Defiant Heart (Starlight Cove Book 1)

A WEEK LATER, Luna and I drove to the resort for the morning meeting. Her hand was clasped in mine, both of them resting in her lap as she prattled on about a new recipe she wanted to try—not for food, mind you, but for a hair cream—and I was soaking up every word.

After Aiden and Addison had begged and pleaded for her forgiveness surrounding the protest situation—yeah, it was mostly Addison doing the begging and Aiden standing by looking contrite as hell—and then begged and pleaded for Luna to stick around so the resort could provide a well-rounded guest experience, she’d agreed. She’d continued to run her twice-daily yoga classes and was on call to offer in-room massages at a guest’s request, which meant she was a permanent—not temporary—resort employee, and thus an attendee of the meetings.

Well, most of them.

Okay, some. And I was pretty sure she was only along for the ride today because Beck had convinced us to have it at the diner instead of the main inn and she was hoping for breakfast. God knew she wouldn’t have gotten out of bed otherwise, but food had a way of enticing her.

“So, I’m thinking maybe avocado and mayo.” She hummed under her breath, her gaze fixed out the window at the ocean. “That means I’d have to make small batches since they’re perishable, but that’s okay.”

“I’m thinking maybe you’re hungry.” I pulled up in front of the diner and put the car into park.

She turned to me, a smile tugging up her lips. “I’m starving. Someone made me work out this morning before I’d eaten anything.”

“I ate plenty.”

Head tossed back, she laughed, her eyes sparkling when they met mine. She leaned over the center console until her lips were close enough that I could taste her minty-fresh breath on my tongue. “And I loved every second of it.”

Then she kissed me, tentatively sliding her tongue against my bottom lip, but that wasn’t nearly enough for me. I dropped her hand and gripped her neck instead, pulling her closer. I might’ve been inside her not even an hour before, but I couldn’t get enough of this woman. Wasn’t sure I ever would. If all this equipment weren’t in the way, I also wasn’t sure I wouldn’t have dragged her into my seat, slipped under that flirty little skirt, and tugged her panties aside.

I pulled back, my brows drawn as I glanced down at the wisp of material falling to mid-thigh. “You’d better fucking have panties on under that.”

She pulled away with a smirk, then stepped out of the car without answering, her skirt fluttering in the breeze as she went.

I fumbled with the door handle, then my phone and keys, until finally, I clambered out of the car. “Luna, I’m serious.”

“Uh-oh… I’ve activated your scary sheriff voice. I’m really in for it now, aren’t I?”

“Lawbreaker, I swear to God, if you’re not—”

She cut me off with a laugh, then walked inside the diner as if I wasn’t about to lose my shit out here.

I stormed in to find my entire family scattered around the space. Aiden and Addison sat at a table in the center, Beck stood behind the counter with Ford on one of the barstools, and Levi sat at a table in the back, by himself, looking pissed as hell that he had to be here today. And Luna? Luna slid onto a barstool next to Ford and turned to face the rest of the family, smirk in place, her legs crossed and taunting me.

I slid onto the stool next to hers, my jaw tense and shoulders tenser as I tried in vain to see through what she was wearing to find out if she was fucking with me. Logically, I knew she was. Probably. But logic didn’t have a place when it came to Luna. I was illogically in love with a woman who enjoyed tormenting me on a daily basis, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

“I think we’d better get you that massage, Sheriff,” she whispered in my ear. “You’re looking a little…stiff.”

Before I could respond, Addison clapped her hands—actually clapped her hands—to get everyone’s attention. “Let’s get started, shall we? This layout’s not ideal, but it will have to do.”

“How about those muffins you demolished like they owed you money?” Beck asked dryly. “Were they ideal?”

Ford chuckled. “Mine were delicious, thanks for asking.”

“Can we get on with this?” Levi said. “If I have to be here, I’d like it to last as little time as possible.”

Addison just rolled her eyes but opened her mouth to speak before an incoming text cut her off. She pulled out her phone, thumbs tapping wildly, as we all sat and waited.

“Jesus Christ, Addison,” Levi snapped. “If all the meetings are going to be like this, I’m sending my shit in via email.”

“Have a muffin and shut up,” Addison grumbled. “It’s from Harper.”

All eyes landed on Levi, save for Addison’s, and I studied him carefully, waiting for a response. The only sign of his irritation, though, was a tick of his jaw. That man was more closed than a book.

“They already approved the article,” Aiden said, sipping his coffee. “No take backs.”

“She’s not taking it back.” Addison finally set her phone down and lifted her gaze to everyone. “She just wanted to check and see if bookings were still up thanks to Luna’s TikTok debut.”

Luna grinned, and I propped my arm on the counter behind us, my hand splayed on her back. I hated that the whole situation had come to that, but I couldn’t deny what her being her true self and speaking out had done for the resort, for the family…and for the two of us.

“Which, by the way,” Addison continued, “they are. We’re officially booked out through June. And in case anyone hasn’t been paying attention, that hasn’t happened in years.”

“Yes, yes, it’s very exciting.” Beck gestured to the spread. “As you can see, I prepared.”

“Oh, you knew this was going to happen, did you?” Addison said.

“Had a feeling, yeah. I also have a feeling Luna’s going to want this”—he slid a glass with green toilet water toward her—“and Everly is going to be here in about thirty seconds for her morning pick-me-up.” He grabbed a to-go cup and poured coffee into it, then set to fixing it how she liked.

“You’re psychic now, huh?” Ford said. “Can I get some of that crystal-ball goodness? Any chances I’ll be spending this weekend with some company?”

Aiden snorted. “I don’t need a crystal ball to tell me the answer to that.”

“Yeah, but if—”

The diner door opened, and in walked Everly, who waved to us before taking a seat at a table instead of grabbing the coffee from Beck and heading straight back out like she usually did.

Brows lifted, I asked Beck, “You losing your touch, or what?” Then, to Luna, I said, “Did you actually want that disgusting drink, or did he miss the mark on that, too?”

She laughed, elbowing me in the side as she took a large sip. “Mmm…delicious.”

Beck rounded the counter, to-go cup in hand, when a man walked in. “Hey, we’re not actually open yet.”

“Oh, he’s with me!” Everly said, before pulling out a menu and placing it on the other side of the table. “We’ll just occupy ourselves until you’re done.”

The guy slid into his seat, his gaze down, his attention never wavering from the phone in his hand. I glanced over at Beck, who was still as a statue, frozen in place, to-go cup in his hand as he stared at Everly and the newcomer. The guy was in his midthirties, with dark, unkempt hair and about three days’ worth of stubble. He looked like he’d seen better days, if you asked me, but Beck looked like he was about to have a coronary.

“I don’t think his touch is all he’s losing,” Addison said under her breath, her gaze bouncing back and forth between the couple at the table and Beck, who was maybe three seconds away from having an aneurysm.

“Hey,” Levi snapped. “Get your head in the game, man. I’d like to leave as soon as fucking possible.”

“Hard agree,” I said. “I’ve got places to be.”

With the newcomers to the diner, the rest of us shifted closer, not wanting our business to be broadcast to just anyone who waltzed in. Aiden went through the numbers, and Addison updated everyone on the improvement plans. Meanwhile, Beck’s attention kept straying to the table next to the window where Everly and her date sat.

“Your update, Beck?” Addison said.

Beck leaned against the counter, arms crossed as he glared daggers toward the only guests in the diner. His jaw was clenched, face red and only turning redder.

“That’s you, man,” Ford said with an elbow to his side.

Beck startled, snapping his gaze to us. “What?”

“Quit glowering and fill us in.”

“I’m not glowering,” he said…with a glower. “I’m just…” He threw his hand out toward the couple. “Do you believe that guy? Everly hasn’t stopped talking, and that jackass hasn’t looked up from his phone even once.”

“And that’s a problem for you because…” Addison trailed off, raising her brows as she dared Beck to finish her sentence.

“Because!” he snapped. “She’s…she’s my friend. And I wouldn’t want any of my friends treated like shit. I’d be just as pissed if it were any of you in that situation.”

“Uh-huh,” Addison said dryly. “I should’ve figured it’d take another man for you to pull your head out of your ass.”

I reached over and slapped Ford on the arm, holding out my hand. “You owe me fifty bucks.”

“Dammit,” he said, reaching into his pocket to pull out his wallet. “Really thought it was going to be a one-bed situation.”

Luna turned to me as I slipped the fifty into my pocket, her brows raised. “What the hell are you two talking about?”

“Romance tropes,” Ford said, the duh implied.

“Romance tropes,” she repeated slowly.

“Yeah, like, you and Brady were enemies-to-lovers with some heavy opposites attract,” he said, his elbow on the counter as he leaned toward her. “But what you’ve got going right there”—he tipped his head toward Everly and her date and Beck, who glared at them, ignoring everything else—“is your classic friends-to-lovers situation where one of the idiots, I mean friends, doesn’t figure out they have feelings for the other until they see them with someone else.”

“Hmm…interesting.”

“Very. Anyone wanna take bets on how long it’ll be before Beck kicks him out?” Ford asked our siblings.

I ignored whatever else was said because Luna reached up, running her fingers down my neck and turning my head toward her.

“I was your enemy, huh?” She leaned into me, her eyes sparkling. “That’s giving me an awful lot of power.”

I gripped her nape and pulled her even closer, brushing my thumb along her neck and reveling in the steady thrum of her heart. A heart she’d given to me. With my lips against hers, I said, “Believe me, lawbreaker, you have a lot more power now as my everything.”