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Because the very last thing I need in my life is someone who makes me feel like there’s not enough oxygen in my lungs when I’ve only just caught my breath.
“Call your dog off, Eaton.” She keeps walking, only addressing Rhett, like I’m not even here. But goddamn, I love a challenge. I turn with a loud, “Woof!” as I watch her petite frame slip into the bright light of the warm, bustling house. Rhett is laughing. At me. Not with me. “You’re an idiot, Theo.” I shake my head. “Dude. I think I’m in love with your sister-in-law. She’s so fiery.”
“I think I like you because you are a heart-stopping, jaw-dropping type of beautiful.”
Sloane is sitting straight across from me, hand on her chest, pretending to be shocked. Bless her.
“Watch your fucking tone when you’re talking to the mother of my child.”
“It sounds stupid when I say it out loud.” “I say lots of stupid stuff.” She focuses on me now. “Well, that’s true. I think you barked at me once.”
Peter sniffs and spins like he’s going to pee. For whatever reason, he decides the patch of grass in the corner is trash and unworthy of his gift. So, he goes back to sniffing to find the perfect spot.
I resent myself, because what is it about me that is so profoundly unlovable? I feel like I’m on a constant mission to figure that one thing out. I’m not offended by it. I just need to know what it is so I can fix it.
Relatable
You will tell me exactly what you want, and I will give it to you. But this isn’t happening again until that time. Until you know what you want. Because I want you, Winter. And not just for one night.”
Theo: I need to ask you a favor. Summer: Sure! Theo: But you can’t ask questions. Summer: Suspicious. But okay. Theo: I need to delete some of your security cam footage at the gym. Can you show me how? Summer: Uhhhh. Okay. Can I do it for you? Theo: No. Summer: Was a crime committed? Theo: No. Summer: Do I even want to know? Theo: I said no questions and so far, you’ve asked three.
Based on what happened tonight, she’s not accustomed to people simply liking her for the woman she is. That makes me want to burn the world down around us to right the wrongs people have laid at her feet over the years.
“At first, it pissed me off I couldn’t find a spare key somewhere obvious. You know, under your doormat like a normal person. But then I decided I raised you smarter than I thought because I have looked for a key everywhere and couldn’t find one.” I give my mom a sheepish grin as I plant a hand on Winter’s back to guide her stunned form through the front gate and up the sidewalk. “Well, Ma, the truth is, I don’t have a spare key hidden anywhere at all.” Her head tips back against the siding of the house, inky black hair falling behind her. “Yep. I raised you stupid.”
“You do know you’re in love with that girl, don’t you?” I flop down beside her and sling an arm over her shoulder, ready to get lost in the very best medical drama while sitting beside one of my favorite women in the world. “Yeah, Mom. I know.”
And I realize it then. Theo Dale Silva has wormed his way into my heart, and I never stood a chance at keeping him out.
“Theo loves easily. That’s just his nature. But he doesn’t often love hard. He keeps that part of himself, the one that’s seen loss too, locked up tight where it can’t get hurt. But you, girl? He loves you hard.”
“He said, ‘Mom, I met her.’ And I said, ‘Who?’” Loretta’s lips curve up, her eyes taking on a faraway look. “He said, ‘The woman I’m going to marry one day.’”
I lean against the bar, bottle of beer in hand, burning lasers into a guy I generally like for daring to dance with the woman I’m in love with while I wait for her to decide if she might like to be in love with me too.
“You were what I’ve always needed and never had.”
“Winter.” The cheeky grin I’ve come to love graces his beautiful face. The one that comes right before some punchy little remark. The one that makes me smile before he’s even said a thing. “Do you like me?” I bark out a laugh in the quiet truck and then stare down at my hands, twisting my fingers together. “I think I more than like you.” “Because I’m your baby daddy?” “No.” I meet his eyes at the final red light before we pull up to the house. “Because you make me like myself . . . and you’re the only one who ever has.” I glance away, because staring at him feels like too much. Too heavy.
Winter: Please don’t do something that will land you in prison. Theo: Can’t make any promises. Winter: Please? I’d still bail you out, but I’d be mad at you. Theo: You being mad at me gets me hard. Angry sex is fun. This is not a deterrent.
I decide I will never tell Theo that I’m fairly certain she said dog before Dad.
“I’m just so happy!” “Summer, go be sentimental somewhere else. It makes me uncomfortable.”
“Yeah. You don’t even seem that country to me.” His face scrunches up. “I grew up on a ranch. I ride bulls for a living. What more do you want from me?”
“New rule, you only train people who are less pretty than me.” His eyes do a dramatic roll. “That’s everyone, Tink. You’ve ruined me. Don’t you get it? I only see you. You’ve got all my attention. Every last bit of it.”
Haven’t been able to keep my eyes off that woman from day one, not sure who I was kidding thinking I’d be strong enough to start now.
Winter: Good luck tonight. Break a leg. Theo: That’s not always the best thing to say to a bull rider, Tink. Winter: I didn’t say break a clavicle. Theo: Hilarious. Winter: If you win, I’ll give you road head next time we go out. Theo: This brand of motivation REALLY works for me.
All I can think about is how perfect you look like this.” He drops to his knees and presses a kiss to my stomach. “All the ways I’m going to ruin you tonight. All I see is you, Winter.”
Theo never backed down when I snarled at him. And now I’m going to return the favor. Because he and I? We’re more.
“Why did you bring Peter?” “Because he’s part of our family, no matter how much he reminds me of the weird squirrel from Ice Age. And I like it when he sleeps between my feet, so he’s stuck with me now. Just like you.” “The squirrel from Ice Age?”
“You have to freak out with me because I need you. And I love you. I love you so much it paralyzes me to think of carrying on without you. You’re not allowed to shut me out. Because you made me need you, and now you have to deal with the consequences.”
Then his gaze shifts over, to the papers he wasn’t expecting. The ones that detail legal name change from Vivienne Hamilton to Vivienne Loretta Silva. My way of showing Theo that he’ll never be an interloper—he’s stuck with us for life.
“That night we were reckless.” His voice cracks. “But god, I’d be reckless with you over and over again if it means ending up here.”
