“Good luck,” Boone tells her, hopping off his stool.
“If you need anything, just call.” I walk across the room and kiss her cheek again. “Love you, Mom.”
She pats the side of my face. “I love you, boys.”
“We love you too.” Boone kisses her other cheek. “Thank you for coming.”
Mom’s smile softens. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” She looks at Boone and then back at me. “I’m so proud of you both. All of you, really.”
“Nice of you to include Wade, although that wasn’t necessary,” Boone jokes.
I laugh as Mom taps Boone on the nose.
“Be nice,” she tells him. “I’m going to tell my beautiful granddaughter and daughter-in-law goodbye. You two behave. And if you ever withhold information from me again, Boone ...”
Boone sticks out his lower lip. “I’m sorry, Mommy.”
She laughs. “You’re too cute for your own good. Good night, boys.”
“Bye, Mom,” I say.
“Good night, Mom,” Boone says too.
She grins and turns away to find Jaxi and Rosie.
I head back to my plate on the island. Rosie’s laughter filters down the hall as she apparently sees her Iggy, the nickname she uses for Mom. It’s followed by Mom’s voice mixing with Jaxi’s.
This is a very different house than it was a few months ago when the only decorations were stacked ramen containers and the only sound was a sports channel that Boone forgot to turn off as he fell asleep when he should’ve been getting up for work.
“How does all of this feel?” I ask before taking a drink of my water.
“All of this what?” Boone asks, getting situated on the stool again.
“This.” I look around the room, screwing the cap back on the bottle. “You’re getting married. You basically have a kid. You own apartment complexes, for crying out loud. You even come into the office. Regularly. I’ve known you for almost thirty years, and I’ve only been certain that you’re my brother for the last month.”
“Very funny.”
“I’m being serious.” I drag a slice of bell pepper through the ranch. “Are you okay with all of this? It’s a lot all at once.”
I glance at him from the corner of my eye. He smiles softly.
“Yeah,” he says. “I can’t imagine my life any other way. She’s … my reason. The reason. It’s like I fucked off for so long because I subconsciously knew that there was no point in getting serious about anything until Jaxi came along. That sounds stupid, I know.”
The pepper crunches as I snap it in half. “It does.”
He laughs. “You’ll know someday.”
“Eh.”
I pick up another piece of bell pepper as my mind goes to Shaye. “I’m not sure I’ll ever go the love and marriage route.”
“I said that too.”
I mean it though.
My brothers are starting to settle down. First, it was Holt. Then Coy. Now Boone. I’m happy for them. They’ve all found women who complement them in the best way. Women they can trust. Women who make them better men.
I’m just not built that way.
It’s not that I don’t want to be. I’ve tried. Every time I’ve attempted to trust a woman—or anyone besides my family, really—I’ve been reminded why I don’t.
“You’ll change your mind,” Boone says smugly.
“I doubt it.”
He picks up a napkin and folds it in half and then in half again. “You’ll find someone you can’t stop thinking about and, before you know it, you’ll realize you’d do anything for her. I mean, I got a job, so anything is possible.”
I can’t help but laugh.
“And if that’s not proving a point, I don’t know what is.” He looks up at me and laughs too. “So, is your car all messed up? Did you have to file an insurance claim? What’s happening with all of that?”
My insides are jolted awake, and I squirm.
“Actually,” I say, picking up the water bottle again just to keep my hands busy, “my car is fine. Mostly. No big deal.”
My lips twitch. They want to smile in response to the vision of Shaye’s reaction to the zip ties.
Boone, like the nosy little brother he’s always been, furrows his brow.
“And?” he prods.
“And what?”
“And what aren’t you telling me?”
I should blow him off and redirect him to something else. Something that doesn’t involve Shaye. But he’s astute enough to read the situation and will ultimately get his way. He’s maddening like that.
“Just spit it out,” he says.
I take a deep breath. “It turns out that the woman who hit me was hot.”
Boone smirks.
“Like super fucking hot,” I say, the words pouring out of my mouth like a broken dam. “I asked for her number. I even proposed it like I wanted to check on her and make sure she was okay.”
He raises a brow. “You had to ask her for her number?”
“Yeah. And, get this—she didn’t give it to me.”
Boone’s eyes light up. “She turned your ass down. You got shut down. The Oliver Mason got sat the fuck down.”
“Oh, hold up.” I hold up a hand. “It wasn’t like that.”
“That’s what that is, Ollie. When a woman refuses to give you her number, she’s turning you down.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “She’s probably married or something.”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
I will.
I set the bottle on the counter. “Is Rosie going to be out of the bath anytime soon?”
“She’s out cold,” Jaxi says, coming into the room. Her shirt is damp, and a dollop of icing is embedded in her hair near her ear. She looks completely and utterly happy. “Hi, Oliver.”
“Hey, Jax.”
“I didn’t know you were here or I would’ve tried to keep her up,” Jaxi says, wrapping an arm around Boone’s waist. “She passed out on me as I was helping her get dressed. Her and Fluffy the puppy are snuggled up in bed.”
Boone frowns as he peers down at his lady. “I thought we were using the crate at night.”
“You go take the dog away from her.”
“Not a chance.” Boone laughs, nuzzling his cheek into Jaxi’s hair. “You’re the mean parent. I’m the fun one. Remember?”
“I absolutely do not remember that.”
I shake my head at their antics as I set my plate into the sink.
“Well, if the princess is already asleep, I’m going to get out of here,” I tell them. “Her present is on the porch. Boone will have to put it together.”
“Gee, thanks,” Boone says, rolling his eyes.
“I told you that you’re gonna love me,” I say.
Boone groans. “You should’ve avoided the car wreck and got here with that thing while Wade was here. He loves building shit.”
“Again, I’m sorry my accident inconvenienced you.” I make a face at him.
“You wouldn’t have been on time anyway,” Boone protests. “We were giving her the puppy when you called.”