Chapter 21 #2
I chuckle as we leave the gorgeous library and head back out to the kitchen, where Cassie, who happens to not only be Billie and Connor’s personal chef but also works for Alex and her guys, is just setting up what looks like an amazing spread of food.
“You’re just in time,” Cassie says with a wide smile. “This end of the island is charcuterie. Cheeses, meats, nuts, and fruit. There are some delicious local jams that I found that pair well with the cheese and these amazing gluten-free crackers that I made.”
“Wait.” I hold up a hand. “You made them?”
“Yep.” She nods.
“Would you want to make them for my restaurant? Or share the recipe?”
Cassie grins. “Oh girl, we will talk. Over here, we have nachos, cheeseburger rolls, and veggies accompanied by a variety of different dips. And finally, on this end, I have a couple of different green salads with both oil-based and creamy dressings to choose from.”
“Holy shit, this is a lot of food,” Charlie says as she walks in the room, the last to arrive. “And I am here for it.”
“Save room for dessert,” Cassie says with a wink. “I have ice cream sundaes on tap, and since we’re celebrating, the calories don’t count.”
“I want to marry Cassie,” Charlie announces, making us all laugh.
With heaping plates and refilled drinks, we make our way into a grand living room that features floor-to-ceiling windows, showcasing a stunning view of the sun setting behind the mountains.
“Holy shit, it’s pretty here,” I say as I take a seat and dig into my cheese and huckleberry-jalapeno jam, which is now my favorite thing in the universe.
Right behind sex with Brooks.
“My billionaire chose well when he found this house,” Billie agrees. “Okay, so now that you know that Brooks bought that big house, talk to me.”
“What big house?” Skyla asks. “You have to recap for those of us who didn’t grow up here and are new to this whole situation.”
“Are Brooks and I the situation?” I ask the room, and everyone nods in confirmation, making me snort. “Good to know.”
“We know that you dated and then you … didn’t.” Dani winces at that. “But I didn’t know the house story.”
“What’s the damn house story?” Darby demands.
“Okay, so there’s this house in town,” I begin. “It sits on a corner lot. It’s pretty big, with a red roof and black shutters.”
“Yep, I know that place,” Charlie says, and the others murmur agreement.
“Well, when we were kids, Brooks and I used to daydream about owning it and having a family there. We made a lot of plans back then, to be honest.” I shrug and pop a grape into my mouth.
“Anyway, Brooks told me that it came up for sale a few years ago, and he bought it because he couldn’t stand the thought of someone else buying our dream house. ”
“Damn, the grumpy mechanic is a big ole softie,” Harper says, and Ava steals a cracker off her plate. “There’s an entire kitchen full of food, you know.”
“Don’t be stingy,” Ava says, crunching on the cracker, and then turns to me. “Are you guys going to move in there?”
“Well, it’s empty right now because it needs to be gutted and pretty much completely redone,” I reply. “So we’re going to do that together. Make it exactly what we want in our forever home. He even has plans for my own little library in there.”
“Everyone has a library but me,” Charlie says with a pout. “That’s so dumb.”
“Not everyone,” Dani reminds her. “I don’t. There’s no room in our house, with all the kids’ stuff everywhere.”
“We’ll help with the house,” Ava says with a shrug, as if it’s no big deal at all. But it’s a huge deal to me. “My brothers and I can come help tear stuff out, and they’re handy with construction stuff. Comes from being raised on a ranch.”
“I’m sure you won’t have any trouble getting lots of extra hands,” Harper adds. “I, however, will not be helping unless you want it to fall apart.”
I smirk and take a drink of my margarita.
Damn good.
“I don’t think we’ll turn down any help. Thank you.”
“All of the Blackwells are now happily spoken for,” Darby says, tilting her head to the side, looking at all of us. “It’s so crazy. I grew up with all of them, and now they’re all married and having kids.”
“We’re old. This is what we’re talking about?” Charlie wrinkles her nose. “We should be talking about sex and … stuff.”
“I’m seeing a new guy,” Ava announces. “So far, the sex isn’t bad. I’d like him to maybe pull my hair a little more than he does, but I think he’s trainable.”
“Who is this guy, and why haven’t you told me about him?” Harper demands.
“We’ve all been a little busy,” Ava replies. “And it’s only been a few dates.”
“And sex,” I add.
“I mean, yeah. The sex, too. His name is Chad Kincaid.”
“He’s an attorney in Silver Springs,” I say, surprising everyone.
“How do you know him?” Ava asks.
“I hired him to help me with some stuff regarding my late husband. He’s handsome. Seems nice. Very professional.”
“You can say it,” Ava says. “He’s stuffy.”
I laugh. “Maybe a little, but you could do so much worse.”
“We’ll see. Now, let’s talk about all your sex lives.”
“My husband would not be okay with me discussing that,” Skyla replies with a giggle. “Although I might enjoy the punishment for it.”
“Now we’re talking,” Alex says, shimmying her shoulders. “What kind of punishment? Spanking? Edging? A little light knife play?”
“WHAT?” we all exclaim, making Alex double over in laughter.
“Come on, we all read the books.”
“If you tell me that you let those two men cut you,” Darby says, her voice tight and with no humor at all, and Alex swallows hard.
“No, sissy. It was just a joke. I swear, they’d never do that.”
Darby takes a deep, shaky breath. “If anyone ever cuts any of you, I’ll kill them myself.”
She downs the rest of her drink, then walks into the kitchen for a refill.
That’s definitely a hot button for my friend.
“Beckett enjoys some edging for sure.” Skyla changes the subject.
“Is that a Blackwell trait?” I ask, tilting my head to the side.
“You all do realize that you’re talking about my brothers.” Billie wrinkles her nose. “Right? My brothers.”
“Does Connor edge you?” I ask, and this time, Skyla shifts in her chair.
“Oh, all the time.”
“Obviously not often enough.”
We all whip our heads over to where Connor’s leaning on the wall, his arms folded, listening unabashedly with a sexy-as-hell smirk on his face.
He looks like he should be on the cover of GQ.
Wait. I think he has been on the cover of GQ.
“This is a girls’ party,” Billie reminds her husband, who just pushes his glasses up his nose, then crosses over to her.
“I’m checking to see if you needed anything, Bumble.”
“So freaking sweet,” Dani whispers to me, and I nod in agreement.
“No, we’re all happily fed, thank you very much.”
He frames her face in his hands and leans in to kiss her. “More than all the stars in the sky.”
Billie’s face softens into goo, and it’s the most adorable thing ever.
“Why is there a man in this room right now?” Harper demands, glaring at Connor.
“It’s my house, you know.”
“Not tonight, it isn’t,” Skyla says with a laugh. “Go on now. We’re discussing things that you don’t need to be privy to.”
“I’ll be edging you later tonight, Angel,” he says to Billie, before his hands dive into the pockets of his slacks and he walks away.
“Damn,” Ava whispers, fanning her face with her hand. “Where can I get one of those? Is there a store, or a website or something?”
“I’m afraid he’s one of a kind,” Billie says with a sweet smile. “Now, let’s go find that ice cream.”
The phone rings in my ear as I wait for Brooks to pick up on the other end of the line, and I hiccup.
I might have had one too many margaritas.
No regrets.
“Hey, Wildfire. Are you ready to come home?”
“Yeah. I need a ride. It’s really far to town, and I can’t even walk down the driveway.”
He chuckles, and I can hear him walking. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Did you have fun?”
“So much fun. Holy shit, babe, you weren’t kidding about Billie’s library. It’s something out of a Disney movie.”
“I know. Sorry, wife, I’m not a billionaire.”
I snort and shake my head even though he can’t see me. “Well, you’d better start fixing more cars. Just kidding. I already have ideas for my own library in our house. It’s going to be adorble.”
“You mean adorable.”
“That’s what I said. Are you on your way yet? I need orgasms. We’ve been talking about sex for a while, and I’m gonna need some. Okay?”
“Christ, I’m getting in the truck now, and I’ll be there in twelve minutes.”
“Make it ten.”