The late-autumn breeze keeps pushing her hair into her face and she bats it away without pausing the conversation. I’ve kept one eye on her, making sure no one harasses her too forcibly and she doesn’t drink too much without any nourishment to back it up. She might do this frequently, but my family will push and prod for any information they can scour. I should go and save her, but my cousin Michael is currently giving me an earful about a topic I’m no longer paying attention to. I hear the words, but I’m not processing the content behind them, too focused on her.

“Dude, are you even listening to me?” He snaps his fingers in my face, close to flicking my nose.

“No, I’m not,” I answer, eyes sliding away from Emma and back to him.

“I’ve never seen you so distracted,” Michael says, following my gaze.

“Nothing has ever kept my attention before.”

“She’s hot, dude. I’d fuck her.”

I growl in warning, not appreciating the way he’s sizing her up from across the field like some conquest or game he might win. My jaw flexes at his lecherous eyes and the knowing smirk he’s wearing. “Shut up,” I seethe.

“How long have you two been dating?” Michael asks. “Is it serious? Or can I snatch her away from you when you inevitably get bored? I’ll give it another week. Tops.”

My fingers tighten around the champagne flute, the glass close to cracking. He’s always been a flirt like me, and when we were younger we would help talk each other up until we both left for the night with someone by our side. His value of morals is a lot lower than mine, though; the more unattainable the woman, the more he wants her, not caring if she is married or taken.

Or mine.

“Four months. Yes, it’s serious, and if you think about touching her, I will pummel you into the ground. She’s mine. Back the fuck up, asshole.”

“Four months and this is somehow the first time anyone in our family is hearing about her?” Lizzie asks, inserting herself into our conversation. “Were you hiding her away in your penthouse apartment tied to your bed frame? Or did you pluck her off the streets last night before you got here?”

“I didn’t want to put it in the family newsletter and overshadow Drew and Luke’s wedding. You saw the way the sharks reacted when we walked outside. It’s insane.”

“Exactly, and right when you know Mom and Dad are going to pester you and set you up with someone, you suddenly have a woman on your arm? I’m calling bullshit.”