CHAPTER 9

She’s The One

Colton

WITH THE SCENT OF Gia’s hair under my nose, the feel of her naked body pressed tightly against mine, and her soft breath whispering across my skin for the first time, I don’t regret what happened to me. I’m actually thankful it did. I now realize that in losing everything I thought I ever wanted, I was given something better, something real. Something I know I will cherish and protect for the rest of my life. Now I just need to find a way to make her feel the same way I do.

I know she cares about me, but I want more. I want her heart, and I want to go to bed with her every night and wake up with her every morning, which means she needs to start her life here in town. Really start her life here by finding a job working with kids. It’s something I know she loves doing, something I could tell she missed doing when I saw her interact with Olivia.

On that thought, I kiss the top of her head then reach behind me to grab my phone and check the time. It’s already after 6:30 in the morning, which means as badly as I want to take her again, I don’t have time. Plus, I didn’t let her sleep much last night. After the first time, I took her slow to prove to myself that I could do that for her, give that to her. We went to the kitchen and ate the dinner, her sitting on the counter wearing one of my shirts and me in my boxers. After we finished eating, I didn’t give her a chance to go to her room. I carried her back upstairs, where I fucked her bent over the railing of the loft before taking her into my bed. She fell asleep in my arms after that, only to have me wake her up twice more during the night.

Dropping my cell phone back down, I wrap my arm around her and hold my lips to the top of her head. I need to soak in this moment and hope it will be enough to get me through the day. Before she was even mine, I wanted to claim her, to let people know, in any way possible, that she belongs to me. So now that she is mine, I know it’s going to be close to impossible to follow her ridiculous rules.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Her sleepy voice greets my ears, and I pull my head back to look down at her, finding her eyes still closed. “I can hear you thinking, and I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. So could you please just say whatever it is you need to say so I can go back to sleep?” she asks, and I smile.

I was wrong about her being shy when I first met her. She’s not shy, not even a little bit. At least, not with me. I love that she can go toe-to-toe with me and get in my face when something is pissing her off. I like that I don’t have to play guessing games to try to figure out what’s bothering her. It’s refreshing, although her keeping that bullshit with Lisa from me still makes me see red, even if I can appreciate that she was trying to protect me.

“How are you not tired?” she asks, tipping her head back and blinking her eyes open to look at me.

“I might not have slept long, but I slept solid with you in my arms,” I tell her truthfully, and her face softens. Running the pad of my thumb along her cheek, I sigh. “I gotta get up. I need to meet Tide at the gym soon.”

“Oh,” she says, sounding disappointed.

“You wanna come?”

“Do you mean go with you to work out?” she asks, sounding horrified, and I fight back a smile.

“Yeah, baby. I mean go and work out with me.”

“No thanks. I’m not big on the whole gym experience.”

“Why’s that?”

“When I was fifteen, my stepmom made my dad force me to go to spinning classes four days a week at her gym. She would go along with me and chat with her friends about how at fifteen I was already a size eight. Everyone in the class started to get in on her jokes about my weight and endurance, which meant I left upset after every class. Once I didn’t have to go back, I vowed to never go to a gym again.”

“First, it’s doubtful that anyone would ever say something to you at my gym. But if some motherfucker ever made you feel uncomfortable, I would lay them the fuck out.” I give her a squeeze then ask, “What did your dad say when you told him about what your stepmom was doing to you?”

“Nothing, I never told him,” she admits quietly, and my jaw clenches as I picture her as a teenager, losing her mother and dealing with that bullshit afterward.

“Why the fuck not?”

“I didn’t want to upset him,” she explains.

Anger fills the pit of my stomach at the idea of her keeping that shit to herself. “So you let that bitch and other bitches treat you like shit, just so you wouldn’t upset your dad? The same way you kept the shit Lisa spewed at you to yourself to protect me?”

“I—”

“No,” I cut her off, dropping my face closer to hers. “You do not let anyone treat you in any way that makes you feel uncomfortable, and if by some fucked up chance something like that does happen again, you tell me and I’ll deal with it,” I order, and her jaw tightens.

“I can take care of myself.”

“By what, keeping everything in and trying to make shit smooth for everyone else around you in the process?”

“Well…”

“Baby.” I give her a squeeze. “I hope to God that if you would have told your father what was happening that he would’ve protected you from it happening again. That said, your dad is no longer here, but I am, so it’s my job to look out for you. So let me.”

“I’ll try,” she whispers, and my eyes close as I press my forehead to hers. Feeling her hand rest against my jaw, I open them back up and meet her gaze. She doesn’t say anything, but neither do I. Leaning in, her lips touch mine and her tongue touches my bottom lip. I don’t think as I deepen the kiss and roll her to her back. Settling myself between her legs, I spend the next half an hour making love to her, which means I’m late getting to the gym to meet Tide. Not that I give a fuck.

~**~

Stepping out onto the deck three days later, I lean against the rail with my cup of coffee in hand and watch Gia, who’s wearing jeans, a hoodie, and sneakers, attempt to get Loki to play fetch with her. He has no idea what the hell fetch is, but he does like the fact that when he runs and gets the ball, she chases him around to get it back. Shaking my head at the two of them, I smile into my mug. She’s been trying to teach him fetch for the last two days, since she learned he didn’t know how. He still hasn’t gotten the hang of it, and at this point, I don’t know if he ever will. Then again, she’s determined, so who the hell knows?

“Loki, come here, boy.” She pats her thighs, and he comes toward her but stops a few steps away with the yellow tennis ball sticking halfway out of his mouth. “Drop the ball,” she instructs. He doesn’t drop it; he backs up a step then takes off again, running away from her. Flinging her hands up into the air in frustration, she takes off after him once more, making me chuckle.

“Dimples, I think you’re fighting a losing battle,” I inform her when Loki runs off into the woods, and her eyes come to where I’m standing and she smiles huge. God, I’m so fucking done for when it comes to her, and I don’t even care.

“He’ll get it eventually,” she tells me, coming toward the deck. “I still don’t get why you didn’t teach him how to play fetch when he was a puppy.”

“He wasn’t a puppy when I got him. I picked him up at the pound after I moved out here.”

“I didn’t know that,” she says after coming up the steps and taking the coffee cup from my hands to take a sip.

Wrapping my arm around her waist, I pull her closer to me then kiss the side of her head, saying, “Now you know.”

“Now I know,” she agrees, tipping her head back toward me. Seeing her offer, I take her up on it and touch my lips to hers. “What time are we supposed to head to your parents’ place?”

“Dinner’s at six, but mom usually wants everyone there at four to help get set up.”

Pulling her cell phone out of her back pocket, she hits the button to light up the screen and checks the time. “I should go shower and get ready,” she murmurs, putting her phone away when she sees it’s already 2:30 p.m.

“I could help you out with that.”

“I’m sure you could, or you could distract me from actually getting ready. Which would mean we would be late to your parents’.”

“Would I do that?” I ask innocently, while sliding my hand up the back of her sweatshirt then down into her jeans, grabbing a handful of her ass in the process.

“Did you not make me late for work yesterday because of the same reason?” she prompts, sounding slightly breathless, and I smile remembering taking her in the kitchen after she ate a bowl of cereal. Then again in the shower, against the wall.

“You weren’t even fifteen minutes late,” I remind her, and her eyes drop to my mouth.

“The answer is no. I don’t want to make a bad first impression on your family,” she says, sounding like she wishes we had more time.

“My family already loves you.”

“I haven’t met your brothers yet,” she reminds me of something I know. She’s nervous about something she shouldn’t be. My brothers will see in her exactly what she is—a sweet and kind woman who is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.

“If we were late, my brothers would understand why once they saw you.”

“Seriously, you didn’t just say that.”

“Dimples, you’re beautiful and you have a body that takes time and dedication. Believe me, I’m dedicated to the job I was given when you gave yourself to me.”

“I can’t even deal with you right now,” she laughs, rolling her eyes and taking another sip from my coffee before handing it back to me. “It shouldn’t take me long to get ready. Maybe while I’m doing that, you can try to teach Loki how to play fetch.”

“Not likely.” I transfer the coffee mug so I can wrap my hand around her ponytail and tip her head back. “Let me know if you need help.”

“I’ll let you know.” She smiles before I kiss her. Reluctantly letting her go, I watch her head into the house before I walk around to the garage. Punching in the code for the door, I look at the mess on the side of the garage where my Suburban had been parked. The space is now filled with boxes and some furniture from her grandmother’s place, things she needs to go through, and donate. We took some clothes to her grandmother, but there is a lot that still needs to be washed before she can wear it, since it still smells like smoke.

Walking past the stacks of boxes, I go to the back wall where my gun vault is and punch in the code for the door, wanting to get some cash so I don’t have to use my card to get gas. Opening it up, I frown when I don’t see my gun where I put it after the last time I had it out. “What the fuck?” Looking though my stuff, I notice that nothing else is missing, not even the stack of money lying on top of a box of bullets. Pulling out my cell phone, I dial my dad’s number and wait.

“What’s up?” he asks as soon as he answers, and I look down at my boots, rubbing the back of my neck.

“Did you or did Mom by chance take my nine from my vault in my garage?”

“What?” he asks, sounding confused.

“My gun is missing. My nine-millimeter. The one you got me for Christmas four years ago.”

“It’s missing? I didn’t take it. Hold on. Let me ask your mom,” he says, and I hear him move around then shout to wherever my mom is, asking her the same question I asked him. “She said she didn’t take it.”

“What the fuck?” I lift my head and stare at the place it used to be.

“Is anything else missing?”

“Nothing, not even my stack of money I keep in the safe.”

“You need to call the cops to let them know.”

“Right,” I mutter, wondering who the fuck would have the code to my vault and why the fuck they would take just that gun when there are five others in there that are worth a whole lot more. And that’s not even including the thousand dollars in cash I always keep in there.

“You want me to come down to you?”

“No, I’ll take care of it.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” I sigh into the phone. “I’ll see you in a couple hours and let you know then what the cops say.”

“All right,” he says, as I hang up.

Searching online, I find the number for the sheriff’s station and call them directly, not wanting to dial 911 when it’s not an emergency. I’m transferred to a Detective Mitchell, and I let him know about the gun and give him the serial number and information. I thankfully don’t have to go in to see him in person, but he promises to let me know if the gun turns up.

Once I hang up with him, I reprogram the code for the door of the vault with a different combination, then head inside. That missing gun is setting off alarm bells like crazy, making my skin prickle and my gut twist. Wanting to check on Gia, I head up to my room where I expect to find her getting ready. She’s not there, and I know she didn’t come back outside, so I head back downstairs and open the door to the room she had been using. Finding her in the bathroom standing in front of the sink, wearing a T-shirt and nothing else, I lean against the doorjamb and watch her as she curls her hair.

“You could have gotten ready upstairs,” I inform her when her eyes meet mine in the mirror.

“My stuff is all down here,” she retorts, and I try not to let that bother me even though it does. I don’t want her shit down here. I want it in my space, next to my stuff, but I also know I shouldn’t push too hard to get my way, even though everything in me wants to do just that.

“Are you okay?” she asks after a minute, and I pull my eyes off her hair to look at her eyes.

“Yeah,” I lie, and her head tips to the side.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” I step up behind her and wrap my hand around her waist, dropping my face to her neck. I breathe in her scent, letting it take away the feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“I should be ready in fifteen minutes or so. Do you mind if we head out a few minutes early so I can stop at the store on the way, to pick up some flowers for your mom?”

“You don’t have to get my mom flowers.” I smile, and her hands come to rest over mine against her stomach.

“I know I don’t have to, but it’s something my mom would do if she were going to dinner at someone’s house, and I like the idea of doing it too,” she says, and my gut twists for a different reason.

“We’ll stop,” I promise, kissing her neck then lifting my head to look at her in the mirror. As much as I love the fact that she’s willing to open up to me about her parents, I hate the sadness I see in her eyes when she talks about them.

“If I’m going to get ready, I’m going to need you to let me go,” she whispers after a moment. Turning her in my arms I kiss her, then let her go to finish getting ready.

Heading up to the loft, I change my shirt and call my dad back, letting him know what the detective said. Before I hang up, I tell him not to say anything about it in front of Gia, since I don’t want her to worry. She’s already dealing with enough and I hate that some of the stuff she’s dealing with is because of me. Lisa hasn’t been back to the bar or done anything else to Gia, but a couple of days ago, her friends came into the bar trying to fill Gia’s head with bullshit when one of my friends from the military was in town for a visit.

By the time I get back downstairs, Gia is standing in the kitchen, wearing a pair of dark jeans that are tight and cuffed at the ankle, with black heeled boots. They’re the same ones she wore the day we met. She also has on a cream-colored soft-looking sweater that has a deep V cut out of the back with strips of black satin material going across, keeping it together. Turning toward me when she hears my boots hit the wood floors, she smiles and I notice that, for the first time since I met her, she’s wearing makeup. It’s not a lot, but the effect is enough to make a difference in the brightness of her eyes and the fullness of her already plump lips.

“You look gorgeous,” I tell her, and she smiles while her eyes soften.

“Thank you.” She tips her head back for a kiss once I’m close, something I’ve become used to her doing this last week. Anytime she wants my mouth, her head tips back and her eyes lock with mine, letting me know silently what she wants. I fucking love that she gives that to me.

“Just so you know, your rules don’t apply when we’re at my parents’ house. I can and will kiss you whenever I want.”

“Not in front of your parents,” she denies with a smile while shaking her head.

“I’m not agreeing to that, baby,” I mutter, sliding her hair over her shoulder and kissing her neck. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, I just want to put out some food for Loki, since he’s refusing to come inside to eat,” she mumbles, and I smile, watching her fill his bowl with dry food.

“I told you he’s his own dog,” I say, taking the bowl from her once she’s done and going to the front door. I set the bowl down outside and whistle for Loki to come. He bounds up the steps and starts to eat. Giving his head a rub, I shut the door behind me then pull my coat off the hook and put it on. Grabbing her black, short leather jacket, I help her with it then watch her loop the thick cream-and-gold scarf she knitted the other day from the yarn Mom got her, around her neck.

“Ready?” I ask, and her eyes meet mine.

“As ready as I’m going to get.”

Taking her hand, I lead her out the front door to where my Suburban is parked then help her in. Once she’s situated, I shut the door, jog around to the driver’s side and get in behind the wheel. After starting up the engine, I drive us into town and stop to get gas then stop once again at the local grocery store, since the flower shop isn’t open on Sundays. It takes Gia longer to pick out flowers than it does for us to get to town, so by the time we hit the highway to my parents’ place, it’s already after four, which I know is making her more anxious.

“It’s going to be okay, so you can stop looking at the door like you’re thinking about opening it and jumping out onto the highway,” I tell her while reaching over and grabbing her hand, bringing it to rest on my thigh.

“I wasn’t thinking about doing that,” she grumbles under her breath, making me smile.

“Have you ever had dinner with a boyfriend’s family before?” I ask, and her hand, under mine, convulses on the word boyfriend.

“No… I…” She clears her throat. “I’ve never really had a boyfriend.”

“What?” I question in shock, glancing over at her quickly before looking at the road once more.

“I’ve never had a boyfriend before. I’ve dated some, but nothing ever serious.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No.” I see her shift in her seat.

“Babe, how the fuck is that possible?” I wonder how in the world a woman who looks like her, acts like her, and dresses like her hasn’t had a serious man in her life before now.

“I don’t know. It just never happened.”

“You know that’s what this is, right?” I question, just to make sure she’s clear on what’s happening between us.

“I didn’t know,” she admits, and one hand tightens around the steering wheel while the other does the same around hers, that I’m still holding onto.

“Well that’s what this is. I’m your man, your boyfriend, your significant other. Whatever the fuck you want to call me, that’s what I am to you.”

“Significant other?” she repeats, and I hear the smile in her voice, but I ignore that and stay focused.

“This is more than us sleeping together,” I say, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice but failing to do so. “Do you understand that?”

“I understand,” she whispers, and I grunt. “We never talked about it,” she defends, and I shake my head.

“I didn’t think we needed to. You’ve been in my bed for awhile now, and before that, we had dinner together almost every night, gone out together, and spent a fuck’ov a lot of time together.”

“I didn’t want to assume this was more serious than it was, even if I wanted it to be that serious,” she replies, and I glance at her again, seeing her worrying her bottom lip.

“Baby, you need to start talking to me about shit if it’s bothering you or if you have questions. Don’t ever be afraid to ask me about anything when it has to do with us.”

“Okay,” she agrees, and I let out a breath.

“How is it possible that you make me so fucking happy and so fucking crazy at the same time?” I ask the windshield.

Her hand squeezes mine and I glance at her quickly before turning down my parents’ driveway. “I’m glad. I mean, I’m not glad I make you crazy, but I’m glad you want to be…” She pauses like she’s not sure how to say the next words. “My boyfriend.”

Laughing, I mutter, “Good, Dimples. I’m glad you’re happy about it, since it would suck for you to be stuck with me anyways, because there is no way in hell I’m letting you go.”

“You’re… you’re not letting me go.”

“Nope.”

“Oh,” she says as we pull up in front of my parents’ place.

Parking and shutting down the engine, I reach over and unhook her belt then wrap my hand around the back of her neck to bring her closer to me. Looking into her concern-filled eyes, I shake my head. “Do not start freaking out about us.”

“I’m not freaking out about us.”

“Good,” I state, even though I can tell she’s lying. Sliding my hand off her neck, I move it up and capture her chin between my fingers. “Nothing has changed.” I dip my head and touch my lips to hers. “Now, are you ready to meet my brothers?” I ask, and the worry that slipped out of her eyes after our kiss comes back. “They’re standing outside waiting for us, so you’ve lost your chance to run.”

Her head flies around to see what I saw moments ago, which is both my brothers standing on the front porch, watching us. “Oh my God,” she whispers, and I chuckle.

Moving back, I open my door, hop out, and head around to her side. Taking the flowers from her, I help her down from the cab. I hand her the flowers back and wrap my arm around her waist, leading her up toward the porch.

“Guys, this is Gia. Gia, my brother Cade.” I nod toward him as we head up the steps. Cade has the same dark hair and eyes as me, but is shorter by a few inches. He’s also built like a bulldog, since he works out all the time so he can stay in shape for his job as a police officer. “And my brother Carson.” I lift my chin in his direction when we make it to the top of the porch. Carson has my same height and build, but he was given Mom’s reddish blonde hair—something he hated growing up, but something he now couldn’t care less about, since it has never stopped him from getting any woman he sets his sights on.

“It’s nice to meet you both,” Gia says, and Carson grins, pulling her from me and tugging her into a hug, where she awkwardly pats his back.

“Nice to finally meet you, Gia,” he tells her, letting her go, and Cade shakes his head, shoving Carson away.

“Mom hasn’t stopped talking about you,” Cade says, giving her a hug as well—his much quicker than Carson’s.

“Where are the girls?” I ask Cade.

“Janet had to run to the store to pick up some more beer, so the girls are inside helping Mom cook while simultaneously destroying the kitchen.”

“I should go help,” Gia murmurs, and I tip my head down to her.

“Sure, baby.” I keep hold of her when she tips her head back to offer up her mouth, making it clear that it’s okay for me to kiss her in front of my brothers. After touching my mouth to hers, I drop my hand from her waist. “I’ll be in in a second.”

She nods then looks at Cade and Carson. “It’s nice finally meeting you both.” With that, she ducks her head and goes inside.

Once she’s gone, I turn back to face my brothers.

“She’s cute,” Carson says pulling his eyes from the door to look at me. “Real cute.”

Shaking my head at him, I ask, “Where’s Dad?”

“Out in the shop,” Cade answers, so I head down the steps and to the back of the house, with my brothers following. Opening the door to the shop, I find my dad where he normally is when he has a free second, which is tinkering with his bike.

“Get me a beer?” he requests as soon as he spots us, so I head over to the fridge and grab a beer for him and one for myself. Opening both with the bottle opener on the front of the fridge door, I take a pull from mine while I place his in his hand. “Is Gia inside?”

“Yeah,” I reply, taking a seat on the wooden bench against the wall.

“You still not going to bring up the gun?” he asks, looking worried.

“What gun?” Cade questions before I can answer, and I look at him as he hands a beer to Carson.

“My nine is missing from the gun vault in my garage.”

“What?” He gets closer and takes a seat on one of the chrome and leather-topped rolling stools.

“My nine is missing. I went to get some cash out of my vault today and noticed it was gone.”

“Did you file a report?” Carson asks after taking a pull from his beer.

“Yeah, a detective is looking into it.”

“When was the last time you saw it?” Cade questions, and I can tell he’s going into police officer mode.

“A few days ago.” Anytime I have tips, I put the cash in there so I’m not carrying it around with me, and that’s the last time I saw it.

“Does anyone have the code?” Cade continues, crossing his arms over his chest and planting his feet apart.

“Mom and Dad, but no one else that I know of. Neither of them took it out, so I have no idea who would have gotten in there. Or why the fuck they would take that gun and nothing else. I have guns in there that are worth close to a grand each. It doesn’t make sense,” I say, resting my elbows on my knees.

“Your code was your birthday, someone could have guessed that.” Dad says and I sigh. He’s right someone could have guessed it.

“You’re not telling Gia about it being missing?” Cade asks, and I look at him.

“She’s already dealing with enough shit. I don’t want her to worry about this.”

“Is that the real reason, or do you think she took it?” he asks, and I sit up straight.

“She didn’t fucking take it,” Dad inserts for me while shaking his head. “Did you meet her?”

“I met her.” He nods, looking suddenly thoughtful.

“That girl would probably run if she ever even saw a gun. Why the hell would she take it?”

“I don’t know.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I’m just asking questions to see if I can figure it out.”

“Well you’re asking the wrong fucking questions,” Dad grumbles, and I grin. He likes Gia and has obviously become protective of her. “We should head in before your mom comes out here to ask why I haven’t started up the grill.” He stands with his beer and heads for the door.

Going across the lawn to the house, we head through the back door that leads into the kitchen. As soon as we step inside, “Uncle Colton!” is shouted toward me in unison. Smiling at my five and six-year-old nieces, I head to where they are both sitting on the large, white marble-topped island in the middle of the room, mixing something in a bowl.

“Hey, Mizza.” I kiss the top of her dark head then lean over to do the same to her sister. “Hey, Imma.” I kiss her cheek, and she tips her head to the side, studying me.

“We met your girlfriend,” she informs me, then continues, “she’s pretty.”

“She is. I agree.” Rubbing the top of her head.

“Are you going to marry her?” Mizza asks, and I smile at her.

“I don’t know, honey.”

“I think you should marry her and let me be the flower girl.”

“No, I get to be the flower girl,” Imma disagrees loudly, glaring at her sister.

“No you don’t,” her sister denies louder, glaring right back.

“What on earth are you two fighting about now?” Janet asks, coming into the kitchen carrying grocery bags, with Gia behind her carrying a box of beer in one hand and a case of wine coolers in the other.

“Mizza said she gets to be the flower girl at Uncle Colton’s wedding,” Imma whines, looking at her mom and crossing her arms over her chest, then pouts. “I want to be the flower girl.”

“You can’t be, because I’m going to be the flower girl when he marries Gia,” Mizza says, looking smug.

“Oh my,” I hear Gia whisper, then turn to see her eyes are wide and her cheeks are pink.

“Before you girls totally freak out Gia any more, how’s if we talk about this when the time comes to talk about it?” Janet suggests, and I hear Mom laugh and notice she didn’t even attempt to wade in to get them to stop fighting.

“Let me get that, baby.” I take the stuff from Gia, kissing the side of her head, then walk to the fridge to drop the beer and wine coolers inside. Going back to her, I wrap my arm around her shoulders. “I take it you met everyone.”

“I did.” She looks up at me and smiles still looking a little shell-shocked.

“Gia, can I be your flower girl?” Imma asks, apparently not liking the idea of talking about it later and possibly missing her shot to her big sister.

“I—”

“No, can I be?” Mizza interrupts, and Gia’s hand that has wound around my back tightens in my tee.

“I… well…” She pauses, lifting her shoulders. “If that happens one day, I would love for you both to be my flower girls. But,” she adds quickly, “only if that ever happens.”

“Yippee!” Mizza yells, throwing her hands in the air.

“Wahoo!” Imma shouts, doing the same as her sister.

“Christ,” Carson mutters from my side and I smile, then hear Gia laugh.

Hearing that, my hold on her tightens as I tip my head down to hers and wait for her to look up at me. As soon as her head falls back, I plant a kiss on her lips then lean away an inch to search her eyes. She doesn’t look worried anymore; she looks happy and relaxed, which is a relief. “You want a beer?”

“No she does not. She wants a wine cooler,” Janet says, and Gia and I both look at her. “Then she and I are going to go have some girl time.”

“Can I come, Mommy?” Mizza asks.

“Me too?” Imma adds, looking hopeful.

“Sorry, babies, no men and no kids.”

“That sucks,” Mizza grumbles, crossing her arms over her chest and huffing.

“Wha’d I say about saying sucks?” Cade asks, and her eyes go to her dad and widen.

“Sorry, Daddy,” she murmurs.

“I still need help making the apple pie,” Mom says, and both girls look at her then begin to bombard her with questions about what their jobs will be.

“You ready, girl?” Janet asks, and I feel Gia nod.

“I’ll be on the back deck if you need me,” I tell her, taking another kiss.

“I’ll be okay,” she whispers.

“She’ll be fine.” Janet rolls her eyes at me before going to her husband and getting up on her tiptoes for a kiss. Once she’s got that from him, she walks across to the fridge and grabs two wine coolers. Coming back to Gia, she takes her hand and pulls her along with her out of the room toward the front of the house.

“Should I be worried about that?” I ask Cade, and he shrugs.

“I don’t think so. You know Janet never liked Lisa, so my guess is she’s trying to feel Gia out to make sure she’s good enough for you,” he replies, and I look to where they just were. “They will be fine. Come on. We need to make sure Dad isn’t putting too much damn lighter fluid on the grill again.”

“Right.” I smile, remembering the time he singed half the hair off his face. At the time, it wasn’t funny, but looking back on it now, it’s hilarious.

~**~

Taking a pull from my beer, I watch Gia move inside through the sliding glass door with Mom, Janet, and the girls to go get the pie they made, and vanilla ice cream. Dinner was good, and Gia was relaxed and funny, which made it even better. I could tell my family was falling for her just as quickly as me, which isn’t a surprise. It’s hard not to like her when she’s being sweet with two little girls, helping Mom in the kitchen, or joking with my brothers—something she did easily all evening.

“I like her for you, man,” Carson says, and I pull my eyes from the door to look at him. “She’s sweet, and it doesn’t suck that she’s not hard to look at.”

“I know, and I’d appreciate it if you stop fucking checking her out. And stop flirting with her,” I mutter, and his smile gets bigger and turns into a grin.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy or this relaxed,” Cade inserts, and I roll my head on my shoulders.

“Probably because I haven’t been this happy or relaxed in a long fucking time,” I admit. “You know how it was when I thought I would never walk again. From the instant I was shot, it was like I was stuck in that moment. Even when I learned to walk again, I was still living that shit every day. And now…” I pause, running my hand through my hair. “Now it’s like it never happened. She fucking erased that shit for me.”

“Told you,” Dad says, and I look to see him giving me a knowing smile.

“I still need to convince her that she should move here permanently. I won’t feel good about any of this until I know she wants to live here with me. She’s never lived in a town this small before, so I don’t know if she can really be happy here.”

“She hasn’t moved here for good?” Carson asks, and I shake my head.

“She’s still got most of her shit in Chicago, at the place she and her friend rent there. She hasn’t mentioned anything about moving down here for good, and since things between us are so new, I haven’t brought it up to her.”

“You should probably tell her how you feel,” Cade suggests, taking a drink from his own beer.

“I’m going slow. I learned today that she’s never even had a boyfriend before, didn’t even know that’s what we were. She didn’t want to assume this was more than it was, even though she wanted it to be more.”

“Women are fucking confusing,” Carson mutters, and Dad grunts in agreement.

“So she’s the one?” Cade asks softly, and I feel my chest get tight and warm.

I don’t even have to think about the answer to that question, because I know without a doubt, down to my bones that she is. “Yeah, man. She’s the one.”

Now, I just hope like fuck I’m the one for her too.