Logan grins. “Nah, we did. But we decided he seems honest, so we’re just going to keep an eye on him.”
“Told you Logan’s lost his touch.” Blake steps right next to Alice. “Look at Nate. He doesn’t look intimidated or pissed.”
“Oy,” Logan exclaims.
“Just so you know,” Blake replies, “I’ll pick a fight with you sometime today. Things need shaking up.”
“Sometimes I can’t believe the conversations in this family,” Sebastian mutters.
Alice shakes her head at her brothers’ shenanigans. I hold up my hand. “All right, show’s over. I need to talk to Alice alone. Watch the grill until I’m back.”
Without waiting for anyone’s answer, I take Alice’s hand, leading her toward the house. Once inside, I turn to face her, holding her against me.
“First things first.” I kiss her thoroughly, needing to get my fill of her. I haven’t seen her in three days, and that’s about three days too long. Her sweet mouth welcomes me, her lips parting with ease. I lose myself in her warmth. We’re both insatiable.
“Mmmm, I’ll ask my brothers to corner you more often if it means I’ll get kissed like that,” she says when we pull apart.
“You don’t deserve to be kissed like that after practically cheering them on. I remember you saying you’d talk me up.”
“I did a while ago.” Alice shrugs, laying her palms on my chest. “I was torn between wanting them to give you a hard time and defending you.”
“This is supposed to make me feel better?”
She nods with conviction. “Yes. And when you wrote to say you were already here, I even panicked a bit and drove fast. Well, as fast as she’d go.”
“That car—”
“Watch it. Make fun of it and you won’t get laid.”
“I’m confident enough in my seduction skills.” I rub my thumbs against her bare shoulders in small circles and her cheeks redden. “See?”
“You’re not playing fair.” She fidgets in her spot, and some of that playful glint in her eyes has faded. She looks concerned now.
“Alice, everything okay?”
“Yeah.” She fidgets even more, drumming her fingers on my chest. “So my brothers haven’t scared you off, huh?”
“Of course not. That’s how little you think of me?”
“No, but I thought it would be a good test.” She swallows, glancing at me apologetically, as if she just let slip something she wasn’t supposed to.
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, if you got scared about their big brother talk, it would’ve been a red flag.”
There are times when I think I have her all figured out, and then she surprises me by showing me just how vulnerable she can be.
“This thing between us is important to me. You’re important to me.”
“Yeah?” She smiles, and everything feels right again.
“Yes.”
“So I’m forgiven for secretly wishing my brothers would corner you?”
I kiss her forehead. “You, Alice Bennett, will never cease to blindside me. Now let’s get back outside before someone interrupts us. Accidentally, of course.”
We spend the rest of the day catching up with everyone, and I seem to get a variation of the talk from every member in the family. It gets annoying at some point, but I’m also glad that even as adults, they still have each other’s backs.