Chapter Seventeen
Monday, November 21
Ian’s apartment
Dallas, TX
Ian
T oday is the day I’ve been waiting for. In just a few hours, I’ll be meeting Kami’s family and trying to convince her to be with me for real. I’m nervous, excited, and terrified all at once. Will everything go according to plan? What if our relationship becomes different in the end? What if it doesn’t? Am I kidding myself into thinking I could change Kami’s beautiful, yet stubborn, mind? Whatever the case, this is the week that I get some answers.
I search through my dresser drawer and pull out a blue velvet box from the first drawer on the right and check the contents inside. Just as I had left it after picking up the piece of jewelry from Mom’s house. The thin, gold band is decorated with a single diamond. Mom’s engagement ring is safe and sound. As I stare at it, I can’t resist picturing this ring on Kami’s finger.
Too bad when she does wear it, it’ll only be pretend.
Shoving that disappointment down, I grab my fully charged phone from the nightstand and dial Matt’s number. I’m going to sound like a broken record after going over all the emergency contacts with him. The phone rings twice before I hear his voice.
“Hey, man,” he greets. “You on the road yet?”
“I’m heading to Kami’s place in a few. Mom still good?”
“Yep. All is quiet here.”
“Good. Tell Mom I’ll be calling her every morning and night. If anything happens, call me. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”
“From three hours away? The hell you aren’t. You stay put and let me handle it. You’ve earned the time off. I just got Mom’s new prescription for her blood pressure, so she won’t be fainting again any time soon.”
“I’ll still—”
“If you drive the three hours back on your own, I swear to god, Ian, I will tear you a fucking new one and make you turn back. So when I say I have it under control, fucking believe it,” he snaps.
There’s a long moment of silence between us as guilt grabs and tightens around me. I’ve been so focused on taking care of Mom, I’ve inadvertently made my little brother think I thought him and our family incapable of doing the very same tasks I’ve done by myself for so long.
“I’m sorry. You all are very capable. I never thought otherwise. It was just me for so long, and now that it isn’t…”
“I know. And I’m sorry you had to go through that. If I could go back and change things, I would in a heartbeat. But I’m here now. Let us handle things from here, and go live your life.”
I don’t know what will happen, but I’m too curious to not find out. “Thanks, but there was nothing you could’ve done then, Matt. I’m glad you brought my youngest nephew into the world. We’re all happier for it.” I look over at the clock. Almost nine thirty in the morning. “I’ve got to go. I’ll stay put; I promise. Just keep me in the loop, okay?”
“Same goes for you, pal. Let me know how it goes and…”—he lowers his voice—“don’t do anything I wouldn’t enjoy.”
We say our goodbyes and hang up.
Fifteen minutes later, I make myself a to-go cup of coffee, load up my truck with my duffel and backpack, and drive to Kami’s complex. She’s waiting outside her front door with a large suitcase and purse when I arrive.
With her hair in a loose bun, she wears a large gray sweater that has bright pink lettering which says, I don’t do mornings complementing her black, ankle-length leggings and sneakers. This look has to be my second favorite one from her. The first is, and always will be, her naked.
My mind goes back to the first night we met. Unapologetic and confident was the vibe she gave when stripping in front of me. The memories of her perfect breasts, peaked nipples, and voluptuous curves that gave the perfect hold will forever be engraved in my mind. My dick hardens.
As soon as I put the car in Park, Kami makes her way down the stairs.
“Mornin’…babe,” I tease. Why is it so much fun riling her up like this?
Probably because of that cute face she makes when she’s mad.
Sure enough, the “cute” death stare she gives me is as fierce as if I woke her from a deep sleep. Almost murderous yet still incredibly sexy.
“No,” she says as she continues making her way down the stairs.
“No?” I laugh.
“Let me rephrase that. Fuck no.”
Damn, this woman sure knows how to make me laugh. “What a shame. Is there any way I can turn that ‘fuck no’ into a ‘fuck yeah?’” I smirk.
She sighs. “If you help me get a breakfast burrito and a cup of coffee, you just might live.”
“You got it, my little dumpling.” I grab her suitcase from her hands and walk down the stairs before she can do anything about it.
“Eww, of all the names you’ve called me, don’t ever call me that again. I am a woman, not a piece of food.”
“Darn. That nickname was really growing on me,” I tease some more.
I load her suitcase in the bed of the truck and then climb into the driver’s seat to see Kami already buckled up and on her phone, her purse between her feet.
After supplying ourselves with breakfast burritos and large cups of coffee fifteen minutes later, we make our way down the highway. I watch Kami in my periphery as she moans with each sip of her drink and bite of her food.
I feel my cock go hard as steel. Damn, this is going to be a long drive. “Feel better?”
Her shoulders relax, and she almost smiles. “Much. I feel like me again.”
“Glad to see you’re not craving violence anymore.” I smirk.
She cringes. “I admit, I’m not a fun person when I haven’t had my caffeine and food first thing in the morning.”
“It’s all good.”
“Oh, I almost forgot,” she says, turning her body in an angle towards me. “Do you have the ring?”
“Yeah, I have it in my backpack.”
“You got it? How did you manage to get your hands on an engagement ring?”
“It’s my mom’s ring.”
She pauses. “You’re giving me your mom’s ring? Why would you do that?”
“Relax, it’s only temporary, remember?”
“Oh, right.” Her face turns slightly crestfallen. Why would she be upset? I thought she’d be relieved at knowing in the end the piece of jewelry won’t be hers. Am I reading her wrong?
“Why, do you want to see it?”
“Call me curious.”
“Curious or not, if you want the proposal to look real, I think your reaction needs to be genuine.”
She slowly nods. “You’re right. That would make sense.”
Our plan is simple, and I’ll do as she asks, yet I can’t help but wish everything we’re about to do is real rather than pretend.