“So perfect,” Nolan added. “You’ve made us the luckiest bastards in the world, Poppy.”
But lying right there between them and hearing their sweet words made me feel like the lucky one.
They were my guys, and I was right where I belonged. We all were.
Chapter Twenty Three
Cooper Price
The alarm clock in my brain was going off full force, but I refused to open my eyes. It wasn’t that I was particularly sleepy, even though I was physically exhausted.
Between being out all day helping half the people in town, then driving all over this half of Georgia looking for Jasmine only to find her a few miles down the road—and the amazing sex on top of all that?
Yeah, my body was edging pretty close toward a full-blown rebellion. The ranch would be okay if I didn’t get out there at dawn for one day, and the ranch hands would take care of the horses and the dogs without being told to do it.
Still, a whole lifetime of living on a ranch and scheduling my sleep around cattle hours—sunrise to sunset—meant I was wide awake before the sky had even started turning gray with the first streaks of sunlight.
I didn’t mind, though. Not today. Not as long as I had Poppy’s soft, sexy, curvy body pressed up against me and making me imagine all sorts of things that had nothing to do with work.
Keeping my eyes closed, I slowly, carefully reached over and let my fingertips graze along the side of her beautiful face. I didn’t even have to look to picture her in my mind’s eye, resting peacefully right between me and Nolan.
We didn’t deserve her, that was for sure. Never had. Never would. And it still seemed like a blessing every single time she came home with us.
Pretty sure that feeling would never get old. I hoped it wouldn’t, anyway.
She stirred against me, and I took my fingers away, not wanting to wake her before she was ready. I wanted to savor the moment for as long as it would last, especially since we had to have a serious conversation at some point during the day. Preferably sooner rather than later.
I hoped it would be a good conversation, but I was doing my best to mentally prepare for the worst. Or... maybe not the worst. I was pretty sure last night had gotten us past the worst possible scenario of never seeing her again.
Still, there was a lot we needed to iron out before the day was over.
Obviously, I wanted her to stay, but I was almost certain that wouldn’t be on the cards at first. And then there was the question of how she would break the news to her parents—or her friends, or the rest of the people in town, for that matter.
Not that I gave a flying fuck about anyone else’s views on how I lived my life, but we did live in a small town, and Poppy had always been understandably sensitive to peoples’ perceptions and opinions.
She stirred again and murmured something in her sleep. I couldn’t resist half-turning and leaning in to kiss her forehead as I finally opened my eyes and saw her there, even more beautiful than she’d been in my dreams.
“Is it morning already?” Her sweet voice was raspy with sleep as her eyelids barely cracked open. “Please tell me it isn’t.”
“Almost, baby.” I kissed her head again and smiled as she snuggled up tight against me. “Go back to sleep for a while. You still have time.”
“I shouldn’t. But...” Her face scrunched up for a moment as she slowly sucked in a deep breath and then exhaled. “I’m still so sleepy.”
Jesus, it should be against the law for a woman to be so sexy and innocent at the same time. Especially when I knew damn well, she wasn’t nearly as innocent as those pink cheeks and big, expressive eyes might suggest.
“It’s okay,” I whispered. “I can’t say I mind staying right here with you, like this.”
“That makes three of us,” Nolan rumbled, draping an arm over Poppy’s side.
I grinned at the two of them, both so alike but in totally different ways. I guess I’d never thought of it before, but that probably accounted for how I hadn’t ever been able to function properly without having at least one of them around. My two best friends.
And now the three of us would soon be together. It was what I’d wanted since... well, forever. But it was still hard to wrap my head around and still didn’t quite feel real, if I was completely honest.
That was something to worry about later. For now, she was here. We were all here. Together. And it was all very real.
Chapter Twenty Four
Cooper Price
When the sound of sleepy voices and shuffling feet distracted me from the sizzling eggs and bacon, I stepped back from the stovetop and peered down the hallway toward my bedroom.