“We lived on the water. I know that sounds crazy with the prices of homes here on the water, but it wasn’t some huge home. Just a normal four-bedroom home, big enough to grow a family. It had a huge wrap-around porch with enough yard space for me to have my own garden. We had a dog named Biscuit that you said I could get if I to wake up with him every morning because you aren’t a morning person. He would be tan, the color of a biscuit.”
I brace myself for him to laugh or, worse, get out of bed and never want anything to do with me. I did warn him I was only seventeen at the time.
“That sounds like a perfect life, Freckles.”
It does still sound like the perfect life, even better today now that I know what it’s like to be with him.
“It does,” I whisper back as I look up at him.
“I think we should tell your brother about us,” he blurts out.
“My brother? You mean Asher?”
“Yeah. Well, your other brothers kinda guessed it at Brie’s birthday party.”
My head lifts off his chest. “You mean they know about us? Did you admit to it?”
He nods his head. “I didn’t want to lie. Are you mad?”
“No. I’m not mad. I’m just surprised. Were they mad?”
“Shockingly, no. They were kind of…excited.”
“Excited?”
“Yeah,” he runs a hand through his hair. “It was the weirdest thing. They acted like they knew we wanted each other for years. I don’t know if they were messing with me or not.”
Well, that’s not what I was expecting to hear. Liam and Eric not only being observant enough to notice something between us, but then to be excited about it.
“Huh. That is weird. So, you want to tell Asher? Well, that’s a relief. Charlotte knows and I made her promise not to say anything. But she doesn’t want to lie to Asher.”
“I guess if Charlotte knows too, it makes sense to tell Asher. He is my best friend, after all, and I’m not going anywhere. Not where you and I are concerned.”
My heart flutters. He really doesn’t understand how sexy it is that he is all in and so vocal about it.
“Then, let’s tell him.”
He pulls at his hair like he’s a bit nervous. “I’m worried he’s gonna hate me.”
“What? Why would he hate you?”
“Because you’re his sister, his younger sister, and I’m his best friend. There are rules.”
He looks so cute being all worried, the crinkles in his forehead. I lean up and kiss his cheek. “I promise you Asher won’t be mad. Surprised, sure. Mad, no. Okay?”
He nods his head. His gaze drops from my eyes to my neck to my breasts. His stare turns bold and assessing. I feel like thebreathless girl of seventeen when a simple look from him would make me lose my breath. I swallow tightly as I hold his stare.
Then he twists me in his arms until I’m lying underneath him. He kisses me with a hunger that makes my body shiver with anticipation.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Layla
I hop into Josh’s truck with a bottle of wine and a bag of groceries. I’m wearing my favorite navy-blue dress that cuts above my knees with some gold jewelry.
Josh is in a dark blue button-down. It kind of looks like we tried to match outfits. His gaze can’t seem to hold mine or anything else in the car for longer than a second. He must be really nervous. I even have some butterflies in my stomach.
We are on our way to dinner at Asher and Charlotte’s, but we are mainly going to tell my brother about us.