Chapter 26
“Otters are adorable. Fight me on this.” ~ Dakota
Dakota
I crane my neck to stare up at Rhett’s house through the windshield of his SUV. “Wowzer.”
He chuckles. “Wowzer?”
“Your house has left me speechless.”
“And you went with wowzer?”
I slap his shoulder. “Knock it off. I’ve never been in a house this fancy before.”
He immediately sobers. “Sorry. I forgot.”
“Ugh. Don’t say sorry every time my background growing up in care comes up. It’s not your fault. And I don’t need your pity.”
“Pity? I don’t pity you. How could I pity the strongest woman I know?”
I roll my eyes. “There’s no need to flatter me. I’m a sure thing.”
He reaches across the console and grabs me. I yelp but it doesn’t stop him from dragging me onto his lap and wedging me between him and the steering wheel.
“Is it ‘demonstrate your strength’ day?”
He hits a button and his seat moves until my back isn’t jammed against the steering wheel. He cradles my face in his hands. “I’m not trying to flatter you, Havoc. You are one of the strongest women I know.”
“I don’t feel very strong. I feel exhausted from working for Eli all day long and then working the graveyard shift at the Mermaid Motel . And, despite all the work, I’m still barely earning enough money to pay off all my debts.”
“Let me help you. I don’t have to give you the money. You can borrow it.”
“No.” I shake my head. “I can barely make the loan payments I have now.”
“I’ll lower the loan payments.”
“And then I’ll be paying you until I’m 162 years old.”
He chuckles. “Planning on living a long life?”
I lock my muscles before I flinch. I hope to live a long life – I’m doing everything within my power to ensure it – but the cards are stacked against me.
I roll my eyes and feign nonchalance. “I’m going to have to if I pay any less money on my loan payments.”
He leans his forehead against mine. “I wish you’d let me pay off your loans.”
“It’s good to want.”
He grunts. “I’m not going to win this argument.”
He wasn’t asking but I say, “Nope,” anyway.
He opens the door and lifts me off of his lap and sets me on my feet. I was right. It is ‘demonstrate your strength’ day. You won’t hear me complaining. Any excuse to watch Rhett’s muscles bunch and strain is a good day in my opinion.
“Come on.” He entwines his fingers with mine and leads me to the house.
I study the structure as we get closer. I wasn’t kidding about it being fancy. It reminds me of a postcard of a typical island house – bright white with deep blue shutters, a wraparound porch framed by thick wooden columns, and a set of wide steps leading up to the grand mahogany front door.
I glide my hand along the railing as we ascend the stairs to the porch. On one side, a set of rocking chairs faces the water. Perfect for lazy afternoons with a glass of lemonade. Further around, a hanging daybed sways slightly in the breeze.
I sigh. “I’ve always wanted a front porch with a swing on it.”
“You can borrow my porch whenever you want.”
“I’ll pencil you in for a late supper since it’s the only free time I have for the next decade or so.” He scowls and I backpedal. “I’m sorry. I’ll stop bringing up how much I work now. It’s boring.”
“Nothing about you is boring.”
“Ha! You haven’t seen my everyday panties.”
His eyes flare.
I shake my head. “All you heard was panties.”
He shrugs. “I’m a man standing in front of a sexy woman. What do you expect?”
I motion to the door. “For you to show me inside.”
He unlocks the door. Stepping inside, I feel as if I’m walking straight into an architectural magazine titled Houses Too Nice for People Who Are Accident Prone. The open-concept space stretches before us in a perfect blend of elegance and easy coastal charm. Sunlight pours through floor-to-ceiling windows, glinting off the rich hardwood floors and bouncing off the high, exposed-beam ceilings.
To the left, is a sleek, modern kitchen straight out of a cooking show. It boasts marble countertops and top-of-the-line appliances, all of which I will absolutely never use but will admire from a safe distance. The dining area features a massive reclaimed-wood table. And the living room? It’s the kind of space that invites you to curl up on a plush white sofa – if you aren’t terrified of spilling coffee on it.
“Wowzer times two.”
Rhett wraps his arms around my waist from behind and rests his chin on my shoulder. “You like it?”
“Are you seriously asking? It’s gorgeous.” I throw out my arm. “It’s obviously not a cheap place, but it’s inviting. Not cold.”
He kisses my neck before releasing me. “I’m glad you approve since I plan for you to spend more time here.”
“Here?” I point to the floor. “Or in the bedroom.”
His eyes flash. “Oh, Havoc, I don’t need a bedroom to make you scream.”
“We’ve been over this. I don’t scream.”
He chuckles. “Liar. I can…” He trails off.
“You can what?”
He stalks toward the kitchen. “I saw movement.”
“Do you have a cat? I’m more of a dog person myself but cats are okay, too.”
“I don’t have a cat,” he mumbles as he kneels in front of the kitchen island.
“Bummer,” I mutter. “I can’t have an animal at the hotel. I don’t really have the time to care for one but a cat doesn’t need tons of cuddles.”
“There!” He jumps to his feet and rushes to the corner.
I hurry after him. “What is it?”
A brown lump of fur is cowering in the corner.
“It’s a rat.” Rhett tries to pick it up but it swipes a paw at him.
“It’s not a rat. It’s Viking.” I kneel in front of her. “Hi, Viking. How did you get in here?”
The poor otter shakes as she stares up at me with big, brown eyes.
“Do you have any cookies? I need a cookie.”
“You need a cookie now?” Rhett asks.
I push him toward one of the doors. “Go look in the pantry. I assume you have a pantry. You must have something sweet. She prefers chocolate.”
“She? Am I searching for cookies for the otter?”
“Duh. She’s probably hungry. Who knows how long she’s been stuck in here.”
Rhett swears under his breath as he opens the pantry door and pulls out a bag of chocolate chip cookies. He hands me the bag. I rip it open, and suddenly I have an otter on my lap.
“Oh, poor baby. You’re starving.” I feed her pieces of a cookie as I chatter away to her. “How did you get in here anyway? Are you lost? Does Parker know where you are? We should phone her to let her know you’re fine. Do you want to stay with us tonight?”
“Stay with us tonight?” Rhett asks.
“Only until ten. I’ll drop her off at Parker’s on my way to the hotel.” She finishes up the cookie but I don’t give her more. I probably shouldn’t be feeding an otter chocolate chip cookies in the first place.
I stand with her in my arms. “How do you think she got in here?” I ask as I rock her back and forth.
“My asshole brothers.”
“What?”
As if on cue, the door bursts open and his brothers pile inside. “One. Two. Three. Four. We declare a prank war!”
Rhett crosses his arms over his chest and glares at them. “You need five siblings to declare a prank war.”
Kai waves his phone in the air. “We have a power of attorney from Eli.”
I giggle. “You have a power of attorney from Eli in order to declare a prank war?”
Jaxon pushes his glasses up his nose. “Apparently, only one power of attorney is allowed, so I got stuck coming here.”
Zane elbows him. “You need to spend more time with us. You’re getting boring.”
Miles snorts. “Getting?”
“You declared your prank war. Now, get out of here.” Rhett tries to herd them toward the door but no one moves.
“You know the rules. You get pranked. You buy everyone dinner,” Kai says.
Jaxon sighs. “Can’t we make an exception? I’m working on a new whiskey flavor.”
“All exceptions need agreement from five brothers,” Zane says.
Jaxon and Rhett raise their hands. “Exception!”
“No exception,” Kai, Zane, and Miles say in unison.
“Fine.” Rhett huffs. “Go to whatever restaurant you want and put it on my tab.”
Miles collapses on Rhett’s sofa. “I already ordered takeout.”
Rhett growls and I pat his chest. “What’s the big deal? It’s a family dinner.”
He leans close to whisper in my ear. “My brothers are cockblockers.”
I shiver at the feel of his breath against my skin. “Do you want me to kick them out? We can eat together some other time.”
He sighs. “No. I want you to enjoy spending time with a family.”
“Good. Because I’m not leaving this guy alone anyway.” I lift Viking in front of his face. “And I don’t want him watching us. He’d be scandalized.”
He chuckles. “You obviously haven’t heard the story about Viking and the cat.”
The doorbell rings and Miles rushes to answer it. “Pizza!”
Rhett grabs plates and silverware from the kitchen and I help him set the table. It’s a simple domestic task. A task thousands of couples perform every day. But it makes me feel all warm and gooey inside to work beside Rhett while his brothers fool around.
I’m falling hard and fast for Rhett. And his family, too.