“You’re awesome with people. You talk to every customer who walks into your shop without hesitation.”
“That’s different,” she whispers. “That’s work. I’m kind of shy.”
My eyes narrow on her. I never would have guessed that she’s shy, based on how outgoing and talkative she is when she’s in work mode.
“You’ll be great. Meg and Will are fun, and you’ll be Will’s newest favorite person, thanks to the cupcakes.” I wink at her and step out of the car, open her door and take her hand, pulling her up next to me. “Trust me.”
“I do,” she replies softly and gazes up to me. “And that surprises me, too.”
“We’re going to talk about this later,” I whisper to her, my stomach still in knots from hearing her say that she trusts me.
This relationship won’t work unless we trust each other implicitly.
“You brought me cupcakes!” Will exclaims when he opens the door for us.
My brother is a cocky pain in the ass much of the time, but I can’t help but love the douche bag.
“Cupcakes?!” Samantha squeals from inside.
“Sam and Leo are here?” I ask as I lead Nic inside Will’s house.
“Yeah, Meg figured we’d have them over, too, since they’re in town.” He eyes me over the white cupcake box in his hands before leaning in and whispering in my ear, “You and I will talk about this later.”
I shrug and grin and take Nic’s hand in my own, lacing our fingers.
“You know Nic,” I gesture to the small dark-haired woman at my side.
Will nods and grins. “Thanks for bringing these.”
“My pleasure. It was either bring them here or take them to the homeless.”
“We still dropped three more boxes that size at the shelter,” I add with a laugh.
“Thank God,” Sam exclaims as she runs into the room, her blue eyes shining.
“Uh, we already had some today, sunshine,” Leo reminds her as he joins us. “Hi, Nic.”
“Hey.” She smiles and grips my hand in a death grip.
It seems Nic has a crush on Leo.
As long as that’s all it is, we’ll be fine.
“Where did everyone go?” Meg exclaims from the kitchen.
“In here!” Will calls back. “Matt’s here with Nic, and she brought me cupcakes!”
“What?” Meg exclaims and comes running from the kitchen. Her eyes widen when she sees that I’m holding Nic’s hand, and then she grins widely. “Hey! Welcome!”
“Hi again.” Nic grins and reaches out to shake Meg’s hand but is scooped up in a big hug, much to her surprise.
“I’m so glad Matt brought you,” Meg assures her.
“Me, too. Gimme the cupcakes, Montgomery,” Sam demands, her hands outstretched.
“Kiss my ass,” Will replies and holds the box close to him.
“There are a dozen in there,” Nic assures them all. “Plenty for everyone.”
“Are you kidding?” Will laughs. “That’s one serving for me.”
“Seriously, you have to share, babe.” Meg laughs and loops her arm through Sam’s.
“Why did we invite them?” Will pouts, then opens the box. “What kind are they?”
“There are some carrot cake, red velvet and strawberry shortcake.” Nic returns to my side and wraps her arm around my waist, as if we’ve been together for years.
I loop my arm around her shoulders and kiss the top of her head. She needs to be close to me right now to feel secure, and I’m happy to give that to her.
Fuck, I’ll give her anything she wants.
“We haven’t tried those.” Leo grins. “You’ll have to try something new, sunshine.”
“Happily,” Sam responds.
“Well, before you all get high on sugar, let’s have dinner.” Meg shoos us all into the dining room as she takes the pastry box from Will. “I’ll put these in the kitchen until later.”
“What’s for dinner?” I ask loudly. “I’m starving.”
“Chicken Parmesan with pasta,” Meg calls back as we all sit around the table, and Will sets one more plate.
“Lots of carbs,” I comment with a raised brow at Will.
“Fuck off, man, it’s summer.”
“Just saying. You don’t want to ruin your girlish football figure.”
Nic is watching Will move, his shoulders and arms. She appreciates men, and I can’t find any fault in that.
“Will has the hardest body in this family,” Sam mentions casually while sipping a glass of wine. “I don’t think one meal of pasta is going to ruin that.”
“Sam, do you want to run away with me?” Will asks sincerely. “You’re clearly now my favorite.”
“I’d have to kill you, and I can’t make records from prison,” Leo responds with a laugh.
“Sorry, football star,” Meg replies as she returns to the dining room with a big bowl of salad. “You’re stuck with me.”
“No one else I’d want to be stuck with.” Will sweeps Meg into his arms and kisses her soundly. “You sit. I’ll go get the rest.”
Meg sighs and drops down into her chair, a happy smile on her lips. “He’s hot.”
Nic lays her hand on my knee and squeezes. I love that she likes to have her hands on me, always touching me. It makes tying her up that much more fun.
She’s smiling widely, enjoying the banter of my crazy family.
“They’re fun,” she whispers to me.
“Just wait until you’re with all of us. It’s never dull.” I kiss her temple and turn to Leo. “When do you head back out on the road?”
“Not for a few weeks. We’re taking some time off.”
“Did you bring your guitar?” Meg asks hopefully.
Meg and Leo grew up together in several foster homes and have maintained the sibling relationship throughout the years. They didn’t speak for a while, but they’ve recently been reunited and spend a lot of time together.
“Not tonight.” Leo shakes his head. “I want to go over some lyrics with you after dinner. We just need one guitar for that.”
“You write songs together?” Nic asks and passes me the pasta.
“We have for most of our lives,” Meg confirms. “I’m better at it than he is, though.”
“You wish,” Leo tosses back.
“That’s so cool.”