I sat there with Ellie sitting on my lap, and I was in pure heaven. Listening to her and Ari talk and laugh, I was never more content. Every time she laughed or smiled, I stopped breathing.

I loved her . . .

I had to smile every time I thought about how my world just turned upside down. I knew Ellie still wanted to take things slow, but goddamn if I didn’t want to just tell her, to just shout it out for the world to know.

Ari asked if Ellie wanted to dance and she looked down at me. “You mind?”

“No! Go and have fun. I’ll just sit here and wait for Jeff to come back from whatever it was that he had to take care of,” I said as I wiggled my eyebrows up and down and smiled at Ari.

Ari laughed, but Ellie didn’t think that comment was too funny.

“Oh, for the love of all things good, that’s my brother, Gunner! Eww, gross!” Ellie got off my lap and slapped my arm. I laughed and pulled her back down to me and whispered up against her ear, “Don’t let Jon get anywhere near you, okay?”

She looked at me with such a sweet and tender smile.

“Okay, babe!”

She got up, walked out into the yard, hugged Amanda, and started dancing. Holy fuck, she just called me “babe.” I sat back in my chair and drank my beer while I watched her. I looked over toward where Jon was standing and noticed the fucker watching her, too. I finished off my beer and grabbed another one.

“Jesus, dude, you trying to get drunk? You got Ells back, so what’s the reason for getting wasted?” Jeff said as he grabbed another beer from the cooler.

“Fuck off. I’m celebrating, douchebag.” I looked over at Jeff and smiled. “So, what was it you needed to take care of so fast?” I said with a laugh.

“Very funny, dickhead, but that’s not what I was doing. Gunner, I swear that girl is going to be the death of me! I had to get away from her before I tore her fucking clothes off. I can’t believe she did that to me. Shit! I saw Josh in the house and had to sit there and listen to him go on and on about Heather so I could try to lose my hard-on.”

I threw my head back and laughed. “That must have been entertaining.”

“Fuck . . . to say the least. Dude has it bad for that girl. Jesus, I never in my life saw Josh this interested in a girl and this fucking nervous to actually talk to her.”

“Yeah, he has it pretty bad for her. Stupid fucker has not even talked to her all night. Speaking of stupid fuckers, what are you going to do about Ari?”

Jeff took a drink of his beer as he looked out toward Ari and Ellie dancing.

“Nothing.”

“What the fuck do you mean nothing?”

“I mean nothing. I’m not going to do anything. She told me tonight that she never slept with Jason, which was a relief because I would’ve hated myself the rest of my life knowing she just slept with him to get back at me. So, now that I know we’re all right, I’m just going to move on,” Jeff said as he took another drink of his beer. This time he damn near finished it.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I said as I shook my head and looked at him. “Jeff, can you not see that she has a thing for you? I mean, holy hell, that kiss she gave you I’m pretty damn sure was more than just for show. Why do you insist on pushing her away?”

Jeff stared out at Ari. She looked over once and smiled, and Jeff turned away. “I can’t do it, Gunner. I cannot risk losing her. If things didn’t turn out, she would be gone for good. I don’t think I could live my life without her in it, even if that means just being friends.”

I pushed my hand through my hair and let out a sigh. Looks like their mother not only fucked up Ellie’s ideas about love, she fucked up Jeff’s, too.

“Jeff, I get that you don’t want to lose her. I mean I really get it,” I said as I looked over at Ellie and smiled. “But what are you going to do when she gets tired of waiting for you? When she ends up with someone like Jason Reed? She’ll get married, have kids, live a life that you in the long run will not be a part of. Do you think you can handle that? Are you going to be ready for that when it happens?”

Jeff tipped his head back and finished off his beer. “I don’t know, Gunner. I honestly don’t fucking know, dude.”

“Well, Jeff, you better fucking figure it out, and soon. That girl is not going to just sit around and wait for you. If you want her, you better fight for her and let her know how you feel.” I finished off my own beer and got up and walked toward Jack. I needed to dance with Ellie.

“Hey, Jack, you got any Vince Gill?” I yelled into his ear over the music.

“You know I do! What are you looking for?”

“I want you to play ‘Whenever You Come Around’ next, okay?”

Jack gave me that big ol’ smile of his and nodded. “You got it, dude.”

I walked back over to Jeff. Shit, I was starting to get a little drunk. I sat down and looked at him. I was going to bite the fucking bullet.

“I love her.”

Jeff snapped his head and looked at me. “Ellie?”

“Of course Ellie, who the fuck else would I be talking about?”

Jeff just smiled at me. “When did this come about?”

“Earlier. It hit me like a brick wall. It scared the fuck out of me, and it was a good three or four minutes before I could even talk or move.” I looked over at Ellie, who was now just standing in the middle of the dance crowd talking to Heather and Ari. God, there wasn’t a damn thing I wouldn’t do for her.

“Gunner, you know I trust you with my sister, I really do. I love you like a brother, and there is nothing on earth I would rather see than my sister happy with you. Just take care of her, dude, don’t hurt her, and please just be patient. She’s been through a lot, you know? Just . . . just don’t push her into anything too fast, okay?”

I looked over at Jeff. “I would die first before I let anything or anyone hurt her. I need you to know that, Jeff. I really need you to know that I love her, and I will protect her with everything I have.”

Jeff got up and slapped my back. “Well, fuck, dude. That’s all I needed to hear. No wonder you’re getting drunk!”

Just then Jack started to talk.

“All right, y’all, I’m going to slow it down again with a little Vince Gill.”

I got up and walked toward Ellie, who was now heading my way.

“Sweetheart, dance with me?” I asked as I ran my hand down her face.

“Of course I will, Gunner.” She smiled at me, and my knees about went out from under me. Would these intense feelings ever settle down?

The song started, and I pulled her as close to me as I could. She buried her head in my chest and held me tighter. We danced slowly to the song as I started to sing the lyrics to her as I held onto her.

I loved this girl, and I’d spend the rest of my life proving to her how much I love and want her.

Ellie looked up at me with tears running down her face, and my heart just stopped.

“Oh, baby, please don’t cry, please, please don’t cry,” I said as I wiped away her tears.

“Gunner, I . . . I’ve never felt like this before. You’re so amazing and the things you say and do just leave me breathless. I’m so afraid I’m going to wake up and find out this is all just a dream.”

“I promise, sweetheart, this is not a dream.” I smiled down at her and pulled her back into me as we finished dancing to the song while I sang along with Vince.