“Don’t thank me, I thought they would be too old. Audrey insisted they needed them though,” he replied, eyes on the road.
Every now and then I noticed Jace glanced at the rearview mirror, and I assumed it wasn’t to see out his back window. The trip from the airport to where we all lived was about an hour with traffic. Halfway there, Jace flipped down a little TV from the ceiling and played a movie for the kids. When they began laughing hysterically, Raegan put on a set of headphones too.
“She’s a knockout, dude,” Jace said lightly. I didn’t think that Rae could hear us up here with her headphones, but he still tried to speak only to me.
“Kate? She’s beautiful, huh? A little spitfire, too. I can’t believe how much life and energy she has thrumming through that little body.”
“I’m happy for you, man.”
I nodded my head but kept quiet. For some reason, I felt my hackles rise, and I had a feeling it was because Jace was gearing up to talk about something I wasn’t going to like.
“So…” Here we go, I thought. “I heard you call Raegan ‘babe.’ Is that like how you call Audrey ‘doll’ or is it… something more?”
“Something more,” I muttered to the window.
With a deep sigh, he continued, “You really think that’s smart? With the kids and all?”
“No.” It was the truth, but there was also the fact that I physically wouldn’t be able to stop what we had going.
“Just make sure you’re smart, man. Take care of your daughter first,” Jace whispered.
“What the hell? What do you think I’ve been doing for four damn years, Jace?” My voice began to rise and I caught Raegan’s movement behind me. I turned and saw her pulling her headphones off, her eyes growing wide. I turned, lay back against the headrest, and closed my eyes, trying to calm myself down. Jace didn’t respond and thank God he kept his mouth shut the entire rest of the drive.
We drove down their long, gravel drive, passing Jace and Jaxon’s mom’s beautiful house with its quintessential wrap-around porch. Audrey loved that porch so much that it was the only thing she asked for when she and Jace built their house further down the road.
Jace and Jaxon had been given all of their father’s land after he passed away. They each built houses out here, along with their best friend, Cole, and his wife, Quinn. This has become my family. Even Jace’s mom has taken me in as her own. I loved it out here. I loved the pond behind Jaxon and Emerson’s house. I loved the quiet and the tranquility of the country.
But right now I was feeling anything but tranquil—I was pissed. And I hated being mad at the people I loved. I was pissed at Jace for thinking that I would put anyone before Kate. He acted like I was a fifteen-year-old who was only thinking with my dick. I clenched my fists and tried to force myself to release the anger. I hated to argue with my family and tried to avoid it at all costs.
So when Jace pulled the SUV to a stop, my hand was already on the door handle. I pushed out before he had the gear in park and leaned up against my closed door. Raegan rounded the back of the car with determination and put her hands gently against my stomach.
“What’s wrong?” she asked quietly.
“Nothing.”
“Doesn’t seem like nothing to me.” She pressed her body against mine and I looked away. “Okay…” She must have deciphered my cold mood because she pushed back, but still kept her hands on me. “I’ll let this slide right now because I think that beautiful girl barreling down the stairs is for you.”
Her last words struck me because she sounded almost uncomfortable. And when I saw Audrey sprint around the car and crash her body squarely into mine, I swore a grimace rocked Raegan’s face. But she hid it well, because in the blink of an eye, she turned and began to help Kate and Braden out of the backseat.
“You’re here!” Audrey cried into my chest. She was significantly taller than Raegan, so I didn’t have to bend over to pick her up into a bear hug.
“Hey, doll,” I said. “Missed ya.”
“I’m still so mad at you, but I missed you like crazy!” I had a feeling she would never let me live down that I hadn’t told her about Kate. We told each other everything; at least, that’s what she thought.
“I’m sorry, but we’re here now,” I consoled.
Rae shut the door and held each of the kids’ hands. I looked over Audrey’s shoulder to see that Rae had her head fully turned away from Audrey in my arms. Kate and Braden, on the other hand, were staring at us with questions in their eyes.
“Hey, guys,” I said, releasing Audrey. “This is my best friend. She’s like my sister.” I tried to over-enunciate the last word for Raegan’s sake.
“I have a sister.” Braden surprised me by being the first to speak up.
“I know! I also hear you’re an amazing brother.” Audrey took his comment in stride and I smiled. “Braden, right?” He nodded his head and smiled wide.
“And you!” Audrey gasped dramatically at Kate. “You are about the prettiest little girl I have ever seen in my life.”
Kate jumped up and down, while still clutching Raegan’s hand. “I am? Thank you!” she exclaimed loudly.
“Most definitely. You look just like your daddy.”
Kate smiled proudly up at Audrey and then turned to look at me. I opened my arms wide so she bounded forward and leapt into my hold. Audrey quickly wiped at her eyes and smiled adoringly at the both of us.
“Oh, I just love this!” she cried. Then she turned her attention to Raegan. “You must be Raegan that I’ve been hearing oh-so-much about.” I was going to kill her.
“Really?” Raegan smiled shyly.
“Oh yes! He gushes about you. I’ve been so excited to meet you,” she said, walking forward to pull Raegan in for a hug.
Raegan hesitated at first, but then I watched as she finally let the hug happen. She’d better get used to this touchy-feely bunch. “I guess I could say the same about you,” Rae replied.
“Okay!” I decided to interrupt this uncomfortable conversation. “We’ve all met now. Let’s just get the keys so we can head back to my place.”
“He’s embarrassed now,” Audrey laughed, giving Rae a wink. I groaned and attempted to pull Rae toward the car. “Oh no you don’t,” Audrey continued. “You’ve been gone for weeks, I finally get to meet your daughter and you think you’re just going to run off again?”
“I’m hardly running anywhere. I live five minutes away, doll,” I chuckled.
She gave me the look, the one that told me I wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. I sighed in defeat and pulled Raegan into my chest, because if I was going to endure an Audrey interrogation, I should at least be allowed to hold Rae in the process.
- FIFTEEN -
RAEGAN -
So Audrey was beautiful. Not like your everyday beautiful—if there was such a thing—but like she should be on the cover of some high-fashion magazine beautiful. Her legs were about as long as my entire body, so I instantly felt squatty standing next to her. I shouldn’t have worn flats today. And didn’t she just have a baby? Where was the post- pregnancy belly I thought we were all blessed with?
I still didn’t understand how she and Lane hadn’t ended up together. I had a hard time believing that they lived together for years and yet nothing had happened. How is that possible? They were both gorgeous. Gorgeous people migrated to other gorgeous people.
But speaking of gorgeous… Audrey’s husband, Jace, was out of this world. He was tall—like crazy tall. He had at least three inches on Lane, but he wasn’t built the same. I don’t think anyone was built like Lane.
I was beginning to feel inferior in comparison to all of these tall, attractive people around me. I hated that feeling and I used to roll my eyes at girls like that. I needed to straighten my spine and get over it.
Jace moved around the front of the car and grabbed Audrey around the middle. I didn’t know if it was intentional, but he moved her away from Lane by a good two feet. Audrey melted into his
touch, and the smile she gave him over her shoulder should have removed all doubts about her and Lane from my head. Jace whispered into her ear and she nodded in return, smirking at him.
Just then, a large truck came flying down the dirt road and we all turned to see it approaching the house. I felt Lane pull me in tighter.
“You know I’m not upset with you, right?” I felt his words whispered against my ear.
“I didn’t do anything so you better not be mad at me,” I replied.
I smiled when I felt him chuckle behind me. “I just want to get us back to the house soon,” he continued to whisper.
“Me too.”
“You nervous about meeting my friends?” he asked.
“No,” I replied quickly. Then I backtracked. “Yes.”
The truck that pulled up near Jace’s SUV was drenched in mud. Not just little splashes here and there, but full-on covered in filth. I couldn’t say what color it actually was if I tried. The windshield was only clean where the wipers had smeared the mud away.
Then Jace got out of the truck. Huh? But it wasn’t Jace, because he was standing behind us, still holding onto Audrey.
“Whoa…” I whispered. Jace had an identical twin. I knew Jace and Jaxon were brothers, but I hadn’t heard anything about twins.
“Crazy, huh?” Audrey said from beside me.
“Whoa, what?” Lane growled into my ear. I shivered against him and moved further into his chest. Kate squirmed down from his arms and reclaimed Braden’s hand.
“Umm….” I didn’t know what to say. I still thought Lane was the most beautiful person I had ever seen, but… seeing two of these guys side-by-side would take me a minute to grasp. They were dreamy.
“Rae…” Lane continued and now he fully held onto me from behind.
He and I had done fairly well at keeping our displays of affection away from the kids. We hadn’t kissed or made any advances in front of them. They didn’t seem to catch on to his current possessive actions, so I let him continue to hold me.
“Give her a break, Lane. Seeing Jax and Jace for the first time is a lot to take in… for any girl.”
He grasped me a little bit tighter and I went willingly. We all watched as Jaxon, who was covered in as much mud as his truck, ran around the front and opened the passenger-side door. He reached inside and scooped out a girl with long, blonde hair. This must have been Emerson. She kicked and giggled as he carried her away from the truck. His smile was blinding as he looked at her squirming in his arms. They each laughed loudly at one another, probably because they were both caked in dried mud.
Surprise, surprise, she was a knockout too… even dirty. “What the hell is in the water here?” I whispered, mostly to myself.
“Why do you say that, babe?” Lane asked.
“It’s nothing.” Or it wasn’t really anything to get worked up over, at least. Maybe in the past four years while I’d been locked away, people just got better-looking for some reason. Although, come to think of it, I didn’t remember seeing this many beautiful people in New York.
“Jaxon!” Em gasped. “Put me down!” She managed to escape his arms and I was happy to see that even though she was gorgeous, she wasn’t another long-legged supermodel. She was my height and seemed to have all the same proportions as me.
“You two are ridiculous,” Jace laughed beside us.
“It’s her fault!” Jaxon laughed.
“Oh, like you’re really going to complain.” Em looked at him mischievously and he grabbed her again, pulling her into his body.
“What the hell happened?” Jace asked.
“Dude,” I heard Lane growl as he elbowed Jace.
“Sorry, little ears,” Jace responded softly.
That caught Jaxon and Em’s attention, and they both looked down at the two kids standing next to us.
“Oh my God!” Emerson cried. “You two are the most adorable little things I have ever seen!”
“Wow, she’s like your clone, man,” Jaxon added.
“You know, you guys are all pretty overwhelming,” Lane said to the crowd around us. He reached down and easily scooped up both Braden and Kate in a protective gesture. They held onto his shoulders to balance themselves. It was quick, but Braden looked down at me with an arresting smile. Lane had just made him feel special in front of everyone. I rubbed his back, excited for him.
“I’m sorry,” Emerson cooed up at them.
“No, no. I don’t like that tone, beautiful,” Jaxon said to Em. “I just got you over your last bout of baby-fever.”
“So, watching Quinn and Cole’s baby actually worked?” Jace laughed.
“That baby doesn’t sleep. She’s one years old, shouldn’t she be sleeping by now?” Emerson grumbled.
“Some babies are just like that. Braden’s almost five and he still gets up in the middle of the night. At least now I can tell him to go back to sleep,” I interjected.
Jaxon smiled wide at me. “I like you already.”
“Umm... thanks,” I responded.
“Jaxon’s been trying to talk Em out of having a kid since before they were engaged,” Lane informed me.
“Not completely. Just not for at least five years… or something.” Jaxon scooped Em back up into his arms and kissed her quickly. They were really adorable together.
“You could always watch Jocelyn,” Audrey added.
“No thanks,” Jaxon quickly replied, setting Em back down.
“Got something against my daughter? Your niece, by the way?” Jace questioned his brother.
Em laughed and said, “No, she’s just too good of a baby. Audrey told us she’s already started sleeping through the night. He only lets me watch the more… challenging ones.”
“You caught that, huh?” Jaxon asked coyly.
“You’re not that sneaky, babe,” she laughed.
This group was a lot of fun. I didn’t know them at all, but the dynamic between them was awesome. They teased each other playfully, but anyone would be able to tell that they truly cared for one another. I couldn’t help but smile just standing around them.
“It’s good to see everyone. Now, you’ve all met so we’re gonna head back to my place,” Lane announced to the crowd.
“Wait!” We all turned as a pretty little brunette raced across the street, and following behind her was yet another handsome man. Cole and Quinn, I was assuming. Hopefully, this was the end of the welcome wagon. I was surprised I even remembered everyone’s names from the late-night talks with Lane back in New York. “Are they here? Is she blonde? Did I win the bet?”
“Oh God, the bet…” I heard Em whisper to Audrey. They both looked at me and when I caught them, they quickly averted their gazes.
“What’s going on?” Lane asked.
Quinn ran up to us and scanned the crowd of faces before her eyes finally landed on mine. She visibly deflated, then realized her actions before quickly smiling up at me. “Oh, you’re not blonde, but dang… you are gorgeous!”
“Why would I be blonde?” I asked.
“What bet?” Lane questioned.
“We were just being silly,” Audrey offered. Lane looked over at her and she shrank back into Jace.
“Welcome back, man,” Cole said and held out his hand for Lane. Lane set the kids down, Cole pulled him into a man hug, and they patted each other’s backs. Lane quickly moved back to my side, before claiming both Braden and Kate’s hands.
I continued to look at Quinn, wondering if she would reply to my question. She finally answered slowly, “We just… thought you’d be… blonde. It was dumb.” She waved her hand, attempting to dismiss the entire thing.
“Shut it, Quinn,” Em mumbled, but not quiet enough.
“Mommy, what is blonde?” Kate asked.
“Your hair is blonde, sweetie,” I replied.
I glanced up at Lane and saw him glaring at Audrey. “Do you have a thing for blondes?” I asked. His eyes moved to each of our audience members. “You know I’m a brunette, ri
ght?” I smiled.
His hand curled around the length of my hair and gave it a gentle tug so I was forced to look straight up into his eyes. “Of course I know,” he grumbled onto my lips. My heart beat wildly in my chest, not only because this was our first show of affection in front of the kids, but in front of his friends as well.
Finally, I couldn’t hold it in any longer and I burst out laughing. He looked so uncomfortable with everyone talking about him in front of me and now the way he was squirming around, it was hilarious. I just couldn’t hold back. The laugh was loud and deep and cleansing. Why did I care who Lane liked or who he usually went after? I had never been that kind of girl. So I laughed off the stress that I had placed on myself.
“I like her,” Cole said with humor in his voice.
“I do too,” Jaxon added.
“Of course you like her,” Quinn said. “She’s practically the brunette version of Em.”
Em and I stared at one another and finally just started laughing together. Yeah, this group was fun.
“Finally, someone I can share clothes with,” Em cheered.
“Well, sorry I won’t be much fun. The only clothes I own can fit into a small duffel bag.” I shrugged.
“We’ll fix that!” Quinn announced excitedly.
“Shit,” Lane whispered, and I elbowed him for his language.
“Say goodbye to your credit cards now, man,” Jace laughed.
I instantly sobered. “Oh no, I wouldn’t use his money.”
“Alright,” Lane interrupted. “This has been fun, but I’m hungry, they’re hungry, and we’re going home before anyone else shows up.”
“Everything’s ready for you guys,” Audrey said, smiling widely.
“Thanks, doll. We’ll see you guys around.”
LANE -
“Lane, your house is huge!” Raegan smiled widely at me from the passenger seat.
I laughed because my house wasn’t even close to huge. “You’re just used to New York City apartments. You saw Jace, Jaxon, and Cole’s places, right?” I never really cared about how much money I didn’t make. It was always enough to do what I wanted and still pay my bills. But when compared to those guys with their families’ trust funds, I was sorely lacking.
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