I hold the bar door open, and Piper steps inside, carrying every ounce of my attention with her as I guide her toward the corner table where both of my brothers sit alongside Savannah and Violet.
When I say every single pair of eyes lands on us as we reach the table, I mean it.
Piper picks up on the shift around us immediately and stiffens slightly beside me. We’re obvious as hell, and she knows it. So does the rest of the table—at least, I’m willing to bet they do, considering she’s still got that freshly fucked glow about her, and I definitely don’t look as put-together as I did when I first walked in here. My shirt’s a little wrinkled, and she’s glowing in a way that says someone just worshipped the hell out of her body.
“Where have you two been?” Callan drawls, leaning back in his chair with a shit-eating grin that makes me want to dump his beer over his head. Instead, I flip him the bird, and the asshole just laughs.
If Piper was uneasy walking in here with everyone’s eyes on us,that discomfort vanishes the second she really looks at my brother. Then she does something that catches the whole table off guard. Hell, it catches me off guard. She throws her head back and lets out that big, infectious laugh of hers.
“I’m sorry…” she manages between giggles, “I’m trying to play it cool, I swear, but Colton Crawford is sitting at this table, and I…” She points at my brother, her cheeks flushed pink. “Well, we already kinda met, but I honestly have no idea what to do with myself right now because what the actual hell?”
The way she wears that excitement like a damn crown hits me right in the chest because she’s not pretending to be anything other than exactly who she is, and that only makes me fall a little harder.
I gave my brother a heads-up about Piper’s little starstruck situation and told him she might get slightly dazzled at first. He’s used to the attention, so it’s no big deal. Give it one night of being around him, and she’ll start seeing him as just Colt, my little brother, instead of Colton Crawford, country music sensation who’s currently got her brain short-circuiting.
A less secure man might get twitchy about her little fangirl moment. He might let that spark of jealousy catch fire and burn through his common sense. But this woman is mine down to her bones and branded on my soul in ways that have nothing to do with fame or fortune.
Besides, the way she was moaning my name ten minutes ago in my truck, her nails leaving crescents in my shoulders, and her breath hot against my neck? Yeah, I’m not worried.
Colt stands, all six-foot-something of country boy charm, and leans in to place a kiss on Piper’s cheek.
“It’s nice to meet you… twice.” His grin is pure Crawford mischief. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” Piper laughs, giving him a smile that lights up her whole face, and she slides into the seat next to her sister.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, face-to-face, that is.”
I chuckle under my breath, and Colt turns to pull me into one of those solid, back-slapping hugs that say it’s been too long—because it has. I haven’t seen my brother in almost a year, not since he and Trace hit the road.
“Look at you,” I say, gripping his arms. “Who’d have guessed hauling a guitar around would give you these?”
“Gotta keep up the illusion. These arms sell tickets.” He smirks, then adds, “Nah, you can blame Trace. You know how he is—had me in the gym every morning like we’re training for the rodeo instead of a tour.”
“How’s he doing?” The way Colt’s face falls tells me everything before he opens his mouth.
“He’s alright. He’s gone to his sister’s.” He pauses, swallowing hard. “Their mom’s getting worse, and with him being on the road so much… Well, he just wants to be with her while she still knows who he is.”
Trace and Colt met at guitar practice when they were both eight years old and barely tall enough to hold their instruments properly, let alone play a full chord. From that first day on, they became inseparable—two boys who lived and breathed music, spending almost every weekend together, splitting their time between our farm and the Montgomery place.
“She’s still in the early stages,” Colt adds, “but it’s moving fast.”
“Tell him we’re thinking about him,” Callan offers. “And obviously, he’s welcome here over the holidays. It’d be nice for everyone to meet him.”
“Who hasn’t met him?” Colt asks, his gaze sweeping the table like he’s doing a head count of our ever-growing family.
Piper raises her hand in the air, and I can’t help the laugh that rumbles low in my chest.
“I’m sorry,” she says, her cheeks turning that pretty pink shade that drives me crazy. “I’m not cool, and this is just how I am right now. The next time we meet, you’ll get normal Piper, not this—” She waves a hand at herself, all flustered energy, like she thinks she has to apologize for being real.
“I’ll mention it to him.” Colt nods, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I’m sure he might be able to get down here for New Year’s or something.”
Voices melt into the background as I grab my brother’s shoulder. Looking at him now, I feel that familiar pride rising in my chest. Thiskid who used to follow me around the farm with his toy guitar is selling out stadiums now, but when he looks at me, I still see that little boy’s hazel eyes shining back.
“It’s so good to see you. You still staying at Cal’s?”
“Yeah, but I was thinking maybe I could come help you out at the farm. Stay a couple nights, get up early, and give you a hand?”
“You want to?”
“Yeah, of course I do. I grew up there, too, remember? Let me pull my weight for once.”
