“How long has it been since you’ve gotten laid?” I asked.
“No comment,” he said harshly. “Let it go, Seth. And let’s get back to you and Riley. I’m perfectly content.”
No, he’s not.
Noah was disillusioned, just like I’d been before I’d met Riley. Our positions might be a little bit different. Noah had been the only one old enough to make the sacrifices in the beginning to keep our family together. But I understood him more than he knew.
I wasn’t about to give up on him. None of us were. We just needed the right opportunity to show Noah that we could be a family now, without him shouldering all the responsibility.
It wasn’t that we didn’t need him. We did. But we didn’t need him to resolve every problem we had.
“There isn’t really much more to say,” I explained. “Riley is it for me, Noah.”
His eyes drilled into me. It was a look that I knew and had never felt comfortable under. He’d always been able to get us to toe the line with that expression.
“I won’t tell you not to marry her,” he said thoughtfully. “I trust you to make your own decisions. I just need to play devil’s advocate here. God knows I want you to be happy. And I think Riley is an exceptional woman. I just don’t want to see you do something you’ll regret later. You’ll need a prenup if she agrees.”
“I won’t,” I contradicted. “If she agrees to marry me, I’m never going to let her go. Besides, the money has never been that important to me. It’s changed my professional life and personal life, but it really hasn’t changed who I am, Noah. If Riley were to leave me, I wouldn’t give a damn about the money. What good would it do if I was miserable?”
“You’re crazy,” Noah rumbled unhappily.
“Did Jade get a prenup? Did Brooke?”
“They were marrying someone who was already rich.”
“Riley isn’t looking for money. She’s a Montgomery. Like in Montgomery Mining. Jaxton, Hudson, and Cooper Montgomery are her brothers. They bought her out of her portion of the company because she didn’t want it. She’s happy being an attorney fighting for the rights of endangered species.”
I quickly explained everything I could about Riley without breaking her confidence. I could never share some of her history, but I tried to make Noah understand that so much of her childhood and adult life had been anything but happy.
He paused for a moment before he spoke. “So it was no coincidence that she happened to be engaged to a prick like Easton?”
“No. Until a few years ago, she was part of the elite crowd. She’s wealthy in her own right, but she hated that whole scene. It was like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole for her. Nothing she ever did could make her mother happy. Riley turned herself inside out to try to please her, but she never could.”
“What parent wouldn’t be proud of a woman who graduated with high honors from Harvard?” Noah mumbled unhappily.
“I don’t get it, either,” I agreed. “But I respect the hell out of the fact that she broke away from something she’d been raised to be her entire life. She dumped Easton and started all over again here in Citrus Beach.”
“How are her brothers?” Noah queried.
“Protective,” I said with a grin. “But they’ll make good investors in Sinclair Properties. And they care about Riley. They’re pretty much rebels themselves.”
“What are they going to do if you ask Riley to marry you so soon after you’ve met her?”
I shrugged. “I don’t give a shit.”
The only thing I really cared about was seeing Riley happy for the rest of her life. Fortunately, I was sure I was the guy who could make that happen, since I’d make it my mission for the rest of my life. There had been way too much sorrow and pain for her so far. I never wanted to see her cry again. It ripped my damn heart out.
“You sure about this?” Noah said, still sounding skeptical.
I nodded. “Yep. I didn’t come here to ask for your permission. I guess I just wanted you to be the first one to know.”
“Okay,” he said, resigned. “What can I do to help you?”
“Nothing, really. I have no idea if she’ll even say yes. But I have to ask the question anyway. If it’s too soon for her, I’ll wait.”
I wasn’t the least bit surprised that Noah was going to back me up or help me out if I needed it. He always had.
“Let me know what happens,” he demanded. “If she breaks your damn heart, I won’t say that I told you so.”
I downed the last of my coffee and stood. Having Riley as my wife was going to happen eventually. Any other result was unacceptable.
Noah got up and clapped me on the back. “Good luck.”
I grinned at him. Noah might seem disinterested most of the time, but it was a sham. He heard and remembered everything. “Thanks.”
“Seth,” Noah said as I started for the door.
I turned around. “Yeah?”
“After everything this family has been through, nobody deserves to find happiness more than you do.”
I nodded sharply and made my way to the door.
Maybe I disagreed, but I didn’t say anything more.
The one who really deserved to find what he needed was Noah, and I’d make damn sure that he got it someday.
CHAPTER 26
RILEY
I sat on my couch watching Seth play with my new kitten that he’d brought me a few days ago. I’d named the feline Bandit, and both he and Seth were currently on the living room floor.
I still wasn’t quite sure why Seth had brought me the adorable male fluffball. It had come out of the blue. He’d mentioned something about knowing I’d always wanted one, but he hadn’t elaborated.
I absolutely adored the black furball with some spots of white on his face that really did make him look like a bandit.
Hence, I’d given the kitten that moniker soon after he’d made his arrival at my house.
The kitten was a rescue from the shelter, which made me love Seth just a little bit more—if that was even possible.
“You’re so mean,” I accused with a laugh as Seth teased Bandit with a stick and dangly strings that he never let the little cat quite reach.
Seth grinned up at me from his position on the floor. “He loves it.”
I had to admit that Seth was probably right. The kitten looked overjoyed as he kept bouncing around in pursuit of those untouchable strings.
I reached down and plucked Bandit off the floor when he got close to me. “He’s a kitten. I think he’s tired.”
Seth flopped next to me on the couch. “He didn’t look all that exhausted to me,” he said skeptically. “I think you just want to hold him.”
“Maybe I do,” I confessed as I felt the tiny body start to purr.
My heart warmed as Bandit snuggled up against my breasts.
“Lucky cat,” Seth said in mock complaint.
I shot him an amused glance. “Like you don’t get enough of that yourself?”
He shook his head. “It’s never enough.”
I’d been with the man I loved long enough to know he was sexually insatiable.