Page 59 of I've Got You

“And now here you are freaking out because the guy who loves your sexy ass is doing something sweet for you. Onions and chameleons.”

I didn’t fidget, I didn’t challenge, and I even ignored the awkward reference to me being sexy. What I couldn’t move on from was her saying Davis loved me.

“You can breathe, you know. There are no clowns.” She laughed, and the sound and her words broke me out of my spell and reminded me I needed air.

“Would I get fired if you found out I did beg Carter to organize a clown for tonight?” She snorted as she spoke, and I shook my head.

“You’d be so fired.” I rolled my eyes. In Carter’s wisdom, he’d organized a clown for Libby’s birthday party, which had come and gone in the blink of an eye. When Libby had burst into tears, petrified of the sadist clown, I’d been the first to spring into action, welcoming the ability to get the hell away from the creepy-ass clown. I may have yelled and tripped, something about killer clowns and voodoo. It hadn’t made sense to me either, but clowns were the devil. A reoccurring dream at the age of seven had told me as such.

Lauren was still chuckling as we found a parking space, and before I opened the bar door, I paused in anticipation. Love. Davis and I hadn’t skirted around the issue, per se. We both cared for each other a lot, we spent most nights together, and I’d happily taken on some caring duties for Libby. A few times I’d made a slip aboutourLibby orourgirl, and rather than correcting me, Davis had pressed his sweet kisses to my neck.

“You have one minute, boss man.” She waited by my side though, rather than forcing me through the doors.

I nodded before stepping into the bar.

A Congratulations banner greeted me, along with a roomful of bodies and cheers. Apart from the banner though, I only had eyes for one person, who stood front and center before he marched on over to me. I grinned, my heart beating furiously in my chest and forcing emotion into my throat. Overwhelmed by what Davis had organized, I couldn’t move, but still, my grin stayed, the happiness genuine.

Stopping before me, he immediately cupped my face with both of his palms. He swept his thumbs across my cheeks. “Congratulations, baby, on your big day.”

I swallowed thickly, and Davis’s eyes softened. I had no doubt he understood my difficulty to deal with the moment. This was the kindest thing anyone had ever done for me, which he was fully aware of. When I’d graduated high school, my father had grabbed me by the collar and told me to get to work on my reading list ready for college. That no son of his would be a failure. This was after I received a 4.8 GPA. And when I’d graduated from college at the top of my class, he’d told me he’d set me up with a job and in no uncertain terms was I to screw up else he’d cut me off and make sure I never worked in veterinary medicine again. So this, all Davis, and I was assuming my friends—which amounted to Carter and tentatively Tanner—had done was a big fucking deal.

Davis pressed his lips to my mouth, and after a few caresses of his lips against mine, he whispered, “I’m so proud of you.”

There went that damn emotion again clambering up my throat.

He pulled away, his gaze examining my reaction. Seemingly reassured by what he saw, he leaned in once more, but this time his mouth grazed my cheek as he said close to my ear, “Later I’ll show you exactly how proud of you I am when I let you take me up the ass.” I almost swallowed my tongue when I laughed. He pulled away so we were eye to eye. “I’ll even go down on you before I tell you how much I love you.”

My breath caught and my heart stilled before it let loose and threatened to gallop out of my chest. I struggled to speak, to react, to do anything but gaze at this beautiful man before me. While his shit-eating grin was back, the one I thought was all levels of sexy, his eyes were warm and filled with truth.

“Come on,” he said, “you have people waiting to congratulate you.” He took my hand and stepped away, turning from me.

I gripped his hand and remained rooted. “Wait.”

He spun back with raised brows.

“I love you too.” My heart tripped over itself as I spoke, wishing we were already home so we could carry out his plans.

With one step, his lips reconnected to mine. It was all too brief, but the few catcalls brought me out of love- and lust-fueled haze enough to remind me we had an audience. He grinned against my mouth, my hand still in his. “Later,” he promised.

Stepping more fully into the bar, I was accosted by Carter, who pulled me into a hug. I should have been weirded out, considering our past and possibly by the fact I was now his boss, but I happily hugged him back and warmed at his excited congratulations. It took five minutes before Ted passed me a drink.

“Congrats, Scott. It’s quite an achievement.”

I felt heat creep to my cheeks, overwhelmed by all of the support. “Thank you.” I reached out and shook his hand.

“I finally met your sister.” I followed his line of sight and saw Jenna with a drink in hand, chatting to Lauren. Her laughter lifted into the air, and I relaxed at the sight. It was good to see her looking so carefree. “She’s great.”

I turned back to Ted. “She really is and is an amazing mom.”

He nodded. “Do you have any other family here?”

I shook my head, refusing to let my stomach bottom out. As far as I was concerned, my sister and nephews were it.

“He does.” A hand clamped on my shoulder, and I startled, eyes wide. “Congratulations, kiddo.”

I turned, my smile immediate as Denver tugged me close, patting my back. “You’re here?”

He grinned at me. “I would say Carter can be tenacious when he wants to be, but it didn’t take much convincing. I wanted to be here to celebrate with you.”

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