Ryan's Love (Sawyer Brothers #1) by C. A. Harms Page A

the cool countertop. “I need to call the repair man,” I groaned as I lightly banged my head against the marble.
    A knock at the front door brought out an unrecognizable growl from within me. I didn’t even raise my head to see who it was, so I was startled when Bailey started squealing in excitement.
    As I spun around in surprise, the stool beneath me began to tip, and I gripped the counter to stabilize it. Instantly my eyes pooled with unshed tears of happiness. “Alena,” I squeaked and ran toward Bailey and my cousin as they stood in the doorway hugging one another.
    Alena was a few years younger than me. After she graduated college with a business degree, she took a year off to travel. She’s more like a sister than a cousin, and she, Bailey, and I were inseparable growing up. We got ourselves into a little trouble back in Chicago, I’ll admit. When she decided to travel, I was heartbroken, knowing I would have to go without seeing her for so long. Now here she stood before us, and she was like a breath of fresh air already blowing away the remnants of my horrible day.
    Bailey and Alena released their hold on one another just in time to accept me into their little circle.
    “Oh my God, what are you doing here?” I asked, squeezing Alena hard. “Not that I’m unhappy to see you, but I wasn’t expecting it.”
    “I told you I was flying straight here when my trip was over. A year is a long time to spend without my two favorite people,” she said.
    She was right, a year felt like forever.
    “But you still had two more weeks,” I replied.
    “Yeah, I know.” She shrugged. “I missed my girls, so I cut it a little short.”
    We locked the front door before dragging her straight upstairs to our apartment, where we gathered on the couch as she began sharing stories of her travels. She fanned her face when she talked about the guy she met in Rome.
    “But let me just clarify something,” she said. “I’ve been in this town for less than an hour, and the men in Montana are some damn sexy specimens. I met this cop because I took a wrong turn, and I’ll tell you what, he had to repeat his directions twice because I lost my mind because of how his lips moved with each word.” She wagged her eyebrows. “I almost took him hostage and drove off to somewhere secluded. I could think of a hundred naughty things to show him.”
    When she mentioned a cop, both Bailey and I looked up at one another. A smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth, and I narrowed my eyes at her. “Amber knows a certain cop pretty well. In fact, she could tell you what his lips and hands feel like against hers.”
    I threw a couch pillow at her, and it hit her in the side of the head. She fell back against the cushions, laughing.
    “Spill it,” Alena insisted.
    “We only went out twice. It’s nothing, really.” I waved it off because I truly didn’t want to have to explain. I didn’t know myself exactly what Ryan and I were doing. I knew we liked each other. We had fun and the chemistry was there. I just didn’t know if we would ever be more to each other than just two people having a little fun, enjoying each other’s company.
    “It doesn’t feel like it’s nothing,” Alena pushed, and I knew I wasn’t going to get away with not giving her at least a little detail.
    “His name is Ryan.” I pause for only a few seconds. “He lost his wife a few years ago and hasn’t really dated since then. He has a teenage daughter, and she’s having a hard time accepting that her father is dating.” I shrugged. “So right now, things are a little unexplainable. I don’t know what we are or if it will even go anywhere. But he’s really sweet, and I enjoy our time together.”
    “He’s not just a cop, he is a sergeant,” Bailey jumped in. “He is ‘drop to your knees and pant from being overheated with lust’ gorgeous. Amazing eyes, amazing body, and those hands…mmm.” She shivered to accentuate her statement. “He is so