The Path to Loving Him (Almond Bay, #3)

by Meghan Quinn

“As your personal doctor who is concerned with the color of your balls, I’m simply prescribing a way to take care of yourself other than using your hand.”

I remember the first time I laid eyes on Ryland Rowley. I was . . . I was awestruck. He was fit, attractive, at times . . . mesmerizing, and he was my brother’s coach.

“Fuck, you’re big,” she says as she wiggles against me. “Can you handle me?” I ask as I bring my lips down her jaw to her neck. “That’s not the question you should be asking,” she says as she tilts her head to the side. “What should I be asking?” “You should be asking it the other way around . . . if you can handle me.”

Christ . . . now that’s a fucking one-night stand.

“Oh my God,” I say as I push my friend away. “Trust me, if there is one thing I know for sure, sex with Ryland Rowley is completely off the table. No one will be coming . . . for a while.”

He tosses me a paper with a single name on it: Gabriel Brinkman. I stare down at it and then back up at Herbert. “Who the fuck is Gabriel Brinkman?”

Oohoo you know her personally

“Please, Ryland, please take care of her for me. Give her a beautiful and special life. Teach her everything I would teach her. Love her the way I would love her. And please keep my memory deep in her heart.”

She loves holding my hand. She loves skipping while I walk. And she loves just . . . being with me. I don’t get it. I’m not sure I ever will. But fuck, am I thankful.

“It’s so big,” the little girl says. “Do you like the purple?” Ryland asks in a voice he definitely didn’t use when we were together that one night.

Hah!

“What’s showing?” Wyatt says, joining us now, wearing a rainbow wig and unicorn horn. Not sure how he became the designated dress-up partner for Mac, but I swear I see him more in costume than anything else now.

“For someone who has licked your pussy, I would say nothing is too personal at this point.”

“I mean . . .” He looks me up and down. “How the hell am I supposed to coach knowing you’re standing next to me?” “I don’t understand.” He tosses his hand to the side. “I fucking like you, Gabby. I don’t want to admit it, but I do. I’m attracted to you. I love being inside you. I love hearing the way you moan when you come and the way your tight cunt squeezes my cock . . . it’s fucking addictive.” He grows closer again. “How the fuck am I supposed to deal with that when you’re working so close to me?”

If you had told me a year ago that I would be sitting at a kitchen table with Abel and Hayes, sharing a pizza amicably, I would have told you, you’d lost your goddamn mind.

“I’m not going to have a fuck fest with my assistant coach,” I say. “That’s the worst idea. You don’t fuck your co-workers.” Hayes shrugs. “I don’t know. I fucked my assistant, and it turned out great for me.” He smirks when I give him a murderous glare. “That’s my fucking sister you’re talking about,” I say. “Yeah, I know.” He shoves the rest of his crust in his mouth.

her skin glistening from whatever lotion she applied, a lotion I know smells like cherry and almonds. I might have smelled it earlier today. In the bathroom. Nose to nozzle.

“There isn’t another option.” “Uh, there is. There’s the option that you give in to your attraction and see where it can go . . . maybe you could love her one day.” “You know I don’t do love, Hattie,” I say sternly. “I don’t know love and want nothing to do with it.”

“You might not want to be shielded, but you sure as hell will be shielded by me. Don’t fight me on it.”

“But seriously, you’re the best sex I’ve ever had.” I press my lips together and stare at the TV for a few seconds. Then, I loll my head to the side and say, “Sex will never be the same after you.” That brings a huge smile to her face, and that’s all I can ask for.

“Anywho, found the book, read it in a day, and it’s been a downhill spiral into romancelandia from there.”

“Dear God.” Bower presses her hand to her chest. She then turns to me and says, “This is the man you’re going to practice friends with no benefits with?” She shakes her head in disappointment. “I honestly don’t think we can talk anymore. You’ve clearly lost your mind.”

“Do you think Bower’s single?” Abel asks as he stares over at Bower and Gabby sitting under the large oak tree, both eating hot dogs and chatting with Aubree and Hattie. “Dude, she’s way too much for you,”

I stand there, watching them. Watching Mac look up at her, telling Gabby what a good job she’s doing. Gabby smiling down at her . . . it . . . it makes my heart beat faster. It makes my palms sweat. It makes my ears go hot because . . . because they look cute together. Like Gabby was supposed to hold her hand all along. And when they reach the swing and Mac shows Gabby how to get on, Gabby pushes Mac lightly, causing Mac to smile back at her. “Jesus fuck,” I mutter as I stare at them, looking like a goddamn mother-daughter duo, and it hits me hard. Harder than I expected.

I remember when Hayes Farrow’s Black album came out, and I was enamored with his voice. Seeing him in person and trying to act all normal, as if I haven’t cried to his lyrics, is pretty hard. I had to warn Bower to be as normal as possible. Thankfully, she listened. But still, he’s a god. And the way he’s so protective over Hattie? It lowers the wall I have up around the need for a relationship.

“What’s wrong with your legs?” Christian cuts in, looking concerned. You can put the concerned look away, you fuck. While you were probably ironing your shirt last night, I was tongue deep in Gabby’s pussy.

“Coach Rowley?” Bennett says, making Ryland more confused than ever. “Bennett?” he says. “Coach . . . I got called up. I’m going to the show tomorrow. Starting.” “What?” Ryland yells and leaps to his feet, stealing the phone from me. He then takes my hand and helps me up as well. “Holy fuck, man. That’s incredible. Fuck, I’m proud of you.”

“The answer is no. I don’t want to leave you alone. I want to be there for you. I want to hold your hand. I want to capture the moment of you watching your brother play his first big league game so he can watch it over and over and see how much pride you have for him. I want to make the day special for you because you deserve it. But I also want you to be comfortable, so if that means I step aside, I act as the driver, and that’s it, then I’ll do that too. I just want you to be happy, taken care of . . . protected.”

Gabby continues to cheer and clap while I do the same. The people around us probably think we’ve lost our mind, but we don’t care. Bennett Brinkman just got his first hit in the big leagues in his first at bat. This is magic.

I needed this to push me to what I’ve been trying to avoid. She’s it. She’s what I want. And there is no way in hell I can go another day without her knowing.

“I don’t want the distance,” he says, snapping my attention back to his eyes. “Y-you don’t?” “No. I don’t.” He moves in closer and pushes me to my back. He drags my shirt up and over my head, leaving me bare to him as his large body hovers over mine. “I don’t want the separation. I want this closeness. Us. Not distance. And I swore I’d wait to say something. I told myself not today, so I’m sorry for being a selfish prick, but I want this. I want you. I want to try to be the kind of man you deserve.”

Is this what it feels like to start the path to . . . to loving someone?

“Please tell me he got all ragey and ready to break wrists.” “Wrists, faces . . . I think he was ready to break all the things.” “We love an overprotective hero. Obsessed.” I hear her sigh. “I need to find myself one of those.” “Abel’s still single.” “No, I think I’m too much for him. I could already feel the vibe that he’d get annoyed with me but not think it’s cute. I need someone who can understand me when I say a one-bed trope is all I need in my life.”

“How are you liking Almond Bay?” “I absolutely love it,” I say, leaning gently against the counter. There’s nothing like some small-town talk to make this Gilmore Girls-like dream even more of a reality. I got the grump, the cute town, and now the friendly chatter.

But I don’t listen. I bring her out into the rain with one tug, and instead of rushing to her apartment, I wrap my arm around her waist and start dancing. “What are you doing?” She laughs as we both get drenched in seconds. “Dancing . . . be happy it’s not naked.”

Rain is often looked upon as an inconvenience. No one wants it to rain when they’re outside, but I don’t know. Sometimes I think the best things happen when it rains.”

Gabby rolls her eyes and stands. “You’re being very dramatic.” “You didn’t just get a sword plowed between your legs.” She leans down and whispers, “Pretty sure I did over a week ago . . . and I survived.”

“But I’ll tell you this. It’s you and me, kid. I’m your main man, the one who will always protect you, always love you, always be there for you. I’ll be there for every great thing in your life and every bad thing. And along the way, your aunts and uncles will be there for you too. But this life, this house, it belongs to you and me.” I squeeze her hand. “Best friends, kiddo.”

“Good night,” she whispers. “Dad.” My lip trembles. My hand shakes. And my eyes get misty as I say, “Night, kiddo.”

“Maggie,” Hayes says, interrupting. “Brody’s looking for you.” “Why?” Maggie asks and then turns to me. “Brody’s my man, and he’s very needy.”

We’re joined by Maggie and Wyatt, and together, we all watch as Hayes plays to Hattie, sitting down on the bench together that’s in front of the fireplace. When he’s done, he spins his guitar to his back and then takes a knee in front of Hattie. I can hear her crying from here as my heart hammers out of my chest, watching this perfectly executed moment. Hayes speaks softly to Hattie, holding her hand, and after a sob escapes her, she nods. Hayes scoops her up and kisses her senseless.

“I was sworn to secrecy. He had it planned this entire time. He was going to go more elaborate but then said he wanted to do it in the same place where he fell for her, during sunset.” “It was beautiful.” Hattie turns toward us and says, “We’re engaged . . . finally!”

“I’m falling in love with you, Ryland.” Fucking music to my ears. I press my forehead to hers and whisper, “I’m falling in love with you, too.”

Ryland squats down to her eye level and places his hands on her hips. “You know how Uncle Hayes and Aunt Hattie are in love?” Mac nods. “And how Aunt Aubree and Uncle Wyatt are in love?” Mac nods again. “Well, Gabby and I are in love.”

Um, can we pause for a second because did you hear what he said about the married thing? Not . . . yet. Cue the girly screams.

Bennett wraps his arms around Bower, bringing her in close. His head tilts into hers, and I swear on my relationship with Gabby, I see him inhale. When she pulls away, his hand glides across her back, lingering before she’s fully parted.

“Stop,” Wyatt says into my ear. “Fucking stop. You’re scaring her.” That makes me pause. I’m about to ask who I’m scaring when out of the corner of my eye, I see Mac, clinging to Aubree, tears flowing down her cheeks . . . fucking shaking. Oh fuck. Realization sets in. She saw that. She saw all of that. She saw what I saw as a child, an angry man using his fists rather than his words.

“You want to end what we have?” “Yeah,” he says, leaning against the wall now. I take him in—the slouch in his shoulders, his unruly hair, and the deadness in his eyes. This is not the Ryland I know. This is not the same man, and thankfully, I can look at the situation and realize that without getting emotional.

“You’re a coach, someone those boys look up to, rely on, and seek out for help. You’re a teacher and an educator, impacting every kid in your class. You’re a brother, the head of the family, taking over when your dearest Cassidy passed. You’re the glue, keeping your sisters close and ensuring your love for each other keeps growing. You’re a boyfriend, a lover, a man I respect with everything in me. A man I can trust with my life. A man I will never stop loving, ever. But most importantly, Ryland”—my voice grows tense—“you’re Uncle Dad.”

Wyatt is on all fours, wearing a long black wig while Mac combs his hair. “Uh . . . hey, man,” Wyatt says, looking slightly embarrassed.

The doors open, the sunlight from the windows behind her filters in, and it takes a second for my eyes to adjust, but when they do, I can feel the sting of tears instantaneously as my girl, my little fucking girl, stands in front of me in a white gown and veil, ready to get married.

They both walk up to Mac and give her a hug. Hattie cups Mac’s face and says, “Your mom would have loved Garrick. He’s perfect.”