face with his hands and forges his mouth to mine.
He groans as I pull away.
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” he asks.
“For how I acted yesterday, for pushing you away. There is so much I want to say.”
“Okay, whenever you’re ready, I’m here. I’m just glad you’re not pissed that we came. I fucking missed you so damn much,” he says, pulling me against his chest.
“There’s our girl,” Gavin calls out.
I step away from Kacen, again causing him to groan, and give the guys and Stacy a hug. I fight hard against the tears, but when I get to my best friend, I can no longer keep them from falling.
“Uh, ladies, I hate to interrupt, but we’re starting to draw a crowd.” Tristan motions his head to the side where two teenage girls are snapping pictures with their cell phones.
“I guess you have fans in Ohio. Apparently, my little brother is one of them. He made me promise he could meet all of you,” I confess.
“Happy to, but let’s get out of here before the mob hits.” They each put their sunglasses back on and pull their baseball caps down low. Not that it’s going to help. Those girls are sure to have the pictures loaded before we’re even out of the parking lot.
Chapter 41
Kacen
That vise that was gripping my chest, it disappeared the minute I pulled her to me at the airport. I still hurt for her and the loss she’s dealing with for her grandfather, but the pain in my chest has gone.
I offer to drive from the airport, but she declines, so I take shotgun. Stacy volunteers to sit in the third row because she’s shorter and Cole joins her. He acts like he’s taking one for the team, for the greater good and all that, but I see the way he looks at her. Tristan and Gavin load up in the backseat and we’re on the road.
Reaching over, I rest my hand on her thigh. I have to. It’s not something I can control. Logan quickly glances over and gives me a bright smile as she laces her fingers through mine.
“So where are we headed first, Log?” Stacy yells up to her. “You taking me to see my future husband?” she jokes.
“Future husband?” Cole repeats.
“Yeah, Jase, Logan’s little bother, although there’s not really anything little about him,” Stacy explains.
“She loves to mess with Jase. I think she sort of scares him,” Logan says. “I thought I would take you all to your hotel first and let you get settled. I promised Jase I would bring everyone by to meet him. I figured better today than tomorrow night at the visitation.” She glances over at me. “Where are you all staying?”
“Ask Tristan, he booked the rooms,” I tell her.
I can see the confusion cross her face.
“It’s the Holiday Inn that’s beside the funeral home. I thought that would be the easiest,” Stacy says.
“Yeah, I kind of consulted Stacy for where to stay. I wasn’t sure exactly where in Cincinnati we were going,” Tristan admits.
“You all have no idea what it means to me to have you here. Thank you so much.” She takes a big breath, trying to get her emotions under control.
I give her hand a gentle squeeze as Tristan leans forward and places his hand on her shoulder. “You’re family, Logan. We take care of our family.”
He says it with so much conviction that you know he feels it. Calm settles over me. These guys are my family, and they’ve accepted her as a part of my life, as a part of us.
When we reach the hotel, everyone piles out of the Tahoe. “Get settled and we can head to my parents’ place in an hour or so. We have a ton of food that Mom will be thrilled y’all are going to help eat,” Logan tells us.
“Tristan pre-paid for the rooms and registered them under my name. I’ll go get us all checked in and we can head straight up to the rooms,” Stacy explains.
Not able to stay away from her, I step up behind Logan. I don’t touch her. I’m not sure if she wants me to. I don’t want to push her or pressure her. She’s going through a lot, but I just need to be as close to her as possible. Leaning over her shoulder, I place my lips next to her ear and whisper, “I missed you, Logan.”
Looking over her shoulder at me, her eyes sparkle when she says, “I missed you