Determined Kisses (Love in Sandy Beach Book 4) by Jessica Gray

of the house.
    Electric Flow had started their career in Sandy Beach, and they’d performed at The Lighthouse many times during the last years. Ethan glanced around, but none of Ter’s band members were present. Instead he spotted some other musicians, who apparently had offered to play for him. Now that his little brother was on the way to fame and fortune, everyone wanted to rub shoulders with him.
    Terrence finished his rock ballad Get Me Some More and thanked his audience before he waved Ethan over and jumped down from the stage. Ethan always admired how Ter worked engaging a crowd of people. He was a natural and music was his vocation.
    Ethan slapped his brother on the back. “You were terrific up there. Can’t wait to see you in a big concert.”
    Ter’s face lit with the praise and his green eyes sparkled. All the Paxton siblings had brown eyes, with the exception of the twins Terrence and Reese.
    While they ordered their drinks, a group of women, some barely legal and others way past their prime and in denial, approached them. And Ethan witnessed the show as his brother transformed into the bad boy he pretended to be for the public image – putting on his megawatt charming smile and saying in his most seductive voice, “What can I do for you, babe?” while wrapping an arm around the shoulder of a petite blonde.
    Ethan sent him a look only brothers could interpret, and Ter snapped back, “What’s wrong? How about having some fun? I don’t mind sharing.”
    In fact, there were more than enough women for both of them, but Ethan wasn’t in the mood for casual sex. He was in the mood for Hazel.
    Only Hazel.
    Terrence was watching him shake his head, and suddenly the younger brother’s face fell and he unwrapped his arm from the blonde and spun Ethan around to search his eyes for the truth.  “Oh my God.  You are in love.”
    Ethan held his stare, unable to refute the statement and not sure he even wanted to. I’m in love? Yeah. I guess I am. “Is it that obvious?”
    Ter grinned – this time an authentic smile that reached his eyes – and answered, “You have the same cheesy, dreamy look Chase always gets when he talks about Pearl. Or Grant mentioning Sam.”
    “I didn’t know they had a cheesy, dreamy look,” Ethan protested.
    Ter put his palm above Ethan’s heart. “They do. And now you do too. And your heart’s beating a mile a minute. No more proof needed. Looks like I’m the last man standing. Good luck with your girl.”
    The blonde tugged at Terrence’s arm and he gave Ethan a we’ll-discuss-this-later look before he took off with her. Ethan waved him off and finished his drink.
    He left the bar and returned home only to find out he missed her even more in his house. As soon as he entered the door, the reminder of her presence assaulted him. He could smell her fragrance, hear her chatter and her giggles, and feel her body beneath his.
    Ethan sat down on the couch and closed his eyes. He was in love, but the woman who held his affection didn’t want anything to do with him. Now what?
     
                                                                                                                    ***
     
    The next morning he woke up, determined to get some work done in his office, but no matter how hard he tried to focus, Hazel’s face kept invading his thoughts.
    His heart squeezed at the thought of having lost her, but even worse, he didn’t have a clue as to how to get her back. He’d never had to work to get a woman’s attention. I need to talk to a woman. Allison.
    Allison was his youngest sister, who had the most inviting personality and easily made friends with everyone. And she’d fallen in love a while ago with a man who couldn’t run fast enough from commitment and emotions. But she’d managed to convince him love was worth the risk. She would know how he could win