Falling for her best friend's brother was NOT a part of her summer plans...
Karma Fitzgerald never saw Nathan Jenkins as anything other than the womanizing big brother of her best friend, Lanie. That all changed during a summer trip to the beach, wh...
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Once we pulled up to the secret destination that I wanted to show her, Karma hesitated before getting out of my jeep.
"What is this place?"
I hopped out of the driver's seat, shut my car door, then glanced over my hood at her. "It's a surprise." I held out my hand, beckoning her to come with me. "Let's go, gorgeous."
She came around the vehicle and laced her fingers with mine. I led her through the opening of the old, rusted metal fence that had vines growing all through and around it. It was just after sunset, so there was a good hour or two before it got too dark outside. The crunching of leaves under my sneakers had me remembering that Karma wasn't wearing the best shoes for this.
"I forgot you were wearing heals," I said apologetically. "Want me to carry you?"
That got a laugh out of her at least. "No, I don't need you to carry me. I'm fine. But I do appreciate the offer. That's sweet." With a smile that made me want to kiss her, she looked around the wooded area. "Now show me what this is!"
I pointed straight ahead of us with a smile of my own. "It's right this way. But you have to promise me that this stays between us. Nick can never know that I showed you."
"Nick? Why?"
After a few more steps we entered the clearing, and Karma's gasp of surprise was well worth the risk of my best friend kicking my ass.
"Is that—"
"A giant treehouse built into that extra huge oak tree? Yep, sure is."
"But how did you guys build this?"
Letting go of her hand, I stepped towards the tire swing, gripping the rope in my hand. "It took us three summers to complete it. We found this tree when we were out riding bikes. Nick had the idea to build a tree house and so we did it. It wasn't easy, though."
Karma kept her eyes on the treehouse. "It's beautiful. Can we go up?"
"Of course, we can." I reached for her hand again and tugged her towards the wooden staircase we built. Gently pulling her in front of me, I placed her hand on the step. "You go first. It's sturdy, but you're wearing heels. I don't want you to miss a step and fall."
Her eyes were filled with passion, but that smirk of hers was pure mischief. "You sure you don't want me to go first just so you can look up my dress?"
"I won't lie and say it didn't cross my mind," I murmured, stroking her cheek. "But I promise my intentions are pure. Well, maybe seventy-five percent pure."
"Thought so," she teased before turning to the steps. "Here I go!"
I waited until Karma got about halfway up the wooden stairs before I started up behind her. A part of me felt guilty for bringing her here. Nick made me swear on a stack of Playboys that no one would know about this place but us. Not even Lanie knew about it.
