“I get it, but do me a favor and breathe for a second, baby.”
She heaved a deep sigh. Then another.
“Better?”
“Yeah, a little,” she sighed. “If only my other problem were as easy to fix.”
I didn’t like how worried she sounded. “Tell me about it. I’m pretty good at solving problems.”
“That’s actually why I called. To warn you.” She paused for a moment, and I heard her take another deep breath. “My family’s in town. My mom and dad. My brothers and their wives.”
“Okay?” I lengthened out the short word questioningly. “You’re going to have to explain in more detail because I’m not seeing the problem.”
“Alec mentioned you at the rehearsal dinner last night. In front of them. He called you my boyfriend, which grabbed their attention. I talked to my parents about us so you might be okay with them, but my brothers are another story. They’re ridiculously overprotective and you should probably be prepared to be interrogated by them.”
As the words tumbled out, she threw a hell of a lot at me and I wasn’t sure which part to respond to first. Knowing she was short on time, I ignored my curiosity over what she told her parents about me and went straight to what was most important—easing her concerns. “Don’t worry about me, baby. I can handle your brothers.”
“You don’t know what they can be like!” she whispered frantically into the phone.
“I’m a six-foot-two, two-hundred-pound hockey player. I’m not worried about it, and you shouldn’t be either.”
“You make an excellent point,” she mumbled. “Only it’s something you shouldn’t have to deal with this early in our… umm…”
“Relationship,” I finished her sentence with the word she seemed hesitant to use.
“Relationship. Okay. Right. Yeah.” She was so fucking adorable; I could barely stand it. Apparently, sexy mixed with cute was my Achilles heel when it came to women, or at least Cecily’s particular brand of it.
My need to take care of her had me admitting to something I hadn’t planned to share with her for a little while longer. “It’s not too early for me. Even though I didn’t know who you were or how to find you; for me, what we’re building started a long time ago.”
“Jason.” She sniffled, even while sounding like she didn’t believe me—all just by saying my name.
“I mean it.” It should have scared the fuck out of me how much I meant it, but instead I felt a strange sense of relief. Through high school and college, I’d never really been the boyfriend type. I’d been content to play the field and have fun without tying myself down. But with Cecily, I didn’t just want to be her boyfriend—I wanted to be the best one ever.
I heard soft voices in the background. “Shit. I’m so sorry, but I’ve got to go.”
The timing sucked, but it was what it was. So I did what I had to do and manned the fuck up. “It’s okay, baby. I’ll see you soon.” Knowing I’d get to see her all dressed up for the wedding, and get to hold her while we danced at the reception, was what made hanging up easier.
I didn’t waste any time putting on my tie and suit coat. Grabbing my wallet and keys, I called down to the valet to make sure my car would be ready when I made it outside. I had plenty of time before I needed to be at Andrew and Alec’s parents’ house since I was just a guest, but with Cecily freaking out I wanted to get there as soon as I could. Just in case she needed me.
As much as I would have loved the opportunity to lend her a helping hand, I didn’t hear a peep from her during the thirty minutes I waited before the ceremony started. I didn’t lay eyes on her until she walked down the aisle. I hadn’t seen her look anything but beautiful, but she was stunning in her emerald-green bridesmaid gown. So much so that I barely noticed the bride. I was unable to tear my eyes away from her during the ceremony, and my heart raced each time her eyes slid my way.
Normally, I would have looked back when it felt like someone was glaring daggers at me several times. But watching Cecily outweighed any curiosity I felt over it. Lucky for me, I was able to satisfy both urges when two men approached me as soon as I stood up from my seat after the ceremony was over. With their red hair, green eyes, and pale complexions, it wasn’t hard to guess that these were the brothers Cecily had been worried about when she called me earlier.
“Are you Jason?” one of them asked.
“Yup.”
“The Jason who plays hockey with Alec Rourke?” the other added.
Oh, yeah. These were definitely Cecily’s brothers. “Yes.”
“We’d like to have a word with you.” The one who’d spoken first glanced around at the crowd surrounding us in the Rourke’s back yard. “In private.”
“Sure, no problem.” I walked to the side of the house with the two of them following close behind. “Do I at least get to know your names before you try to kick my ass for dating your sister?”
“I’m Steven. This is Noah.” Cecily’s brothers smiled at each other. “He’s a cocky one, what with the whole trying thing when there’s two of us and only one of him.”
“And a smart one if he figured out who we were that easily,” Noah added.
“Daring, too, since he just announced to us that he’s dating our sister.”
I didn’t know what Cecily had been so worried about. Her brothers weren’t the least bit intimidating. They were more like a comedy duo. “Are you guys going to actually do something or ask me real questions? Because if not, I’d like to go back out there so I can wait for your sister.”
“Then I guess I’ll get to the point,” Steven said, moving close enough to get in my face. “We’re going to be watching you with her tonight. If we don’t like what we see, you’re going to leave her alone. We weren’t able to step in early enough when she picked douchebags before, but things are just getting started with the two of you. We’re here to nip it in the bud if we have even the tiniest inkling that you’re going to hurt her.”
Considering what Cecily had shared with me about her past relationships, I understood where they were coming from. It didn’t mean I’d let them interfere in ours, though. “You can watch us all you want. Judge me however you’d like. I get it, and I even agree since I’d like nothing more than to kick the asses of anyone who’s ever hurt her. You’ll probably decide I’m not good enough for her, and I’ll understand that, too, because she’s an amazing woman. But the one thing you can’t do is force me to stay away from Cecily. Nobody can.”
“Strong words for a guy who’s only been seeing her for a week, don’t you think?” Noah asked.
I stepped away from Steven so I could look at both of them. “I’m not sure what all she shared with you or your parents, but we met a little more than nine months ago. Things went sideways that night”—they both stood taller at that—“due to an innocent misunderstanding. Not because of anything I did to her. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see her again, but I spent every day since then with her on my mind. Now that I’ve found her again, the last thing I want to do is hurt her in any way.”
“Huh.” Steven took a step away from me.
“Who knew the hockey player was going to be such a sensitive soul?” Noah asked, a grin beginning to spread across his face.
“Certainly not me,” Steven answered. “I figured he was another douchebag meathead.”
I wasn’t sure if I should be relieved that they were backing off or irritated that their humor was at my expense. “Nobody’s ever accused me of being a sensitive soul before, and I graduated summa cum laude so the meathead label doesn’t apply either.”
“Ah! But you’re not denying the douchebag part, are you?” Noah joked.
Steven tossed his arm over my shoulder as we walked back towards the crowd in the yard. “He also failed to mention exactly when it was that he earned his degree. He has a bit of a baby face, so I’m wondering if we can start heckling our sister for robbing the cradle.”
“I do not have a baby face!” I protested. I’d
never been accused of it before, either. Cecily’s brothers were a pain in my ass.
He stopped, turning to study my face with squinted eyes. “Maybe you don’t. I’d have to know how old you are to be sure either way.”
“I’m twenty-three,” I begrudgingly admitted.
Steven practically crowed in triumph. “We’re going to have fun with our baby sis tonight.”
“Hell yeah, we are,” Noah agreed.
“Fuck,” I groaned. I had a feeling it was going to be a long night.
Six hours later, while everyone was celebrating at the reception, I knew I was right. I’d spent much of my time at a table full of guys from the team who thought it was fucking hilarious that I kept my eyes on Cecily all night long. At first, they hadn’t realized she was what held my attention since she was sitting at the head table with the bridal party. It wasn’t until Ryan pointed her out to everyone that the razzing began. It only got worse when Cecily’s brothers stopped by the table with their wives to introduce them to me, still joking about their sister robbing the cradle with me.
“You scored a hot, older chick?” Ryan sounded surprised and impressed at the same time.
“He earned it after all the pussy he turned down,” one of the other guys tossed in.
I glared at all of them. “Did you already forget what I said in the locker room? No thinking, talking about, or looking at her.”
They busted up laughing, joking about me being pussy-whipped already. I wished I could blame it on the open bar, but the odds were good that I’d get a lot of teasing from them over Cecily. It was just the way we all were with each other. Not that I gave a damn. They could poke at me about it all they wanted. Being with her was well worth anything they’d dish my way, and it was past time that I abandoned these guys in favor of her.
The cake had been cut, the garter and bouquet tossed, the couple’s first dance was done. Her maid of honor duties had to be nearing their end. Shoving away from the table and out of my chair, I made a beeline towards her, ignoring the catcalls from the guys.
Coming up behind her as she was talking to Josie, I enjoyed the way she shivered when I trailed a fingertip along the skin on the back of her neck. “You having a good time, baby?”
“Yeah.” She leaned back and looked up at me with a glazed look in her eyes. “Even better now that you’re here.”
Her cheeks were flushed, and I had a feeling it was due to the champagne I’d seen her drinking all night. I moved her water glass in front of her. “I didn’t see you eat much.”
“But what I had was delicious.”
“The two bites you ate, you mean,” Josie teased. “I’m the bride, and I even managed to eat more than you.”
I switched my gaze to her and offered a smile. “Congratulations,” I offered. “It was a beautiful ceremony and the food—which I was lucky enough to eat plenty of—really was delicious.”
“Thank you,” she replied with a soft smile. “I’m sorry we’ve been keeping Cee-Cee so busy all night. You should be able to have her all to yourself soon.”
“You giving our girl away, Josie?” a deep, male voice asked from behind me.
I turned and found an older couple standing a couple feet away from us. The woman, who resembled Cecily quite a bit with her red hair and bright green eyes, was smiling at me. The silver-haired man, however, was obviously taking my measure. His lips were firmly pressed into a line, and his pale blue eyes were serious as he looked at me.
“Daddy,” Cecily sighed, standing up and moving to stand next to me.
“This must be Jason,” her mom said, giving Cecily a look that clearly told her to introduce us.
“Yes, sorry.” Cecily’s flushed cheeks darkened in embarrassment. “Mom, Dad, this is Jason Campbell. Jason, these are my parents.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Jason,” her mom said, stepping forward to give me a hug. It was unexpected, but incredibly sweet. The look her dad was giving me when his wife stepped away from me was the exact opposite.
“Daniel,” she hissed, jabbing him in the side when she reached him again.
“Yes, sorry. Nice to meet you.” He stretched his arm out.
“You, too, sir. Ma’am,” I answered, shaking his hand and trying not to react in kind when he squeezed it tighter than was necessary.
“Stop it, Daddy,” Cecily snapped. “Steven and Noah already gave him their stamp of approval.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t form my own opinion about him, too,” he grumbled back.
“I’d expect nothing less, sir.”
“Enough of that sir and ma’am business. Please call us Daniel and Eloisa,” her mom insisted.
“Yes, ma’— I mean, thank you, Eloisa.”
“So polite.” She beamed at me.
“Yes, well, we were just coming to tell you we’re done for the night,” her dad explained. “Your mom is tired.”
“More like you’re tired, Daddy. We all know it’s past your usual bed time already.” Cecily turned to me. “My father is one of those morning people who likes to go to bed early. One of the best things about moving away from home was not having him knocking on my door before the sun wasn’t even up to see if I wanted to go for a jog with him.”
“There’s nothing wrong with a good night’s sleep and exercise in the morning.”
That earned me the briefest of smiles from her dad. “Another morning person. I like it.”
“I don’t,” Cecily groaned.
The speculative gleam in her dad’s eyes eased as he realized that his daughter hadn’t had the chance to discover if I was an early riser yet.
“Ah, but at least he can cook a mean breakfast and make coffee,” Josie interjected, earning me a glare from Andrew.
“She only knows that from back when she was giving Luka rehab, man. Whenever they had morning sessions, I made enough so she could eat too.”
My answer seemed to satisfy Andrew, and it also earned me approving looks from both of Cecily’s parents.
“On that note, how about I walk you two out?” Cecily offered.
“We’ll come, too. I’d love a chance to chat and maybe hit the restroom,” Josie added.
I said my goodbyes to Cecily’s parents, sighing in frustration when I saw her dad give Alec a big hug, and watched as the group walked away.
Alec clapped me on the back. “Nicely done with the parents. I think you might actually have a chance of gaining her dad’s approval. That’s no easy feat.”
“You seemed to have accomplished it,” I complained.
“Yeah, but I’m me—and I’ve known them for years. Plus, I’m not the one trying to get in her panties.”
“I’m not just trying to get in her damn panties,” I growled.
“I know.” He smirked at me. “And if I hadn’t already, I would have learned about it tonight when her brothers were telling me all about how you said you were pining for her for months and months.”
“Shit, I need a drink.”
“I’m sure you do,” he laughed, walking with me to the bar. We got our drinks and chatted for a little bit, while I waited for Cecily to return.
“It’s dollar dance time!” the DJ called out.
“Shit, I better get out there,” Alec muttered, downing the rest of his drink in a gulp.
I had no idea what was going on. “Dollar dance?”
“It’s a tradition at weddings in our family, or that’s what my mom told Andrew and Josie while they were planning everything. They’ll play a couple songs, and you fork over some cash for the chance to dance with the bride or groom.”
I followed after him. “Sounds like fun.”
I winked at Cecily as we reached the dance floor. She was standing next to Josie, holding a small white basket. “Dig deep into your wallets, guys. We’ve got a little friendly competition going on to see who can collect the most money, and I don’t want to lose to Alec.”
Pulling my wallet out of my pocket, I was happy I’d thought to stop at the
bank yesterday to grab extra cash for the weekend. I purposely held back so I was the last in line to have their turn with Josie, hoping to be able to snag Cecily once the dance was over. When I slipped a hundred-dollar bill into the basket, the smile Cecily flashed me was blinding.
“I’ve totally got you beat,” she called out to Alec.
“No fair. Whatever ridiculous amount of money Jason gave you shouldn’t count.”
“Just for that, I think I’ll up the ante,” I laughed, grabbing another hundred from my wallet and handing it over to Cecily.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“You’re welcome.”
“You’ve paid for it twice over now, but are you actually going to dance with me or what?” Josie asked.
I moved towards her, uncertain what she was doing when she backed up a couple steps and finagled me so her back was turned to Cecily a few seconds after we started to dance. She didn’t make me wonder for long.
“I’ve known you for what, almost two years now?”
“Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“When we first met, we got off on the right foot. But I have to warn you, if you screw Cee-Cee over, I’ll shove my other foot right up your ass.”
It was sweet, the way she was protecting Cecily, but it was also difficult to take her seriously. “You know that you look like a Disney princess in your wedding gown, right? It’s not exactly giving you an intimidating vibe.”
She stopped and stared up at me. “Oh my gosh! That’s exactly what I thought about Cee-Cee when we first met.”
“What was?” the girl in question asked as she and Andrew joined us, the groom tucking the bride into his side.
“You finally got your wish. We’re Disney princess twins!” Josie explained. It must have been a girl thing, because Cecily somehow knew exactly what she was talking about.
“Well, this princess would like to dance with her prince.” She looked up at me expectantly.
“Finally,” I breathed, taking her into my arms. “It feels like I’ve been waiting for this all night.”
Checked Into Love (Bachelorette Party Book 2) Page 7