I turned toward Tina’s voice. “No.” I deflated against Strom’s chest. I was about to let him take my mind off Sugar.
Tina leaned against the island. “What’s wrong, honey?”
“She’s freaking out about meeting Sugar.” He rubbed his thumb on my inner thigh in a teasing fashion. The stinker.
“Oh.” Tina sat on the stool beside me and rubbed my back. “She’s going to love you.”
“I told her as much, but she refuses to listen to me.” Storm pinched my ass.
I jerked in his lap, narrowing my eyes. “You’ll pay later for screwing with me, big guy.”
His gray orbs glittered with amusement. I faced Tina. “If she’s nice to my face and tells you she hates me when I’m not around, you gotta tell me.” I covered Storm’s mouth as he growled in frustration. “I mean it Tina. We confide in each other, tell each other everything, don’t let me down.”
Storm forced my hand down.
Tina tilted her head, a sweet smile on her pretty face. “Honey, I won’t hide anything from you. But I really believe she’s going to love you.”
“What do you mean you confide in each other?” His gravelly voice rumbled down my spine.
Oh shit. Me and my big mouth. I slowly peered up at Storm. “Girl stuff. That’s all.”
Storm dropped a firm kiss on my lips. “Yeah, right.”
A wolf whistle pierced through the air before Storm could make me tell him what Tina and I had been confiding in each other. The loud sound made me jerk on his lap. “What was—”
“There he is! My boy.” A gorgeous, petite blonde appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. She smiled brightly, eyes locked on Storm.
Two tall, dark-haired guys appeared with huge grins. They resembled Storm, a little. In the eye. They were handsome and clean-shaven.
A weird pang settled in my stomach. These boys reminded me of someone else I couldn’t quite place. The connection made my stomach hurt worse.
Kaleb…I still couldn’t believe it was Storm’s birth name. What were the chances I’d fall in love with two guys named Kaleb?
“Hey, Sugar. You’re early.” Storm rubbed my back in a soothing motion, pulling me out of my thoughts.
One of the guys laughed. “She told me to lie about how close we were.”
“I wanted to surprise you, is all.” She shrugged on her way toward Storm, took his cheeks in her hands and kissed them. “I missed you.” Her eyes cut to mine. I saw caution in them. “And this is…”
“Madeline, my girl.” His arm tightened around me like he knew I needed to feel secure.
Sugar slowly raised an eyebrow. “Your girl, as in…”
“My old lady. I’ve claimed her.” The unwavering tone in his voice made me shiver. I’d heard it when he spoke to his brothers and the prospects. It meant:Don’t question me.
I couldn’t look at Sugar. Didn’t want to see her reaction. Claiming a woman was a huge deal for Storm, one he didn’t take lightly. I imagined his aunt might be a little more than critical with me.
“Well, Madeline, it’s nice to meet you.” She reached her hand out and I shook it.
“It’s a pleasure. And these are your sons, Maddox and Markey?” My eyes flitted over to them. My goodness they were good-looking guys.
“They sure are.” She smiled fondly at her boys, then went around Storm, throwing her arms around Tina. “Girl, I’ve missed you.”
“Who baked?” Maddox took a chocolate chip cookie off the plate. Markey grabbed oatmeal.
I couldn’t stop looking at them. The pang in my stomach grew.
“Angel did.” Storm kissed my cheek. “To butter you all up.”