How does she do that?
He nods slowly while walking until he reaches her. He bends and puts both hands on either side of her chair, boxing her in, and he makes sure her eyes meet his.
“You’re right. And God knows I’m sorry. This... all of this... you’re the only person I’ve ever had this with besides Granddad. And obviously what we have is very different. But you shouldn’t ever be scared of losing me. I’m yours, Raya. All yours. That means you can say or do whatever you want, and I won’t go anywhere, regardless of what’s going on around us. I love you.”
Another tear falls down her cheek and she stands, which forces him to move back and allow her.
“Okay,” she says simply, walking toward the door.
“Okay?” he asks, amused as he follows.
“That’s what I wanted to hear, and you said it. Let’s go home.”
His smile breaks across his face, and he pulls her to him before delivering a kiss that I have to turn away from. Rye’s brown eyes are staring into mine, and he winks as he avoids the scene just like me.
But those eyes are so close, just like his full lips, and my breath gets a little harsh.
“I think you two should get away for a while,” Rain says, reminding me that she’s still here.
I break away from the eye contact that has left me almost dizzy, and look back at the couple that is separating.
“She’s right,” Kade says, grinning as he presses another sweet kiss to Raya’s lips. “Let’s go to Vegas.”
Raya laughs as she laces her fingers with his. “When?”
“Right now. We won’t even pack. We’ll buy clothes when we get there.”
Her eyes grow wide, and I turn green with envy. All of these beautiful women found the best men the world has to offer. I’ve never been treated even half as well. And it’s actually a little depressing.
“Okay,” she says for a new reason, her grin growing.
Kade’s smile is almost heart-stopping, and he pulls her from the house before she can even say goodbye.
“Wow,” Rain says, acting exhausted as the door shuts. “What a night.”
Rye looks at her curiously, as do I. This is the longest she’s gone without saying men suck. I start to ask her what’s going on, when the door opens once again.
“Knock Knock,” Dane Sterling says as he comes in, holding the hand of their smiling daughter—Carrie Sterling. It’s official now; Carrie has been adopted, and she has a home that most children only dream about.
Rain smiles up at him and stands to grab her purse quickly.
“You ready?” Dane asks as he comes to wrap his arm around her shoulders, kissing her softly as a greeting.
“Yeah. Just let me tell Brin bye.”
He eyes Rye for a moment, and then the little girl tugs on his arm and all of his attention goes to her as his smile warms. He bends down to tie the shoe that has come undone, while Rain comes to whisper to us.
“Sorry. All the girls were bitching, so I thought it would be terrible to say that Dane never does anything wrong. Thanks for having us over.”
Mine and Rye’s words refuse to form as she waves and walks away, going to Dane’s side as she takes over holding the little girl’s hand.
As soon as the door shuts, Rye leans back in his seat and takes a long drink of his beer.
“Was it just me, or was this the weirdest night ever?” I groan.
Rye pulls the beer away from his lips just barely in order to answer. “You have containers of blood and worms in your fridge, I tried putting a live snake in your panty drawer, and I’d say we’re the most normal people that were in here tonight. What does that tell you?”
I laugh lightly as he stands, and he pulls at my hand, forcing me to stand as well.