Seeing her fight so hard to hold it in sets me off. After the stress of the arrest, this is exactly the release I need, and I don’t hold back. I laugh until I’m doubled over. Which only makes Gentry let out a burst of laughter that flies out of her almost like a scream.
“Un-fucking-believable,” Brodie says with a growl of frustration, before marching out of the police station. We follow him, still laughing.
“I’m sorry, Brodie,” Gentry calls after him once we’re in the dimly lit parking lot. “I’ll pay to have your car detailed, okay?”
He sighs and walks back to us. “You can’t afford that.” He points at me. “You will pay for it. And you’re marrying my sister. You’ve had public sex with her, so there’s no turning back. It’s a shotgun wedding.”
“Don’t I have to be pregnant for a shotgun wedding?” Gentry asks, her lips trembling and her eyes sparkling with mirth.
“No,” Brodie says. “Because we have birth control in this day and age, thank the good Lord. Public sex is a good enough reason. I’ll call the priest in the morning.”
“We are not getting married,” Gentry says with a chuckle.
Brodie crosses his arms over his chest and glares at me. “What are your intentions with my sister?”
“Brodie,” Gentry says with a gasp. “Stop. You’re being ridiculous.”
“You’re pretty much a single mother,” Brodie says. “I need to—”
“I only have the best intentions with Gentry,” I say, before Brodie says something that gets him punched. By Gentry. Not by me. I’m seriously already in so deep with her, I’d probably go along with the marriage right now if he insisted and she asked. She’s it for me. Standing on this street right now, all I want is to get to bed and curl up with her in my arms. If she wants to have sex again, I’m here for it, but I’d be in heaven just to be snuggled up with her. “I’m all in. One hundred percent. And I’m not walking away unless she insists.”
Brodie looks me up and down. “Have sex in or on my property again, and I will beat the shit out of you. And then, I’ll release those pictures of—”
“I got it. Thanks for bailing us out, Brodie.” I grab Gentry’s hand and lead her toward the SUV.
“I mean it, Levi. I’m letting you use my car while you’re here, but if you have sex in it again, you’ll be walking everywhere for the next three days.”
I lift a hand in the air and wave. “Got it.”
“And try not to set the alarm off again. I get an alert on my phone when it goes off, and Daphne and I were—”
Gentry pulls her hand free of mine, sticks her fingers in her ears, and sings, “La, la, la, la, la…”
I unlock the SUV and hand the keys over to Gentry. “Go ahead and get in. I need to talk to Brodie real quick.”
“About what?” she asks, her brows high.
“About what level of detailing he wants. I’m going to try to get it done before the wedding, and I want it to be perfect.”
She shrugs. “Okay. But hurry. I’m exhausted.”
I do hurry, jogging across the parking lot. “Hey, Brodie. Wait.”
Brodie stops as he’s reaching for the door handle of Daphne’s car. He turns with a huge grin on his face. “Changed your mind about the wedding?”
“No, man. Neither of us is going to change our minds. I need to talk to you about your dad.”
His smile vanishes, and his chin lifts. “You find something on him?”
“I haven’t had time to do a deep dive, but Gentry says he’s not a good guy. I think we should tell her you found him and let her decide if he should be involved.”
He’s shaking his head before I’ve finished speaking. “Mom filled Gentry’s head with all kinds of negative shit about Dad after he left. I’m not saying he’s perfect, but he’s not a monster.”
“Man, three days ago you were determined never to forgive him.”
He shrugs. “I was holding onto anger and resentment that maybe wasn’t fair to him. Besides, this is for the greater good. Gentry needs help, and if you aren’t going to marry her, we need to get Dad involved.”
“Is that why you want me to marry her?”
