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“You don’t need to be sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong. I overreacted. I speak to Bruce once a week because he causes problems for me if I don’t, but other than that, he isn’t a part of my life, and I like it that way. I refuse to let him or your mom cause problems for us, and if that means we cut them out of our lives completely, then that’s what we’ll do.”
Swallowing thickly, I force down the argument that jumps to my lips. I don’t want to cut my family out of my life. I might not be close to my mom, but I love my siblings, and right now, my mom and Bruce are their gatekeepers. But I also don’t want to argue with Oz, so instead I stay quiet, my gaze firmly fixed on his T-shirt-covered chest.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers again, hooking his finger under my chin and lifting my lips up to his waiting ones. The kiss is soft and sweet and gentle, all of the things Oz isn’t. It’s a strange mix of apology and control, and even though I try not to, I find myself sinking into his domination.
“Okay?” he asks, pulling his lips away even as he keeps my face looking at him.
I nod, and he stares at me for a moment before he nods back. “Go sit. I’ll make the coffee,” he says, pressing a quick peck to my lips before he turns me around and gestures for me to go and sit back down on the couch with Danny, who has been suspiciously quiet this whole time.
His smile is sympathetic and understanding when I take my seat beside him again. “Have you met the whole Barnett clan yet?” he asks, thankfully changing the subject.
“Yeah, Betty invited me for dinner a couple of nights ago. There’s…a lot of them,” I say diplomatically.
“Seven families living under one roof, it’s insane that they don’t all want to kill each other. I can barely stand seeing my brothers on the holidays.”
“How many brothers do you have?”
“Two. I’m the baby and the favorite,” he says, smiling proudly.
A soft giggle falls from my lips just as Oz scoops me off the couch and sits back down in my seat, positioning me in his lap. “Here’s your coffee, baby,” he says, handing me a steaming mug. “Have we decided what we’re eating? We can get Chinese delivered, but anything else we’ll have to pick up, or we can drive into town and eat at a restaurant.”
“I’m easy, I’ll eat anything, you know me,” Danny says, relaxing back into the couch and spreading his long legs out ahead of him.
“Do you eat Chinese?” Oz asks, holding me tightly around the waist like he’s worried I’m going to try to run from him.
“I like Chinese,” I say with a shrug.
“Danny, go grab the menu,” Oz orders, pressing a soft kiss against the side of my neck.
Jumping up, Danny hops over the back of the couch instead of walking around, throwing himself back into his seat a moment later with a crumpled menu in his hand.
“Here,” he says, handing it to me. “The kung pao beef is fucking delicious.”
“She’s a vegetarian,” Oz tells him.
“Urgh, god, why? All the good foods are meat.”
“Shut up.” Oz laughs, reaching over and slapping Danny on the back of the head.
The rest of the evening is easy, Danny is great company, and Oz relaxes the moment that I do. We eat great Chinese food and watch a show about military police catching killers, and it’s oddly simple and normal.
When I yawn a fifth time, Oz glares at Danny pointedly. “I should get going, I promised Parker I’d beat her ass at Call of Duty tonight anyway.”
“Who’s Parker?” Oz asks, his tone curious.
“We went to high school together, she was a few years younger than me. I guess I knew her sister better than her, but Parker’s cool, we game together sometimes.”
I don’t know Danny, but even to me, it sounds like he’s trying to downplay this girl’s importance to him.
“She coming to visit any time soon?” Oz asks.
“Nah, man, she’s back home in Vermont. I doubt she’ll be finding her way to Montana anytime soon.”
“Night, bro,” Oz says, lifting me off his lap and trailing Danny to the door.
“Nice to meet you properly, Danny.”
“You too, Etta,” he says, waving as he steps outside and walks toward his house next door.
