Page 94 of If You Need Me

“So, things have obviously developed over the past few days,” Ash says as we sip our coffees on my parents’ lawn a little later that morning.

Roman, Hollis, Tristan, Tristan’s middle brother Nate, and Flip are playing a game of horseshoes. I’m always shocked by how shitty Flip is at anything other than hockey.

The girls are sitting at one of the many picnic tables set up in the yard close to the beach. They’re all wearing their Badass Babe Brigade shirts and Wills’s reads Queen of the Badass Babe Brigade. Her smile is bright and beautiful, and every time I look at her mouth, I get hard all over again. I’m very much looking forward to being tormented later. Although, I have a feeling I’ll have to wait until we’re back in Toronto since she works tomorrow morning.

“I told her the truth.”

“Finally.” He rubs the scruff on his chin. “Obviously that went over okay.”

“Yeah. It was a long time coming.” It’s a weight lifted, but now I have a new one. I glance around to make sure no one can overhear our conversation and drop my voice. “She’s agreed to be my girlfriend, officially.”

He nods. “What about the engagement?”

“Hopefully she’ll agree to make that real too, eventually.”

I want her to be where I am today—elated as hell to be surrounded by all our family and friends, celebrating the beginning of our life journey together. But for Wills, it’s all still a ruse. For me, it’s everything I’ve ever wanted.

My high school hockey buddies start showing up, as well as Wills’s student council friends who delayed their trip home so they could celebrate with us. Wills introduces them to the girls, and for a moment I sense her nervousness, but her Badass Babe Brigade always has her back, and her student council friends were always nice people who respected and appreciated Wills, so it makes sense that they all seem to get along.

My high school hockey buddies try to play it cool, but they’re all Terror fans, so the energy gets a little frenetic. My brothers and sister arrive around noon with more food and coolers of drinks.

Paris caps a beer and surveys the crowd. “Where are the Sheep’s Asses? Or are they too good to show their faces?”

I frown. "They should know better.”

“That’s putting a lot of their in them that they don’t deserve.” She tips her chin in Wills’s direction. “Badass Babe Brigade?”

“They’re Wills’s girl squad,” I explain.

Paris links her arm with mine. “She’s so different than she was in high school, but the same, you know? This place was too confining for someone like her. She always had to fight to be herself, and now she’s the center of everything, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, she really is. She’s a big part of the reason we’re all as tight as we are.”

“You did good, big brother. She’s the perfect woman for you.”

“Yeah. She is.”

The loud whir of an engine momentarily makes conversation impossible. It’s followed by a gust of wind that has people scrambling to keep their plastic glasses from toppling over. Aseaplane passes above us, and suddenly Wills’s moms are rushing to the end of the dock, arms waving over their heads.

“What the hell is going on?” Flip shouts.

“My brothers are here,” Wills calls out. She excuses herself from the table to join her moms on the dock.

“Is Hemi’s brother a pilot or something?” Ash sidles up beside me and Paris again.

“Or something,” I say. “Isaac owns a massive company, and I have no idea what Sam does, but I would not be surprised if he was a secret agent or a fixer.”

“Huh.”

“I should probably go over there and say hi.”

“Probably, yeah,” Ash agrees.

But I don’t make a move to join them on the dock. Mostly I’m preparing myself for the onslaught of unbridled energy. And I’m still a little terrified of her brothers.

“Holy crap. Is Sandy just tiny, or is Sam that huge?” Paris asks.

“He’s that huge.”

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