“Motherfucker,” Diesel growls between clenched teeth. He’s one step away from knocking Fisher out, so I grab his arm and pull him back.
“As entertaining as it’d be to watch you two punch each other’s teeth out, there are guests in the living room who probably don’t want blood splattered on them.” I walk Diesel out of the kitchen. Before I can scold him, my mom walks in with my cousins Mackenzie and Elizabeth.
“Oh, there you boys are,” Mama says, greeting me with a kiss on the cheek. “Diesel,” she says firmly, giving him a light smack on the cheek. “Kenzie and El need some help hauling dirt to the gardens.”
“Why can’t Aunt Mila do it?” I ask since she’s the one who tends to them usually.
“She’s at the school today. A teacher called in sick,” she explains. After Mila moved here to be with Uncle John, she opened a daycare center, but once their kids got older, she hired a manager so she could be home more.
“Sure, that’s fine. Diesel would love to help. He needs some fresh air anyway.” I smack him on the back and squeeze his shoulder, daring him to argue.
He shoots me daggers for putting him under the bus, but that’s what he gets for not being able to keep his mouth shut around Fisher. My cousin means well, but nothing will mend their friendship at this point, so I don’t even bother trying.
Diesel plasters on the fakest smile, then tells my mom he’d be more than happy to help. He’s a suck-up, considering I already know he has a thing for my little sister, and if either of my parents found out, they’d never let her near him again.
“Such a gentleman,” my mother praises. “The girls are ready when you are. I’ve gotta get back to the house to start dinner for your father,” she tells me. “You boys are always welcome to come.”
Before I can respond, I notice Diesel looking up the staircase as his eyes widen. “Hooooooly. Shit.”
“Language!” my mom scolds in a hushed whisper, but when I follow where he’s looking, I have the same reaction.
What the fuck?
Everyone stares up at Zoey, who’s walking toward me, looking more gorgeous than ever. Her hair is a tad blonder, and she’s a bit tanner, but otherwise, she looks just like she did the minute I left.
“What are you doing here?” I ask when she’s in front of me, using a rougher tone than I intended. “I mailed the papers back two weeks ago,” I tell her, taking off my baseball cap to brush a hand through my hair before replacing it. It’s one of my nervous tells, though she wouldn’t know that.
“Oh, I know. My lawyer told me,” she explains softly as she folds her hands in front of her. She looks anxious as hell.
“Papers? Lawyer? What is she talkin’ about, Riley?” my mother demands. Fisher is now standing next to Diesel, witnessing this shitshow.
I swallow hard, not wanting to lie to my mom. Regardless, now that Zoey’s here, everyone is going to find out anyway. Might as well be the one to tell her and introduce them.
“Zoey, this is my mom, River. Mama, this is Zoey. My wife.”
“What?” she asks in shock.
Fisher is doubled over, laughing his ass off. Kenzie and El are standing wide-eyed, and Diesel is grinning like a fool while my mother looks at me in horror.
“Well, not for long. She asked for an annulment,” I explain.
“When? How?”
“Vegas,” Diesel answers for me, and I glare at him.
With narrowed eyes, she slowly shakes her head. “You’re just like your father. I don’t even know if I can be mad at you or not.”
“Ma, please. Give us a moment, okay?” I beg.
I take Zoey’s hand and lead her out of the B&B, making sure no one follows us as I walk her around to the side of the building.
“Sorry about that. My family is…well, they’re all fucking crazy. As you can tell.” I’m nervous about her being here and rambling, but I can’t take my eyes off her. Fuck, she’s so beautiful when she looks at me and smiles.
“No, it’s okay. I didn’t know what to expect, honestly. I spent over twelve hours driving here and rehearsed what would happen when I saw you for the first time, and it wasn’t supposed to happen like that.” She chews on her bottom lip. In Vegas, I learned it was one of her nervous habits.
“You drove here? Over twelve hours alone?” I ask, surprised.
Zoey nods. “I wanted to clear my head.”
“Okay, so…what are you doing here then?”
She inhales a deep breath, then looks at me. “I didn’t sign the papers.”
My brows raise in shock. “I’m going to need more explanation here…” I pinch the back of my neck, reminding myself to breathe. “You sent me the papers and then didn’t sign them?”