Page 47 of One Weekend in London

I adore him to pieces but he’s crazier than Papaw if he thinks he’ll be able to leave Devney for a single day. Those two are so attached at the hip, they might as well be conjoined twins.

I love that for them though.

Papaw: All right now, y’all hotheads simmer down. Sadie Lou can handle herself. She’s got more sense than you two knuckleheads combined. And just ’cause she picked the wrong guy once, don’t mean she’s gonna do it again. We can worry but we gotta trust her. Ya hear?

A boatload of surprise, followed by relief washes through me. Thank heavens for Papaw. I wouldn’t trade my crazy cousins for the world, but sometimes—okay, a lot of the time—they’re certified pains in my backside. Papaw is too, but at least he sometimes maintains a modicum of common sense.

Keyword being sometimes.

Tasha: @Knox stop being such a horse’s ass. Ain’t nobody asked you for your input! And @Sutton, hush up. We all know you aren’t leaving Devney. Besides, the only question we should be asking is, can @Sadie even handle HIM? I mean have you SEEN Rhys? Dude’s a walking, talking orgasm. That level of hotness is just intimidating.

Although she’s one-hundred-percent correct, I laugh, knowing Tasha’s only saying that to get a rise out of her big brother, something she’s always seeking to do.

Weston falls for her game too.

Hook, line, and sinker.

Weston: BRB, bleaching my eyeballs. And then I’m finding a convent to put you in until you’re at least thirty @Tasha!

Told you.

Poor Weston’s going to end up with high blood pressure like Papaw if Tasha keeps it up.

Which, let’s face it, she totally will.

Tasha: @Weston go ahead. I’ll just take over the place, teach the nuns to pole dance, then lead a rebellion that would make Boudicca proud.

Weston: @Tasha and what would you know about pole dancing? This is all Zane’s doing, isn’t it? I’m gonna murder that kid!

I need to start tapping the screen, typing away as fast as I can and deescalate the situation before this spirals further. Tasha giving Weston a hard time is one thing. But him dousing gasoline all over her temper and striking a match by mentioning Zane is another.

She’s probably about to explode.

Thankfully, Lillian changes the subject.

Lillian: Soooo @Sadie, just put us out of our misery. Are you coming home tomorrow? Or are you going to stay a little longer?

Before I can reply, she continues.

Lillian: FYI, I fully support you staying and exploring your feelings, and I’m sure your boss at the distillery won’t mind at all, given that it’s Papaw, but if you don’t get your butt back to Garrison before I have this baby, I will have a meltdown of epic proportions b/c I need you.

I start to reply, assuring her I’d never miss out on her giving birth, but then I pause, my breath catching.

Because through the half-open bathroom door, I glimpse a naked Rhys in the steamy glass, rivulets of hot water coursing over his tawny skin and cut muscles, following the dips and valleys I’d like to trace with my tongue.

Sweet baby Jesus.

The sight of him, all sleek power and raw masculinity, has a new wave of heat blooming in my lower belly, my tired body suddenly coming back to life.

Lillian’s questions forgotten, I toss my phone aside, leaving my family hanging, something I’m becoming accustomed to doing. They’re probably all having a conniption fit and will give me grief over it later, but I’ll deal, because someone else needs my full attention.

Rhys.

Biting my lower lip, I slip from the sheets, my every nerve ending standing at attention as I enter the bathroom. Without giving myself the time to second-guess what I’m doing, I open the glass door and step into the intoxicating heat. My nipples harden beneath the spray as I wrap my arms around him, resting my chin on his chest and look up, meeting his molten gaze.

“Care for some company?”

I lean back and his eyes rake over me with blatant appreciation, his hardening cock sending shivers racing down my spine. A wicked grin curves his lips, promising all sorts of delicious depravity.

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