Page 56 of Finding New Dreams

“So good to finally meet the Leo,” I said with a smile, reaching out to shake hands.

He grasped my hand and pressed a warm kiss to my knuckles. “Trust me, bella. The pleasure’s all mine.”

“You’re every bit as charming as everyone says,” I said. Even though, despite it all, my heart did no more than warm at the thought of another friend.

“I’m glad you think so.” His gaze landed on something behind me, and his grin widened. Still holding my hand, he pulled me closer. “I think your boyfriend is jealous, bella Rose.”

A loud splash from behind me, accompanied by groans and cheers. Wyatt, Chloe, and Gina faced the tanks and applauded.

But I continued to face Leo. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Are you sure? Not a certain dripping wet, glowering artist headed this way?”

No sooner had I pulled my hand out of Leo’s and turned than I was met with a wall of soaked, muscular chest in blue-and-black flannel shirt. And Flynn was indeed glowering. At Leo.

Now this was the reaction to Leo I’d expected from Wyatt. Until I realized that Gina was his cousin, of course.

My heart swooped at the fire in Flynn’s glare.

“Leo,” he said through clenched teeth.

Leo’s grin never faltered. “Flynn. Sorry about the loss. All good fun, eh?”

Flynn’s glare sharpened.

Wyatt elbowed his way between them, interrupting the tense moment. “Come on, Leo. Let’s go find Carter and Owen—they’d love to see you. Flynn, you should grab a towel or something.”

Flynn’s lip curled, and his gaze jerked from Leo to me before he stalked off.

Leo laughed and shook his head. “Don’t worry, Rose. He’ll forgive me soon enough. He always does.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Is this typical for you two?”

Chloe butted in. “They were always stealing each other’s girlfriends back in high school. Something both of them got bent out of shape over now and then.”

“Ah, true, true,” Leo agreed. “But I was usually the one healing the hearts he broke. Such a busy, beautiful time in my life.”

Everyone chuckled. But I couldn’t help wondering about Flynn’s intense reaction over it. High school was ages ago. And I definitely wasn’t his girlfriend. Was he really that worried about his old friend swooping in on me?

A small, distinctly primal part of me preened at the thought.

The log-rolling continued until Owen was declared the victor, which still earned him a quick dunk from Sarah who came in a grumbly second.

We all stood in a group, laughing and talking, ducking out to get more food and lemonade then coming back. I noticed Leo pull Flynn aside and mutter a few words into his ear, and it wasn’t long before Flynn was back to his smirking, good-humored self. He even ended up throwing an arm around Leo, which made Leo smile and mouth “I told you” to me.

Grinning, I dipped my head in acknowledgement of his persuasive powers. But hell, I’d love to know what he’d said to Flynn.

Chloe managed to get in a few reminders about upcoming wedding events before Pierce announced that axe-throwing was next.

Flynn caught my attention and nodded toward the axe-throwing targets. “Let’s see what you got, Rafferty.”

“You’re on, Higgins. Anyone else?”

Lodge guests had pulled away Hunter and Chloe. Sarah and Carter spotted Carter’s sister and his baby niece, so they split. Wyatt’s on-duty deputy called him over with a question. And Leo’s gigantic family spirited him away.

But Gina and Owen stayed.

We took up our positions in front of the targets, which were basically red bullseyes painted on a large wooden wall. A safety perimeter had been roped off around the throwing range in case of wild misses. Already people were lining up in four queues, clutching lemonade cups and dollar bills to pay the teenagers handing out axes.

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