Chapter 49
49
RONAN
W e’re in the kitchen, washing dishes. Nicky is soaping them up and I’m rinsing.
And she’s laughing at all of my jokes. Because I’m funny like that.
Then Karli stumbles excitedly into the doorway. “Nicky! Get in here. Alana’s baby is kicking like crazy. You’ve got to check this out!” My sister disappears again.
“Oh my gosh! I’m coming!” She rinses off her hands and plants a quick smooch on my lips. “I love to feel the baby kick. Be right back,” she tells me with a wink.
I keep on doing the dishes. Technically, I’m only a guest here but I don’t mind pulling my weight. That’s just the kind of mood I’m in after spending the evening with Nicky and her people.
Vaguely, I hear footsteps approaching. I don’t pay it any mind. Until Harry Westbrook sneaks up on my left side.
“Hey…” I say as he leans against the counter.
He grabs a spoon and digs into an empty pie dish, scooping up the crumbs. “What’s up?” He tips his chin.
Davis then appears on my right side. He grabs a cold beer, unscrews the top and leans against the fridge door.
Um…? I frown.
When I spin around, I see Jasper and Cash closing in on me from behind. I’m surrounded on all sides.
Fuck—it’s an ambush.
I sigh with relief when I see a friendly face following after them. Mason steps into the kitchen and I smile pleadingly at my future brother-in-law.
But he lingers in the background, stuffing his face with cookies at the counter.
Reading the pleas in my eyes, he shrugs. “Sorry, bro. I’m a Westbrook, first and foremost.” He holds up a first aid kit. “But I’m totally on medical standby, if you need me. I’ll totally do your stitches when this is over.”
Traitor. I’m going to sic Karli on him later. Back when we’re in Starlight Falls.
Honey Hill is Westbrook territory.
Whatever. I’m not scared.
These dudes are no wimps. They’re big and they look pretty strong. But I fight hulking professional athletes on the regular. While wearing ice skates. I can take the Westbrooks.
But I don’t think Nicky would like me very much if I beat up all her brothers and make them cry. So rather than throwing punches, I try to diffuse the situation.
“What’s up, guys?” I say, smiling and trying to keep it cool.
They all just leer at me, jaws tight, expressions grim.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
“So…you’re in Grammy’s kitchen, huh?” Harry begins, eyeballing me untrustingly.
“Yeah,” I say slowly. “She had me help her make a cherry pie last night. So I figured it would be okay to be in here today. I’m only here to wash the dishes.” I hold up my soapy hands in surrender.
The air in the room seems to instantly shift. The guys go from threatening to confused.
Jasper quirks an eyebrow. “Grammy taught you one of her recipes?”
I nod. “Yes. From that old handwritten recipe book she keeps in that drawer over there.”
“So you have been messing around with our little sister?” Jasper asks, like I just confirmed what he’s suspected all along.
“I, uh, I wouldn’t exactly call it—”
“Don’t even try denying it.” Harry scowls at me. “You and Nicky are the most poorly-kept secret I’ve ever seen.”
“Apparently, you guys were making out on Grammy’s side porch on spa day.” Davis gives me an untrusting look.
“And you were standing way too close for comfort in the elevator at the Saints building the other day,” Cash adds.
Harry jumps in again. “Plus, the way you’ve been looking at her all night is obvious as hell.”
Davis shakes his head in disgust. “Sloppy. Sloppy. Sloppy.”
I wince and hang my head in shame.
Then his tone changes suddenly. “But luckily for you, all the girls love you.”
Cash nods. “Meghan won’t stop talking about how much you helped out at the pet adoption drive.”
“And you won completely Emma over when you asked about her books over dinner.” Jasper smiles broadly.
“And Grammy was basically swooning over how you showed up here to check on her when she fell and hurt herself the other day.” Harry’s expression begins to soften.
“All in all, you might be a good guy,” Cash says.
“Maybe,” Harry emphasizes. “You’re still in the ‘maybe’ category.”
“That’s fair,” I mutter.
Jasper’s brow crinkles with concern. “All we want to know is that you won’t hurt our sister.”
“I don’t plan to hurt your sister,” I tell them. “I really care about her. But Nicky…”
Nicky’s a tough cookie. And I’m not sure how she feels about me. I think I’m the one at risk of getting hurt here.
Cash steps forward and grabs my shoulders, shaking me. “You’re standing in Grammy’s kitchen, Brighton,” he states, a grave look on his face. “Do you even understand what that means?”
“Um, it means…” I’m not quite sure how to respond.
Davis jumps in for me. “That means you have Grammy’s approval, bonehead. It means she trusts you with Nicky. It means she’s welcomed you into the family.”
I hold a hand up in surrender. “Does Nicky even have a say in all this?”
Out of nowhere, I’m reminded of that house on Elm Street. That cozy little house Nicky wants to buy. I wanted to be supportive. I wanted to be excited about paint colors and the new faucets and the flooring ideas as we took that tour. But every room was just another reminder that she’ll be leaving me soon.We don’t have a future together.
“If Grammy is welcoming you into the family, that means she already sees how Nicky feels about you,” Jasper explains. “That’s how it works.”
I’m not so sure about this. Even I don’t know how Nicky feels about me. How can her grandmother know? “I feel like Grammy may have gotten the wrong idea about Nicky and me.”
Harry’s chest puffs up threateningly. “Grammy is never wrong.”
Wow. Nicky and I must have really accomplished something with our practice relationship if her family is so convinced that we belong together. This is a lot to process.
“Look, I…I’m crazy about Nicky. I really am. She’s the only woman who has ever made me feel this way,” I confess. “But I can’t say that she reciprocates what I feel.”
Davis pats me appeasingly on the shoulder. “Then you’re going to have to make her, my man. You can’t let Grammy down.”
Jasper and Cash step aside when their dad comes into the room, walking right up to me. “What we’re saying is, you’d better not hurt Nicky. My daughter has always been a tough nut to crack. She can be challenging and stubborn and downright scary when she wants to be. But she’s different with you. She trusts you. Don’t make her regret it. Don’t make us all regret it.”
Harry elbows me in the ribs. Hard. “Man up, ass wad.”
Then the Westbrook men lumber out of the kitchen one by one, leaving me with a lot to think about.