sister. So far so good. But I’m not letting her out of my sight. No Black Bear. No frat boys for my kid sister.”
“Dude, you’re going to suffocate her.”
“That’s my job.” He slaps me over the shoulder. “That is my job.” He offers a playful wink before heading for the bar.
I glance to Owen. “We need to do something about him.”
“Odd man out.” Cade frowns over at Jet as a few coeds inspect his intricate tattoos. “He’s got it handled.”
“He needs someone good”—I grunt—“someone as permanent as that ink all over his body.”
Cassidy lays her head against Cade’s shoulder. “I think I might know just the right girl.” She looks a few feet over to where Daisy chats it up with a few guys from the team.
Scarlett shakes her head. “She seems to be handling it herself. Besides, if Jet and Daisy are meant to be—it’ll happen.”
Piper reaches over and gives one of Scarlett’s red ringlets a tug. “So, you finally believe in destiny?”
Her arms tighten their grip around me. Scarlett and I fought against everything—the winds of change and destiny included. “It’s hard not to when it takes you where you need to be.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
The band switches it up to a slow song, and one by one we make our way to the dance floor.
“You ready for another year at WB?” I drink down this beautiful woman in my arms, my boxers already twitching to get her home.
“I’m ready for another year with you. Only this time I think we can gear our energy in more creative ways.” She bites down on her poppy red lip. “My body’s aching for some attention, and there’s not a person in the room qualified to give it except you. You think you can take on this dirty whore?”
A dark laugh thumps through me. “Only if you can handle this outspoken goober.” My thumb brushes over her cheek a moment. “Do you know what today is?”
“Um—yeah, the day my father and your mother said I do and forever altered the state of my mental wellbeing because I’ve just become that girl who openly sleeps with her stepbrother. If we ever have kids, they might have issues.”
I bark out a deep belly laugh that feels as if it’s been imprisoned for weeks. The thought of having kids with Scarlett warms me to my feet. I’ve become a sap, and I can’t help but love it.
“We’ll have at least five.” I press my lips to the tip of her nose.
“Why stop at five? I’m in for ten.”
“That’s a lot of bows and arrows.”
“And footballs.” She gives a coy little shrug, and I go in for the kiss. I want this girl now and forever. Ten kids, twenty, I really don’t care. The only thing in the world that matters is that Scarlett and I remain staunchly by one another’s side through the thick and thin.
“So, what’s today?” She pulls back and cocks her head as if calling me out.
“One year ago today, my mother dragged my siblings and me to a greasy Chinese restaurant in the middle of Hollow Brook to meet the family of a man she swore she’d marry someday.” I swallow hard just memorizing the way her hair lights up like a magnificent flame. “It’s the day I met the love of my life. That’s you, Scarlett Kent. I knew right then you were the one for me.”
She sucks in a quick breath as her body tenses next to mine. “I took one look at you, and for the first time in my life, I silently cursed my father.” We share a warm laugh. “I knew it, too, right then and there. I was a goner. I couldn’t look at another boy all year no matter how hard I tried. And I fought it. I fought us. But this is one war I’m glad I didn’t win.”
I pick her up and spin her a moment. “Let’s get out of here. My bed is calling, and I’m going to make sure you win round after round.”
“That’s the beauty of sparring beneath the sheets, Rex Toberman.” She jumps up and crashes a kiss to my lips. “We both win.”
We head out of the Black Bear, ready to celebrate the night that is officially the one-year marker of the making of us.
The moon shines like a quarter as it bleeds its beams over the porch. I scoop Scarlett into my arms and carry her over the threshold while she bubbles with laughter, her