“I told you that Isla and her family do not factor into our lives, and I meant that. They do not matter to me. You are my priority. Our future and your happiness are the most important things to me. I cut Isla out of my life when I told her that I was done going along with her lie, and she tried to convince me that she needed more time. I knew then that she was a liar, but my sense of loyalty to her parents made it hard for me to admit it to myself. I wish I never agreed to do what I did, but I can’t change that. I can only promise you today was the last time you will see her. If she tries to contact me again, I’ll file a restraining order against her.”
“But her parents?”
“They will have to understand, and if they don’t, I will have to make a decision about what role they will play in my life. Your wellbeing is all that matters.”
“How mad is Parker at me?”
“What?” I frown, and she tries to sit up once more, but I hold her down then smile when she growls and blows out a frustrated breath. “Why would Parker be mad at you?”
“Um… because he found out his brother’s new wife is a lunatic.”
“Baby, Cara hates Isla and has refused to have anything to do with her or her family. If anyone understands what happened to today, it would be Parker.”
“What, was Isla fake-engaged to Parker too?”
“No, smartass. Isla tried to hook Parker up with one of her friends right in front of Cara. That did not go over well.”
“I bet not,” she murmurs, and I grin, running my finger across her brow that is no longer holding the tension it was earlier.
“Are you feeling better?”
“I think so. I still don’t like the way I let Isla get to me.”
“I understand that, but please don’t pull away from me. I hate seeing you upset, and I really don’t like when you hold yourself away from me when you are.”
“I just needed some time alone to think.”
“I get that, which is why I left, but I won’t always be able to do that. Leaving you goes against everything I believe in.”
“You weren’t gone long.”
“I didn’t tell you I would be able to stay away,” I mutter, and her lips twitch as she sits up. “Are we good now?”
“Yes.” She ducks her head and drops her eyes to her hands. Seeing her spin the simple gold band around her finger, I shake my head, wondering why the fuck Isla brought up Mom’s wedding ring.
“Parker gave Mom’s ring to Cara,” I explain softly, and her eyes meet mine as she swallows. “My mom wasn’t big on jewelry, so that was the only thing of hers that she left us, and Parker, being the oldest, got it.”
“Dillon—”
“I know I should get you something that you can show off, something that everyone can see. But this ring”—I grab her hand, rubbing my thumb over it—“this ring represents the moment we started, the moment you became mine, and that makes it more valuable than anything I could ever afford.” Tears fill her eyes as she throws herself against me, wrapping her body around mine. Holding her, I let out a breath and feel a weight lift off my chest.
“Tell me you love me,” she whispers, and I bury my face in her neck, absorbing her scent of vanilla into my lungs.
“I love you, baby. Don’t ever doubt it.”
“I love you too.” Her soft words seep into my skin and fill in the parts of me that have been missing since I lost my parents. I always knew I would find someone to share my life with, but I never even dreamed she would be perfect for me in every way.
“Did you eat breakfast?” I ask her after a few minutes of just holding her, knowing she wasn’t up this morning when we all ate. She has a tendency to forget about food unless it’s right in front of her.
“No, I came in here to think after you left, and fell asleep.”
“Come on, I’ll make you something.” I pick her up and carry her into the kitchen, where I set her on the island. “How about peanut butter and jelly?”
“I don’t think I’ve had one of those since I was ten.” She grins, and I lean in, wrapping my hand around her jaw and kissing her softly before pulling away.
“Well, let me remind you how good they are.” I reluctantly step away from her and go about making her a sandwich then hear her phone ring. Watching her hop of the counter and walk across the kitchen, I see her pick up her cell and put it to her ear.
“I was going to call you,” she says with a smile. Then frowns and asks, “No, what happened?” Resting her palm against the counter, her head drops between her shoulders as she speaks softly. “We drove by there last night. I saw the police and news trucks.” She shakes her head, and I move toward her. “Yes, at first I thought it was an accident until I saw a CSI van. Do they know who it was?” she questions, looking at me. She replies, “I won’t be anymore” to whatever the person on the phone said.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s Michelle. They found a woman stabbed to death in Oaks Park last night.”
“Jesus.” With Parker, Cara, and the kids showing up last night, and Isla showing up this morning, I completely forgot about driving by there and seeing the news vans and police. “Do they know who it is?”
“Michelle said no. She just saw the story on the news and thought of me, since she knows I run there on occasion.”
“Not anymore,” I growl, thinking of her running there alone with her ear buds in, oblivious to any threat, and someone attacking her.
“Definitely not anymore,” she agrees, shaking her head then dropping her eyes, and I know Michelle is saying something to her.
“Yes, next Saturday, and no, there will not be strippers,” she mutters, and I use my hand under her jaw to pull her face up to gain her eyes.
“I swear to Christ if naked men show up at your bachelorette party, I will spank the shit out of you when you get home.” Her eyes widen and her pink tongue comes out to touch her bottom lip as she nods. Seeing the flare of desire in her eyes mixed with trepidation, I wonder if I shouldn’t just spank her the next time I have her naked in front of me to see what her reaction is.
“Shut up, Michelle,” she grumbles. Then she whispers, “Yeah, bye.” Before I can grab her, she pulls the cell phone from her ear, tossing it onto the counter, and scoots past me. “This sandwich is delicious.” She grins around a mouthful, and I shake my head while walking toward her.
As soon as I’m close enough to touch her, I bend, placing a kiss to her forehead. “Do you want some milk before you choke on it?”
“Yes, please.” She smiles, picking the crust off the bread, then hops up on one of the stools as I walk across the kitchen to grab the gallon of milk from the fridge. Filling a glass for her and one for myself, I take them over to the island and take a seat next to her. “Do you need to go back to pick up your brother?” she asks as I open the box of cupcakes, smiling when I see there are six left.
“No, I left my car with him.”
“How did you get home?” she asks after taking a bite of her sandwich and a sip of milk.
“Tim was in the area, so he was able to drive me,” I explain before sinking my teeth into the cupcake.
“You must really like those. I never see you eat sweets, and that has to be the third one you’ve had.”
“Fourth,” I correct, hearing her laughter ring through the kitchen, making me smile. It’s been far too long since I’ve heard her carefree laughter, and I miss it. “We need a vacation, baby,” I say softly, and she nods, ripping a few more pieces of the crust off her sandwich.
“I would love to get away with you, but I know things have only gotten busier since you’ve taken over the office, and I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon.”
“More patients equal more money, which means I can afford to hire another dentist. I’ll figure it out this coming week.”
“You don’t think it’s too soon to hire another dentist?”
“No, not at the rate we’re growing. And really, I want to have a third person on to h
elp cover things if you and I need to be out of the office for an extended period of time.”
“Why would we need to be out of the office for an extended period of time?” She frowns, and I study her for a moment before speaking.
“When we have kids, I’ll want to be home with you as often as I can. Right now, it would be difficult to do that, and I would most likely have to close the practice and work somewhere else that would allow me to make my own hours.”
“Have you been talking to Parker about having kids?” she asks quietly, and I frown.
“No, why?”
“He mentioned us having kids this morning, and asked when we are going to start.”
“What did you say when he asked you?”
“I said a few years.” She shrugs, taking a large bite of her sandwich, and I stare at her in disbelief.
“We are not waiting a few years,” I deny, feeling my lip curl at the idea alone.
“Really, and what was your plan?” she asks sarcastically, raising a brow.
“Now. The sooner the better. We haven’t been using protection, so it could happen anytime.”
Staring at me with her eyes wide, she shakes her head and mutters, “I’m on birth control.”
“No you’re not.”
“Yes, I am. I’m on the shot. My next appointment is in…” She looks at the ceiling, wiggling her head back and forth, then drops her eyes back to me. “Just about eight weeks away.”
“Cancel it. You don’t need to get it again.”
“Pardon?” She sets her sandwich down on her plate and crosses her arms over her chest while narrowing her eyes on mine.
“You don’t need to be on the shot, and why didn’t you tell me you were?”
“Have you been trying all this time to get me pregnant?” she questions, sounding pissed off, and I know by her tone I should probably tread lightly.
“I didn’t know you were on anything.”
“So you have been,” she mutters, looking away from me. “Wow, just when I think you can’t get any crazier, you go and do something that makes me wonder just how much crazier you’re gonna get.”
“I want a family with you. There is nothing crazy about that. I want to see you holding our kids the way I’ve seen you holding Hope, and I want to see that smile you only give her directed at our babies.”
“We’re just getting to know each other as a married couple. I want kids, but I don’t think right now is the time to have them. I want us to have time, just the two of us, before we bring a baby into our family. And I just graduated! I just started my career.” She waves her hand around. “I want to enjoy all of this stuff for a while.”
“One year, I’ll give you that long,” I compromise, and she leans close, placing her hand against my jaw.
“At least two. You won’t change my mind. It’s me who will have to carry our babies, and it’s me that us starting a family will affect the most. It should be my decision when it happens,” she says then lowers her voice, hitting me right in the gut. “I love you, and I want you to have everything you want, but I also need you to love me enough to understand this is you and me. This is our future. We should be making these big decisions together.”
“You’re not giving me the opportunity to make these decisions with you.”
“If I wasn’t on birth control, we would probably be pregnant right now, and that would have been all your choice. So don’t try to make me feel bad about telling you what I need.”
“Fine,” I grumble. “I’ll wait until you tell me you’re ready, but just so you know, I’m not happy about it.”
“Trust me. You’re making that very obvious.” She laughs, closing the distance between us and touching her mouth to mine.
*
“I’m guessing by the make-out session we walked in on when we got back here that you and Ashlyn are okay,” Parker says, and I hear the smile in his voice but I don’t turn to see it. My eyes are glued on where my wife is standing in the kitchen at the island with my nephews, showing them how to make monkey melt—whatever the fuck that is.
“We’re good,” I mutter back, then smile as I watch her throw her head back, laughing at something one of the boys said. Pulling my eyes from her, I turn to face my brother, catching his smirk and a look on his face I can’t read.
“What?”
Taking a pull from his beer, his eyes go to the backyard. “I honestly never thought I’d see you settled down.” He shakes his head, returning his gaze to mine. “And I sure as fuck never thought I’d see you in love.”
“Why?”
“You’ve always been obsessively focused on your career. I didn’t think you would ever find someone you’d care about more than that.”
He’s right; I’ve always been focused on my career, because I wanted to be someone our parents would have been proud to call their son. Everything has, in some way, been about them and keeping their memory alive. Until her. She changed my focus and brought me back to life. She made me realize there are more important things than money and work.
“She changed everything,” I say quietly, more to myself than him. I hadn’t realized it until now how much she’s changed me.
“I can see that.” He pats my shoulder. “I’m happy for you, and Mom and Dad would be happy for you too.”
“Do you think so?” I question, feeling a pain hit my chest. The same pain I get every time I think about them.
“All they ever wanted was for us to be happy, so I know, without a doubt, they would be happy for you.”
“I still miss them,” I sigh, taking a seat, dropping my elbows to my knees, and watching him take a seat in the chair next to mine.
“Me too, every damn day. And since we had the boys, it’s only gotten worse. They would have loved being grandparents, and they missed out on that, while I missed out on seeing them with my kids. That shit sucks and does not go away.”
“How do you deal with it?” I ask, realizing this is the first time we’ve talked about our parents in years.
“Having Cara’s parents helps. Having you does, too. But really, having the memories I had with Mom and Dad, and being able to share those with my sons, is what gets me by. There will always be an empty place from their loss, but I hope that in someway I’m keeping their memory alive through my boys.”
“You are, and Mom and Dad would have been proud of you,” I assure, holding his gaze, and his eyes flash with both sadness and gratitude.
Hearing the sliding door open, both our heads turn toward it as Jordan sticks his head out of the crack, and yells, “Monkey melt’s ready! Come on, hurry up!” before sliding the door closed.
“What the hell is monkey melt?” Parker asks, and I shrug while standing.
“Don’t know, but I guess we’re going to find out.”
Taking my empty beer with me, I head inside where I’m immediately struck by the scent of baked cinnamon rolls. Dumping my empty bottle in the trash, I grab a fresh one for me and another for Parker before heading across the kitchen to where Ashlyn is standing. Leaning against the island at her side, I watch her scoop out vanilla ice cream on top of a large pan of baked cinnamon rolls and sliced bananas.
“Will you get me the caramel out of the microwave?” she asks, tilting her head back to look at me, and I nod, placing a kiss to her temple, then get the caramel she’s heated in the jar to take over to her.
“This is a communal dessert.” She smiles, tipping the jar of caramel over, letting it run across the top of the ice cream, and finishing with a handful of crushed pecans. “Everyone grab a spoon and dig in,” she murmurs, pushing the hot pan into the middle of the island we are all gathered around.
“Oh, my God. This is what Heaven must taste like,” Cara groans, digging her spoon into the pan for another bite before she’s even swallowed her first one.
“Holy shit, this is good,” Parker says a second later, and I hear Ash laugh as Cara hits his chest and nods at the boys, who are not paying attention to him. The
y are both now belly-down on the island, with their faces hovering over the pan, shoveling the monkey melt into their mouths like it’s going to disappear, which it kind of is.
“Are you going to have any?” Ash asks, looking at me after she’s swallowed her bite.
“I’m trying to come up with a plan of attack, so I don’t get my hand bitten off,” I mutter dryly.
Laughing, she takes the spoon from me and digs into the dish before holding it in front of my mouth. Leaning in, I close my lips around the spoon and hold her eyes as I pull back, watching them flare and darken.
“So,” she tips her head to the side once I’ve chewed and swallowed, “what do you think?”
“I think you’ve been holding out on me,” I mutter, digging in for another bite, stealing a scoop right off Jordan’s spoon. I hear him whine, “Uncle Dillon, that was mine!” which makes me laugh.
“I couldn’t make it before now. There has to be enough people to eat it,” she explains, scooping out a bite for herself.
“I could eat a whole pan of it by myself,” I tell her truthfully around a mouthful, and she grins.
“You would be sick. Trust me, I know from experience.”
“You have to give me the recipe for this,” Cara says, not even ten minutes later, as the boys scrape the bottom of the pan for the remnants of the dessert.
“It’s easy. Just a can of cinnamon rolls cut up and baked. Once they’re done, you top them with sliced bananas, ice cream, caramel, and pecans. Sometimes, I melt peanut butter into the caramel and dump that on there, but this is really the best way to make it.”
“That seems easy enough,” Cara agrees, and Parker smiles.
“Easy enough for even you to make, babe,” he teases.
Placing her hands on her hips, she glares at him. “I can cook.”
“Baby, I love you. You are a master at many things, but cooking is not one of them.”
“I took that cooking class last month, and the instructor told me he thought I was talented.”
“That instructor lied to you.”
“No, he didn’t.”