Not that I usually noticed that shit anyway, but surely someone would’ve.
I looked over to the living room, searching out Rae, and saw the diamond flashing on her hand.
“And no one’s noticed?”
“Well, no one did at that breakfast. And after that all went down, we decided to hold off telling everyone until things calmed down with y’all. So, we don’t wear our rings outside the house anymore . . . for now. But Rae forgot one day, and Mom saw. I thought she was gonna kill me when she realized we’d done everything without telling her.”
“Fuck, Savannah might.”
“Savannah?” he asked with a huff. “What about Em?”
“Emberly doesn’t know?” I asked, amusement building in my chest. “You’re screwed.”
“Well, if we’d invited her, then we would’ve had to invite Cayson. If we were inviting Cayson, we might as well have invited all y’all.”
My head bobbed in a slow nod. “And you’re good with how that went down?”
“Yeah.” Genuine happiness poured from him. After a second, he shrugged. “Rae’s impulsive and still shuts down when she gets overwhelmed. And there are times when it scares the shit out of me because I like stability and need to know what’s going on with the people I love—that they’re okay—her most of all. But I know she needs to do things at a different pace. And when she’s ready for something, she doesn’t ease into it. She dives headfirst in this way that’s a perfect mixture of us, and I love it.”
I nodded for a while before a huff of disbelief left me. “You’re married.”
His answering smile was damn near contagious.
Grabbing his shoulder, I pulled him in for a hug. “I’m happy for you, Saw.”
“Did you tell him?” Rae asked as she appeared beside us.
“About the puppy?” Sawyer asked. “Babe, he saw her.”
Rae smacked him in the stomach and looked pointedly at me, waiting for my reaction.
I just dipped my head as I reached for the door behind me. “Mrs. Dixon.”
Excitement burst from her in an instant, her eyes darting back to my brother as she said, “That’s my favorite.”
Sawyer pulled her close, tone dripping with meaning as he focused on her mouth. “Want me to remind you of my favorite?”
“I’m leaving,” I muttered as I opened the door, looking to Rae as I stepped out of it. “Welcome to the family.”
My head shook as I hurried down the walkway to my truck, still trying to come to grips with the fact that Sawyer had gotten married. Without telling anyone. Especially Emberly, the girl who had been his best friend since they were getting out of diapers, and who was Rae’s sister.
But they’d have to deal with her and Cayson later. They’d have to let Hunter know he’d now missed two weddings.
And I’d have to tell my wife . . . after.
First, I had a hell of a lot of making up to do for making her wait. And even more frustrations and needs that we had to take out on each other.
But by the time I made it home, Savannah’s car wasn’t there. And when I called her, I followed the ringing of her phone to the kitchen . . . that was empty.
I moved through the house, needing to check even though I knew she wasn’t there. But with the way she’d just collapsed the night before, and with her being pregnant, I couldn’t stop from searching every room as I pulled up the first of two numbers I thought to try.
“Hey,” Hunter answered, sounding confused.
I stopped walking and leaned up against a doorway. “What?”
“What do you mean what, you called me.”
A harsh breath burst from me. “You answered like you don’t know why I would call you.”
“I don’t think you’ve ever called me before,” he explained dryly.
My eyes rolled. “Just wondering if you’ve heard from Savannah at all today.”
“No, but Mads and Avalee ended up not coming over because Savannah showed up there. She might still be there.”
I hesitated before confirming, “Savannah’s with Madison?”
“Yeah,” he said after a moment as if it had surprised him too. “Considering how long ago that was, I’m guessing it’s going well.”
I grunted some sort of acknowledgment. “Good,” I said as I pushed from the wall.
“Need me to call Mads?”
“No,” I said quickly. “Savannah’s phone’s here, but she isn’t, so I was just looking for her.”
“All right,” he rumbled, sounding unconvinced. “Talk to you later.”
I grunted some sort of goodbye as I ended the call and slowly forced my fingers to loosen their tight grip on the phone as fear moved through me, thick and hot, at the possible outcomes of Savannah and Madison talking.
There was nothing Madison could tell Savannah that she didn’t already know. But the slightest possibility of sliding backward after the progress we’d made had me anxious. Muscles twitching restlessly and blood thrumming a chaotic beat in my veins as I went back through the house, trying to keep myself busy.
Trying to keep my mind busy.
Making a mental checklist of all the things that needed to be done and looking for anything Sawyer might need to fix before people started arriving in a few days for graduation.
But by the time a car door closed out front only a handful of minutes later, I was ready to snap. Needing to see that girl to know I wasn’t gonna lose her again when I’d finally gotten her back in my arms.
“Beau?” My name rang through the house before the front door shut, and my eyes slowly closed at the way just the sound of her voice slid over me. Calming me and setting my blood on fire all at once.
“Upstairs,” I called out as I finished turning off everything in the guest room I’d been checking, locking the door behind me as I listened to Savannah quickly climbing the steps.
I turned just as she reached the landing, every part of my body instantly reacting to the way she was looking at me. Like she’d been waiting for this and needed me to put an end to her aching. Challenging me, as if she was waiting to see if I’d make good on my earlier words.
“I’m late,” she said, breath hitching and golden eyes flaring with heated excitement when I started toward her.
“I noticed.”
“I’m home.”
A wicked smirk tugged at my mouth as I grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled it over my head. “Noticed that too.”
We crashed into each other, mouths fighting for dominance in a passionate kiss and fingers hurrying through every piece of clothing as I walked her backward until we hit a wall. A soft giggle climbing up her throat and getting lost in the kiss and her moans as I tugged her bottom lip between my teeth.
Turning her around, I used my foot to shift her legs wider apart, the head of my cock already pressing against her wet entrance.
A groan of need and appreciation built in my chest when she pushed back against me, her pleas getting lost in her ragged breaths.
I dragged the edges of my teeth down the slope of her neck and nipped at her shoulder, my fingers digging tight into her hips at her responding shudder.
“Savannah—”