Juicy Rebound (IceCats Book 1)

by Toni Aleo

  “Do you feel like you’re making the same mistake?”

  She shakes her head more vehemently. “Not at all.”

  I lean over, pressing my nose into hers. “Then who gives two shits what anyone thinks?”

  Her lips slowly form a grin. “Your confidence is intoxicating.”

  “I know what I got, and I know no one can touch it. It’s ours.”

  “It is,” she whispers before I capture her lips with mine. She draws the kisses out of me, and I bring my hand up to thread through her hair as I get lost in her kisses. She feels so damn good against my lips. Tastes like heaven with a tiny bit of mocha mixed in there.

  “So perfect,” I whisper against her lips, and they curve into a smile.

  “Stop,” she says softly, nibbling at my bottom lip.

  “Never,” I insist before capturing her mouth once more. She leans into the kiss, her hand coming up to touch my cheek. She strokes it slowly as our kisses turn more demanding, and I don’t want to stop.

  But of course, her phone starts going off.

  She pulls away and groans loudly when she looks down at her phone. “It’s my mom wondering where I am.”

  I adjust my hard-on and clear my throat. “Well, don’t tell her I’m about to do you in the car.”

  She snorts. “Right? That would go over so well.”

  “I thought so,” I say with a wink before I get out of the car. When the cold air hits me, I’m pretty sure my cock shrivels up into itself. Not a pleasant feeling. I walk around the car and open her door before grabbing her bag out of her lap.

  “I can carry that,” she says as she takes my hand and I help her out.

  “So your mom thinks I’m not a gentleman? Please,” I tsk at her before walking around to the trunk to get the rest of our bags.

  When we get to the sidewalk, she lets go of my hand to look at her phone. I wonder if she did it because she doesn’t want to hold my hand in front of her mom. That doesn’t seem right, though. She sat in my lap and kissed my face in front of my parents. She has no problem with PDA. I should let it go; it shouldn’t bother me.

  But it does.

  “So, you don’t want to hold my hand?”

  She side-eyes me. “I’m typing.”

  “Or you’re nervous.”

  “That too.”

  I can see it all over her face. “You don’t have to be.”

  “But I am.”

  I switch her bag to my other hand and wrap my arm around her neck, pulling her in close. I kiss her jaw and then her nose before her lips. “I got you.”

  She smiles, a true, sweet smile as she gazes up at me. I let go of her to grab the other bag since my hand is about to give out. “If my brother kills you, just know I love you.”

  Oh shit.

  Oh no. No, no, no. She thinks Ryan doesn’t know because I forgot to tell her otherwise. Before I can say anything, the door opens, and Mrs. Justice is there. “You’re home,” she gushes before she wraps her arms around Amelia, pulling her in close. Mrs. Justice has always loved hard. It’s apparent when I see her with her children. Reminds me of my mom. Her chin is deep in Amelia’s shoulder, but then her eyes land on me.

  “Chandler, wow, what a surprise!” she says before kissing Amelia and then letting her go. She looks between me and Amelia, her brows furrowing before she wraps me up in a hug. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

  “Hope that’s okay,” I say, hugging her tightly.

  “It’s more than okay,” she says quickly before letting me go and grabbing Amelia’s hand. “I’m so glad to have you. I’ll run up and make up the other room. Is your family not in town?”

  Amelia is biting her lip as she holds her mom’s hand. An awkward silence falls over us as Mrs. Justice waits for my answer, but I don’t know what to say. Amelia reaches over, taking my hand in her other one.

  Mrs. Justice’s brows rise as Amelia says, “Actually, he’s here with me.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah,” Amelia says more confidently than I know she feels. She looks terrified. “We’re together.”

  I swear it’s in slow motion the way Mrs. Justice’s face changes from confused to happy. She’s practically beaming as she says, “That’s wonderful! I knew something was going to happen!”

  “You did?” Amelia asks, her face filling with color. “How did you and I didn’t?”

  “Because you were trying to ignore the fireworks, but I saw them clear as day.”

  Amelia gives me a sneaky grin, and my heart does flips in my chest. “Did you see them?”

  I nod. “Yup, the moment I saw you again for the first time.”

  Amelia sighs deeply as Mrs. Justice cups my jaw. “I just adore him. Now, come on. It’s cold as hell. Let’s get inside.”

  “Mom, you’re cool?”

  Mrs. Justice looks back and shrugs. “Yeah, why?”

  “I’m with Chandler, only a year after my divorce from Drew.”

  I give Amelia an annoyed look. “Are you sure you’re okay with us?”

  “Yes. Hush!”

  Her mom laughs before touching Amelia’s shoulder. “Are you happy?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I am. Now, come in.”

  As she ushers us inside, Amelia looks up at me, and I wink. “Told ya.”

  “I guess you are just so amazing.”

  “I am,” I say, kissing her temple.

  Just as the front door shuts, Ryan’s booming voice fills the hall.

  “There she is.”

  Amelia’s eyes go wide, her smile drops, and she looks down the hall in complete horror. She quickly looks back at me, and I think she might push me back out the front door. She whips her head to him and chokes out, “Ryan?”

  “Hey!” he says, walking up and wrapping his arms around her. There are tears in his eyes as he picks her up, shaking her in a loving, brotherly way. I know they’ve missed each other. While I know she is freaking out because I’m here and she thinks her brother might kill me, she holds her brother tightly.

  “I didn’t see your car,” she says, still hugging him.

  “Sophia dropped me off before she went to do a private lesson with one of the girls at the gym. I wanted to be here when you got in,” he says, laying a smacking kiss on her cheek. “You look so great. You’ve put some weight back on. You were getting skinny for a second there.”

  She scoffs. “I don’t look like I used to.”

  “You’ll get there, being back in the gym and all.”

  He puts her on her feet, and I know she is freaking the hell out. “Yeah, true. Thanks, um, but I didn’t know you’d be here.”

  “Surprise,” he says with a laugh before looking at me. “Hey, dude,” he says as we slap hands and bro-hug. I feel Amelia’s gaze on me. “How was the trip in?”

  “Good. It’s cold as hell.”

  “Right?” he says before he wraps his arm around Amelia’s neck. “Man, I missed you.”

  She’s confused. I can see it all over her gorgeous face. “You knew Chandler was going to be here?”

  Ryan shrugs as he gazes down at her lovingly. “I figured.”

  “Figured?”

  “Yeah. Y’all are still together, right?”

  I press my lips together as she looks from him to me. “We are, but how do you know that?”

  Ryan points to me. “He told me.”

  Amelia’s gaze meets mine, her eyes swirling with anger. I’m pretty sure she won’t be kissing me under the mistletoe anytime soon.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Amelia

  “He told you?”

  I narrow my eyes at Chandler while he looks back at me with an “oh shit” expression on his face.

  Ryan, oblivious, nods. “Yeah, like a month ago, right?”

  Chandler nods his head slowly. “Yeah.”

  “Figured since you went to Florida to have Thanksgiving with him and his parents, it must be pretty serious.”

  My eyes widen, and Chandl
er grimaces. “Wow, thanks, dude.”

  Ryan is just grinning. “What? I’m not mad. Mom…okay, well, Mom looks a little mad.”

  I direct my gaze to my mom to find she is, in fact, upset. “You spent Thanksgiving with his family?”

  I hold up my palms. “I told you I wasn’t alone.”

  “I figured you were at home with friends, not flying to Florida to celebrate Thanksgiving with someone else’s family.”

  “I told you I wasn’t ready to face our family,” I attempt, but Mom isn’t having it.

  “So you spent it with a totally different family?”

  “With her boyfriend’s family,” Chandler adds. “She wasn’t ready then, but she is now. Can we just be happy we’re all together?”

  Mom glares at Chandler for the first time ever. “You don’t know what it’s like to have your child not be in your life for a painfully long period of time, only to find out she chose a different family over yours.”

  “She didn’t choose them over you, though,” he insists. “She did what was best for her, and you supported her until you knew it was my family. I am not trying to disrespect you, Mrs. Justice, but my family has always been kind to you, and you know she was taken care of.”

  “It’s not a big deal,” Ryan says with a shrug. “He’s right, Mom. She’s home now, and she looks good. Happy, even. Why are we going to start this trip with a fight?”

  Mom looks back at me, and I’m shaking with anger. I can’t believe Chandler told Ryan all that.

  “Fine. There are cookies and milk in the kitchen.”

  When Mom turns to head toward the kitchen, I turn in the direction of my room. Chandler is right on my heels. I throw open my door and toss my purse and gym bag on the bed. I whip around to find Chandler with his palms up.

  “I fucked up.”

  “You sure as hell did!” I yell, my body vibrating with rage. “You promised not to tell him.”

  “That was before, when we thought we were just hanging out,” he defends. “When things became serious, I had no choice but to tell him.”

  “No, you did have a choice. You could have kept your mouth shut! I wanted to tell him.”

  His brow perks. “When? When he walks in and sees me? That would have been a clusterfuck. At least this way, there is no blindside, and he doesn’t want to kill me. Amelia, our talk was really good, and he was very supportive. Things are fine. Great, even.”

  I throw my hands up. “My mom knows I skipped Thanksgiving with them to be with you!”

  “It sucked that she had to find out that way, but who cares? At least you weren’t alone and you were happy. I know that’s what she wants.”

  “You just don’t get it,” I protest, falling onto the bed. “I didn’t want anyone knowing until I was ready to tell them. I mean, hell, did you tell them about Drew?” When he bites his lip, my eyes widen and my heart jackhammers in my chest. “You did!”

  “No, no, I didn’t. But I did tell my parents. By accident.”

  “By accident! What the hell, Chandler?”

  “They didn’t understand why you didn’t want your family knowing about me, and it slipped out. They won’t tell a soul.”

  “You weren’t supposed to tell anyone! No one. About Drew or about us!”

  He comes toward me, but I jump off the bed and step out of his reach. The way his face twists, you would think I’d hit him. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have told them about Drew, and I am very sorry for that. But like I said, when things got serious between us, I knew I had to tell Ryan.”

  “For what? Why?” I yell, striking my hips with my hands. “What in the hell would telling him do?”

  “He’s my best friend.”

  “And? This is our thing, and you went and told the one person I wanted to tell myself. One, so he wouldn’t kill you, and…and two, so no one would judge us.”

  Now he throws his hands up. “Who the fuck cares if they did?”

  “I do. We’re two divorcees, and this is going way too fucking fast, and I don’t want anyone thinking we’re rushing into this.”

  “They already do!” he yells, his eyes burning into mine. “And you know what? I don’t care. I only care about you. About us. About this. I don’t know why you’re so concerned with what everyone thinks, but cut it the fuck out.”

  “No! I was in a shit marriage where everyone doubted me—”

  “For good reason.”

  I glare, my face burning, and he glares right back. “That’s a low blow. Especially coming from someone who married a psycho.”

  “Hey, I know what I did, and I let it go. Have you let yours go?”

  “I’m with you, aren’t I?”

  “Seems to me you’re more concerned with what people think than what I feel.”

  “That’s not true at all,” I insist. “This isn’t about anything but you betraying me.”

  He glares. “I didn’t betray you, Amelia. I told my parents something I shouldn’t have. I apologize. With Ryan, I had to respect my best friend.”

  “And not respect me?”

  “We weren’t serious when you said that to me! Since the day I fell in love with you, it’s been serious. He needed to know this was happening and I wasn’t letting go.”

  I let out a heavy sigh. “Just go. I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”

  He scoffs. “Fuck that, I’m not going anywhere.”

  “I don’t want to talk to you!”

  “I don’t care!” he yells back, just as loud. “I can get loud too, Amelia. And no matter what you say, I’m not leaving this room until we solve this.”

  I shoot daggers at him with my eyes. “What if this can’t be solved?”

  “It can if you’d stop throwing a damn tantrum.”

  I glare. “I am not.”

  “You are,” he says simply, crossing his arms over his chest. “And you know what? It’s adorable.”

  “You are insufferable.”

  “Love you too, honey,” he says, and then he leans back against the door, all sexy and carefree-like.

  I growl as I kick off my shoes. “I can’t believe you told Ryan. What if he’d kicked your ass?”

  “Then I would have taken it like a man for disrespecting his wishes about not dating you. But I wouldn’t regret it, and I’d do it all over again. I’d tell him again, even though you’re so upset.”

  “Chandler! You shouldn’t—”

  “Want to know the reason I told Ryan?” he asks, pushing off the door and coming toward me. “I told him so that when I come to him with a ring in my pocket, he won’t be sidetracked by the fact that I not only love you but that I want to marry you too. I wanted to make sure he knew I was serious. Plus, I honestly didn’t think you were going to tell him anytime soon. I did it for us. So I can ask you to be my forever, and he’d support us.”

  I can only blink. My stomach is doing flips. My heart is pounding, and I can’t see straight. My eyes are so wide they hurt. “Are you insane? We have only been together for a little over four months, and you’re already talking about marriage?”

  He nods unabashedly. Confidently. “I’d knock Ryan and Sofia off that altar so quick if you wanted to marry me too.”

  My eyes feel like they’re about to bulge out of my head. “You’re insane!”

  “I love you.”

  “Chandler, stop! You’re not going to distract me from the part where you broke my trust.”

  His face twists. “I mean, that’s a fucking stretch. Yes, maybe with telling my parents about Drew, but they are my parents. I’m very close with them, and they wouldn’t tell a soul. Also, you wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t told you.”

  “Oh, well hell, let me not be mad anymore,” I snap, and he rolls his eyes. “I can’t believe you.”

  “Amelia—”

  I shake my head, and I have to move on from what he said before I have a panic attack.

  Marry me?

  Why would he want to marry me?

  “They pro
bably think I’m weak.”

  “They don’t,” he insists, coming close but not touching me. “They love you, and they know I love you. They were coming at me like I was rushing into this. I told them maybe I am, but my future doesn’t exist unless you’re in it.” He reaches out, taking my hand in his. He laces our fingers, but I don’t look at him. “I had only good intentions when it came to Ryan. I fucked up when it came to my parents, and I’ll own that. But with Ryan, those motives were pure. I wanted him to know that you were important to me.”

  “I didn’t want anyone to know. I don’t want them to ruin this.”

  He brings my hand up to his lips, kissing the back of my knuckles. “No one can ruin this but us, Am.” I meet his gaze, and his remorse is visible. “Stop worrying about what other people think. Yeah, you’ve had some bad luck, but it’s not like that with me. No matter what anyone says, I’ll only care what you think and say.”

  I swallow hard as our gazes stay locked. “Why are you so good?”

  He quirks his lips. “Because I have someone to be good for.”

  I shake my head. “It’s so hard to stay mad at you.”

  He leans in, snaking his arm around my waist and bringing me in close. “Because you love me, and you know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”

  I lean my forehead into his nose, but his words of marriage are still playing over and over again in my head. “I guess all that could be right.”

  “It is,” he whispers before kissing my forehead. “I’m sorry I told my parents about Drew, but I’m not sorry I told Ryan about us.”

  I close my eyes as I slide my hands around his chest to hold him. “They won’t tell anyone?”

  “No one,” he promises, and I let out a sigh.

  “Did you tell them that nonsense about wanting to marry me?”

  He grins against my forehead. “It’s not nonsense.”

  I pull back, looking up at him. “Chandler, we haven’t been together that long.”

  “And yet, I knew the day I pulled you out of the truck and danced with you on the side of the road.”

  My eyes get misty as I shake my head. “I’m not ready for that.”

  He nods, his eyes, so dark and light at the same time, burn down into mine as he cups my cheek. “When you are, know I am.”