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“Personally, I love it when you’re not clothed,” Ivy stated.
“We know, Ivy,” Poppy sighed, hand over her belly as shecame around the hood of the truck. Her eyes flicked to mine, and I saw the question there.
It wasn’t a question of why now or why not her. It wasn’t a question of whether we were going to do this.
She wanted to know how we were going to do this—the last big step into this new part of our life together. No secrets. No lies. No doubts.
No more fear and no more hiding.
With a hammering heart, I waited for her by the deck steps, slowly extending my hand when she came closer. On the deck, I heard the slight catch in Ivy’s breath, but I didn’t take my eyes off Poppy.
Her smile was wide and beautiful and that was all it took for the hammering to slip gears—something slow and steady and sure. Poppy’s fingers wove easily between mine, and when I stepped forward, Cameron’s eyes were locked right on that telling gesture.
Ivy’s face broke open into a massive, shit-eating grin. “I knew it,” she hissed under her breath. She smacked his chest. “Pay up, Wilder.”
Together, we ascended the steps, and Cameron’s frame expanded on a deep breath, his face unreadable. At my side, Poppy was a warm presence, glancing up at me with trust and love in her big brown eyes.
God, what a sight. And she was all mine.
My eyes closed a second, and I tightened my grip on her hand in a brief squeeze. When I opened them again, I was facing her brother.
“I’d like a word with you, if that’s okay,” I said to my best friend.
Slowly, he nodded, then glanced down at Ivy, who was still smiling. His face softened.
“Pops, how about we go inside?” Ivy said. “I have a new cookie recipe I tested out. You can be the first to try them.”
Poppy’s smile tightened at the edges, her voice taking on a forced brightness. “Oh. Great.”
Cameron smothered a grin.
Before she walked away, I tugged on her hand, and when she tilted her chin up in my direction, I leaned down and brushed a soft kiss over her lips. Her cheeks were pretty and pink when she pulled back. “All right then,” she whispered. “Guess you were tempted too.”
I licked my lips as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and kept my eyes locked on her as she walked away.
Ivy shook her head, immediately hustling Poppy inside the house as she peppered her with whispered questions. Over her shoulder, Poppy gave me one last look, and I smiled gently in return.
“Holy shit,” Cameron breathed when the door clicked shut. “I think you better start talking now.”
We took our same seats, me opposite of him with a table between us. But this time, my soul was completely at ease, any of the initial nerves were gone, and I met his gaze evenly.
“I love her,” I told him simply. “And I wanted you to know.”
Cameron sat back in his seat, studying me intensely. “When did this realization come about?”
I let out a deep breath. “The first trip I took was the day after Poppy’s twenty-first birthday. Do you remember that?”
His gaze sharpened. “Vaguely. You didn’t stay long at the bar that night,” he said slowly, like he was still retrieving the memory. “You came back from getting a drink and…”
Instead of saying anything else, I let Cameron come to his own conclusion.
His jaw went slack, and he exhaled a quiet, incredulous laugh. “What are you saying, Jax? That trip was about my sister too?”
I merely stared back at him, eventually giving him a slow nod in answer.
Cameron’s brow furrowed, and his throat worked on a visible swallow. “Why are you telling me this now?”
Bracing my elbows on my thighs, I sat forward and clasped my hands between my legs. “I can’t go to your dad for his blessing,” I said quietly. “I know I could talk to your mom, but I have a feeling you’ll be a tougher critic than she will.” Cameron’s eyes cut down to the ground for a moment, then lifted to mine again as I kept talking. “You’re my best friend,” I told him. “And I love her. I think I’ve loved her a lot longer than I ever wanted to admit.”
