by Cari Quinn
“You’d only do that if you thought I was serious competition, and we both know I’m not. So I’ll buy a fucking bag of rice for your wedding and hope like hell you know what you’re doing.”
“I’m quitting. For real.”
“And I’m the douche who wants to believe you.” Nick bit down on the cigarette between his teeth, breaking it in half before he dumped the ends on the table. “By the way, I’m not fucking hugging you even if you say that the Pope is going to marry you at the Basilica.”
Gray laughed. “You think they’d be cool with marrying a foster brother and sister? My guess is probably not.”
“I think I heard that story in a country song once.” Nick grinned. “So we playing or what?”
Gray dragged his guitar in his lap. He had a couple hours yet before it was time for him to meet up with Jazz. Might as well spend it doing his favorite thing.
He smiled and plucked the opening notes to “Sugar Kiss”. Second favorite thing.
“Yeah. Let’s play.”
* § *
“Buy a kitten, miss? Don’t you want to buy a kitten?”
Jazz stopped outside the supermarket and let out a squeal at the pair of furry, wiggling kittens. The kid manning the box couldn’t have been any more than twelve. “Oh, I can’t.” She kneeled to pick up a gray tabby trying to scrabble over the side and cuddled it to her cheek with a happy sigh. “I live with a bunch of boys. We already have a George and a Ratt.”
The kid’s eyes widened. “You live with a bunch of boys?”
She laughed at how that sounded. “I’m a band. They’re my bandmates.”
“Oh. What band?”
“Oblivion.”
“No way. No fucking way.” Before she could say a word, he’d hauled out his phone and taken a couple of pictures. “Man, Eli’s not gonna fucking believe this.” Then he gave her a pleading look. “You gotta buy one of my kittens. My mom’s gonna kill me if I take them back home and they’re only fifty bucks.”
“Fifty bucks? Holy crap.” This kid was hardcore.
She glanced down at the big green eyes staring up at her, and her heart softened into a puddle of goo. “If I take both of them, do I get a discount?”
“Yeah. Only one hundred bucks.”
She laughed and scooped up a white one with a black dot on the top of its head like an inkblot. One of them would be perfect for Harper. The other…hmm. Maybe she’d give her to Lila. Lila seemed like she needed some snuggling time.
“Sold.” She stood up and fished her wallet out of her hip purse. “I hope I have—”
The door to the grocery store swung open. “Christ, Jazz, there you are. I was getting worried.”
Smiling, she turned toward Gray and held out her kitten. “Look. Isn’t she adorable?”
“It’s a he,” the kid said.
“And I’m buying that girl right there too.”
“That one’s a boy too, miss.”
“Man, striking out all over the place.” Jazz went back to digging out her wallet.
“Uh, honey, what do you mean you’re buying both of them? Where are we going to keep two more kittens?”
She scooped up the white kitten. “One’s for Harper and one’s for Lila.”
He took the second kitten from her. “Do Harper and Lila want kittens?”
Jazz bit her lip and sorted through her bills. This kitten expenditure would just about tap her out until she got to the ATM. “Why wouldn’t they?”
“Because not everyone’s like you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I remember when you brought home a frog in a shoebox and a bunny in a shopping bag. You collect pets, which is adorable but—”
Money in hand, she narrowed her eyes at Gray. Gray who just happened to be rubbing noses with the kitten he claimed to have no interest in. “Look, buddy, this is part of the package deal you’re getting. I know what it’s like not to have a home, and as long as I can help another creature not feel unwanted, then I will.” She bit her lip and glanced at the kid. Maybe she shouldn’t spend the last of her cash. “Do you take checks?”
“Marry me.”
“Forget the check. I’ll go to the ATM.”
“Jazz. Marry me.”
Still turned toward the now gaping kid, she shut her eyes. She must be hearing things.
“Uh, miss, I think the guy asked you a question.”
“It’ll take a second,” Gray said, his voice drily amused. “She’s processing. Jazz’s mouth runs faster than the rest of her.”
“I think I should get a better discount,” she said, eyes still closed.
“Still processing?” the kid asked.
“Or ignoring me. Either’s a good bet.”
“You weren’t on your knees when you asked,” she said shakily, opening her eyes. The kid looked well and truly confused. “Isn’t that how you’re supposed to do it?”
“You’re right. This whole kitten thing threw off my speech. I had it all planned. You were supposed to come inside—”
“The vending machine.” She swiveled to face Gray, a laugh exploding out of her at the sight of him clutching two kittens to his chest while he knelt on one knee in front of her. “Oh my God. There’s a ring in the vending machine. The stupid claw game. But what if I didn’t grab the right plastic bubble? You know I suck at that game.”
“We have all night. And apparently so do I, since I’m kneeling on the ground and people are taking out their camera phones to record this moment for the Daily Gawker.”
“That’s my job. I should be live tweeting my own proposal.” When she dragged out her cell, she expected Gray to balk. But he didn’t say a word as she took a quick picture and tweeted it with the caption, “Look who I found.”
She’d found the best thing ever—the boy she loved more than life offering her the world.
But maybe she needed to stop and think first. Not only had they barely had time together as an actual couple, he was dealing with a serious issue. Adding a new stressor to his life, even a good one like an engagement, might not be a smart idea. And what if he fell off the wagon—
No. She wouldn’t even let herself consider that. He’d promised her that he would stop, and he wouldn’t lie to her. Whatever struggles he faced, she’d be by his side. Making this commitment to each other would prove that.
Then there was Brent and his mom. Should she accept before she’d told him everything? He deserved to know. Was she being selfish for thinking they deserved any bit of happiness they managed to snatch before the rest of the world intruded?
God, she wanted to marry him. If she was making a mistake, it was hers to make. She’d longed for this—just this—for so damn long.
She turned off her phone and dropped to her knees. “Do you really mean it?”
“Yes.” His throat worked. “I want to marry you.”
She swallowed hard, trying to get the questions out that she needed to ask. “When?”
“Tonight. Tomorrow. Two months from now. I don’t care.”
Tears burst from her eyes as she let out another laugh, this one verging on hysterical. “We’ve only been dating two weeks.”
“Yeah, with almost a decade’s worth of foreplay.”
That made her laugh harder. “Lila doesn’t want anyone else to get married.”
“Oh. Well, never mind then. My bad.” He made a show of struggling to his feet, his charges wriggling and meowing. Halfway up, Jazz planted her hand on his chest and shoved him back down.
“Uh-uh. You started this now you’re going to finish it.”
“Technically I can’t, because the ring’s in the store.”
God, his grin and those sparkling eyes were like a gateway into the past, before everything had gotten so messed up between them. For this instant, she could pretend not to see the spiderwebs of blood fanning out in the whites of his eyes, and the heavy bags that rimmed them. He was too skinny, his shirt bagging around his torso, his jean
s hanging off his lean hips.
But right then, he was just her Gray, and he was perfect.
“You didn’t spend a lot, did you?” She nearly asked where he got the money, but the diehard romantic in her couldn’t ruin the moment. Maybe Lila had loaned him enough extra to cover his debts and the ring. He’d never been a wasteful spender so he might’ve had some money set aside other than what he’d gotten as an advance.
Unless he used it all for drugs and that’s why Lila had to bail him out.
“Shh. You can’t ask that question about an engagement ring. By the way, still on my knees here.” He flashed her a playful smile that erased the last of her questions and doubts.
“You haven’t asked me anything that requires a ring yet. Just sort of demanded it. Next time try adding a question mark at the end.”
“Okay.” He tucked one kitten on each hip and faced her without an ounce of mirth in his eyes. “I love you. Will you be my wife?”
“Aww,” someone said from behind them, but she didn’t bother to look. She was too busy internally saying “aww” herself. And sniffling.
“I love you too. Yes.” She gave him a broad smile in spite of the damp heat gathering in her eyes. Happy tears didn’t count as a sign of weakness, and by God, she’d earned these. “Easiest question I’ve ever answered.”
For a moment he didn’t move. Barely seemed to breathe. Then he launched himself at her, crushing the kittens between them while he pressed his mouth to hers. “Yes?” he breathed once he moved back to haul in air.
“Yes. On one condition.”
“Anything. What?”
She grinned. “That you fish the ring out of the vending machine for me.”
“Ah, baby, I think we can arrange that.” Laughing, he turned to the stunned silent kid. “We’ll take these to go.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Then
She was singing again, loudly and off-key in her adorable Jazz way. It wasn’t that she couldn’t hold a tune. Far from it. The girl was pitch perfect. But she loved making up new lyrics to her favorite songs—for some reason, she was currently slaughtering Elvis’ “Don’t Be Cruel,”—usually while booty-dancing around her room.
In his bedroom, Gray grinned and adjusted his bowtie. He hated the stupid thing, but he’d gone all out and rented a tux, intending to surprise Jazz. The school year had gone by ridiculously fast. Now it was spring again and it felt like they hadn’t spent any time together in forever. She’d mentioned a couple of times in her emails that she didn’t have a date for her birthday party, and the date coordinated well with his break from school. So why not?
They were friends. Friends hung out together. Friends also grinned at the sound of each other’s voices. And in his case, saved their friend’s emails in a special folder in their account.
Sometimes they even stopped bothering to date college girls for the last few months, because what was the point? He’d tried doing the full college experience during the fall semester, and every one of the girls had come up short in comparison.
But that wasn’t what tonight was about. After the kiss that wasn’t during their unforgettable San Francisco trip in August, he’d gotten the message loud and clear. She didn’t see him that way. He’d come up with and rejected a few theories why, but in the end, their friendship was the most important thing. He would never do anything to jeopardize it.
Tonight he intended to make sure his best friend had a fabulous time.
“Well, this is a surprise. Didn’t expect you to come home for spring break.”
Gray cringed inwardly. His brother. Great. Of course Brent wouldn’t have expected him to come home, because he didn’t think about anyone but himself and figured Gray was as one-track-minded. “Yep. Here I am.”
“And you’re all done up and shit. Big plans tonight, bro?”
So much for Brent paying attention to what was going on in his own house. “It’s Jazz’s birthday.” Gray turned to look at his brother, slouching insolently in the doorway. He had a bottle of scotch tipped up to his lips. He wasn’t twenty-one yet, but their parents wouldn’t say a word to their precious first-born.
Even when he was being a dick.
“Oh is it? How’d I miss that?” He grinned. “Bet she’ll need some spankings.”
Asshole. “How about you?” Gray slicked a hand over his spiky hair. “Not like you to stick around home on a Friday night.”
“I’m thinking I’ll spend some time with Jazzy at her little party.” Slowly, Brent licked his lips. “I heard she needed a man and you know I always try to assist family.”
Gray’s spine locked. Brent had dropped out of college right after Thanksgiving and he’d moved into the spare bedroom Jazz had used when she’d first moved in, one that was much smaller than the room he’d given up for her. She must’ve told Brent about her lack of a date. They must be friends now.
“Did she tell you that?”
“Does it matter? I know.” Brent swaggered into the room. “So what’s up with the tux? You trying to class it up? Gotta commend you, man. It won’t get you anywhere with her, but keep trying.”
When he would’ve pushed past Brent, Brent wrapped his meaty hand around his upper arm. “What the hell, man? Cool it.”
“No, you cool it. You don’t fucking live here anymore and you don’t know what shit’s been going down.”
The back of Gray’s neck went cold. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re not the only one who can get close to Jazz. You always thought you had some special freaking bond. Well, get a fucking clue, dude. Girls like her are used to latching onto whomever’s around.” Brent saluted him with his bottle. “You weren’t here anymore. And I am.”
Gray’s eyes narrowed until all he could see was Brent’s taunting expression. “I don’t know what you’re trying to insinuate but I talk to her all the time. We call and email—”
Brent barked out a laugh. “Yeah, you keep calling and emailing. Meanwhile, some of the rest of us are taking it up to the next level.”
His older brother turned to leave, still wearing that sardonic smile, and something in Gray snapped. Why, he didn’t even know. He didn’t truly think anything was going on between Jazz and Brent. She rarely mentioned him, even if after he’d moved back in. Although maybe that was suspicious in itself…
No. They weren’t anything to each other. And even if they were, Gray knew he had no right to be pissed. They weren’t a couple. He’d barely even tried to kiss her.
She shut you down too fast for you to have a chance to kiss her.
“Stay the hell away from her,” Gray said in a low voice. “You want a piece of disposable pussy, find it somewhere else.”
“Why?” Brent tossed back another drink. “I think that particular pussy suits me just—”
Gray shot across the space that separated them and locked his hands around Brent’s throat, driving him into the wall with a crash that displaced one of Gray’s framed honors certificates. Glass shattered on the floor, splattering his bare feet, and he didn’t even care. “Touch her, fucker, and you’ll answer to me.”
Brent shoved him back and he rammed into the corner of his dresser with enough force to knock the breath out of him. “She’s not yours. You don’t own her. Besides, maybe the lady likes me. Ever think of that?”
It was all bullshit. Brent had always been fiercely competitive with him in everything from sports to girls to their parents’ affection, and by showing how much he cared about Jazz, he was basically putting a bullseye on her forehead. Brent would direct one hundred percent of his attention at her just to piss Gray off. But he couldn’t keep the sharply-edged words from flying from his mouth like bullets.
“She’d never want you more than me. Fucking deal with it. You always have to win, and this time you just can’t.” Gray gripped his stinging back and heaved out a breath. “No matter what you do, you’ll never be me.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
&nbs
p; Now
“Do you know you have a constellation of freckles right here?”
Jazz leaned up on her elbows and laughed at where Gray had his head. It wasn’t surprising. He had his head between her legs about half of the time.
She was a very lucky girl. A very lucky, newly engaged girl.
She glanced at the diamond ring on her finger. Tiny diamonds formed an X shape with an O of black diamonds, signifying the typical XO phrase. But to Gray, they’d represented sticks and a drum. He’d apologized for buying it off the shelf and not getting it custom-made, which boggled her mind. She’d never seen anything more lovely.
Dragging her attention from her ring, she focused on the sensation of his fingers tracing over the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. “Where?”
“Right here.” His hand crept higher, creating a path for his lips to follow. “They’re everywhere. I could spend a lifetime searching for them with my tongue.”
“Pretty sure you’ve already found most of them, especially in that particular area.” She sifted his hair through her fingers and sighed, dropping back against the mussed sheets. “It’s official. I’ve had more sex in the past two weeks than in the whole of my entire life.”
He nipped her lower belly. “Is that a complaint?”
“No. That’s a yay me.” She tugged on his hair until he got the memo and crawled up her body to settle on top of her, his cock heavy between her legs. “Not that I’ve done a complete study or anything, but I’ve decided engaged sex is way better than regular sex. Although that was pretty fucking amazeballs too.”
“You seem to be overlooking all the ways my native skills in this area are probably influencing your opinion.” He tilted her jaw upward and kissed the corner of her mouth. “How you could after all of the evidence I’ve presented, I don’t know, but…”
“Dude, your evidence is against my thigh. It’s way too hard to overlook.”
His laughter as he buried his face in her hair made her laugh too, just from sheer joy. If she’d ever been this happy, she didn’t remember it.