Laurence 'Wren' Chambers, deputy sheriff of Ocean Bay, and my new daddy.

Puke.

I hated that man and I was pretty sure the feeling was mutual.

Rourke's dad didn’t force him to go to church. Heck, my best friend didn’t have to do a dang thing he didn’t want to do. Not me, though. Nope, I was dragged here by Wren every Sunday – some days kicking and screaming.

Jerk.

The preacher continued to drone on about the importance of family and my lip curled up in disgust.

I had no time for fairytales and lies.

Besides, from my brief experience with the world, I was well aware that families were well and truly overrated – and fickle.

Just ask Rourke.

His mama had passed when we were little and his daddy had been steadily replacing her ever since. I couldn’t recall if Gabe Owens was on wife number four or five by now. I'd stopped counting after number three.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as a paper airplane whizzed past my head before coming to an abrupt stop when it crashed against the back of Mr. Lambert in the row ahead of my family.

Excitement soared to life inside of me and I quickly snatched up the paper plane, unable to stop myself from smirking.

Her aim was getting better.

A low snicker came from behind us, and that somehow earned me a sharp elbow in the ribs from my loving stepdad.

Asshole.

Jaw ticking, I swallowed down my anger – and the urge to hit the douche back twice as hard – before inconspicuously unfolding the paper plane.

Play with me?

Three words penned in her neat handwriting.

Three dangerous words that were sure to get me in a world of trouble with Wren, but somehow, I didn’t care.

She was worth it.

I counted to ten and then slowly back to five before rising to my feet with my hand pressed to my mouth, feigning sickness. My mother's concerned gaze landed on mine, right along with Wren's look of incredulity. Fully aware that I was a piss poor actor and not giving two shits whether they believed me or not, I gestured to the exit before quickly bolting.

The moment I pushed through the church doors and stepped outside in the mid-morning sunshine, she was on me.

Pouncing onto my back like a playful kitten, she clasped her small hands over my eyes and giggled in my ear. The smell of flowers and grass filled my nose and a small shiver ripped through my body. "Guess who?"

"The man in the moon," I replied, unable to stop the smile from spreading across my face, as I reached up and peeled her small hands away from my eyes.

"Nope." Molly jumped down, landing gracefully on her small feet before pirouetting on the spot, causing her short, yellow sundress to blow up in the breeze, revealing her matching yellow panties.

Donning a smile that had been causing me some problems as of late, she grinned up at me and I felt my face grow hot. "Guess again."