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Levi had known Tara forever. She’d been an adorably pudgy, introverted kid and had grown into a beautiful, funny, confident woman who had earned a phenomenal reputation for her photography on and off the island, and she somehow still managed to exude the allure of the girl next door. She had an innate sweetness and innocent blue eyes that had always made Levi want to protect her. He didn’t know if she was innocent or not, and yeah, he’d wondered about it from time to time, but he’d been quick to lock that shit down. She was Joey’s birth mother Amelia’s sister, for Pete’s sake, and he knew better than to get tangled up in that hornet’s nest. But now that Archer had opened his damn mouth, Levi couldn’t stop picking apart his brother’s comments. When Joey was born, Levi had purposefully closed off his heart to women, and now he wondered if it had skewed his perception. Had Tara flirted with him, and he’d somehow missed it? A zing of something hot and dark spiked inside him.
Jesus, do I want her to flirt with me?
Fucking Archer.
He went to get dressed for a run, remembering how Tara, at fifteen, had been instantly smitten with his little bundle of joy. He’d been nineteen and living with his parents when he’d found out Amelia was pregnant and twenty when Joey was born. Tara had shown up every day after school and first thing in the morning during the summer to spend time with her. Joey had suffered from colic as an infant and had loved napping in Tara’s arms, holding her aunt’s long blond hair in her tiny fist. She’d cried when anyone had tried to take her from Tara. Levi could still picture his honey-haired little girl at two, toddling after Tara, and Tara scooping her up, nuzzling her cherubic cheeks, sending Joey into fits of giggles. He was convinced Tara had gotten a double dose of maternal genes, since her older sister seemed to have gotten none.
Levi cursed and scrubbed a hand down his face, annoyed that he let his brother get to him. He inserted his phone into his armband and put the armband on, trying to push away his annoyance as he pocketed his earbuds and followed the scent of freshly brewed coffee downstairs, but frustration pecked at him like a crow to roadkill.
He heard two of his sisters talking as he came down the hall. Last night was the grand opening of Indi’s cosmetic boutique, and their whole family had shown up to support her. While Jock, Archer, and their youngest sister, Jules, lived on the island, Levi lived in Harborside, Massachusetts, his twin sister, Leni, lived in New York City, and their oldest sister, Sutton, lived in Port Hudson, which was in Upstate New York.
He found Joey sitting at the kitchen table in her pajamas with his mother and Leni. Sutton stood at the counter pouring a cup of coffee. “Morning, ladies.”
He kissed the top of Joey’s head, giving her shoulder a squeeze, and met his mother’s smiling eyes. Shelley Steele was a big, beautiful woman with a vivacious personality. She had long auburn hair, bangs that gave her a youthful look, and a heart of gold, which his father wholly and completely owned. His parents had taught him more about patience, parenting, and love than he could have ever asked for.
“Look what the cat dragged in.” Sutton, a tall, sassy, and tenacious blond television reporter, carried her coffee to the table, exchanging a secretive glance with Leni.
