Need Me - M. Malone Page 0,57

with laughter.

“Wait, what?” Andre’s going to have a heart attack with how hard he’s laughing at me.

“That sounds familiar,” Milo comments.

“He’s lucky she didn’t deliver them in person.” That comment comes from Mya. “Has she shown you her scuba diving gear yet?”

Now it’s my turn to look at Ariana with new eyes. “Scuba gear?”

The blush I love to tease her about starts to climb her neck. “That’s nothing.”

I pull her to my side and nuzzle her hair. “That’s okay, baby. You can show me when we get home. I bet you look hot in a wetsuit.”

Mya gapes at us. “He’s as crazy as she is.”

Andre watches us with a knowing smile. I’m sure he’s thinking about the advice he gave me a couple of weeks ago. Back then he didn’t know who it was for but I know he remembers what he said.

Love isn’t just words.

It’s action.

“I would like to welcome Ariana to the family,” Andre says. “My brother has always had exceptional taste.”

Next to me I can feel Ariana relax. In that moment I’m so grateful to my brother for always knowing exactly what to say. I think my father would really have been proud of us in this moment. This was all he wanted, to see us happy and in love, supporting each other the way brothers should. Putting family first.

I guess we’re all grown up now.

“Would anyone like a glass of wine? Or a snack?” Andre gestures for us all to move toward the couch.

Then he picks up a tray from one of the side tables and holds it right in front of my face.

“Mini-wieners perhaps?” His laughter cuts off when I punch him playfully in the stomach.

We aren’t that grown up yet.

A few hours later, all the other guests have left. Ariana is with Casey looking at some new romance novels she wants to borrow. Andre and I wander over to the long sectional in the living room to watch TV while we wait for the girls to come back.

“There’s never anything on,” Andre comments as he scrolls through the channels.

“You should try Netflix. It’s never too early for a heartwarming tale about a small-town baker.”

He looks at me like I’m insane. “What?”

“Never mind. It’s an inside joke.”

After finding a basketball game, he leans back with a sigh. Since we just signed a provisional deal to provide suits for NBA coaches once the new line debuts, Andre has been taking a bit more interest in the game. He’s always been an active guy, he just prefers outdoor pursuits like hiking and running.

He lowers the volume on the television and clears his throat.

“A little birdie whispered in my ear recently. Apparently I’ve neglected to tell you how much I appreciate you.”

“I’m going to kill Ariana.”

Andre gives me a look. “You think she’d whisper in my ear? That woman would have dragged me by the balls to apologize.”

“I don’t need any thanks. It’s my job.”

“But you do. So much of what Lavin has become is directly due to your influence. When I first got the idea to use production scrap to create clothing for the homeless, it was because of you.”

Uncomfortable with his effusiveness, I smirk. “I remind you of the homeless?”

“No.” He laughs and punches my shoulder. “You were talking about the new line. But your points about making clothing accessible made me think.”

He sighs.

“I was so pigheaded. I didn’t want to even think about simplifying designs to make ready-to-wear possible and you made me see the possibilities. All I saw was lowering the price. You saw a way to get us into new closets.”

“I’m sure Casey had something to do with that, too. Or did I hallucinate you working like a madman on one of your homeless designs after you lost her?”

He nods. “She definitely changed my thinking. She wore clothes that were too small to her job interview because she couldn’t afford anything else then.”

I hadn’t realized Casey had ever struggled financially so this is news to me. “I didn’t know that.”

“I knew they were too small but not that it was all she had.” He waggles his eyebrows. “The man in me didn’t mind them being too small.”

We both laugh at that.

“But seriously, that one change in thinking has turned the direction of the company. Maybe a groom who can’t afford a Lavin bridal suit will choose one from VIN.”

“Vin?”

“Yes. I’m naming the new line after you.”

My mouth falls open. “Andre … I don’t know what to say.”

He sobers, his eyes intense.

“When we started,