Page 118 of Sinful Skulls
“I planned a trip for the two of us to get away for a bit. After everything that happened, I was feeling a little selfish and wanted you all to myself. It’s just dumb luck that it worked out perfectly with your surprise wedding.”
“You planned our honeymoon without even knowing it,” she rasps in disbelief.
“I do a lot of things without realizing what I’m doing.”
We both start laughing at exactly the same time. I start the truck, and we wave to everyone as we turn out of the lot.
“Where are we going?” she asks again, bouncing in her seat. “Are we going back to the kinky cabin?”
“Jackson said we have a plane to catch, remember?”
“So, no kinky cabin.” She sighs in disappointment.
“Check the glove box.”
Her gaze bounces between me and the dash. She hesitantly opens it, and when she spots the travel guide, she covers her face with both hands.
“Hey.” I reach over and wrap my fingers around her leg. “I want to take you to all of the places you didn’t get a chance to see. Let’s go make some new memories. I’ve got it all planned out.”
I’m beginning to worry I’ve made a huge mistake when her hands fall away from her face, dropping into her lap.
“How is it so easy with you?” she asks, turning to stare at the side of my face as I drive.
“I’ve been wondering the same thing about you, but I guess that’s how it is when you find your soulmate.” I smile and wink at her.
She shakes her head, always amused with my cheesiness. “I love you so much.”
“Forever and beyond,” I say, giving her knee a little squeeze.
Chapter Forty-Four
Daisy
“Paris was so much better with Brody by my side. Everything is better with him. The sun is brighter, the food tastier, and the air that fills my lungs is lighter.”
The women all laugh.
“I never saw Brody as a romantic type of guy,” Lexie says on a yawn.
We’re all a little beat after the run today. It was my first and Rachel’s last.
Rachel settles into her chair, leaning her head back to look up at the stars. She brings her beer to her lips, taking a long drink. “I always knew he’d be a romancer. He just needed to find the right girl.” Her head turns to the side to look at me. “Every year on my birthday he brings me a bouquet of lilacs. He was four years old when he handed them to me the first time.”
Her gaze goes back to the stars. “We were living in town back then. He just showed up one day while Jackson and I were outside playing, and he never left. Jackson was only one, butBrody didn’t seem to mind their age difference. He took my son under his little wing. He was gentle with him, so I didn’t mind, and it was obvious Jackson enjoyed his company. He’d stay from sunup till sundown. One night I followed him after he left, so I could see where he lived. The next day while Raffe was watching the boys, I went back over there and met his grandmother.” She laughs lightly. “What a woman she was. She was sweet and kind, but she was old. I promised her that day I would look after him until my last breath.”
Something strange tugs at my heart, and just then Brody steps around the corner.
“Were your ears burning?” she asks him.
He pauses to give me a kiss before going to her and scooping her up in his arms. “Were you telling them about my childhood antics?”
“I was.”
He laughs and starts to walk away with her. “Well, you ladies are out of luck to hear any more stories because Jackson and I are stealing her.”
The three of them are going out for ice cream. It’s a tradition born out of necessity. Rachel used to bribe the boys to be good on run days with a treat afterward.
As soon as they disappear around the building, Jesse’s sister, Katie, says what we’re all feeling out loud. “Life is bullshit sometimes.” She tosses her beer can into the fire and walks down the hill.
