“What happened?”
“Kip got sick. He had kidney issues, and then his wife left him. He needed help with the bar, or it would have fallen apart.”
“So?”
“So, I didn’t get to transfer. I took courses here and there at the local community college but mostly helped Kip. He got better, and Lunar Dive got back in the black.”
“And then?”
“And then? What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?” she teased as he took the exit from the freeway, hitting a red light. He turned to look at her, and she rolled her eyes playfully but then shrugged when she knew he wasn’t going to let it go. “And then, I don’t know. I got a job.”
“At the call center?”
“Yeah. It pays the bills. I have the weekends and nights off.”
“Why didn’t you go back to school?”
“Garrett,” she sighed. “My life is so different from yours,” she softly said. She wasn’t being ugly about it, just honest, and he stiffened. His hands clenched around the steering wheel as he turned left when the light changed and he kept driving. He knew their lives had been different. He was fully aware.
“What did you want to be?” he asked, finding he really wanted to know the answer.
“Be?”
“Yeah. You went to school for something, right?” he clarified. She waited for a second before answering him.
“A teacher. I wanted to work with kids,” she shared. Something about the tone of her voice made his chest ache.
He could see her doing that. She would have been fucking fantastic at it. She had the patience of a saint, something she had proven day in and day out by dealing with his grouchy ass.
“What about you?” She squeezed his hand. “What did you want to be when you grew up?” she asked, and the way she did, bright and innocent, he knew she didn’t know how what she was asking pried into the parts of him he wanted to keep hidden from everyone. Everyone but her, it seems.
“I wanted to be in the Army.” His words came out rough, and when he glanced at her, she wasn’t deterred. She wasn’t scared off or looked at him with any kind of pity.
“Always?” she asked, not dropping the subject, just as stubborn as he was. With anyone else, that trait would have annoyed him, but he liked knowing Stef didn’t shy away from him. Maybe that’s why he kept giving pieces of himself to her.
“Always.” His voice cracked, and he cleared it, about to crack a joke or something, to lighten the mood, but she didn’t let him.
“What about now, Mr. Wright?”
“Now?” The question threw him for a loop. No one had asked him straight up what he wanted to do with his life since he had been discharged. They were just glad he was back.
“Yeah, what do you want to do now?” He had no way of answering. He couldn’t seem to get two words together, so he simply grunted and shrugged, changing the subject. This time, she let him.
“Okay, so what else should I know? Other than you having an outspoken grandmother,” she asked as Garrett pulled the car over and put it in park.
“Nervous, sunshine?” He looked over at her. Her hands were in her lap. He didn’t know why, but he had the biggest need to take them into his. To show her she wasn’t alone. He knew they would love her, but he had to admit it was nerve wrecking bring a woman around.
“I just don’t want to embarrass you,” she said softly. He grabbed her hand, and with it came her warm stare to meet his.
“You could never to do that, baby.”
“I’m not accomplished,” she blurted out, and he frowned. “I just...” She shook her head and looked away. Without thinking, he took his seat belt off and grabbed her other hand.
“Stefanie, look at me,” he ordered. He waited a heavy second before she turned, her eyes worried. “Talk to me. Where is this coming from?”
“I mean… Your sister-in-law is a writer, Garrett.”
“She is.”
“And the other one is an ER nurse!” There was something in her voice that made him let go of her hand, look twice before opening the door, and slip out.
Rounding his truck, he went to her side and opened her door. “Garrett. We’re going to be late and—oh, my God, what are you—” He ignored her as he leaned in and took her seat belt off, pulled her out the truck, and held her against his body, only to pull her away a second later so he could get a good look at her.
“You’re incredible,” he told her. He wasn’t surprised when she rolled her eyes, but he didn’t let her cuteness affect him. He held on to her tighter, and she relaxed in his arms.
“That’s not why I was—” she started to say against his chest, but he pulled away slightly and cut her off.
“It isn’t. I know. You don’t need me to tell you you’re incredible. You know it. Just like anyone who crosses paths with you knows it.”
“Garrett.”
“Life handed you seriously shitty cards in life, Stefanie Banks. But that shit’s done.” She scoffed and shook her head.
“You can tell the future now, huh?”
“No. Life dealt you the last shitty card when Lady Luck put a drunk asshole in your path and you took care of him,” he told her. She shook her head.
“I don’t need you to take care of me.”
“No. You don’t. Just like you don’t need me to remind you you’re are fucking fantastic, sunshine. But guess what? I don’t care. I’m going to tell you anyhow. And it’s not me taking care of you; it’s us taking care of each other. Remember me saying this thing was a two-way street?”
“Garrett.” Her voice hitched, and her eyes became glassy. He wasn’t enough of a Neanderthal to not get what that meant. She was going to cry. Her tears would cut him deep. He wouldn’t be able to handle that, despite them possibly being happy ones, so he did the one thing he knew would distract her from crying.
He kissed her.
He kissed her slowly.
Sweetly.
Deepening the kiss, pouring everything he felt for her into it, hoping she would be able to get what he was trying to say.
Even if he was too much of a chicken shit to say it out loud.
Stefanie
There was something so different, so exquisite about his kiss, my toes curled in my shoes, and my dang foot popped up behind me like I was the leading lady in some black and white movie who had just got the guy.
“Better?” he asked gruffly, his lips not far from mine, both of us sharing the same air, wrapped up in a bubble that kept the outside world away.
“I’m sorry I freaked out,” I apologized softly. I had tried to talk myself down on the way out, but the more and more I thought about his family, the less worthy I felt. They were all so damn accomplished. I kept imagining they would take one look at me and look at Garrett like he was insane for not only bringing me around but wasting his time with me.
“Nothing to be sorry about.” His thumb stroked my cheek so fucking tenderly it made my eyes sting. “We can head back home,” he offered. I wrapped my arms around his waist, letting my head fall on his chest. He was huge, but even so, I could make out the sound of his heartbeat, and it steadied me. There was something so damn beautiful about him saying my place was home. Home. With him, that’s exactly what my apartment was.
“I’m not kidding, Stef. We can turn around and go back. I’ll text B and tell him something came up.” He spoke to the top of my head, holding me tighter, before kissing me there.
“No.” I pulled away to look up at him. “I want to meet them,” I admitted, an idea striking. “But before we go, do you think we can stop at a store?”
_______________
“You didn’t have to do that,” he grumbled, his hand in mine, our other hands full.
“I know.” I did, too. “But I wanted to. I honestly should have thought about it before we left.”
“Again, not necessary, sunshine.”
“I know.” I stopped him before we made it to the front door and looked up at him. He was such
an incredibly good-looking man. His tall frame was muscular and powerful, his rugged face on mine, searching, obviously wondering what I was up to. “Thank you. For bringing me.”
“Babe, we still haven’t made it inside. For all we know, you walk in there and get second thoughts about this because of all the crazy that comes with me.”
“I highly doubt it.” I smiled. “Garrett, I—”
“Hey! There you guys are!” I peeked over Garrett’s shoulder. A gorgeous, curvy blonde was walking over to us with a smile on her face. The closer she got, the prettier she was.
“HI! You must be Stefanie!” She came right over, pushing Garrett away like he was a feather, and hugged me. Hugged me! “I’m Val,” she announced after pulling away.
“Hi, Val. I’m Stef.” I scrunched my face and closed my eyes, embarrassment and nerves hitting. “You know that. Umm.” Our eyes met, and something hit me, suddenly making me relax. We both giggled before her face went serious.
“Don’t be nervous,” she gently ordered before looking over her shoulder toward the house then back at me. “I remember being deathly afraid of meeting this bunch of over-achievers.” She pointed behind her. I didn’t miss Garrett’s groan.
“You act like they’re part of Mensa,” he muttered under his breath, and when Val’s bright eyes met mine, we both laughed.
“These are for you.” I handed her the bunch of daisies in my arms. “Thank you for inviting me to your home.”
“Thank you! They are beautiful!” She grinned. “You didn’t have to.”
“I told her that,” Garrett complained, and I rolled my eyes at him, still thankful he had taken me to the sweetest flower shop I had ever seen.
“But thank you,” Valerie added, her own lips twitching as she looked back and forth between us. “Come on. Let’s get you two inside.”
“Where is my hug, Blondie?”
“You better keep your hands to yourself and off my woman, bro,” a man said. I looked at who I guessed was Bryan. He was handsome in his own right. An inch shorter than Garrett and a lot leaner when compared to the bulky muscle Garrett held.
“Why is everyone going outside?” another deep voice said behind Bryan, and this time, I was swallowing hard. Holy crap. When Garrett had mentioned Marcus Wright was his brother, I hadn’t let myself really think about it, much less think about how much they looked like one another. There was a reason Marcus Wright was cast in huge summer blockbusters as a freaking superhero. Though, seeing them stand next to one another, I was surprised not all three brothers were on some kind of big screen.
“It’s overwhelming, isn’t it,” Val quipped lightheartedly.
“Not fair, really.” I shrugged, and her eyes smiled.
“Blondie,” Bryan warned.
“It’s like they hit the genetics lottery,” Val kept going. I had to agree with her because looking at the three brothers standing next to one another, I knew she was not wrong.
“Pretty much,” I muttered under my breath and felt her hand cover mine and squeeze. I glanced up at my scowling soldier. His body was held tight, and he was extra scowly, if that was possible.
He hulked over to me, gently moving Val from my side and blocking everyone behind him. He took me in his arms, as if his whole family wasn’t behind him and we were the only two who existed.
“Stop being cute,” his deep voice rumbled.
“I didn’t do—“ I couldn’t say another word, because his hand cupped my face and he leaned in, his mouth whispering by the shell of my ear.
“You breathe, and I find you fucking adorable. You talking, being sassy makes me wanna take you to the closest flat surface and rut into you.”
“Oh,” I gasped.
“Then you’re wearing that damn skirt,” he growled softly, and my nipple went harder.
“I thought you liked my skirt?”
“I love your skirt. Do you know I’m dying to know what’s covering you under said skirt? Dying to get my hands and mouth on you.”
“Oh my,” I whispered.
“I’m holding on by a thin thread here, sunshine, so maybe you can help me out by giving my poor guy a break before he literally gets so damn hard he falls off?”
“We wouldn’t want that,” I mumbled and felt his arms tighten around me, his body shaking with laughter. He pulled away, kissing my forehead, and when I looked up at him, somehow, that small moment was more intimate than anything we had shared. He slipped his hands away from me, but I didn’t have to miss him too long since he put an arm around my shoulder and moved us to face his brothers and Valerie, only to see more people had come to see what was going on and were standing in the front yard now. Each one with looks of surprise on their faces.
Garrett cursed under his breath before squeezing my shoulder and saying, “This is my girlfriend, Stefanie. Stefanie, these weirdos, who are acting like they’ve never met anyone, are my family.”
An older couple walked toward us, and I knew right off the bat they were his parents. They introduced themselves, then Marc and his wife Grace did, and I tried not to freak out. They were both not only incredibly good looking, but I was truly a fan of both of them. The little girl with them was adorable, and I knew instantly it was Garrett’s niece, Lexi.
Then a blond man wearing a business suit like he was born into it waved hello with a nod as he stood next to an incredibly beautiful older woman who I didn’t have to guess was his grandmother. She was stylishly dressed with a bohemian vibe I wish I knew how to pull off. He long white hair was French braided.
“You must be Nicola,” I said, stepping forward. Everyone watched in silence as I approached, probably preparing for whatever outlandish thing she would say. “These are for you.” I handed her a spray of orange lilies Garrett said were her favorite.
“Well… thank you,” she graciously said and looked away from me, obviously done with me, and walked into the house.
I looked up at Garrett and didn’t miss the shock on his face and the frown that followed.
“Stefanie, why don’t you come in with us and tell us more about yourself?” Jen, Garrett’s mom, said as she locked our elbows together.
“Mom.”
“I promise you can have her back later. But right now, I have to get to know the girl who has my grumpy son smiling more than I have seen in years.” With that, she led the way into the house and somehow, even though meeting his grandmother hadn’t been what I’d thought it would be, I was put at ease by his mom and sisters-in-law and niece as we walked into the spacious dining room, sat down, and munched on appetizers as the guys grilled outside.
_______________
The night air felt cooler than I was used to in the desert. Funny, the difference being two hours away from home made. But then again, this was California.
Looking around, I wanted to giggle. I was definitely not in Kansas anymore.
To say Bryan and Valerie’s home was beautiful was an understatement. It was decorated like it belonged in a magazine or the result of a Fixer-Upper episode. Elegant yet welcoming. A place that screamed Kick your feet up and stay awhile.
But as pretty and homey as it was, I couldn’t help but feel like I was utterly out of my realm. Valerie and Grace joked about how they could get lost in the big house they all shared. How this was the small one.
Looking around, I kind of hoped they were kidding. This place was amazing, and small didn’t come to mind when I glanced around. Then, to top it off, there was the family ranch in Montana they all spoke about. Garrett’s dad mentioned something about it only being a little over forty acres, but I couldn’t even imagine living on half of one. Jennifer showed me a couple of pictures of the place on her cell phone. It was beautiful and looked like something off a TV show. Like something off a postcard. Like something from a dream. A place where you could hear yourself think.
Kind of like Bryan and Valerie’s backyard. Everyone was inside, and I had snuck out to get some fresh air.
Garrett had been beyond
sweet with me throughout the day. He’d done everything he could to stick close, being vigilant of me, making sure to be near but give me space at the same time. And for the most part, I had worried over nothing. His family was kind and funny and completely down to earth. Their best friend, Donnie Bosco, was quiet and reserved but very observant and great with dry, witty comments. Lexi was as adorable as a little girl could be and would make any red-blooded woman’s biological clock start to tick. Then you threw in Valerie and Grace, who were honest, salt-of-the-earth-type women and seemed genuinely interested in getting to know me. They were all welcoming. Even his brothers, who at first had been slightly reserved but were quickly warming up to me, teasing Garrett in front of me.
The only thing that was nagging me in the back of my mind was his grandmother.
She was nothing like he’d described.
At all.
I didn’t know if it was something personal or if it was simply an off day for her, or maybe Garrett had exaggerated his grandmother’s eccentric behavior. But from what I could tell, everyone seemed surprised by her quietness.
The door slid open behind me, and I turned expecting it to be Garrett when the very woman I had been thinking about nodded at me, pulling the sliding door closed behind me.
“Do you have a moment?” she asked, and I smiled—or tried to since I was suddenly extremely nervous. “Mind if we sit?” she asked. I shook my head and followed her to the backyard furniture. Jesus, I needed to speak up, or she was going to think I was mute.
“It’s a nice night.” I opened my mouth and winced. Really? The weather? That’s all I could come up with?
“It is,” she politely answered.
We sat, and for a long moment, I stared off at the backyard. Soon, it would be filled with a new little one running about the space. I smiled wistfully. Glad that new life would have it so much better than I ever did. I wondered what it would be like to have kids. That thought was one I’d never had before, but the image of a little boy with my eyes but looked just like Garrett running around laughing made my heart still.
CHEAT (Right Men Series Book 3) Page 13