Braxton (Brax)
Twenty-Five Years Old
I could tell the exact moment she walked into the bar without even seeing her. There was something special about Harlee Tilson, though I could never put my finger on what exactly it was.
Turning, I caught sight of her and smiled. Harlee was my sister Addie’s best friend. I’d like to say she was basically another sister to me, but that would be fucked up since I’d had a dirty dream or two about her over the years. Hell, I wasn’t blind, and the older she got, the more beautiful she became. I’d even had a major crush on her in high school and had only ended up dating one other person because my thoughts were always on Harlee. But she was off limits. The whole never date…or fuck…your sister’s best friend rule. I wasn’t really sure who’d made up that stupid rule anyway.
“Is that Harlee Tilson?” Thomas Minor asked as he stared at her. He was my best friend and like a brother to me. “Damn, that girl gets hotter and hotter every time I see her.”
I glared at my friend. Never mind that I couldn’t touch Harlee, that asshole sure as hell wasn’t going to even think about touching her. “Keep your eyes and your hands off, Thomas.”
He swung his gaze over to me. “Don’t tell me you’re interested in her?”
I laughed. “She’s like a sister to me, dude.”
Okay, half-truth. I don’t have sex dreams about my sisters.
I shuddered at the thought.
Of course, up until my senior year of high school, I had always thought of Harlee as a kid sister. Then she grew up, got breasts, and her body developed curves that even a priest would look at twice, and the whole kid-sister thing was thrown out the door. But that didn’t mean I had free rein to act on it. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt her. She meant a lot to Addie, to my whole family. She was an only child, and her father owned our local newspaper, The Seaside Chronicles. I was pretty sure she spent more time at our house than she did her own. That meant no matter how much I wanted to know what those pouty lips would feel like pressed to mine, it was best I kept my distance.
And if Harlee was off limits to me, she was off limits to all of my friends.
I watched as douchebag Roger walked up to Harlee and smiled at her like she was a piece of meat. He worked down at the docks and was nothing but a player, out for one thing and one thing only: sex. He held out his hand and she took it, allowing him to guide her to the dance floor.
Thomas grunted. “Well, looks like I’m too late anyway. Roger seems to have claimed her.”
A muscle in my neck throbbed as I watched him put his hands on Harlee. It wasn’t jealousy, no…no way it was that. It was the fact that he was a scumbag. There was no way in hell I was going to let him fondle her on the dance floor.
With my fists clenched and an anger that came out of fucking nowhere, I marched over to where Harlee and Roger were dancing and gave him a look that said, “Get away from her or I’ll break your neck.” Everyone in town knew Harlee and Addie were like sisters, and if anyone tried to mess with my sisters or Harlee, they’d have to deal with me.
Roger lifted his hands and took a few steps back. “Dude, it was only a dance.”
“Go find someone else to dance with,” I growled as I stepped between him and Harlee. When I turned and looked down at her, those steely blue eyes were staring up at me, wide with confusion.
“Why did you do that, Brax?”
I couldn’t help but stare down at her, take her in. Her shoulder-length, wavy hair was pulled up into a ponytail. She was wearing jeans and a light blue shirt that seemed to nip in at her waist, showcasing her luscious curves.
Jesus, Brax, stop staring at her like you’re the freaking jerk you just saved her from.
I shook my head and came back down to Earth. “What did you say?”
She looked confused, but a part of her seemed to also be delighted I had stepped in. “Why did you run him off?”
Lord have mercy, I was forever having to tell my sisters and Harlee that guys were out for one thing and one thing only. “He wants to get in your pants, Harlee, and that’s it.”
Her eyes crinkled at the corners before she laughed. “Brax, you think every guy only wants to get in a girl’s pants.”
I flashed her a wicked grin. “That’s because I’m a guy, and I know for a fact that guys are only after one thing.”
She looked around the dance floor. The music suddenly changed to a slow song, so I held my hand out to her. With a shy smile, she took it. I drew her body flush against mine and tried to ignore the way it instantly heated at the contact.
It’s Harlee, Brax. Calm the hell down.
“I love this song,” Harlee said as she laid her head on my chest. The gesture shouldn’t have made my heart jolt, so I purposefully ignored the ache in my chest.
“A Snow Patrol fan, huh?” I asked.
She looked up and smiled. “Yep. Grey’s fan too.”
With a questioning look, I asked, “Grey’s?”
She frowned. “Braxton Bradley, please don’t tell me you’ve never seen Grey’s Anatomy?”
I smiled. “Okay, I won’t tell you that.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Wait, seriously? It’s only the greatest show ever. Addie and Sutton are addicted to it; how have you never seen it?”
With a laugh, I shrugged. “No clue, but I’ll take your word for it.”
Harlee glanced around the dance floor once again.
“Are you looking for someone?”
She snapped her head back to me. “Sorry—it’s rude of me to be looking around while dancing with such a handsome lad.”
I rolled my eyes. “How’s school going? I’d think you were getting close to being finished?”
She sighed slightly, then shrugged. “It’s going well, and yeah, I graduate this spring. Not sure why I’m even going. My father is going to give me a job at the paper because I’m his kid. And everyone will think I walked into the position, even though I’ve been working for the paper since I was sixteen. Trying my best to learn how it all works.”
“Harlee, this is Seaside. No one’s going to think that. Besides, all the employees who work there know you’ve been busting your butt for years. We’ve all seen it. No one would ever call you lazy or undeserving.”
She smiled. “Thanks, Brax. That means a lot to me.”
With a short nod, I added, “You’re getting your degree in marketing, you’re going to be a very valuable asset to the paper.”
“I guess it’ll come in handy if he lets me actually have a job in management.”
“I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t.”
She gave me a weak smile, clearly not as convinced as I was. “I guess we’ll find out in a few months. How’s the fishing business going?”
“Busy. Thomas has been helping me, and it’s growing a lot faster than I thought it would. I just bought another boat and hired two more people for when the season starts up again in May.”
She smiled. “That’s amazing! You always were one of the best fishermen in town. How many championships have you won over the years?”
My chest puffed out a little at her praise. “One or two.”