“Told you,” Sawyer says, bumping her hip into mine.
“I’m still scared, but talking to the two of you helped me. He was already working me out of my shell. I think it was hearing Layla’s story. She lived through so much, and she’s not willing to let it keep her from living her life. It’s not keeping her from loving and being loved. What she went through, it makes my ex look like a little old lady.”
“Welcome to the family, Aurora.” She smiles.
“Not yet,” I tell her.
“Oh, it’s going to happen. Mark my words. These guys don’t toss out I love yous unless it’s something they feel deep. That’s fine. I’ll get to say I told you so.”
“I hope you do,” I admit. “Now, we’ve got to serve up this cake.” We get to work making up eight plates of all six samples and carrying them into the living room before passing them out. “Now, each flavor is a different color. I need you to taste each of them and tell me which colors are your favorite.” That’s all the encouragement they need. Everyone dives in, including Layla and me for the second time.
Over the next hour, we debate on the best flavor, and we’re still not any closer to deciding. “This is all your fault.” Owen points at me. “If you weren’t so damn good at your job.” He smiles, shaking his head.
“How about this? I change the cake from three small tiers to four, and then I surround it with cupcakes of the remaining two flavors?” I suggest.
“That’s a lot of work for you,” Layla says, chewing on her bottom lip. I can tell she likes this answer to our little dilemma, but she’s worried about me.
“Pft.” I wave off her concern. “This is what I do. Besides, I have the best assistant ever. We can do this, no problem.”
“Are you sure, sis?” Owen asks.
I open my mouth to reply but shut it, fighting back my emotions. I nod instead. “Yes,” I say, finding my words. “I promise it’s nothing.”
Owen stands and comes to me, bending. He hugs me tight. “Thank you, Rory.”
I try, I really do, but a stray tear slides over my cheek. “You’re welcome.”
“Thank the lord,” Marshall says, sitting back in his seat. “That was seriously stressful. I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life,” he says, making us all laugh.
I give him a watery smile, and he winks at me. Today has been full of tough talks and not so tough decisions, and somehow, I feel lighter. The weight of worry is no longer weighing on my shoulders. Instead, there is hope in my heart for what the future can hold. Layla and Sawyer gave me hope. They didn’t tell me anything Grant hasn’t, but I’ll be the first to admit trusting men isn’t something that comes easy for me, but I do trust him. Now, I need to trust in him, that this is what he wants. That I’m what he wants, and we can move forward. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll all be sitting around our living room trying to decide on our wedding cake flavors.
A girl can dream.
Chapter 21
Grant
This is the second wedding I’ve been to in less than a year. As I sit here in Owen’s living room, watching as he vows to love Layla for the rest of their lives, I feel it—the magic that Dad and my two oldest brothers keep preaching about. It’s this moment watching two people who love one another so deeply that nothing else seems to matter or even exist. If I’m being honest, I saw it at Royce and Sawyer’s wedding too. I was just too dumb to see it for what it is.
Leaning over, I press my lips to Aurora’s temple. She’s sitting as close to me as I can get her without her being in my lap. Our fingers are entwined resting on her thighs, and I know without a doubt that she’s my magic. I wasn’t looking for my forever, but it found me all the same, and the universe was looking out for me when they brought Aurora into my life. She’s everything I never knew I wanted.
She glances over and mouths, “Are you okay?”
I nod, mouthing back that I love her. I do so completely that I don’t even know who I was before she came into my life. As I watch my brother place his hand over his unborn child and lean in to kiss his wife for the first time, I know that is what I want. The wife, the kids, and Aurora. I want it all with her, and the crux of it all is that I’m not going to tell her. Not yet.
I don’t know what happened last weekend when the girls were here all alone, but whatever we walked in on, it changed my girl. She’s more open and affectionate, and even though the worry is still there lingering in the back of her mind, it doesn’t stop her from pushing forward.
Today is Saturday, which means she’s off tomorrow. That also means that I get her with me tonight, in my bed. I get to hold her all night long and wake up next to her in the morning. I tried like hell to get her to stay with me over the past two weeks, but she insists that it’s just easier, and she gets to sleep a little longer staying above the bakery. I let it go, but we’re going to have to do something about that. About her hours. The bakery is doing well. Aurora claims business is better each month, and I love that for her. Maybe I can drop a hint that she needs to maybe hire someone. I need more time with her. I need her next to me at night. I could stay there, but then Aspen is around, and I love her little sister, but I’m sure she doesn’t want to hear her sister calling out my name in the middle of the night.
“Grant.” I jerk out of my thoughts to find Aurora watching me. “You okay?”
I look around and see that we’re the only two left still sitting. “Yeah, baby. I’m good. Just thinking.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yes.” I stand, pulling her with me. “I was just thinking about how I get you all to myself tonight and how I need to find a way to convince you to do it more than one night a week.”
Her eyes soften. “I’ll see what I can do. You can stay with me, you know.”
“Aspen doesn’t want to hear that.”
“No, but you can hold me,” she counters. Her face is still flushed, but she’s speaking without hesitation. She’s telling me what she wants, and that’s a huge leap in the right direction.
“Done.”
She throws her head back in laughter. “Come on. We need to congratulate the happy couple.”
Hand in hand, we make our way to Owen and Layla, passing out hugs and congratulations. We devote the next few hours to spending time with our family. Marshall and Conrad take turns spinning Aspen around the dance floor while the rest of us have our own women, not that Aspen seems to mind. She’s lapping up the attention my brothers are throwing at her. I know because I keep checking on her. She’s my girl’s little sister, and I don’t want her to feel left out or unwelcome.
“We’re going to start putting everything back,” Royce says as he and Sawyer step up next to where I’m spinning Aurora around the makeshift dance floor.
“I’ll help.” I kiss Aurora on the forehead and release my hold on her.
“What can I do?” she asks Sawyer.
“I think we should start in the kitchen.”
“I don’t know why she didn’t let us hire this done,” Owen grumbles as Royce and I join him and our younger two brothers to take down the decorations and put the furniture back.