by Cara Dee
I spluttered and shook my head, unable to grasp what he was saying. For how long… I mean, it’d been so many years.
In disbelief or not, my confidence soared. It was such a relief.
“Okay,” I exhaled, smiling nervously despite how much better I felt. “I want—wait.” The fog cleared up further, and I remembered what he’d said. “You have plans?”
He grinned quickly and brushed the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip. “Let’s circle back to what it is you want.”
Oh, two could play this game.
What I wanted was for him to be mine in freaking writing. I wanted things set in stone, I wanted to belong to him, I wanted to hear him say it was me he wanted for life, and I wanted to know if he’d hit himself in the head and if that was why he’d suddenly bought a crib.
But I could save that for when we got home. For now, I locked eyes with him and sucked the tip of his thumb into my mouth. I swirled my tongue around it and watched his gaze darken.
He slid his thumb in deeper, and I grazed my teeth lightly along the digit.
Then I brought a hand to his cock and stroked him outside of his jeans.
“Fuck,” he whispered.
It was a big house… Three floors to get lost in.
When I heard a throat clearing, I’d never been happier to have Adam’s large frame blocking me. Mortification flooded me. Adam’s hand dropped to my hip, and he whipped his head around to peer over his shoulder. I found myself sneaking a peek too. Crap. It was Justin. Jameson’s boyfriend. And well, Alex’s…something. All I knew was that there were five people living together in Alex and Jameson’s cabin over in Westslope, and there were only two beds.
“I didn’t see anything.” Justin smirked slightly and headed for the fridge. “By the way, your mom is on her way in.”
I slipped out of Adam’s hold and righted my clothes, all while fighting the embarrassment. We had to talk tonight. Everything was up in the air, and I didn’t know if this was supposed to stay a secret or what.
I caught Adam giving me a pensive little look before he turned to Justin again.
“Thanks for the heads up,” he replied. “We’re saving our announcement for later.”
Oh? Oh yeah? Were we? Announcement of what, exactly?
Adam had always been a better actor than me. Moments later when we were outside again—cake and coffee served—he was back to messing around with his brothers. Except that he kept a hand on my leg under the table and drew aimless circles along the inside of my thigh.
Isla sent me inquisitive looks every now and then.
She was the only one I’d told. I hadn’t been able to stop myself after Adam pissed me off yesterday.
Isla had been sure it was all a big misunderstanding. I hadn’t directly disagreed with her, but I’d been too upset to question motives. Either way, she’d been right, and I wished I had any concrete answers to give her.
Were Adam and I at least dating?
Surely.
Mannaggia, I needed to fucking chill.
I set down my fork, too full to finish the cake slice on my plate, and slumped back.
“The cake was fantastic, dear,” Alex said. “Email me the recipe later, please?”
I smirked and drummed my fingers along the armrests. “Of course.” It was safe to ask me for recipes. The family knew better than to ask Adam. He was a vault. “Just make sure it ends up in Lola’s hands so you don’t burn down your house.”
“Naturally.” Alex chuckled while the others cracked up, especially Jameson and Lola.
It led to a discussion about how many failed attempts at cooking it had taken Alex before he’d given up entirely. Adam got a few digs in early on, but eventually he quieted down and leaned back in his seat, and he twisted his Mariners cap so the brim didn’t hit the backrest. He mirrored my position with his hands on the armrests too.
I lolled my head along the high back and faced him with a soft smile.
“You needed this tonight,” I murmured.
“I did.” He extended his pinkie to touch mine. Such a small gesture, and yet it captured my full attention. “I like having my family gathered.”
I knew he did. For having been so against kids of his own, he was the most family-oriented man I knew.
And he bought a crib.
Butterflies wreaked havoc in my stomach every time I thought about it.
“You know what I can’t stop thinking about?” he asked quietly.
“What?”
He leaned a bit more and kept his voice down. “My cock between those pouty lips of yours.”
I grinned and let out a breathy laugh, for once managing to remain casual. “Well,” I said under my breath, “it’s your own fault that’s not reality right this second.”
He sucked his teeth and dropped his gaze to my mouth. “That’s not helpful, Alessia.”
He made my heart jump. Just the way he said my name in that warm, rich voice sent my mind straight to the gutter.
“Sorry, that’s not the help I wanna give you,” I replied innocently.
He hitched a brow at that. “Oh yeah? Elaborate.”
Christ. To maintain my front, I couldn’t go into too much detail. His mom and dad were way too close for that.
“Whatever makes you growl my name when you get off,” I whispered.
Fucking hell, the look he gave me. There was so much promise in his eyes that I had to clench my thighs together. I hoped I hadn’t bitten off more than I could chew. I was by no means a prude, but this man had no shame whatsoever, and the ground I stood on was still shaky.
“The things I’m gonna do to you, little girl,” he chuckled darkly. I smashed my lips together and felt the heat spreading through my body. In the meantime, Adam switched back to casual and leaned forward again. “Jamie, I reckon it’s time for some music.”
Jack did a double take at Jameson down the table. “You’re going to play?”
“Oh, it’s been so long.” Elizabeth’s eyes glowed with excitement.
Jameson smirked and rose from his seat. “I sold my soul for a cup of coffee.”
I didn’t know what that meant, but I was on the same page as Elizabeth. Jameson had the most soulful voice, and he was a great guitar player.
“You two,” he said with a pointed look to Justin and Harper, “make sure no one steals my cake—or coffee.”
I chuckled.
While Jameson went inside to get his guitar, Justin and Harper—being the good partners they were—exchanged a single look before they dug in and inhaled what was left on Jameson’s plate.
Adam and I cracked up hard.
Alex’s eyes flooded with amusement, though there was a warning in his expression too. And I had a feeling that whatever he wanted to say wasn’t for the ears of his folks.
Lola wasn’t as restrained. “He’s gonna tan your fucking hides later.”
And the one who laughed the hardest at that was Nick.
“Worth it,” Justin said with his mouth full.
I adored this family. Elizabeth and Nick were the best parents ever. I loved my mom and dad, but they wouldn’t be as quick to adjust to such a different relationship.
Elizabeth and I had gone out for lunch shortly after Alex and Jameson went public with their dynamic, and she’d said one thing. Either you watch your family grow, or you watch it disappear. With that attitude, it was no wonder the four Grady boys had a close relationship with their parents.
When Jameson returned, he didn’t think about cake. He just went over to another seating area to grab a lower chair. Then he got comfortable a few feet to the side of the dining table, behind Nick and Jack, who shared a corner, and sat down to tune his guitar.
“Looks like we got the best seats,” I said happily to Adam.
Those across from us had to turn in their chairs.
Adam hummed a little but made no other response.
Jameson glanced up after a minute or so, and he frowned. “I’m not wasting these p
ipes on a bunch of gawkers.” He started strumming, and he nodded at Nick. “Didn’t you raise us to ask our partners to dance?”
“I sure did, son.” Nick gave his sons pointed looks.
Alex and Jack had no issues leading the way. They stood up and extended their hands to Lola and Isla. The lovely little smiles they all wore for one another made my heart so happy.
“Come on, baby.” Justin took Harper’s hand and nodded at the floor.
Jameson’s singing always shook me. If I didn’t know he was blissfully happy, I would’ve been worried. His voice was hauntingly beautiful. He sang as if his heart had been ripped out and stomped on.
Elizabeth had a sleeping baby in her arms, while Kyle was asleep inside, but she and Nick shared a look that whispered of years of dancing together.
It tightened my stomach.
Next to me, Adam pushed out his chair and stood up. He glanced down at me with a faint smile and held out his hand.
There goes my heart again…
I swallowed hard and placed my hand in his, and he ushered me to a private little spot ten or so feet away from the others. Before he pulled me close, he turned his ball cap backward once more. Jameson eased into another song, one I recognized instantly. It was the one Adam and I had danced to in the parking lot behind our building.
“You and that cap of yours.” I tried to keep it light, even though the moment felt anything but.
“Mm.” He rested one hand above my butt, and he trapped our joined hands between us over his chest. “Do you remember when I bought it?”
I shook my head.
“We went to a game in the city,” he murmured. “You, me, my folks. I think Jack was there too.”
I remembered now. “He got there late.” It’d been a hot day. That was most of what I recalled. So, so hot. Baseball truly wasn’t my sport. The games lasted forever. “I don’t have the best memories from that day,” I said, grinning. “I was sweating like crazy.”
He chuckled quietly.
“But I’m glad you bought yourself a little keepsake to remind me,” I joked. “Of all the million ball caps you have…”
“Fourteen ain’t a million.” He rested his forehead to mine. “And it was a special day for me. We had just signed the papers for Coho.”
See, I remembered that occasion with perfect clarity. Now I wasn’t as surprised about forgetting the game.
Adam closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.
Farther away behind us, Jameson sang the chorus, and it was impossible not to get swept away by the moment.
As affectionate as Adam and I could be and had been over the years—even in front of his family—this was new to both of us. Dancing this close? This wasn’t what friends did.
“That day,” Adam murmured. He cleared his throat and opened his eyes. The warmth mingled with something else. It was intense, and I detected a pinch of nerves. Then he smiled. “That day, I knew you’d end up being the most important person in my life.”
“Oh,” I mouthed. Holy crap.
As soon as I heard the first notes of the next song, I realized Adam had planned this. Oh God, plan. This was the plan! It was the song that hit so damn close to home, the one he’d played the other day when we sampled the desserts and ended up on the floor. The song about two friends in a small town and the rumor going around about them. A rumor about you and me… The singer wanted the rumor to be true.
I searched Adam’s eyes while my pulse skyrocketed.
“Staying away from you all these years has been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, Alessia.” He dipped down and grazed his nose up my jaw, then pressed a lingering kiss to my temple. All these years. “The way we hit it off floored me. Do you even remember? I was jaded as fuck, and then you stormed in and made a bunch of suggestions to my business plan.”
I couldn’t help but grin and close my eyes and let the trip down memory lane take over.
“You became the one I turned to, the one I wanted to discuss my ideas with,” he murmured. “You became everything. And I was terrified to lose what we created together.” He gently gripped my chin and made me look up at him. “I told myself what we had was enough, even though I knew it would never feel like it.”
I swallowed hard as he closed the distance and brushed his lips to mine.
He smiled into the soft kiss. “I’ve loved you from a distance for almost ten years, but I’m done pretending it’s enough for me.”
With those words, I was done for. My heart felt like it exploded, and I screwed my eyes shut and locked my hands around his neck. Emotions surged up a storm within me, and there was no stopping the tears that escaped. I deepened the kiss, at a loss for words; I couldn’t describe the relief. It was so immense, I didn’t know whether to laugh or bawl my eyes out.
Adam angled himself for a heated kiss and took control. He seduced me with how he held me, one hand roaming between my hip, butt, and lower back, and the other sliding up my back, under my hair.
“I’ve been yours since I was fifteen,” I admitted against his lips. I felt them curving into a tender smirk. “You thought it was a teenage crush. I knew better—as always.”
He chuckled and cupped my cheek, brushing away a stray tear.
I trembled in his arms. It was so overwhelming. He’d spoken the words I’d longed to hear and I’d hoped I would one day, though I’d told myself it would never happen.
“No tears, love,” he whispered.
“Happy tears,” I promised. “I’ve wanted this day to come for so long.”
“Me too.” He drew a deep breath and looked more content than I’d ever seen him.
I touched his cheek, his scruff. “I’m so in love with you.”
He exhaled a little laugh, and score, his eyes totally got misty. Then he kissed me passionately and hugged me impossibly tight.
The pleasure and the happiness coursed through me, and I didn’t want it to end. We were in a perfect little bubble together, the only thing slicing through being Jameson’s voice. It was a similar song, and Adam led me unhurriedly in slow, swaying circles where we stood.
“I don’t want to face the firing squad yet,” I admitted.
“Me either,” he sighed contentedly. “Good thing we’re in no rush.”
I hummed and tilted my head to rest it on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around my middle.
It was so lulling that I couldn’t keep my eyes open.
Every now and then, I felt Adam’s lips in my hair. I also felt it when he smiled.
“Is something funny?”
He laughed silently. “I made the mistake of looking over at the others.”
“Oh boy.”
“Yeah. They’re waiting. Jack’s the only one who’s at least trying to distract Isla.”
My mouth curled into a grin, and I peered up at him. “I guess we might as well get it over with. I mean, I wanna get you home pretty soon.”
“I like the sound of that.” He kissed the smile off my face. “We gotta start practicing the baby-making.”
I coughed on my saliva.
Adam found that funny. “You realize that I know you’re not on birth control, right? It makes your cramps worse.” This was so not the time for him to point out how much he knew about my cycle. “It wasn’t a coincidence we had sex without protection the other day, and it wasn’t like I bought the crib by accident.”
I dropped my gaze and fidgeted with the neckline of his Henley.
Truth be told, I’d forgotten about the lack of protection until right before we, um, came. Which had never happened to me before. I’d always been so careful, and I knew he had been too. But with him, I hadn’t been able to bring myself to mention it. It’d been a fleeting thought. Oh shit, condom. Then, Nooo, can’t worry about that now. He’d felt so good, goddammit.
“I didn’t want protection with you,” I confessed. “I wanted to feel everything.”
Adam clenched his jaw and cleared his throat. “We should get out of here before
I lose it. At this rate, I might pull over on the way home.”
I felt much more confident. More settled, more reassured, and it made me wanna…tease. Just a bit.
“You can always use my mouth too.” I bit my lip.
His gaze darkened with desire, and we stopped moving. “Trust me, baby. I’ll use it often. But I’ll be coming inside that sweet pussy, nowhere else.”
I stifled a whimper and clenched my thighs together. “Are we really doing this?”
“I don’t know exactly what this would be, but yeah. To all of it.” He grabbed my jaw and spoke against my lips. “You make me want everything, Alessia. The reason it never appealed to me before was because—what was in my head…it wasn’t the version you spoke of. It had to be your version. As soon as you mentioned having a little kid running around the restaurant, the rest of my life became crystal clear.”
I exhaled shakily, beyond overwhelmed, and so ready to get out of here. “Take me home?”
“Gladly.”
Fourteen
Adam Grady
“You get three questions,” I said to my family. “Then Alessia and I are going home.”
I had a firm grip on Alessia’s hand, with no plans for releasing her until I had to drive us back to the Valley. And I genuinely didn’t know if we’d make it the whole way. I was one seductive move of hers away from attacking.
To no one’s surprise, Isla jumped at asking the first question. “Have you two finally gotten your shit together?”
“Yes,” I replied. “Next?”
My mother didn’t have a question. She was just smiling through her tears and shaking her head. She’d stopped dreaming this day would ever come, she’d told me, because it saddened her when her hopes were up and she heard of either of us dating other people.
Alex cleared his throat and smiled at me. “No question, little brother, only my warmest felicitations to both of you.”
That killed some of my urgency, and I unclenched for a moment. I’d wanted to share this with my family.
