have just…picked you up and dragged you inside like that.”
I paused to consider him for a moment. A muscle ticked in his jaw, and his lips thinned and then released like he was actively compressing them to keep from adding any more.
“Do you actually think you were a jackass, or are you saying that so I’ll stop being mad?”
Those pale blue eyes were unflinching as he met my stare. “You were freezing,” he half-growled. “Blue lips. Wet feet. Your socks were soaking when I got them off, and your feet were really cold.”
“I was there,” I told him. “But I return to my question, do you actually think you were a jackass?”
He cut a look to the ceiling as he sighed. “No, I think you were too caught up in how gorgeous it is out there to be safe and I didn’t want you hurt. I tried to coax you, but you didn’t want to listen, and these assholes were too delighted with your delight to say something.”
“But you’re never afraid to call me on my crap,” I pointed out helpfully. Coop’s eyes widened. Smart boy recognized my tone. Archie raised his brows and then turned to the coffee maker. Apparently, he wanted no part of this action.
Ian was the only one who didn’t seem to react. If anything, he had his arms folded and his legs rigid like he was planted in that spot.
“No,” Jake agreed with me. “I’m not afraid of calling you on your crap.” Coop, groaned, but Jake ignored him as he continued, “But that wasn’t crap out there. That was adorable, and I hated pulling you away from it. At the same time, I’m not risking your health. You’re too damn important, and we made sure you had the clothes and gear you needed so you could play out there to your heart’s content. That only works if you bring that beautiful ass inside before it freezes off.”
He scowled, and I chewed my lower lip. To be fair, he wasn’t wrong.
“So, if that makes me a jackass,” Jake added when I didn’t say anything, “so be it. You’re warm, your cheeks are pink and your lips are, too.” The fact that he fixed on them as he said it sent a wave of real heat through me. “I can live with being a jackass.”
Archie held out a mug of coffee toward me wordlessly.
“So can I,” I said after a beat, and that earned more than one blink of surprise. I took the coffee and wrapped my fingers around the mug. The warmth was glorious. I mouthed “thank you” to Archie before I looked at Jake, then swept my gaze over Coop and Ian to include them, too. “But I think you all need to stop treating me like spun glass or just picking me up when whatever I’m doing doesn’t suit you. Yes, I got carried away out there, I can admit that. I’ve never seen snow before like this, and it’s awesome.”
That earned me an indulgent smile from everyone except Jake. “I know you haven’t, Baby Girl. But I also know just how dangerous it can be if you get too cold. So, I’ll try to dial it back, but if you are risking yourself, no way am I backing off.”
“Wow, you can’t just let her have the win and back off,” Coop muttered with a groan.
“I don’t need him to let me have anything,” I informed Coop, and he grimaced. “I need you guys to just listen, and I’ll try to do a better job myself.”
“Angel,” Ian said before Jake could speak. “We get it, and I think you’re both right. Jake was right to get you out of the snow, but maybe not the rest. You were right to get pissed with us for being too protective, but we’re not wrong to want to protect you.”
“Agreed,” Coop said after a beat, even as Archie nodded.
“Definitely agreed.” All three of them looked at Jake, then at me.
I raised my brows and the corner of Jake’s mouth twisted up into a smile. “I wasn’t totally wrong.”
“No,” I agreed with him. “But I wasn’t totally wrong either.”
“So, we weren’t wrong,” he said slowly, and a spark lit his eyes. I rolled mine and shook my head.
“It kills you to admit it, doesn’t it?”
“Nah,” he said slowly. “I just don’t like being wrong where you are concerned, and I am never letting anything happen to you again. Not if I can stop it.” The ferocity there