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“Cassidy Duke, stop your rambling and kiss me, please,” she cut me off. My eyes screeched back to hers.
“Did you just say yes?” I gasped.
She rolled her eyes. “Obviously, dummy.”
I grabbed her cheeks and planted my lips against her.
This was different. Not just in celebration of the fact that there was no confusion between us about her feelings toward me, but because it solidified that whatever I was doing was enough for her. And as she sealed our kiss, my promise earlier to give her more became as urgent as the need to get the proof that Wayde was behind everything.
Her lips pressed tighter against my own, simple and gentle but firm. Despite my best effort to focus on the fact that we were kissing, giddiness because of her agreement to be my girl pulled a smile on my lips.
She giggled against the kiss, feeling the movement. Ending it but not moving away, I tightened my hands on her beautiful face.
“I’m going to go shower now,” she whispered.
I nodded, brushing my lips up and down across her mouth. “Alright.”
“With you,” she added. My stomach flipped, thunder crashing against every cell within my body, sparking excitement like I’d never experienced before. Slowly, she backed out of my hold, sliding down from the couch. My hands remained in place, cupping cheeks that were no longer there. Coated in disbelief, my body refused to move.
“Come on, Casanova,” she said, slowly backing up toward the hallway. Her gentle coaxing tugged me out of the sludge that held me bound to the couch.
“Yes, ma’am,” I managed to say, nothing on my mind but thrilling anticipation for what was going to occur, and somehow my feet found their feeling. I jumped up from the couch, followed her into the bathroom, and kicked the door shut behind us.
∞∞∞
Leaning back against the wall of Weston and Tenley’s bustling home, my eyes tracked Briar. She was talking softly with Trixie of all people, though Trixie’s mouth moved way more often than Briar’s. A gentle smile rested on my girl’s lips. Lips that I desperately craved to feel again, yet knew that right now, disappearing from this little party to do so was completely inappropriate.
Glancing around the living room and kitchen that was filled with my entire family plus Tenley’s, I couldn’t help but smile at all of the love and care that was shared in this one moment. Tenley lounged in a recliner, with her mom sitting close by. Weston stood in the kitchen of his house, newborn in his arms, stealing another snack while Remington chatted with him.
For a moment, everything felt as it should be, in a way I’d never experienced before.
A shrill whistle pierced the low buzz of chatter. My dad silenced us with one sound while seated on the couch. Tenley stood up from the recliner as Weston walked over to the fireplace and stopped in front of the mantle, holding his daughter, who was wrapped in a cow-patterned blanket.
“I know everyone’s been asking about our daughter’s name,” Weston began, glancing down at the tiny human that literally turned such a massive grown man into a sap. “We’ve had it picked since we found out Tenley was pregnant.”
Tenley smiled and ran a finger over the little girl’s cheek; a single tear slipped down her own face. “One of them is for the man who may be gone, but now will never be forgotten. He shaped me into the woman that I am today and loved my mom in a way that helped me strive for the husband that I have now. He was strong, smart, and kind. All of the things that I want for this little girl,” Tenley explained and looked up, connecting with her mom. Rooney stood behind Rosemary and placed his hands gently onto her shoulders. She patted his weathered touch, tears brimming in her own eyes.
Weston then continued the explanation. “The other name is for my best friend. For someone who sacrificed more for me than was necessary but never once complained about it. It’s for the person who’s always been by my side, dedicated and loyal and passionate to everything this person sets their mind to. Things that I want for and in my daughter.” He then took a step away from the fireplace. His footsteps echoed loudly in the silence that laid upon the entire house like a warm blanket in the middle of winter.
Rounding the couch, his blue eyes locked onto mine. He wasn’t wearing a hat, so there was no mistaking who he was looking at. A smile spread across his face, one that I’d only seen since Tenley started coming around, but this time it was directed at me.
He stopped in front of me and held out his newborn. “Meet your niece, Cassidy Charlie Duke. CeCe for short,” he said.
I stared at my brother through a blurry haze that couldn’t be tears. Nah, there was no way. There was another reason for the wet trail that I quickly brushed away from my cheeks. “I’m proud of you,” Weston quietly added as he slipped his daughter into my arms.
Inhaling a shaky breath as I blinked back tears, I looked down at the warm, sleeping baby. She already had some dark hair like Weston, but as she squirmed and stretched, blinking her eyes open, I was met with the same green shade as Tenley’s eyes. “Hi there, CeCe,” I whispered, adjusting the soft blanket that brushed against her chin.
Weston placed a hand on my shoulder as I blew out a heavy breath trying to stop the tears, but it was useless. “She’s so beautiful,” I added, glancing at my brother—who was also silently crying.
Weston gave me a crooked smile and nodded once. Suddenly, he pulled me into a hug, careful not to squish the infant that cooed in my arms. “Tenley and I know why you weren’t there at the hospital. Whatever you need, whatever Briar needs, we’ve got you,” he whispered in my ear, squeezing my shoulder once, and then let go.
“Thank you,” I said, looking into my brother’s gaze. “For everything, really. Especially this, but everything else.”
He used the back of his hand to wipe away his own tears and looked off to the side, landing on Briar. My gaze followed and landed on that beautiful woman who was crying herself. “Now, don’t be stupid and mess things up. I like what she’s done to you,” Weston added, and I chuckled as Tenley joined our little private circle and chatter resumed.
“And you’re the only thing that makes sense to her right now,” Tenley said.
Pulling my brows together, I wiped away the lingering tears and looked at my sister-in-law. “What?”
