Tripp let out a hearty laugh. “Hell no. Cord knows better than to sleep with her. She helps keep that place running and the last thing he wants to do is mess that up.”
I took a sip of water. “Does she feel the same way?”
“I think so. She’s never seemed interested in Cord that way. Of course, she has a front seat view of his ways so that probably keeps her at bay.”
I watched as all the couples danced and laughed.
“Everyone looks like they’re enjoying themselves,” I stated.
“Look at Trevor. I think the little bastard has finally met his match.”
“With Scarlett?” I looked around, searching out over the dance floor. “Where is she?”
Tripp pointed to Scarlett in the arms of Aunt Vi’s date. I covered my mouth and laughed.
“Oh. Roger got to her.”
“Yeah, look at my brother. He’s pissed.”
Trevor looked rather upset, indeed.
“Do you think he likes her?” I asked.
With a shrug, Tripp looked at me and grinned. “Oh, yeah. And I’m sure that confuses the hell out of him. He’ll act like he doesn’t care that another man asked her dance, but he can’t hide the seething.”
“Are we talking about our lovestruck baby brother?” Waylynn asked, sitting down next to me.
“Yep,” Tripp and I said at once.
Waylynn stared for a brief moment at Trevor before she lost it in a fit of laughter.
“Christ Almighty, look at the poor bastard. He doesn’t know what to do.”
Tripp started laughing next.
“He looks like he wants to knock the shit out of Aunt Vi’s poor boy toy!” Waylynn added.
“Are y’all talking about Trevor?” Steed asked, sitting down at the table with Paxton.
Paxton shook her head. “Don’t be mean. I think it’s cute Trevor has finally fallen for someone.”
“Lord, don’t let Mom hear you say that,” Waylynn said. “She’ll make it her mission in life to get them together. She’s already worked her magic on these two.”
She jerked her thumb toward me and Tripp.
Mitchell was now at the table with a very miserable looking Corina. She forced a smile, but I could tell she wasn’t feeling well.
“I say we throw Cord and Maebh to Mom, while we’re at it,” Mitchell said with a chuckle.
Waylynn cleared her throat as everyone turned to her.
Jonathon let out a groan as he said, “What did you do now, Waylynn?”
Her eyes widened, and she pretended to be shocked. Her hand went to her chest while she said, “Me? Why all I did was happen to point her out to our mother and possibly let it slip that Cord couldn’t keep his eyes off our new Irish friend.”
We all laughed.
“Those poor bastards,” Tripp said as he took my hand and kissed the back of it. When he winked, my stomach felt like a million butterflies were flying around in it.
“Boys!” Melanie called out. “I need a picture of all my handsome men. Come on. That means you too, Jonathon…Wade. Come on!”
All of them groaned as Melanie smacked Mitchell on the back of the head, only because he was closest to her.
“Stop acting like that. You know this happens every year.”
As they all got up, Melanie turned to the table.
“Girls, you’re next.” Melanie pointed to me. “And that means you too, Harley.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said with a nod.
Waylynn grabbed her drink. “The annual family pictures. I swear if she could do this once a month, she would.”
My eyes glanced to Corina. She looked pale. I stood and made my way around the table and sat down next to her. Taking her hand in mine, I squeezed it.
“Corina, what’s wrong?”
She swallowed hard. “I don’t feel good. My head is spinning, and I feel hot.”
Placing my hand to her forehead I shot my eyes over to Waylynn. She was watching us with a concerned look on her face.
“You have a fever, Corina.”
“I feel like I’m going to pass out.”
I grabbed her water and poured it over a napkin. I dabbed it on her forehead and cheeks.
“Drink this,” I said as I took Mitchell’s ice water that he hadn’t touched. “Small sips. Have you been drinking lots of water?”
She shook her head. “Probably not enough.”
Amelia walked up. “Mom stole Wade from me and…what’s wrong?”
Paxton was now up. “I’m going to go get Mitchell.”
“My body hurts so bad,” Corina softly said. She was weak, and for the first time this evening, she wasn’t trying to put up a front.
“Sweetie, we’re going to get you to a bed.” I pointed to my clutch. “Waylynn, reach in and grab my phone.”
She did as I asked.
“I saw Dr. Peterson saying goodbye to your parents earlier. I have his number in my phone. We might be able to reach him before he gets too far away.”
Waylynn pulled up the number and started talking.
“What’s wrong?” Mitchell asked as he rushed up and took the seat next to Corina.
“I think she might have the flu,” I said.
Mitchell’s head snapped up as he looked at me.
I stood, motioning for Mitchell to do the same. “Let’s get her into the house so she can be comfortable. Waylynn’s calling Dr. Peterson now.”
Mitchell and I helped Corina stand. We were soon surrounded by the entire family and Tripp had taken over my spot.
Mitchell called out over his shoulder. “Paxton, can you call Dr. Buten?”
She nodded and rushed in front of everyone, making her way to the house.
“That’s Corina’s OB,” Amelia told me, taking my hand in hers.
I gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry. She’s going to be okay.”
Amelia gave me a tight smile, but I could see the fear on her face.
As we all walked toward the house, Aunt Vi gave an announcement that things were going to wrap up early due to a family emergency. I hated that my fairytale evening had to end, but I was more concerned for Corina and the baby.
Mitchell carried Corina up to the guest bedroom where he and Amelia attended to her. Luckily, the girls had all gotten ready here at the house, so Corina had a change of clothes.
Sitting in the living room, I watched as members of the family paced or sat looking scared.
I stood. “I’m going to go put on some coffee and hot water for tea.”
Tripp’s head lifted as our eyes met. I hated to see him worrying, and I wished there was something more I could do.
“I’ll help.” Tripp reached for my hand and we walked into the kitchen in silence.
Nothing about the kitchen had changed. Appliances had been updated, but the coffee pot was still located in the same exact spot. I got to work adding the coffee and water and putting on a kettle to boil.
Warm arms found their way around my body. I stopped moving and spun to face Tripp.
His eyes searched my face before he lifted his hand and tracked my jawline with one finger. “I love you.”
My heart soared. “I love you too.”
“Is it wrong that I want to take you and hide away for a few weeks?”
I smiled. “I don’t think so. We sort of have to get to know each other again.”
He nodded. “I promised Steed I’d go slow, but I’ve missed you so goddamn much.”
My eyes burned with the threat of tears. This time happy ones. “I missed you too. I wish I could…”
His fingers pressed to my lips, and he shook his head. “The past is in the past. All I care about is our future. Yours and mine. The only thing I want right now is to be with you. And the only memories I want to talk about are the happy ones because those far outweigh anything else.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “That’s all I want too.”
Tripp’s head dropped and he let out a worried sigh. “Is s
he going to be okay?”
Taking both his hands in mine, I pulled them to my mouth and kissed each one.
“Yes. She’s going to need to rest and do what the doctor says, but I think she’ll be okay. I know it’s scary because she’s pregnant, but I have no doubt in my mind that both Dr. Peterson and Dr. Buten will take care of her.”
The way Tripp gazed so intensely caused a shiver to race through my body. If we were alone I was positive I would be dropping to the floor and begging him to take me right here.
His tongue ran over his bottom lip, and I groaned quietly.
“Have I told you how fucking beautiful you look tonight?”
My mouth opened, but nothing came out.
“I wanted to take things slow. Get to know each other again, but the second we get news that Corina is okay, I’m taking you home.”
I did the only thing my stupid body would let me do. I nodded.
“Then I’m going to slowly take this dress off of you.”
The throbbing between my legs was so intense I had to press my thighs together to ease the ache.
“Then…then what?” I asked as I fought for breath.
The left side of his mouth lifted. “Then I get to explore what’s mine, what’s always been mine…from top to bottom. Slowly.”
“Go home,” my mother said to everyone as she stood in the den and looked around the room.
“Is she going to be okay?” Waylynn asked before letting out a long yawn.
“Yes. Both Dr. Peterson and Dr. Buten said Corina will be fine. They tested her for the flu, but Dr. Peterson thinks she has a virus and she’s not been resting enough. She is on strict bed rest for the next few days. Once we find out more I will be sure to let you all know. Mitchell is on his way to pick up Milo and some clothes. They’re going to be staying here for the next few days.”
I was positive we all let out a collective sigh when my mother said Corina was okay.
Harley’s fingers were laced with mine as we listened to my mother bark out orders. My mother walked up to Scarlett, hugged her, and thanked her for staying as long as she did. Trevor had offered to take her home earlier, but she’d said she wanted to make sure Corina was okay. The fact that my little brother couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off the brunette beauty amused me, Steed, Cord, and Mitchell. The bastard was going to be catching hell for this.
Tammy, Cord’s date, had driven her own car and had left over an hour ago.
There was no fucking way I was going to take Harley home. Fuck that. She was coming back to my house and I was going to peel that black dress off of her and bury myself inside her all damn night. I’d already called her mother and asked if she could keep Hemi and Lady for the evening. She was more than happy to, and said they were both already at her house.
“Harley, sweetheart, thank you for being so observant and noticing Corina wasn’t herself.”
With a sweet smile, Harley hugged my mother. “Of course. She did a good job of hiding it for quite a while.”
I wrapped my arm around Harley’s waist while my mother’s eyes bounced between us.
“Does this mean you’ve finally gotten your head out of your ass, son?”
“It does, Mother. With your help, I might add.”
She acted like she had no idea what I was talking about. “Whatever do you mean?”
Leaning over, I kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Mom. Thank you.”
“Goodnight, Tripp.” My mother turned her attention back to Harley. “You looked stunning this evening. Enjoy the rest of the night.”
“Thank you so much, Melanie,” Harley said with a kiss to my mother’s cheek. After saying goodnight to everyone and giving my father the usual handshake and quick hug, I led Harley outside.
“Your folks said not to worry about Hemi and Lady. They have everything taken care of,” I stated as Harley leaned against her car door.
“I’m sure they won’t mind watching them for a bit longer. Besides, I already sent my mother a text and told her what was happening with Corina.”
My finger brushed a curl from those stunning emerald eyes of hers. “And did you talk about what was happening with us?”
Her teeth dug into her lip. “That part I kept to myself or I’d be currently on the phone with her giving her a play by play of this evening.”
Sliding my hand to the nape of her neck, I drew her mouth closer to mine. “Would you like a play by play of how the rest of your evening is going to look?”
Her smile made my stomach drop. “Yes, I’d very much like that.”
“First, you’re going to follow me home, then the moment you step into my house I’m taking that dress off of you. Then I plan on burying my face between your legs and tasting what I’ve waited ten years to have again.”
The small moan that fell from her lips had me wanting to skip the driving part and do it right this moment.
“Then…then what?” Harley asked with a shaky voice.
“After I make you come on my face, I’m going to bring you up to my bedroom and do it all over again.”
“Tripp,” she panted, her body trembling as I spoke to her.
“How does that all sound so far, baby?”
She nodded.
“Then, those pretty red lips are going to wrap around my cock because it’s been too fucking long since I’ve been inside your mouth.”
Her eyes closed while her tongue swept over her lips. My dick was so fucking hard I almost felt the urge to release it and let her suck me off here…if only we weren’t standing in front of my folks’ house.
“I think…I think you should finish telling me once we get to your house,” Harley whispered.
“’Night, Tripp! ’Night. Harley! Use protection!” Waylynn called out as she walked with Jonathon over to his truck.
Rolling my eyes at my sister, Harley and I both called out our goodnights to Waylynn and Jonathon, as well as the rest of my siblings.
“Follow me back to my house,” I demanded. Leaning in, I pressed my mouth to hers. Our tongues danced together as Harley opened up and let me in.
The drive back to my house felt like it took forever. Pulling into my driveway, I opened the garage and pulled in, leaving room for Harley to pull her car in next to my truck. There was no way I could hide the smile on my face seeing her car parked next to mine.
Quickly getting out of my truck, I waited for her at the door.
“Your house is beautiful, Tripp.”
I’d built this two-story house a few years back. It was the house I’d drawn when I was in college. The dream house that had been part of my grand plans. I was curious to see if she would recognize it from the little drawing I’d made on the back of a Sonic drive-thru napkin so many years ago.
Over the last few days it was becoming clearer to me that maybe those plans needed to be altered. That I needed to start living my life without thinking and planning out every damn move. I needed to live on the edge.
“Thank you. I had it built a few years back.”
I opened the door from the garage and stepped into the mud room. We walked past it and down the hall that led into the kitchen.
Harley was looking up at the ceiling as she walked. “There’s wood on your ceiling.”
With a chuckle, I replied, “Yep, I did that.”
“You did?” she asked in a stunned voice.
“Don’t act so surprised, Harley. I’m pretty handy when it comes to things like that.”
When we walked into the kitchen, I set my keys down in a small bowl on the counter. The kitchen was open to the informal dining and living area with a large rock fireplace at the opposite end of the large space. A wall of windows and one set of French doors showed the view out back.
“Wow,” she whispered as her fingers ran along the white marbled quartz counters. “I love the white cabinets.”
“So do I. Makes everything look clean and simple.”
She turned to me. I could see it in her eyes??
?she knew I had designed this kitchen like the one we used to talk about. With a slight smile, she walked to the alder wood door.
“Let me guess. Pantry?”
I nodded. She did remember.
She opened it and stepped into the large walk-in pantry. “Tripp, there is no food in this pantry and it’s as big as my office at the clinic!”
Laughing, I pulled her out of the pantry.
“A quick tour, then I’m taking you to bed.”
She giggled. “What happened to your plan?”
“I’ve changed it.”
“I see.”
Pulling her behind me, I walked into the living. “Dining room. Living room.”
I turned the corner and walked down another hallway that brought us to the formal dining room. Harley gasped when she saw the table.
“Christ above! That table is huge. Is that from a real tree?” she asked.
“Yep. The table seats ten. Let’s keep moving.”
We walked up to a spiral staircase. This wasn’t in the original plans, but my builder thought it would look cool, and I agreed.
“This is stunning!” Harley stated as we walked up the steps and into the large game room. A huge leather sectional sat up here along with a pool table, a shuffleboard table, and my favorite part of the room—the fully stocked bar.
“Holy serious game room.”
I chuckled and showed her the two guest bedrooms and the bathroom before bringing her back downstairs, using the back staircase that went straight to the hallway to my office.
“This is my office.”
We walked in and the first thing you saw when you stepped in was the floor-to-ceiling knotty alder book cases. My large wood desk sat in the middle of the office with a large leather desk chair on one side facing the white stone fireplace, and two smaller leather chairs.
“Tripp, this is all so beautiful. You’ve designed a beautiful home. Just like the one you drew on the back of that napkin.” She rewarded me with a sexy wink.
I smiled. For some reason her remembering made me so happy. I wasn’t sure why it did, but it had my chest doing that damn stupid fluttering shit.
“Looks like the only thing left to show me is your bedroom.” She approached me with a predatory gaze in her eyes.
They grew darker the closer she got. My hands itched with anticipation.