer, a book she’d read at least a dozen times.
She was so entranced in her visit to Cactus Creek that she jumped when she heard the familiar sound of a lawnmower starting. When she checked her phone she was surprised to see it was eight a.m. She only had a couple of hours before she was supposed to meet the girls for brunch and she hadn’t done any of the chores she’d planned on knocking out this morning. Plus, she still had to shower.
“Do you need to go potty?”
Lucy snuggled further against the pillow. Brynn might be up at five thirty a.m. every morning, but her canine companion loved nothing more than sleeping in. The lazy pug would stay in bed till noon if she let her.
“Come on, lazy bones. Your bladder’s going to burst.”
Brynn hopped out of bed and as she passed her front window, the lawnmower cut off. She then realized that the sound had been coming from much closer than she’d originally thought. She pulled back her curtains and saw that Axel Vaughn was in her front yard standing behind the lawnmower that Brynn had thought was broken.
Before she was able to fully process that, she noticed that he wasn’t alone. Max and Ryder were there, too. And Max was puffing out his chest like the ridiculous buffoon he was.
Oh crap.
***
“Who are you?”Brynn’s ex asked, sounding more like a jealous husband than the low-life cheater he was.
“Axel.” He only answered the question because Ryder was standing beside his dad.
Axel was doing his best not to laugh at the way Brynn’s ex was puffing out his chest and staring him down. The guy was doing everything short of whipping out his dick and pissing on the property line to mark his territory.
You had your chance, asshole.
He may have only known Brynn for twelve hours, but that was plenty of time to know that she was the kind of woman that you don’t mess things up with. She was that rare combination of funny, smart, insightful, nurturing, and generous. Not to mention jaw-dropping, stunningly gorgeous. She was every guys’ sexy girl-next-door fantasy come to life.
And this douchebag had been lucky enough to marry her and he’d blown it by screwing around on her. Axel couldn’t comprehend that level of dumbassness.
“Why are you mowing the lawn?” Ryder asked.
He started to answer, but was interrupted.
“Hey, guys!” Axel turned to see the door fly open and Brynn rush out into the yard.
Damn.