Page 225 of The Maxwell Brothers
"What's this?" I asked.
"Sweets. I don't like to come empty-handed."
This woman! It was like she couldn’t help herself from sharing.
She stepped inside, and I took the box, putting it on one of the small tables in the entrance hall.
"Why did you do that?" she asked. "I can multitask, hold a box and take off my coat."
"Yeah, but I want to kiss you first, and I don't want any barriers between us."
"Oh, okay. Go ahead, then. I like how seriously you take kissing."
"Always," I said before sealing my mouth over hers.
I brought a hand to the back of her neck and the other to her hips, pressing her against me. Her coat only reached to her ass, so I parted her legs with my knees, needing to get even closer. Fucking hell, I could neverjustkiss this woman—I needed to devour her.
She sighed against my mouth, leaning into me. She fit so perfectly in my life, and I belonged with her.
When we pulled apart, she smiled shyly, covering her mouth. "Are my lips red? You'll give us away."
"You're beautiful," I said.
"That's not what I asked. You're naughty today," she went on. "And I can't wait to see you behind the grill."
"You don't like the cold," I said, and she laughed.
"I'll brave it to see you in front of the fire. It just speaks to me on a primal level."
I burst out laughing, taking her hand and leading her to the rest of the group.
"Shouldn’t I take off my coat?” she asked.
“Now that you're here, we're all going to go outside to the grill."
"Okay, then. Just let me take the box." She carried it in one hand.
“Sam’s here too,” I informed her, pointing to my brother, who walked up to us.
“Kendra, great to meet you!” he exclaimed.
“Sam, hi. Wow, you flew in for your Gran’s birthday?”
“I’m staying for Christmas too. Gives me time to catch up with this lot. There’s so much going on.” He winked at me. I cocked a brow.
As we all reached the group, Kendra said, “Hi, everyone. I brought some goodies from my favorite cupcake shop."
"Oh, you shouldn't have, Kendra," Mom said, "but that's very sweet of you. I'll put it in the fridge for now. We took out the grill supplies before, so I think we can just grab our coats and go."
"Okay, everyone, let's go," Dad said.
I looked warningly at my brothers, especially Travis, because he had this shit-eating grin that would give us away. Luke elbowed Travis, which just made everything more suspicious.
Kendra was looking away, at least, so there was that. There was no way she caught any of it.
A few minutes later, I changed my mind.
As we all went out in the backyard, carrying paper plates, vegetables, and meat, she leaned in to me. "Why do I feel like you've had one of those silent conversations with your brothers back there?"
