As Jimmy spoke about trust, he wondered if he would ever trust a woman like he did Tate. Candace was a beautiful woman, but she was much too intense. If his friends heard his thoughts they would laugh. Baxter might never stop. Even when it had an agenda, a date should be fun and easy, like the lovers in front of him.

After a beautiful evening on the water with friends and amazing food, Baxter would go home and make love to Ivy. There were no games, only honesty between them. A man could get used to that. Although he trusted Tate, they were not honest with each other. A weight might lift off both of them if they ever talked about it. He had been pushing a boulder uphill for years. It was always with him, but he kept his head down refusing to look at it. What would happen if he stopped? Would it crush him?

Their plates were almost empty, and he felt an elusive contentment. Thoughts of the boulder could make the glow inside of him disappear like vapor. He wondered how much of it had to do with the sweet drink. Typically, he sipped scotch, but on the warm evening, the colorful drink went down easy. Based on the giggles from the girls, he wasn't the only one. Their captain didn't drink. It was a Kane family rule. He closed his eyes. Tate broke the number one rule with him. He was too balls deep into her at the time to appreciate the significance.

Shaking his thought, he took another bite of the Greek salad. "Baxter, you're missing out. I never thought I'd like girly drinks."

"You'll come to the house for dessert and a scotch. You can keep me company while Ivy goes over some wedding things with Tate."

Blame it on the vodka. "Tate, are you okay with their wedding preparations?"

Ivy frowned, but Tate brushed it off with a graceful sweep of her hand. "I'm happy for them. They highlight everything my relationship with Duncan wasn't. I'll dance at their wedding."

"With each other." Ivy looked at Baxter and smiled.

Baxter nodded. "I spoke to Kasper and told him I want you as my best man if you'll agree."

Jimmy smiled. "I'd be honored. It'll be an easy job, no cold feet. Oh shit! I'm sorry Tate."

She shook her head. "It's okay. You'll be a great best man. Duncan's best man couldn't even keep him from screwing the night before. I wonder how many people knew what he was up to. Would anyone have told me before I married him?"

"I sure as hell would have."

My thoughts exactly, Bax.

"Thanks Baxter. I know you would."

Ivy smiled. "And Tate, I want you as my maid of honor. Freya has been my friend longer, but you're my family."

She smiled. "I'm honored. Thank you."

"You two will look amazing together in the photographs."

Jimmy looked at Tate and smiled. He wondered if they could steal some cake for an encore. "I just hope the cake is good." He winked and his dick stiffened as he watched the color spread across her face.

Back at the adorable house the love couple had turned into a home, Baxter poured a finger of scotch for each of them. "That was a great evening."

Jimmy nodded. "It brought back a lot of memories." When he found Tate alone down below, it reminded him of the first time he held her. She was still a girl. He had only wanted to stop her from killing her brother and ruining it for all of them. Instead, he dropped her before his dick swelled too much. He looked at her differently after that.

Baxter handed him a glass. "To my best friend and best man."

Jimmy sipped and felt himself return. The sweet crap tasted good, but it conjured up the past. Or was it being near Tate?

When they both stepped outside for the waiting car, Jimmy was glad to have a moment alone with Tate. The night air had a chill to it, even for Summer. The Bates party would be the last of the season before the fundraisers started again.

Once in the car, sitting at a distance, he said, "Please drop Ms. Kane off first." Then he turned to Tate. "So you have a date for the Bates's."

"No. I didn't say yes. Will your pawn fly in from Seattle?"

He laughed. Her wit could pop a balloon. "No, but maybe we could dance. Practice for the wedding."

"I think we had plenty of practice moving together."

He grabbed her hand. "Tate, please can we talk? Not here."

"It's not a good idea."

"I know Baxter trusts his driver, but do you?" If word got back that he went to Tate's apartment, she would really hate him.

She shrugged, but he saw a question in her eyes. "Okay. I'll trust you."

"I always trust you." Jimmy sincerely meant it.

He followed her into a small apartment. Looking around, he smiled. "You like white."

"It's off white, but yes, it freed me from the dark stained wood I grew up in. It always felt like night even during the day."

Jimmy laughed. "I never noticed. I liked your house because it felt alive. Mine was too quiet."

"But your parents were less intense than mine. You act like Amelia is your mother."

"Am I intense?"

She laughed. "You know you are."

His smile faded as his eyes found her lips. "You know me better than anyone."

"I hardly know you."

He shook his head. "That's not true."

"What did you want? Why did you come up?"

"To, to spend a few more minutes with you, before you retreat to your corner."

"Me!" She paced in a circle around him, like he was her prey. "I'm just following the rules you set, including the corners. If I had any doubt, you made it quite clear when you slunk out before dawn."

"It was dawn, and I went to workout. I returned to your room after my shower, but you were gone." The only thing you left was your wedding dress.

"You really went back? Why?"

He shrugged. "To check on you. For breakfast. For more amazing sex. Which do you prefer? All the above?"

Her mouth moved, but nothing came out. He stepped to her and gathered her in his arms. He wasn't sixteen anymore. "I just want to see you happy. I know you don't want me saving you, but neither of us will be happy without the other."

She pulled back. "What?"

He did some quick talking to cover the deep truth. "What I mean is until we get past that night. Neither of us has. I stopped driving. Do you know I still tense up on back roads late at night?"

"It wasn't your fault."

He held her tighter. "It wasn't yours either."

"I can't." She shook her head. "Not tonight. It was too good of an evening to ruin."

Jimmy suspected it was too late. A tear dropped when she blinked. He didn't want to let go, but it was hard enough keeping his lips off her. She smelled like heaven mixed with fresh air.

She pulled away. "You have a girlfriend and I don't cheat."

"I told you she's not."

"Does she think she is?"

Her judgemental stare was worse than a headmaster's. He had been called into the office more than once. He nodded contritely. "You know how women are when they get something in their heads."

"Yes, we are foolish to think men care."

"I wish you could move past him."

"I. I. Forget it. It doesn't matter. I'm tired. I'll see you next Saturday. Don't worry I won't run away and make a scene."

He nodded. "Thanks for that. I guess. Goodnight Tate." He kissed her forehead to satisfy his lips' demands. They wanted more.

By the time he lay in bed, the drink made his head pound and the memory of her body against his left him with a boner. He just didn't want to fantasize, so he thought of Charles. Old and proper. The poor man was probably a virgin. How could he sleep feeling sorry for Charles? He did something unwise. Dressed in a hoodie, he went for a walk.

Things were quiet on the streets of Beacon Hill. He walked to Walnut Street past the Kane House. Were Doyle and Kasper safe at home? Around the corner and down the block, he passed the Bates House. Like the Kanes, they had a corner lot. He froze when he heard voices in the garden.

"You'll never amount to anything."

"You keep telling me that, but I'm married now and a father."

He recognized the voices. Junior and Senior Bates. Disdain slimed over the word married. No surprise it wasn't a love match. Jimmy wanted to laugh at the father part. Rumors had Junior with multiple children.

"You need to act like it. You are an executive at a financial institution not a frat house."

"I'm a Bates. Women respect me."

"Not when you take advantage of them."

"She's lying. It was consensual."

"You should watch the news once in a while."

"I look at my phone. What does the news have to do with any of this? The bitch complained."

"I've handled it. Ms. Horowitz has received a nice bonus and has left our organization. I can't keep doing this. Your wife or worse your mother will eventually find out."

"All those women lied. So I fired them."

"Because they lied." Senior voice held anger ready to explode. "And you kept it from me."

"No, they were incompetent. Personnel matters are my domain. You only got involved because she went to you. I have handled problems before."

"Like when you fired the head of client relations and left me to sort out the mess."

Jimmy hid deeper in the shadows. Tate hated when he played the hero, but Junior needed to be exposed for the sake of all women, Senior too for sweeping it under the rug.

As a member of the Bates board, he could expose them. None of it was surprising; it just confirmed his suspicions. Jimmy didn't go home to sleep, instead he went to work.

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