Undone (A Country Roads Novel) by Shannon Richard

was looking at him, her gray eyes going wide with wonder as they’d skimmed his body and her mouth falling open. He’d known that she was attracted to him; he’d figured that out when he’d almost kissed her in his office. But the look he saw on her face went much deeper than just attraction.
    He’d been thinking about her all week. Ever since he’d met her, he couldn’t get her off his mind. She was driving him crazy when she wasn’t around him and she was most definitely driving him crazy now with that heated look on her face.
    “Paige is going to the beach with us,” Grace said brightly.
    “Is she now?” he asked, walking over to the refrigerator and pulling out a pitcher of orange juice.
    “Who else is going?” his grandmother asked as she stirred the batter.
    “Mel, Harper, Jax, and Shep,” Grace said.
    “Jax and Shep should be here soon,” Brendan said, grabbing a glass from the cupboard. “When I told them you were making your butter pecan pancakes they couldn’t resist,” he said as he poured himself a tall glass of juice and drank half of it in one gulp.
    He sighed in relief as he pulled the glass from his mouth and looked down at Paige again. She was staring at him, her lovely chest rising and falling a little fast, and a light blush creeping up her freckled chest and neck. And with that Brendan walked out of the kitchen to go take a cold shower.
    *  *  *
    “You set me up,” Paige said, looking at the satisfied smiles on Grace and Lula Mae’s faces.
    “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lula Mae said as she turned and started fiddling with the griddle.
    “Yeah, absolutely no idea,” Grace said as she hopped up onto the countertop.
    Paige raised her eyebrows at their lies.
    “Alright, fine. We set you up. But the element of surprise always reveals so much,” Grace conceded.
    “Oh, I’m sure it does,” Paige grumbled.
    Paige had probably revealed too much about herself in the couple of minutes that Brendan had been in the kitchen. She was surprised she hadn’t started panting. She tried not to be obvious, but that was difficult whenever he was breathing the same air as her. And really, he’d just been standing in the kitchen half naked and sweaty and looking hot as hell. It wasn’t her fault. It was his fault.
    Stupid hot mechanic.
    “Well, isn’t that something,” Oliver said as he walked into the kitchen and stared down at Paige. “That dog is putty in your hands.”
    “She isn’t the only one,” Grace muttered under her breath.
    Paige looked at Grace, trying to give her the evil eye but failed miserably when Grace started cracking up.
    The front door opened and closed and deep voices traveled down the hallway. Two tall and very attractive men walked into the kitchen. Sydney sure was some guard dog. She didn’t even look up, just scooted closer and rested her head against Paige’s shoulder.
    “Paige, this is Jaxson Anderson,” Grace said, not moving from her perch and indicating the tall redheaded man with freckly, tanned skin and deep green eyes. “And Nathanial Shepherd,” she said, pointing to the guy with thick, wavy black hair, dark blue eyes, and arm tattoos. “Jax is a deputy sheriff, and Shep helps his family run the Sleepy Sheep, which is a bar out on the beach. They’ve been friends with Brendan since preschool.”
    Paige couldn’t even imagine the trouble that those three had probably gotten into growing up. They had mischief written all over them. Paige could read it on all of their muscles.
    “This is Paige,” Grace continued. “She just got a job at the funeral home. Brendan helped her get it,” she added, covering her smirk with her mug as she took a sip of coffee.
    Jax and Shep gave each other significant looks and grinned at each other. Jax had dimples and Shep’s blue eyes seemed to glow. Yup, these boys were just as lethal as Brendan, especially when they smiled.
    “Nice to meet you,” Jax said, holding out his hand. Paige