Series Starter Firsts in Series Collection - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,64

going to see if the boys of Beckett Construction are hungry.”

“Boys?” She scoffs. “There isn’t anything boyish about any of them. Those five are all men.” She winks. “I’ll help you wrap them up so you can go get yours.”

“He’s not mine.”

“Not yet.” She smirks.

Twenty minutes later, I’m pulling into my grandparents’ driveway. The guys aren’t here yet. I grab the cinnamon rolls and the gallon of milk and paper cups I picked up on the way here. It’s a nice morning, so I set it all up on the back deck. Once it’s ready, I sit in the lounger and scroll through the texts between Ridge and me. I save the picture of him and Knox and add it to his image in my contacts. That’s what I’ll see anytime he calls or sends a message, which makes me smile.

“That smile is something to start the day with,” Ridge’s deep voice startles me.

“Hey,” I say, jumping from my seat.

He surprises me by stepping toward me and wrapping an arm around my waist, hugging me to him. This is how the rest of the guys find us.

“About fucking time, brother. I was worried you’d lost it,” Tyler says with a smile.

I expect Ridge to retaliate, but he doesn’t. Instead, he leans down and kisses my temple. If his arm weren’t holding me up, I would’ve melted into a puddle of goo right here on the back deck.

“What’s all this?” Seth asks.

“I, um . . . I couldn’t sleep, so I made cinnamon rolls. This is more than Dawn and I could eat, so I thought you all might enjoy them.”

“You good?” Kent asks Ridge, who just looks at him in question. “Because if you’re not, I’m fucking calling dibs, my man.”

Ridge’s grip on my waist tightens. “Mine” is all he says, but the guys seem to understand what that means. Mark, Tyler and Seth are grinning, while Kent looks a little amused and possibly disappointed.

“Thank you,” Ridge says, his lips next to my ear.

He holds on to me as long as he can, but I’m set on putting distance between us, eventually stepping out of arm’s reach.

Mine. I assume he means me, but we’re not really to that point . . . are we? I mean, we just started talking, and I really need to know about Knox’s mom before I let myself get any further invested. I need to know that what he says is true, that I’m not just a rebound.

I really hope I’m not.

Chapter 25

When we pulled in and I saw her car parked in the driveway, I knew. I knew in that moment that she was with me in this. When I spotted her on the back deck, I just had to touch her. It’s a new need for me. Yes, need. Yes, I wanted to touch her, but the need to do so was what pushed me to wrap my arms around her, witnesses be damned.

I watch her as she talks to the guys. Kent made me show my hand, but that’s fine; I was going to anyway. The more I talk to her, touch her, spend time with her, the more the need grows. I don’t understand it; it’s fast, and it’s . . . not normal. I’ve had so many changes in the last month, that I’m just rolling with this. Dad always said, “Trust your gut, son. When you find her, it’ll let you know. Don’t fight it; it’ll just make you both miserable.” That was part of his speech on my sixteenth birthday. That, along with wrapping it up no matter what. My son is proof that even when you do, things can happen.

“I should get going or I’m going to be late for work.”

I watch as she starts to clean up after us. “We’ll get that, Kendall,” Seth tells her. “That’s the least we can do.”

“I’ll walk you out,” I say, holding my hand out for hers. She only hesitates for a few seconds before linking her fingers through mine. She waves over her shoulder at the guys as I lead her back into the house then out to her car.

“Thank you for that.”

“Like I said, I couldn’t sleep, and Dawn was cussing about having to spend the next month in the gym.” She laughs.

She stops and leans against the side of her car. I stand in front of her, moving closer, removing the distance between us. I cup her face in my hand and run my thumb over her