“Da-da-da!” Love Bug yelled, grabbing her daddy’s attention.
When his brown eyes landed on her, his whole face changed. “Does my princess want pancakes?”
“Luca!” Violet scolded. “She has cereal and fruit. She doesn’t need pancakes.”
“Fine,” he sighed. “Pancakes are for Sunday mornings anyway. Right, Love?”
“Da-da-da,” the baby agreed with a nod of her blond head.
Snickering, Violet went back to fetch her coffee and sat at the table across from me. “So, where are you going on this date?”
“Date?” Luca’s ears perked up at that. “Let me guess, you and Doe?”
“Who else would I take out?” My huff could have competed with Krush’s.
“Heck if I know,” the pro baller said with a shrug as he took his seat beside his daughter. “That girl gets within a hundred yards of you, and you can’t take your eyes off her.”
“Well?” Violet pushed. “What do you have planned for tonight?”
“I thought we would keep things simple tonight. Dinner, maybe a movie?”
She lifted a brow at me. “Are you asking or telling?”
“Maybe both,” I muttered sheepishly. “Do you know when I last went on an actual date? It’s been at least six years. Definitely before I enlisted. And back then, it was more about what I could get out of the date than wanting to impress the girl.” I grabbed the back of my neck and squeezed. “But that’s not the case this time. I want something more with Doe.”
“Aww,” Violet gushed.
“Dude, that girl is already half in love with you,” Luca stage-whispered.
“Luca!” Violet admonished. “You can’t tell him that!”
“What now? Am I lying?”
She sighed but shook her head, and I found myself grinning like a fool. Doe was already half in love with me? I knew she liked me, but I had no idea that she was feeling anywhere close to what I was. Fuck, seeing Doe earlier and knowing I would again later had already made my day. But this, it made my whole year.
Luca slapped me on the back. “Whatever you do, trust me, you’re going to win her over.”
“He’s right,” Violet agreed. “She will enjoy tonight no matter what you do, because she’ll be with you.”
Luca’s hand came down on my back again, but this time, it was harder, and instead of lifting his hand right away, he gave my shoulder a warning squeeze. “Just don’t break that girl’s heart, man. You’ll have all three of her brothers after you for sure, but worse than that, you’ll have the rage monster himself hunting you down. The only one who can control that beast is Aunt Marissa, and if you hurt her baby girl, she’s more likely to hand him the loaded gun than stop him from murdering you.”
I shrugged off his hand. “I won’t hurt her. Ever.”
Violet clapped her hands together with a little squeal. “I’m so excited. You two are perfect for each other. Shaw and I have been talking about it for weeks now.”
“Months,” Luca amended with a grunt.
“Months,” she said with a nod. “I may have even planned your wedding in my head.”
“Not in her head,” Luca stage-whispered again. “She has an entire file on the office computer dedicated to ‘Doe and Jenner Forever and Ever Wedding Ideas.’”
“Snitch,” she said with a faux glare before bursting into giggles, making Luca’s eyes shift several different shades of brown at once as he looked at her. The first time I saw that rapid color change, I’d thought it was a trick of the light. And then when I’d realized it wasn’t, I’d thought maybe I was having a stroke. But it was some genetic thing because his dad’s did the same thing, as did his identical twin brother’s and nephews’. “Okay, it’s true. But only because I think you two belong together.”
“So does Shaw. And Mia. And Nevaeh. And Arella. Not to mention my sister-in-law Mila is—” he made his voice higher, trying to imitate his brother’s wife’s voice “—‘one hundred percent on board with the two of you hooking up and making gorgeous babies.’”
“I’m telling her you did that,” Violet threatened. “And then I’m telling Lucy you were being mean again, and she is totally going to kick your a-s-s.”
“Ah, babe, come on. Now Love Bug is going to know how to spell the bad words you say in front of her.”
“I’m texting Lucy right now,” she warned.
“We are two hours ahead of Lucy and Mila. You text or call them right now and they will be ready to kick some booty, but it won’t be mine.” He winked when she just narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re only mad because you know I’m right.”
“I’m not mad.”
“Are too,” he argued. “You’ve been mad since the waitress called me sweetheart last night.”
“Am not,” she argued. “And she didn’t call you sweetheart. She called you—” She broke off and pressed her lips into a firm line when Luca propped his head on his hand and fluttered his lashes at her, waiting for her to finish that last sentence.
“No, no, go on. I’m listening. What did she call me?”
“You’re such a d-i-c-k!” she hissed at him.
“True, but who does it belong to, Vi?”
“Me!” She growled. “You’re mine, Thornton.”
He pushed his chair back in a rush. He and I were about the same size, but it still amazed me how much quicker he was than me at times. Luca was around the table and had Violet tossed over his shoulder before I could shift my own chair back.
“Luca!” Violet squealed. He slapped her on the ass, causing her to moan. “Luca, stop! Jenner is right there.”
“I didn’t even look at that waitress last night,” he grumbled. “But you’ve been in a mood ever since. Yo, Jenner, watch my princess for me. I gotta go prove to her momma that the only one who owns me is this woman.”
Fighting a laugh, I assured him I would take care of Love Bug, but I doubted either of them heard me because they were already gone before I could finish speaking.
7
Doe
Standing in front of my mirror, I turned back and forth, trying to tell if my ass looked too big in the little black dress I had on. I rarely wore them, and I wasn’t exactly comfortable in this one. It showed off my arms too much with the spaghetti straps and ended a few inches above midthigh, displaying far more skin than I was used to.
“You look hot,” Piper assured me from the computer screen. We were on a video call so she could help me pick what to wear. She was a popular rocker and was considered one of the best-dressed celebs in the world. I trusted her opinion on clothes—for herself.
For me? I didn’t really trust anyone’s input.
“I don’t know,” I muttered. “Are you sure it doesn’t look like I’m trying too hard?”
“No, it looks like a beautiful girl is going on a date with a guy who is lucky she even glanced his way,” my cousin assured me. “You’re absolutely gorgeous in that dress, and with your hair down like that, you are, without a doubt, the most beautiful thing I’ve ever set eyes on.”