Chapter 22 #2
“Do you want me to sleep on the floor?” I’ll do it if that’s what would make her feel the most comfortable, but I’m over thirty, so my body will definitely pay for it for a few days. It would be worth it though if that’s what she needs from me.
“No, of course not.” She looks at me like I’m out of my mind for even suggesting it.
“What’s the actual problem, doll?”
She turns to look at me and I watch her cycle through her thoughts. “Nothing. There’s no problem. It’s fine.”
I drag a hand through my hair and cross the room to drop onto the edge of the mattress. “Come here.”
She eyes me.
“I’m not going to do anything. Come sit down before you pass out from all the stress.”
Reluctantly, she crosses the room and sits on the opposite edge, as far from me as the bed allows. She perches there with her hands in her lap, back straight, staring at the wall.
“Hey.” I shift on the bed until I’m closer to the middle, close enough that she’d have to actively try not to look at me. “Nothing about tonight has to be more than what you want it to be. Not in here, not out there. You set the pace. That’s what we agreed.”
She looks at me, eyes blinking quickly. “I know.”
“And for what it’s worth—” I hold up one hand— “I will stay entirely on my side of this admittedly enormous bed and bother you not even slightly. Scout’s honor.”
“You were never a boy scout.”
“I was. I just got kicked out for sneaking across the camp to the girls’ side.”
That earns me a small smile and it feels like quite the victory given how panicked she was.
She reaches up and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, glancing at the door. “We should probably go back out there.”
“You’re probably right. Why don’t you go hang out with everyone—I’ll get our bags from the truck.”
When she gives me a look with her brows drawn in, lips pressed tightly, I can see her concern for me, and it makes me feel slightly less repulsive than I did a moment ago.
“I’ll be fine,” I reassure her. “Go be with the girls, I promise to come back in one piece.”
That seems to ease her enough to walk out of the room with a parting nod.
I exit shortly after, but rather than go straight for my truck, I make a necessary detour.
I find Ethan first, his back to me, talking quietly to Marisa near the kitchen, where Ariana is too busy talking to Layla to notice me and her brother.
I clap a hand on his shoulder. “Got a minute?”
He stares at me blankly until Marisa nudges him. “Go. I’m not spending the rest of the night watching you act like a Neanderthal.”
He doesn’t push back. Just nods once and follows me out to the deck, where it’s cold as hell, which I’m hoping keeps the conversation short.
Once we’re alone, he faces me, arms crossed, jaw clenched tight enough to crack a molar. Being at odds isn’t new to our relationship. Sometimes we’re friends, other times we’re rivals. And Ariana is the line I was never supposed to cross.
“I know you’re pissed, and I just want to say I’m sorry for not telling you before showing up here. Ariana walking in with some guy and then finding out it’s me probably wasn’t the best way to handle this.”
The anger and disappointment are obvious, but it’s the flash of hurt on his face that stabs at me the hardest. “It’s not even that she brought a guy.
I want her to date, to find someone, to have fun—even if I want to hear nothing about the details.
” He looks at me pointedly. “But she didn’t show up with just any guy.
She showed up with you. And you don’t do girlfriends.
You don’t do serious. You don’t do committed.
So tell me what the fuck you’re doing with my little sister, because if you’re using her like she’s some kind of conquest, we’re going to have a lot more than just a problem.
End it now, before you hurt her. She’s sensitive, and I won’t have you taking what you want from her and dropping her like she’s nothing. ”
He’s not saying anything that isn’t true. But hearing it all at once definitely doesn’t feel good.
“Hey.” I try to keep my voice from rising, but my frustration is bubbling to the surface.
“I get that I don’t have the best reputation.
But she’s not a conquest to me. I wouldn’t go there with her—wouldn’t risk our friendship, wouldn’t risk her—if that’s all this was.
” I pause, questioning how honest I should be. “I like her. I like her a lot.”
It’s the first time I’ve said it out loud. And it’s not a lie.
Ethan holds my gaze, reading me, looking for the crack. Whatever he finds, he keeps to himself.
“Okay,” he says finally.
“Okay?”
He turns toward the door, but pauses. “Don’t make me regret it.
I’m choosing to trust you. If you break that trust, I’ll make sure it hurts a hell of a lot more than an ass-kicking.
More like slowly buying up all your land and dismantling your legacy one row at a time. Just something to keep in mind.”
Ethan is a man of his word so I know he’s being dead serious. He wouldn’t hesitate to ruin me or my winery.
I fold my arms to shield myself from the considerable drop in temperature and it has nothing to do with the weather.
I assured Ariana that I would handle her brothers, which means I need to make sure things stay cordial.
“I don’t deserve it, but will you do me a favor at least?
For Ariana. Please talk to Gavin and Shane so we can all enjoy the night.
She doesn’t need the stress of you guys wanting to kill me, and you heard your fiancée—she wants you to be in a better mood. ”
He can’t help the small tug at his lips when I bring her up. But the smile is short-lived. “I’ll talk to them to make sure things stay civil.”
“Thanks.” I nod.
He’s about to head back inside but hesitates for a beat, sparing me a glance over his shoulder. “I know you’re not a bad guy, but you’re not a good guy for her, so I’m sure you can understand our concern. No one is good enough for Ariana, and I wouldn’t choose you for her if my opinion mattered.”
I knew I’d be a hard sell, but fuck, I didn’t expect to get shit on this hard.
“I get it, man. I’m not going to hurt her. If this doesn’t work out, she’ll be the one to end it, not me.”
At least that part isn’t a lie.
That’s the deal—Ariana ends things when our arrangement is over. Hopefully by that point I’ll be rid of this constant want for her. Maybe then I’ll finally be strong enough to stay the fuck away.
He heads back inside, leaving me out in the cold, staring at the frozen lake, trying not to dwell on once again never being good enough.
Once the bags are unloaded and in our room, I find Ariana in the living room sitting in an oversized chair as she chats with Elyse and Dominic. Everyone else is dispersed throughout the house, some in the kitchen, others getting settled in their rooms.
She aims a small smile at me as I approach, and instead of taking any of the many open spots, I gently move her to stand. She looks at me, confused, but I’m too quick for her to fully react before I claim her seat and pull her back down onto my lap.
She freezes, clearly caught off guard.
“Cole,” she whispers, panicked.
“Mm?” I reach past her and snag her drink. I know it’s hers because of the pink lip gloss impression left on the rim. I take a sip of it, right where her lips were. And I don’t even mind that it’s Ledger wine.
“What are you doing?”
“Sitting down.” I settle back in the chair, which incidentally pulls her further into me. “All the good seats were taken.”
Elyse is watching us curiously, wearing a grin. She says something quietly to Dominic that I don’t catch, but he nods with a chuckle.
Ariana wiggles, and I feel her trying to redistribute her weight—moving forward, sitting straighter, lifting slightly like she’s trying to take some of herself off me.
“Stop,” I say, low enough that it’s just for her.
“I’m too heavy—”
“You’re not.” My arm tightens around her waist before she can finish the thought, pulling her back flush against me. “Stop trying to get away from me when you’re right where I want you.”
She doesn’t say anything for a long moment. I can feel the tension in her—the internal fight she’s having before allowing herself to fully settle against me like the good girl I know she is. And when she finally does, it feels incredible.
She fits just right. I don’t know what the fuck she was talking about because the weight of her soft curves molds to me perfectly.
She goes back to her conversation with Elyse, and I half-listen, content to stay exactly where I am.
Across the room Shane is watching, eyes pinched, practically snarling.
I hold his gaze for a second before looking away.
I don’t care that he’s Ariana’s brother.
I haven’t done anything wrong, and if he says or does something to stress Ariana out and ruin this evening for her, I’ll make sure it’s the last time.
I might not be good enough for her, but I protect what’s mine.
And from where I’m sitting, with Ariana warm against my chest and the fire going, she feels a hell of a lot like mine.