Page 84 of When I Had You

“Marina is nine years younger than me. Stating for accuracy because so much that’s put out is inaccurate regarding us.”

If eyes could bulge, his are. “Are you telling me you’re not having sex?”

“I didn’t say that—”

“Motherfucker.” He’s fast, but Harbor is quicker to his feet and drags Noah to the other side of a row of seats.

Noah shoulders him and frees himself from his confines. “Did you hear what he fucking said?”

“I did,” Loch replies. “But we should hear the full story before judging.” I don’t trust anyone who remains that calm after how he was staring at me for so long. Loch sits in a swivel seat facing me with access to block Noah if he needs to. I appreciate the effort to hear my side of things.

Harbor sits where Noah was and looks me dead in the eyes. “We have a problem, Cash.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” It’s best to let them air their grievances so we can all move past this. I recline even more in preparation for getting some shut-eye on this flight before we land.

“Our sister—”

“Your sister,” I say, sitting forward and making sure all three of them hear me loud and clear, “is a grown-ass woman with a mind of her own.” Raising my hands, I add, “No one was taken advantage of, there was no manipulation involved, and trust me, we weren’t thinking about you guys when we fell in love. So—”

“Love?” Noah asks, standing with his guard fully intact. “You can’t love my sister.”

My gaze volleys among them as they each take in the news differently. “I do. I love Marina very much.” Sitting back again, I add, “None of this was planned. If you would have asked me at dinner in Miami, there was no fucking way I would have seen any path that would have led us here. But here we are.”

Harbor sits back, and Noah sits down again. Loch twists his hands with his gaze attached to the floor. The four of us sit in silence until I remember that Duncan is asleep in the back, oblivious to everything that’s going down. I’ll have to thank him for so nobly having my back during all this.

Maybe I should keep my trap shut while I’m ahead, but it just doesn’t feel right to have the only thing they are imagining is Marina and me having sex. I mean, it’s what I think about most of the time, but it’s not good for them. I say, “Her beauty is obvious, but Marina is intelligent and quick, funny, and a little quirky at times. She has a gentle soul she hides behind a temper to protect herself. I didn’t set out to fall in love with her. I just did the more I’ve gotten to know her.”

They’re staring at me again, but it doesn’t matter. I want the whole world to know how I feel about her. “I hope that helps settle how I ended up in this position. I really had no choice in the matter. My heart was hers the moment we met. Our fates sealed together.”

“We’re not your girlfriends, and this isn’t a slumber party for your dating life confessions, Ryatt,” Harbor replies, stony-faced. “We get it.” He puts up a hand to stop. “You . . . love her.” He glances at his brothers before turning back. “We do, too. If you hurt her, you’re done.”

I don’t know what “done” means to them, but I don’t want to find out either.

Everyone gets comfortable in their own space, and soon, I’m able to get some sleep.

A text from Marina comes through as soon as we land:

I love you.

I’m grinning, feeling like I got away with the king’s ransom when it comes to her. I text:

I love you.

The feel-good texts end there. Scrubbing a hand over my face, I really needed more sleep to deal with the mess of texts I received from Terpidy. The messages flood my phone as soon as I get in the car after landing. Her four messages populate the screen.

The shoot has been extended a few days.

Won’t be home until the following Monday.

Your mom said she’ll watch Cullen.

Watch him? Like a babysitter. Where is the disconnect? My mom will not just watch Cullen. She’ll raise him. She’ll love him. She’ll take care of him like she did for me.

Terpidy:

I’ll try to call him every day. If I don’t get through, tell him I love him.

Try?

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