“You should leave some stuff here. I hope this is a new normal for us.”
I nod. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Good.” He kisses me again. “Now, as much as I love you in nothing but my shirt, Conrad is on his way to pick me up, so you need to get dressed.” The words are barely out of his mouth before he lifts me into his arms and carries me back to his bed. Together, we get dressed before making our way back to the kitchen, where I finally get my coffee. Grant makes us some toast, and we both slather it with strawberry jelly. It’s one of the best mornings I’ve ever had.
“Con should be here any minute,” Grant says. I’m sitting on the counter, and he’s standing between my legs.
“Yeah, Aspen too.”
“You coming to Sunday dinner with me tonight? Aspen is welcome too.”
“Yeah, we’ll be there.”
“I love you,” he says, pressing his lips to mine. My heart soars with his words. I never thought I would trust those three little words from a man again, but Grant, he proved me wrong.
“Yo!” Conrad yells out as he enters the kitchen. “Damn. Another one bites the dust,” he says, grinning. “Morning, Rory.” He smirks.
“It’s Aurora, asshole,” Grant fires off. There is no way that he knows my family calls me that. The smirk tells me he thinks he’s made it up on his own.
“I like Rory.” His grin grows wider. “You don’t mind if I call you that, do you, sis?” he asks me.
How do I say no to that? Besides, I like it. I feel like Aspen and I are a part of this big, crazy, loving family. I’ve missed this feeling of… family. I miss my parents. Mom keeps asking when they can come and visit, and I realize now that we need to make that happen. “Sure.” I shrug.
“Traitor,” Grant whispers against my lips.
“You coming with us?” Conrad asks, making himself a cup of coffee.
“No. Aspen is on her way to pick me up.”
“I could have taken you home,” Grant grumbles.
“Yes, but now you don’t have to. You guys can leave from here,” I tell him, just as there’s a knock at the door. “That’s probably Aspen.”
“I’ll get it. You two”—Conrad points at us—“get all of that out of your system so we can head out.” He’s laughing as he goes to answer the front door.
“It’s really hard for me to pull away from you right now,” Grant says, wrapping his arms around me.
“I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Yeah,” he says, leaning in for another kiss.
“Be warned.” I hear Conrad tell my sister. “It’s sugary sweet with lots of canoodling in there,” he says, his tone falsely serious.
“Oh, good. I didn’t miss it.” I hear Aspen clap her hands as they step into the kitchen.
I roll my eyes at my sister as Grant pulls away and turns to face our siblings, his back resting against my front. “Show’s over,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Damn it.” Aspen laughs. “I always miss the good stuff.”
“Hang out with this group for long, and you’ll get your fill. Marsh and I are the only two normal ones,” Conrad tells her.
“Normal? You telling me you don’t like a good make-out session, Conrad Riggins?” Aspen asks, placing her hands on her hips.
“I’m all for a good make-out session.” He winks at her. “But this—” He points to Grant and me. “—it’s nauseating.”
“You’re just jealous,” Grant fires back.
He looks at me and winks. “I mean, if I had a woman who looked like Rory here, I guess I could understand it.” He’s grinning like a fool knowing that he’s goading his brother.
“Fuck off, she’s mine,” Grant says, turning to the side and wrapping one arm around my waist.
“Aw,” Aspen coos.
“Come on, lover boy. We’ve got furniture to move,” Conrad says, draining his coffee and placing his empty cup in the sink.
“I’ll be right out,” Grant tells him. He doesn’t wait for them to reply, or to leave for that matter, when he cups my face in his big hands and kisses me slow and deep.
It’s just us. Everything else fades to black as he seduces me with his lips. “You want me to swing by and pick you guys up later?”
“No, we can drive.”
He nods and lifts me from the counter. Hand in hand, he leads us to the door where we slip into our shoes and jackets. I grab my purse from the table by the door and step out onto the porch waiting for him to close and lock up. Conrad is standing next to the driver’s side door of Aspen’s car, and the windows are down. It’s March in Tennessee, so it’s still chilly. I’m about to ask her what’s going on when I hear music flowing out of her car windows. It takes me a minute but as soon as I hear it, my face flames. Grant roars with laughter and pulls me into his chest as The Lonely Island’s “I Just Had Sex” blares through the morning air. Do you know the one with Akon? Yeah, that song.
Aspen is laughing, and Conrad is bent over at the waist, doing the same. Grant’s chest shakes with his laughter, and all I can do is hold onto him and let my laughter bubble-free as well.
“Come on, babe, you have to admit that was a good one. I’m surprised my brothers haven’t pulled that same thing.”
“That’s classic!” Conrad says, gasping for air over his laughter.
“Hey.” Grant tilts my chin up to look at him. “I love you.”
Butterflies go crazy as I stare into his eyes, and I know without a shadow of a doubt he means it. This strong, amazing, gorgeous man loves me. He really loves me. “I love you too.” I smile. Even with the ribbing of our siblings, I’m happy. Happier than I’ve ever been. My heart feels lighter, and I owe that all to this incredible man who’s holding me close to his chest. For the first time in a very long time, life is looking up for me, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Chapter 19
Grant
I’m still laughing when I climb into Conrad’s truck. “Was that your idea?”
“Nope, but fuck, I wish I would have thought of it. That was epic.” He grins, backing out of my driveway.
“She’s something else.” I shake my head thinking about Aspen and the look on Aurora’s face.
“You and Aurora looked awful cozy.”
“She’s my girlfriend. Is there another way for us to look?” I ask.
“No.” He chuckles. “She just seems to be more relaxed.”
“Yeah, with each day she drops another layer of the shield she has erected. I swear if I ever meet the jackass, I’m going to kill him,” I seethe.
“Wow, hold up now. What jackass and those are some strong words, brother.”
“Her ex is the jackass, and you better hope one of you are around if he and I do ever cross paths.”
“What did he do?” Con’s voice is deadly calm, which is the opposite of my happy-go-lucky carefree little brother.
“He tore her down,” I say, running my fingers through my hair.