As soon as I put my eyes on Amanda, I can see her eyes light up. She helps the next two customers in line as I covertly watch her. When the last customer leaves and we're alone in the store, I walk swiftly toward her, and she comes out from behind the registers. Without even a hello, I have her in my arms, kissing her. I obviously wasn't the only one that felt it last night.
I pull back. "I guess you're happy to see me?"
She smiles widely and nods her head. "Oh, yes."
I grab her hand and pull her to the back of the bookstore behind some shelving. Anyone can walk in the front door at any moment, and I need to protect her some. When we get behind the shelves, I kiss her again. I kiss her the way that I want to, where I'm claiming her and letting her know that she's mine. My hands trail up and down her sides, and I bring one up to touch the swell of her breast. Her back arches, pressing herself more firmly into my hand. I knead her, and she moans almost desperately. I pull my mouth off of hers and look at her, knowing if anyone saw her in this moment, I would be ready to kill whoever it is. Her eyes are hooded and almost glassy looking. Her lips are swollen, and it’s obvious she wants—no fuck that, she needs more. That's why I know we need to stop.
Frustration laces her voice. "What are we doing, Chance?"
I slide my hand off of her breast and then cup her waist. "We're dating."
She shakes her head. "My father..."
But I don't let her continue. "It's going to be okay. I'm going to take care of it. Come to dinner tonight."
She bites on to her lower lip. "At your house?"
I grin and shake my head. "Honey, I don't trust myself alone with you. No, I want you to come to dinner at the main house... with my family."
She tries to pull from my arms, but I don't let her go. "Chance, I can't do that. Your family doesn't like me."
I shake my head. "Griffin and Hailey like you. Look at what you did for Hailey. You helped her fit in."
She rolls her eyes at me. "No, Hailey helped me."
I throw my hands up in frustration. “Whatever, you helped each other. The point is that they both like you, just like the rest of my family is going to like you."
She backs away from me and starts to pace back and forth. "Your brother, King, hates us... hates my family. This is not going to work."
I know what she's saying could be true. My oldest brother, King Bryant, definitely has the biggest chip on his shoulder when it comes to the McCoys. But I know him. And if I ask him to do this for me, he will. He's the one that had to step in when our parents died. And he says it all the time. He just wants us to be happy. "You don't have to worry about my brother. I promise you that everyone is going to love you."
She stops pacing. "Fine. I'll come to dinner tonight."
I walk toward her and grab both of her hands in mine. "Good."
She tilts her head back to look up at me. "I'll come to dinner so you can see how your family is going to react to me. Maybe this is a good thing, Chance. Maybe this will put it all into perspective for us."
I lean down and press my lips to her forehead, and then pull back. I put one hand at the base of her neck. "Honey, if you think tonight is going to be the thing that ends us, you're sorely mistaken. Tonight is going to be the start of our future. I promise you that."
She looks at me with hope and doubt in her eyes. "I hope you're right."
I kiss her again goodbye, and then tell her I'll see her at the house at six. As soon as I get out the doors of the bookstore, I'm texting my brothers, “Meeting in the barn office. Twenty minutes.”
I drive straight out to the ranch and try to think how I’m going to approach this with my brothers. Normally, I don’t care about stuff like this, I just say what I want to say, and it’s over with. But this is too important. I have to have them on board, not because they are going to have the final say or anything but because it will be so much easier if they are on my side with this.
As soon as I get to the ranch, I walk into the barn and go straight to the office. I no sooner walk in and Griffin has his hands up with a big smile on his face. “It’s all good, Chance. We got your back.”