“Very. Where do you keep the matches?”
“The matches?” He chuckles as he gets out of bed. “Tearing them up won’t do?”
“Nope.”
“All right then.”
Two minutes later, and nothing but our underwear, we light the papers on fire above the pit in the yard. The first frost of the season paints the grass and the trees around us in pretty white glitter, but there’s nothing more beautiful than watching what would have undoubtedly been the biggest mistake of our lives go up in flames.
“Looks like you’re stuck with me,” Dean murmurs as the edges of the papers turn to ash and slowly but surely disappear into smoke.
“Mm-hmm. I just wish I remembered the best decision I ever made.”
Wrapping an arm around my shoulders, he pulls me to his side. “Let’s do it again. Not in Vegas, but somewhere more meaningful. With rings and flowers and shit.”
“Really?” My giddy, girlish heart lifts like a balloon. “You’d marry me a second time?”
“Uh, yeah. I wasn’t lying when I said I love you.”
“Ah!” I leap into his arms and kiss him all over this face. “I love you, too. So, so much. And yes, let’s do it again. As soon as possible.”
“All right. Then it’s settled. Now, can we go inside before my twig and berries shrivel up and fall off?”
Giggling, and happier than I’ve ever been, I plant one last kiss on his lips. “Oh, I suppose. Since you’re going to need those berries to give me babies someday.”
chapter 24
DEAN
At ten o’clock on the dot, Holden’s kills the engine and slides out of his truck. No gun. No boxing gloves. No knife or chainsaw to cut off my dick.
“Tessa inside?” he asks with a subtle lift of his chin.
“Yeah. I asked her to give us a few minutes.”
He nods and takes the couple of steps up to the porch, one slow stride at a time.
“You want some coffee or something?” I’ve already had half a pot myself but something tells me I’m going to need a lot more. Probably a little whiskey, too.
“I already drank my body weight between the drive from Billings and talking to Kaden, so I’ll pass. But thanks.” He takes a seat in the wooden chair kitty-corner from me. “So, a month, huh? In Vegas?”
“Yeah.”
He sticks his tongue in his cheek and peers out toward the mountains. “I asked you why and you said you care about her. What kind of care are we talking about exactly?”
“I love her.”
His eyes flick to mine. “You love her,” he repeats. “In a matter of four weeks—”
“Technically five.”
Snapping his mouth shut, he grinds his jaw. “It could be a fucking year, and I’d still be skeptical. This is my sister we’re talking about.”
“Who’s also my wife.”
He grimaces at the word, and while his cool temperament is appreciated, it’s also making me antsy as hell.
“How about we cut to the chase and you tell me how you really feel like your brother did last night?”
