What Might Have Been: Daniels Brother #4 (Daniels Brothers) by Sherri Hayes

Gage’s wife’s sister.”
    Abby’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding.”
    Trent’s chest vibrated in amusement. “Nope. It’s a long story, but Megan was exactly what he needed.”
    It took her a few moments to digest all the information.
    For several minutes, they peered out at the water. Eventually, though, Trent had to address the elephant in the room. “You’re not going to ask about Chris?”
    She didn’t answer right away and he wasn’t sure what to make of it. “I wasn’t sure you’d want to talk about him, considering . . .”
    “Considering your history?”
    “Yeah.” She glanced over at Trent and held his gaze.
    He stepped closer and she turned her body to welcome him. Did she even realize that?
    “I’m a big boy. I can handle it. I was there, remember?” Trent slid the tips of his fingers down the side of her arm, making her shiver. “Cold?”
    “No,” she whispered.
    The look in her eyes drew him in. Trent had no idea what it was about Abby, but there’d always been something that had called to him. He tried to remember what they’d been talking about before.
    Oh, right. Chris.
    “My brother is married to a wonderful woman named Elizabeth. They live about an hour from here.”
    Abby blinked as if awaking from some sort of trance. She licked her lips, and it took everything in him not to kiss her. Luckily, the captain’s voice came over the intercom, announcing that they would be getting underway in a few minutes.
    “Are you hungry?” he asked.
    “Yes. That sounds good.” She pushed away from the railing and began walking to the front of the boat where dinner was being served.
    Trent caught her arm before she could get too far. She stared up at him, a wary look on her face.
    Splaying his hand along her lower back, he held her as the other guests abandoned the back of the boat in favor of food. He waited until they were relatively alone, and then leaned down to brush his mouth against hers. “I don’t care about Chris or your history with him, okay? Tonight is about you and me. This is about you and me.”
    Her eyes fluttered open. He could see her mulling over what he’d said.
    “Do you like me, Abby?”
    She swallowed hard. “Yes.”
    “Good,” he said as he went in for another kiss.
     

Chapter 7
    Abby felt slightly drunk even though she hadn’t had a drop of alcohol. Her lips were still tingling and her heart was beating a little faster than normal. All of it was Trent’s fault. Although the kiss outside her apartment had been pretty spectacular, the one he’d given her moments before as they stood with the gentle breeze blowing off the water had her forgetting the people around them. It was a good thing he’d retained his sanity and ended the kiss, because she was moments away from embarrassing herself.
    Thinking about how her body reacted to him had her blushing again.
    “I love it when you blush. I imagine you’re thinking dirty thoughts,” Trent whispered in her ear.
    Of course that only made the color on her cheeks darken.
    He chuckled and pressed his lips to her temple.
    They got in line and filled their plates with the wide array of food. Everything seemed to have a tropical theme, down to the little umbrellas in the drinks. A DJ was playing music that transported Abby to a faraway beach somewhere, away from work and life and all the worries that came with it. She closed her eyes and sighed.
    “That’s a good sigh, I hope.”
    “This all makes me want to be whisked away to a tropical island.” She smiled and speared a bite of fish. “It’s been a long time since I’ve taken a real vacation. Max doesn’t take much time off.”
    “He’s a slave driver, huh?” Abby noticed Trent sobered a little when she mentioned Max.
    “He can be.” She concentrated on her food for a few minutes while she tried to gather her thoughts. “You don’t like it when I talk about Max.”
    Trent took a sip of his drink. “If I’m being honest? No, I