Page 134 of Unravel Me

“I absolutely do know it. We’ve been talking about you for three months now. They’ve been dying to meet the girl who has me smiling at my phone all the time.”

Heat touches my cheeks, and I hide my smile. It’s been two weeks since Adam and I decided to take things slow, and the man has picked right back up with being a permanent fixture in my life, except it’s even better than before, even without the physical stuff.

He finished his preseason games last week, and between all the training and practices and surgeries, we’ve seen each other every day. Sometimes I wake up to him confirming my Starbucks order, and thirty minutes later he’s at my door, helping me get Connor ready for daycare while I savor my coffee. Sometimes he’s leaning against his truck when I leave school for the day, a ridiculously handsome smile waiting for me, a goofy grin on Bear’s happy face. And sometimes—my favorite of times—he shows up in the evenings with teas and muffins, helps me with Connor’s bath, reads him his favorite books and puts him to bed, and then curls up on the couch with Archie, Marco, and me to watchJeopardy!.

He’s squeezed himself into every crevice of my life, and everything feels so full I’m nearly ready to burst.

“At least I’ve already met some of them,” I say as we start up a long, winding driveway.

“You mean at the clinic after Bear’s surgery when they were all there?”

“No, when they came to Wildheart.”

“Hmmm?”

“Garrett and Jaxon? When they came to see me at Wildheart?”

Adam arches a brow. “Pardon me?”

“Yeah, they wore the…the fake mustaches. Did you not know?”

Adam trips over his own feet, somehow kicking a shoe off in the process. “Fake mustaches?”

“Back up.” I come to a stop, and Adam’s still trying to put his shoe back on. “If you didn’t know they came to spy on me, where did you think Jaxon got Mittens from?”

He throws his arms overhead. “He told me he heard little meows coming from the dumpster in the parking garage of his condo, and he climbed in and saved Mittens! He sent me a picture of Mittens next to an old sock and a crumpled bag of Doritos and said, ‘Look what I found in the garbage!’”

“Wow. That’s a really elaborate lie. I’m impressed.”

Adam blinks at me, and then, again: “Fake mustaches?”

“Garrett’s fell off and he ran away after pretending he got a phone call.”

Adam scrubs his hands down his face in slow motion. With a sigh, he gestures at the sprawling house before us. “Well, let’s go meet the rest of them.”

He tucks the wagon onto the front porch and takes Connor’s hand in his. When he opens the front door, a lively golden retriever welcomes us by dropping to his back, rolling around on the floor. Bear joins in, and Connor squeals with laughter, dropping to the floor so he can get in on the fun, and I’m busy freaking out over whether I should shake hands, hug, or offer a simple, friendly wave to everyone I meet tonight. I turn to Adam, about to blurt the question, but Garrett Andersen strolls down the staircase, grinning when he sees me.

“Rosie! Welcome to Carter’s Palace of Love.” He wraps me in a hug as soon as I start shoving my hand out in the space between us. “We’re huggers here.”

“Well, there was that one time you took a dildo to the face in way of greeting.” Jaxon Riley appears behind him, winding an arm around me. “Oh, hey, I can’t wait to show you all my pictures of Mitts.” His eyes dart to Adam over my shoulder. “Uh, this stray cat, I, uh…found in the dumpster.” He winks at me, then frowns at Adam. “What are you grumpy about?”

“Fake mustaches?”

Jaxon grimaces. “Oh.”

Garrett grits his teeth. “You heard about that, huh?” Suddenly, his eyes widen, and he cups a hand around his ear. “What’s that, Jennie?Coming!” He takes off down the hallway at the speed of light, leaving Jaxon staring at us.

“So, I guess it’s just us. Well, I, uh…” He’s nearly as fast as Garrett when he makes a run for it, except he slips at the end of the hall, crashing into the wall. “Owww.”

“You deserved that,” a gorgeous woman says, tossing her long blonde locks over her shoulder. When Jaxon reaches a hand up for her, she nudges it away with her foot. “So cute you think I’m helping you. Cara Brodie gets on her knees for no man.” She winks at me, poking the inside of her cheek with her tongue. “Except my husband.”

Connor climbs to his feet, pointing at Cara as she hugs me. “Pwetty.”

“Oh, bless your soul, sweet boy.” She scoops him into her arms. “You have such amazing taste, don’t you?”

He runs his hand down her hair, fascinated. “Wooow.”

“I did the same thing the night I met her,” Emmett Brodie says, nudging my side as he appears at it. He smiles at me before wrapping me in possibly the sweetest, best bear hug I’ve ever received. “I’m the lucky husband.”

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