THE BOY I GREW UP WITH

by T I J A N

  I didn’t know the latest on Ava, but I knew she and Roy had dated for a few years while she went to college. She used to check in with us when she was in town, but the last I heard, she was headed to graduate school somewhere. Her parents were beyond proud of her, and that said it all.

  Congo had married Becca.

  I put up with her presence for a long time. But acceptance had reluctantly and gradually come until now she was one of my most trusted friends.

  Moose had ended up marrying a nurse from Fallen Crest. I asked once how they met, and Moose grumbled something about a Peter. I stopped asking after that.

  Lincoln had a bedmate; that’s all we knew about her.

  Chad married someone who came from Ginger Gypsy’s group of friends, and therefore, Channing received reports from a lot more visions than he wanted, but that was how they worked—or at least, that’s how Chad’s wife worked.

  But on the whole, yes, we had done quite well.

  I was panting twenty minutes later, stretched out on the counter with my pants unbuckled and three of Channing’s fingers inside of me. I was riding his hand when I faintly remembered the time.

  A car door banged shut.

  A second one.

  I froze. “Oh shit!”

  Channing grunted, his eyes glazed over with lust. “Huh?”

  “OH SHIT!”

  And then we heard a piercing scream from my little girl, “MOMMA!”

  That’d be our little four-year-old. Natessia was my exact replica. The door opened, and we heard Bren call, “Take your goddamn fingers out of your wife. You have three dogs running around tearing up your pillows. You have another kid covered in duct tape, which Maddy is trying to tear off, and your stupid goat just head-butted my ass.”

  Channing gazed down at me, his eyes so loving, and we took another second—just one second. The world stripped away for us, and he mouthed “I love you” before twitching his fingers in a sudden movement, which pushed me over the edge.

  I was still trembling as he washed his hands and went to handle everything outside.

  Yes. We had done quite well.

  And we had a third on the way.

  * * *

  For more Roussou, Crew 2 is coming late spring 2019 with Bren’s crew!

  * * *

  Go to www.tijansbooks.com for more information.

  A note

  To the readers,

  I know I didn’t get the Fallen Crest peeps in Heather and Channing’s book that much, so to make up for it, here you go!

  I hope you enjoy.

  Fallen Crest Bonus Scene

  Timeline is during The Boy I Grew Up With, the day Heather called Samantha on the plane.

  SAMANTHA KADE

  * * *

  I was on the couch when I heard the garage door opening.

  Lifting the remote, I turned the television off at the same time I heard two car doors slam.

  Nope—there was a third, followed by three male voices. I didn’t even need to hear them to know who it was.

  Mason, Logan, and Nate. They were together for a few days before Logan had to go back to law school, and Nate took any second he could to be here with us.

  The back door opened and Logan’s voice got a whole lot louder.

  “I’m telling you…” he said, “if we all go in together, we’d make a killing.”

  “No, Logan.”

  I grinned faintly, resting my head against the pillow behind me. Mason sounded tired of his brother already. They would’ve driven from the city, so whatever Logan was talking about, he’d probably been on it the entire drive.

  “I don’t know, Logan.”

  Even Nate sounded wary.

  Great.

  They entered where I was in the media room. Mason passed first, then reversed.

  God. He took my breath away.

  He was a wide receiver for the New England Pats these days, so he had a trim waist and broad shoulders—he had thinned down from his earlier football position in high school. He had molded his body for speed now, and I was one of luckiest women in the world. I woke up every day to be thrilled by him.

  Shirtless, his body was like Van Gogh’s Starry Night with all the beautiful dips and swirls of his muscles. I could stare at him and never get enough, and right now, with his hair slightly wet and his fleece jacket with a dusting of water over the top, he looked fan-fucking-tastic.

  Feeling a slight kick in my stomach, I grinned at him. “Did you stop to get ice cream for me?”

  He had a brown bag in his hands, and he set it on a table by the door.

  The store was a couple blocks away, and it was raining, and he always seemed to know exactly what our little girl wanted. She was kicking up a storm just now.

  I put my hand over my stomach as Mason stepped into the room. His eyes followed my hand, and they warmed. A soft, tender smile washed over his face. It made my heart go pitter-patter every time I saw it.

  Recently I’d realized he had a special smile for me, a Samantha smile. And I knew that because now I could see the other smile he had for our little girl. We’d picked her name already, but we were keeping it secret. We wanted to surprise everyone when she was here.

  He nodded. “Jerkoff behind me—” He pointed a thumb over his shoulder. “—was whining, so I figured I’d get you something too.”

  Logan stepped around him, his own eyes warming when he saw me. Or, I should say, when he saw my stomach.

  “Jerkoff,” he said absently.

  There was no growl. Only smiles here. He didn’t care about the insult.

  “Thought Whacking here—” He nodded to Mason with his head. “—was an idiot. We don’t show up at the house without something for you. We have to have something with us.” The side of his mouth tipped up even higher. “We don’t want to risk getting killed, you know.”

  He winked, and I ignored him.

  I’d been the least-hormonal pregnant woman—I couldn’t say that I knew, because I didn’t know many others, but that’s what Mason’s teammates kept telling him when they came over to the house. They thought I was an alien, or had an alien inside me, because I should’ve been raging.

  I did have my cravings, and I swore I could smell the ice cream in that brown bag.

  Whacking. Jerkoff.

  I looked at Nate, who was grinning on the other side of Mason. “And you would be?”

  “I’m Tug.”

  Of course. I had no doubt they’d called each other those names in the ice cream shop too. The staff was familiar with them, at least—Logan more than the rest. Logan seemed to stop all the time. That and the local taco place. He claimed he kept getting tacos and ice cream for Taylor, but in the couple years I’d known Logan’s other half, she’d never expressed an outright love for either of those foods.

  Maybe Logan had his own cravings by sister-in-law proxy? Was that a thing?

  “How is the momma-to-be?” Nate asked.

  “I’m good.”

  Or I was today… Remembering the call I’d gotten earlier, I focused on Mason. “You didn’t call Heather, did you? You weren’t having her come out to surprise me?”

  His green eyes narrowed slightly before he shook his head. He frowned. “No. I was planning on asking her to come closer to your due date, just to be here for you. But not yet. Why?”

  Logan snorted, sitting down on one of the leather recliners in the corner. “Bet you fifty bucks Channing was trying to get her out of town for some reason.”

  Mason studied him, but didn’t say anything.

  “You think?” Nate asked.

  Logan nodded. “Oh yeah.” He turned to me. “She say that or something?”

  “Yeah. Called me from the plane, then something happened and she decided to get off it.”

  Mason pulled his phone out, sending a text.

  Logan raised his chin. “You texting Channing?”

  Mason answered still looking down at his phone. “Yeah. My guess is something’s going on there
, and like you said, he wanted Heather out of the way.”

  Logan narrowed his eyes. “You thinking we should go out there? Make sure everything is okay?”

  Mason lifted his head, his eyes narrowing too. “You looking for an excuse to go back?”

  I met Nate’s gaze before we regarded Logan too. Mason was right. Logan sounded like he was fishing for a reason. It wasn’t like him to want to check on Heather.

  Logan shrugged. “What? I mean, Taylor might want to visit her pops. Plus, we got folks there now. Folks we actually talk to. We can visit Matteo.”

  “I have training.”

  “I have school,” Logan shot back at his brother. “Doesn’t mean I can’t swing it.”

  Mason’s shoulders raised and lowered slowly. His tone cooled. “This has nothing to do with your sudden idea of franchising Manny’s?”

  Logan muffled a curse. “Really? Fucking really?”

  “Wait.” I sat up. “What?” I looked between the guys. “Is that an actual thing? Franchising Manny’s?”

  Nate sighed, moving behind Mason to sit in the other leather chair. He motioned to Logan. “It’s his sudden brainchild.”

  “Not mine. Channing’s. Or, well, Heather’s.” Logan wrinkled his nose, looking indignant.

  Mason’s mouth flattened. “Explain more.”

  Logan rolled his eyes, kicking his feet up. “Whatever. Yeah, I was talking to Channing a week ago, and he mentioned Heather said something to Brandon about their older brother doing a Manny’s in Florida where he lives. Their dad is there too. It was a bluff from her or something, but I think that’s a good business venture. Heather is kick-ass, plus…” He looked at me. “That means Heather would have to come out here and make that all happen. We could all go in together, get our staff and managers in place, and I think it’d do well.” He motioned to Mason. “Celebrity appearances. It’s a no-brainer, as far as I’m thinking. Plus, it’s something all of us can do together.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “And you think Heather would be up for this?”

  Nate started laughing.

  Mason grinned.

  Logan swore again, slumping down in his chair. “No, but I mean, we’re talking future projects. I think it’s a good idea for something long-term.” His eyes darted to mine, a request there.

  I already knew what he was going to ask.

  I’d be the one to bring it up to Heather.

  I’d be the one to quell any of her resistance.

  And I’d be the one in charge more than anyone else, because Manny’s was Heather’s baby, and I was Heather’s best friend.

  To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if Heather went for the idea. There were merits to it, but feeling my little girl kick again in my stomach, I knew I had other pressing matters to handle first.

  Circling back to the reason for this conversation, I asked Mason, “Did Channing text you back?”

  He pulled his phone out and shook his head. “You can’t get ahold of Heather?”

  “Not since she hung up with me. She said it was fine, but she had to go.” I frowned.

  “But you’re worried anyway?” Mason asked.

  I nodded. “I’m worried anyway.”

  He sent another text. “Well, let’s wait. I don’t ask what Channing and his crew do, but I know he’ll get back to me as soon as he can. If you’re worried, he knows Heather will skin his ass alive.”

  I nodded, some of my anxiety settling. He was right. Channing was good about getting back to us. So was Heather, as long as she had her phone on her and it was working. She had mentioned wanting to chuck it at one of her chefs one time, and I was pretty sure she’d also thrown it at Channing. He’d ducked and it hit the wall, breaking. It’d been a good week before she got another one.

  “Now, if that’s all settled, Sam,” Logan called, already smirking.

  “What?”

  “What’s the difference between a lawyer and a liar?”

  “Logan.” I shook my head. “The fact that you constantly have lawyer jokes and you’re going to be one is just…well…you, I guess.”

  “The spelling,” he finished triumphantly. “Ha!”

  “Logan, what’s the difference between a lawyer and a gigolo?”

  He smirked. “You’re trying to out-lawyer-joke me, Sam? Are you asking for a lawsuit?” He smiled. “There’s no difference. They both screw for pleasure.” He tsked. “Seriously, man. Seriously. How about your turn? What’s the difference between a redhead and a vampire?”

  “Don’t even fucking start,” Nate growled, standing up and heading out to the hallway.

  Logan followed. “Okay. How about this one? What do you call a redhead with an attitude?”

  I could hear Nate shouting from farther inside the house, “I’m not a fucking redhead!”

  “No, but you are fucking a redhead—”

  “Logan, shut up!”

  “Come on. One more—”

  A door slammed. After a pause, we could hear them again, but I couldn’t make out their words. I turned to look at Mason and found him gazing down at me, a speculative look in his eyes.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Want to get a dog?”

  I almost did a double take. I don’t know what I was expecting, but not that.

  “What?” But then I began smiling. “A baby and a puppy? Are you insane?”

  He shrugged, coming over to me. Picking me up, he maneuvered us so I was resting between his legs. He sat underneath me, and his hands cradling our baby.

  Seeing him touch her gave me goosebumps every time. I slid my hands over his, and his fingers entwined with mine.

  I felt him nuzzle behind my ear. He whispered, “Do you know how much I love you?”

  Warmth spread through me. I didn’t need to answer.

  He loved me every way there was and everywhere. He loved me totally and completely. He loved me enough to fill up an entire galaxy of stars. He just loved me, and my head fell back to rest against his shoulder. I tipped it up to look up at him from the side.

  “Not even a fraction of how much I love you,” I murmured.

  His lips moved to touch mine. Tenderly. Delicately. He nipped me playfully at the end, and I felt his cheek moving as he rested his head against mine. “I love you so goddamn much, that’s how much.”

  “You think Heather’s okay?” I asked, trying to shake my last shred of worry. I wasn’t just asking about this most recent event. She and Channing had lost their baby after our wedding, and Heather rarely talked about her. I struggled with what to say, and that wasn’t common for our friendship.

  But our baby was still coming. She was strong and kicking every day, while they’d lost theirs.

  He paused. “I think Heather will be just fine,” he finally said. “No matter their path, no one was made for each other like those two. She and Channing, they’ll get it right.”

  I knew he was right, and as if giving her two cents, there came another kick from inside me—this one strong enough that we saw a quick outline of her foot.

  Apparently, Logan Malinda Kade agreed with us.

  Acknowledgments

  Oh, holy crap!

  I can’t believe I’m here writing this right now. I always do this part last! I’m just going to do a whole list of my thanks because there’s A LOT!

  First, thank you to my agent. Kimberly, you push me and kick my ass, and I don’t think you know how much I appreciate you for that. Also, you’re a pretty amazing agent, and I am so unbelievably lucky to have you as mine.

  Thank you to Debra Anastasia and Helena Hunting. You both are always there for anything! Questions, venting, reading over blurbs, etc. Lol! You both are so beyond supportive, it’s inspiring.

  Thank you to Jessica and all my proofreaders: Paige, Kara, Amy, Chris, and Rochelle. All of you fit me into your busy schedule, and there’s usually never a problem and I am so grateful for you all.

  Thank you to Crystal, Eileen, and Amy for reading and giving me feedbac
k to help make this book so much better! You’re always there for any question I might have.

  Thank you to all the ladies in my reader group! You are so active in there, and you have no clue how much I draw support and inspiration just from you guys. I rarely worry about keeping my reader group going because of you, and if I need a little extra oomph to keep writing that day, I go in, see your posts, and know I must be doing something right! THANK YOU!

  Thank you to Nina for being adaptable, and when I pop into your inbox and say, “Let’s do the cover reveal tomorrow.” You don’t even react. You’re just, "Hell yeah!” I love that and appreciate it so much!

  Thank you to Crystal for just about everything! You seriously rock.

  Lastly, this book was dedicated to my sister and nephew, but I also want to add a third dedication here to my own relationship with Jason.

  He’ll know why.

  Also by Tijan

  Standalones

  Bad Boy Brody

  Ryan’s Bed

  Cole

  Antistepbrother

  Hate To Love You

  Kian

  Sustain

  Home Tears

  * * *

  Series

  Crew Series

  Fallen Crest Series

  Carter Reed Series

  Broken and Screwed Series

  Jaded Series

  Davy Harwood Series

  * * *

  www.tijansbooks.com

  Crew

  Chapter one

  You aren’t supposed to want to die.

  That isn’t what society wants to hear. It’s not supposed to be felt or thought. It’s supposed to be ignored. But here I was, watching my crew beat the crap out of a guy, and all I wanted was to trade places with him.

  I knew that sounded morbid. It was true, though, and not like the off-the-cuff comment when you bomb your history exam and it’s “kill me now!” Or your boyfriend dumps you and “Gurrrrl, I just wanna dieeee! WTF?!”