Page 54 of Hot for the Jerk

“You have a realFrozenobsession, don’t you?”

“I’ve watched it like four hundred and eighty-three times.”

“How many of those were on your own without children?”

Oh mama, the cheeky grin that followed made my knees weak as we followed the crowd down the dock toward the ramp that led to the parking lot.Danica said she would come pick me up and planned to bring Marco too.I wasn’t sure I was ever going to let my little boy go once I wrapped my arms around him.

“For the record,” he went on, letting me go ahead of him up the ramp, “you’re not aterriblesinger.I just think it’s a bit of a stretch to call yourself Ariel.And you’re definitely not an Elsa.”

“I never called myself Elsa.That’s been all you.”I grinned at him as we reached the top of the ramp.My cousin stood in front of her gunmetal gray SUV, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched Jagger and I chat and laugh our way across the parking lot.

Jagger’s smile grew wider.“I called you Elsa because you’re a little ice queen.But your personality and hair—” he reached out and tugged on a loose curl that had escaped my braid, “are way more like Anna.Rebellious, cheeky, and …” his eyes sparkled as he glanced down at me, causing my heartrate to spike, “passionate.”

My cheeks heated up, and I tucked that strand behind my ear just as we reached Danica.“Hey.”

“Hey,” she greeted, curiosity burning in her green-hazel eyes as they bounced between Jagger and me.“Rough trip over?”

“Yeah,” I breathed, glancing out to sea.“But we made it through.”

“That we did,” Jagger said, his gaze moving from my face to two kids—one boy, one girl—heading our way.My chest swelled close to bursting at the sight of my son, walking next to Danica’s daughter, Samantha, or Sam.Marco saw me and his pace picked up.Then he broke out into a full run to eat up the last few yards before launching himself into my arms.

My nose instantly fell to his copper-colored hair, and I took a big sniff.“I missed you, Mom,” he said, squeezing me tight.

Tears pricked the back of my eyes, and my throat grew tight.“I missed you too, baby.Sounds like you made the most of the power outage and had fun with your cousins though.”

Sam sidled up next to Danica and leaned against her.She was the spitting image of her mother.Blonde, lean, tall, and the same bright, intelligent hazel-green eyes with flecks of white around the irises.After another tight squeeze to my kid, I released him and he released me, stepping away and instantly eyeing Jagger with hesitation.

“Hey, Sam-Sam,” I said, welcoming my cousin’s ten-year-old daughter, who was more like my niece, into my arms.She smelled like guava shampoo and innocence.Much like her mother, she was also painfully shy, but also so incredibly sweet.The child didn’t have an unkind or malicious bone in her body.She was a vegetarian and obsessed with animals.She rescued bees, ants, butterflies, and even wasps if she found them in distress and was determined to become a veterinarian when she grew up.

“Hey, Aunt Raina,” she said, squeezing me back before letting me go.“How was the power outage where you were?”

“Actually, pretty fun,” I said, glancing back at Jagger, who scanned the parking lot, probably looking for his ride.His eyes lit up, and I glanced in the same direction he was looking, to see Wyatt McEvoy sauntering forward, a cocky smile on his handsome face.

It really wasn’t fair how attractive all the McEvoy brothers were.Talk about good genes.

I glanced back at Marco, and he was still watching Jagger, this time with a deeper, darker look in his green eyes.

Uh-oh.

Running my hand over the back of my son’s head, I pressed a kiss to the top of it.“You okay, buddy?”

His nostrils flared.

Wyatt joined us.“Hey, guys.How’s it going?”

“You guys suffer from the power outage?”I asked him.

He shook his head.“Nah, not really.We have backup generators for the pub and cabins, and after the last big storm, we bought a few more to run for the houses.”

“I’m so glad we invested in some a few years ago, even though it cost a fortune,” Danica murmured, fiddling with her fingers in front of her.She always did that when she was self-conscious.It was part of her shyness and social anxiety.I smiled to myself when I spotted Sam doing the same thing.

“Well, we should probably get going, hmm?”Wyatt said to his brother.

Jagger nodded.“Yeah.I guess we need to figure out how we’re going to get stock off the island and get our truck back here.”

Wyatt grunted “Bennett’s already on it.But nothing is planned until after Christmas.”

Like a hesitant, cautious cat, Jagger stepped forward, arms out.“Merry Christmas, Raina.”Then he wrapped his arms around me in the most awkward hug of my life.

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