6 Mountain Brothers for Christmas

She regarded me with a look I couldn’t quite read before responding. “Rain told me everything,” she finally said.

I inhaled a breath. “And?”

“And we have a lot to talk about,” she said. “But not right now. Enjoy your show.” She turned to walk off into the crowd.

“Kami.” She stopped and looked over her shoulder before turning to face me. “I’ve missed you.”.

Before she could say anything in reply, Steven tapped his glass and called the room to his attention. “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a great honor to be here tonight to share the love, passion, and science of astronomy with our friends and beloved guests. As you know, we’re always on the lookout for ways to improve our observatory, and this year, in honor of our fiftieth anniversary of the Galaxy Gala, we commissioned a talented artist and photographer, Tate Evans, whose astral photography will now grace the walls of the observatory’s event room.” He swept a hand, and the veils came off the pictures I’d sold and made into wall-size prints. The crowd cheered, oohing and ahhing at the unveiling, and Steven asked me to step up.

I hadn’t prepared for a speech or anything, but I plastered on a smile, even though I wanted to throw up, and headed up to stand beside him.

“All the lovely photographs on display here tonight were taken by this man right here, and we’re so proud to make him an honorary member of the Galaxies, which hosts events like these to beautify the observatory and, of course, give back to the community.” Steven patted me on the back, and I gave a nod and said many thank-yous before he handed me the microphone.

I took a deep breath and felt my face turning red. “Thank you so much, Steven, it’s an honor to be a part of such an amazing group of people, and I’m proud that my photography is now a permanent fixture here. More than that, I’m really glad I have friends here tonight, including two special ladies: my sisters, Megan and Kami Kendrick, both of whom I love dearly. Enjoy the night. You both inspire me more than you’ll ever know.” I raised my glass high and the others toasted with me. I gave the microphone to Steven and had to get away.

I hurried out to the observation deck and tried to catch my breath. The glass window that showed the best view of the night sky I could ever image spanned the room around me. I put my hand to it and leaned forward.

“That’s an amazing view.” Her voice sent chills down my spine, and I turned to see Kami standing in the door behind me.

She was so incredibly beautiful, even more so than the last time I’d seen her only a few days ago. She was positively radiant tonight. “Not as amazing as mine,” I said, cringing at how much of a cheesy pickup line it sounded like.

To my immense relief, she laughed.

“You said Rain told you everything?” I asked her.

The smile disappeared from her lips and my heart sank. “Yes. Listen, I don’t agree with what you did, buttering those women up so that your buddy could make more money off them and keeping details about your inheritance a secret from me. You should have told me, even if you were afraid of my reaction. That’s what people who love one an

other do, Tate. They tell each other the truth, and work through the hard stuff together.”

I hung my head. “I know. If it makes any difference to you, I actually felt pretty awful about baiting those women. And I can’t apologize enough for not trusting you with the truth earlier.”

She nodded. “I appreciate that. Bottom line, I know you didn’t cheat on me.”

“Never,” I said, shaking my head vehemently. “I never would.”

I held out my hand, and she took it. My heart pounded in my chest as she stepped close and I kissed her knuckles.

“I’m terrified, Tate.” She met my eyes, and I put my arms around her waist.

“Of?”

“You. Giving you my heart wasn’t easy.”

“I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I broke that trust, and I’m sorry that I’ve made you leery of me. I love you, Kami. You’re my girl. Tell me you’re going to stay?” I pulled her closer and captured her mouth, and she pushed me back up against the glass, deepening it until she pulled away breathless.

“I’m going to stay.” I let out a long breath, and a terrible weight had been lifted as I gathered her up even closer and kissed her hard, trailing my mouth down her neck and to her breasts and back up.

“Good, because I didn’t intend on letting you go.” I kissed her again, and we made out against the window until my sister cleared her throat behind us.

“Really? Can’t you see we’re busy?” I didn’t want to let Kami go for a minute. I had my girl back.

“Sorry, but you have guests, so you better get your pretty little butts out here and greet them.” She gave me a pointed look and disappeared behind the door.

We walked out arm in arm to greet my guests, and my heart stopped as I caught a glimpse of my father through the crowd. He was studying my murals pretty hard and talking to Steven Pratt. The older man stepped out of the way, and I caught Dad’s expression. He was smiling.

“Well I’ll be damned.” I pulled her across the room to where my dad was now laughing with Steven.

“Ah, here he is, the man of the hour. I was just talking to your old man, here.”