Brady’s parents and Ethan’s brood stand off to the side, watching my sister and me pose with our mom and dad in an alcove that extends over the water. Behind us, another tourist barge floats by, the sound of laughter and merriment spillingover.
The flash goes off.Holy crap, that’sbright.
Ethan winks at me, and I smile a big, goofy grin, my heart doing a twirly-whirl in mychest.
He and I have been going strong since the summer I took that nanny job. After Cody’s disastrous birthday party, even though Ethan and I were on the same page about moving forward in our relationship, we also decided we needed to take things slower. For the sake of the kids. For the sake of his divorce. For my ownsanity.
Anyway, I thought it would be easier for him to fight for custody if he didn’t have his new girlfriend shacking up with him. So I stayed with my sister and helped her with baby Annie and Izzy and took classes two days a week in Austin for a semester to finish mydegree.
Living with my sister had its advantages. Besides being able to spoil my nieces, Kat tutored me, and I totally aced my classes. She also taught me how to balance the books for her lavender business, and with the right training, I found I was pretty decent atit.
When Ethan heard I was doing my sister’s accounting, he wanted to hire me to do the same for Carter Cutting Horses.Tori Duran, decent at math? Who knew?I sure as hell didn’t. But since bookkeeping is largely done on the computer, I’m not taxing my big brain toomuch.
Working for him also gave me an excellent reason to be at the ranch several days aweek.
But Ethan was serious about taking me on dates. About wooing me like some hero in an old black-and-white movie. Even if some weeks he was so tired all he did was make me dinner, he made me feelspecial.
My favorite nights, though, are the ones where he wraps me in a blanket under thestars.
Our first “big” date was here, actually, at the River Walk, so today, as I look around this beautiful setting, all I can think about is how he kissed me right in this very spot and told me how much he loved me. It’s pretty sweet that he suggested we take our photoshere.
“Great! Let’s switch things around.” The photographer motions for Brady and his family to move in, so he and Kat can get their family’spic.
I’m stepping out of the shot when Brady calls my name. “Where you going? Get back in here, doofus.” He’s holding a slobbery Annie in one arm, and Izzy with the other. “We can’t do a family portrait without my little sister.” I smile like an idiot and squish backin.
Nerves twist in my stomach. Ethan’s family is up next. Will they want me in their photo? Logan is hugging his mom to keep her warm, and Joey is holding everyone’s coats when they step into the photo, poor girl. I’m really hoping Logan offers to take a pic with her because if he just brought Joey along to be our bellhop, I’ll throttlehim.
Next to them, Cody is climbing up his dad. Cody’s almost three and a half now, all rough-and-tumble boy, and still one hundred percent adorable. His arm healed well, thankGod.
Mila smiles at me over her cup of hot chocolate. She and her brother have had a tough time with their mom, who finally admitted to Ethan she stood to gain a substantial inheritance from her late grandfather, but the stipulation in the will required her to be married. Which explains why Allison wanted to reconcile with her ex-husband all of a sudden thatsummer.
Ethan didn’t have to rake her through the mud to maintain sole custody of the children. She met a guy, got married—probably to inherit that money—and lost what little interest she had in herkids.
As for the money Ethan owed her, since she had her grandfather’s inheritance, she was less dogged about the situation. Ultimately, she agreed to getting repaid within three to five years, which meant she and Ethan would save the massive fees they were forking over to their attorneys because they didn’t drag it out incourt.
The day that was settled, Ethan asked me to move in with him, which I did in a heartbeat. My parents weren’t thrilled, but where’s the fun if I’m not keeping them on their toes? They do love Ethan and his kids, though, so they’ve been supportive and not toojudgy.
The photographer claps and motions for Ethan’s crew to move in. I step out with my family, but a hand wraps around mine and tugs meback.
“C’mon, sweetness.” Ethan’s voice, low and raspy in my ear, sends chills down my arms. “You know you belong in this one. You’re my familytoo.”
If there was snow on the ground, I’d be making snow angels. Instead, I bite my lip to contain my smile a smidge, but he’s laughing, so I know he seesit.
He’s exhausted from his trip to Fort Worth, but you’d never know it by how chatty he’s been today with my family. I guess it helped that he did so well at the Futurity, nabbing first place in his division. It’s been a team effort to help him and his brother attend the contests, and I have to be honest—I like being on a team. Especially histeam.
Between his winnings and how business is booming on the ranch, Ethan has been able to hire more help. That means we always have time to take the kids to the zoo or enjoy a late-night baseball game onTV.
After several more pics, the photographer tells us we’re done, but Ethan waves at her. “I’d like to get a group shot of all of us if that’sokay.”
It’s a tight fit, but Brady, Kat, and their kids stand on one side, both sets of parents on the other. Then Ethan’s clan all get on their knees in the front. I start to move down too, but my sister tugs on myhand.
“What? Should Istand?”
She gives me the strangest smile. “Yes, I think you’re supposed to stand for thispart.”
But I’m in the middle of the front row. Won’t it beweird?
Except…
