He can do what he wants to me. It won’t matter. There’s no way I’m admitting out loud how I was planning to follow him around like a lovesick puppy after graduation.
“Now it all makes sense,” he mutters.
“What makes sense?”
“Your mom never liked me but when she came to talk to me before graduation, she was downright mean. She blamed me for your decision.”
I don’t want to discuss my mother. I don’t want to think about how the woman, who should love me no matter what, doesn’t love me at all.
“Can we—”
My question is cut off when Cash’s lips crash down on mine.
“Thank you,” he mutters against my mouth. He trails kisses along my jaw and down my neck as he draws me into his lap.
“I don’t deserve you, Indy, but I’m going to spend the rest of my life working my ass off to make certain you don’t regret being with me.”
I lace my hands through his hair. “I could never regret you.”
Even if I end up with my heart shattered when he leaves Winter Falls, I couldn’t regret the time with him.
So much for not jumping in with both feet.
Chapter 23
Family – a whole bunch of people who live to drive you bonkers
Cash
“Are you ready for this?” Indy asks when we stop on the sidewalk in front of the house.
“This is crazy,” I say as I stare up at the house. “Why am I going to dinner at my biological father’s wife’s house?”
“Widow’s house,” Riley corrects as he and his brothers join us on the sidewalk.
“And you’re here because you’re family,” his twin Brody adds.
Family? Am I really part of their family? I scan the faces of my half-brothers and they each smile at me in greeting. Huh. Maybe I am part of this family.
Indy inches backwards. “I should go.”
“Why are you leaving?” Elder asks before she can escape.
She motions toward them. “This appears to be a boys’ club.”
“Our wives… ahemmywife and their girlfriends are inside,” Elder says.
Brody rolls his eyes. “He always has to point out how he’s married and we’re not.”
Miller puffs out his chest. “My fiancé and I will get married soon.”
Elder snorts. “Really? Has your fiancé agreed on a date yet?”
Miller growls at Elder but Damon steps in between the two. “Can we go inside where it’s warm now?”
Brody elbows him. “Someone’s California is showing.”
“Which is faster – hot or cold?” Elder asks with a grin. “Hot. You can catch a cold.”