Alley brushes past me, opening the fridge and bending down for another sparkling water. My eyes drift to her ass, still listening as Ryan talks about working with Cooper. She straightens, and my gaze shifts back to him.
He and Cooper have a wild story.
A moment later, I feel a hand low on my back as Alley scoots in beside me.
She waits for a pause in the conversation before cutting in. “Ryan, did you tell Jensen about the first time you met Matt?”
Ryan throws his head back with a laugh. “No. Forgot you two are tight.”
“Oh, they’re not just tight,” Alley says, turning to me with a grin. “They’re like brothers.”
“What happened?” I ask, already bracing myself for a Matt story.
“We were at Tapped Out, the club Matt owns with Leo. They’d been making rounds all night, and Cooper was at the bar. Matt hadn’t met anyone in our group yet. He hit on her, and she told him she was engaged, so he backed off and moved on.”
He pauses to take a sip of his beer. “About an hour later, Leo brings him over to meet everyone. Matt looks at Coop, then me, and goes,Shit. I’m sorry, man. I totally hit on your fiancée. Good for you though—she’s hot.”
Ryan chuckles. “He just fucking owned it. Didn’t even try to play it off. I thought that was pretty cool of him.” He laughs again. “We gave him shit all night, and he took it like a champ. Cooper even threw in some jabs, like—Hey, Matt, I’m heading to the ladies’ room. If you’re gonna watch me walk away, just be sly about it.”
We all laugh now, and Alley shifts, positioning herself in front of me. She leans back, then takes my arms and wraps them around her.
What the hell?Ten minutes ago, I felt completely out of place. Now I’m standing here, holding Alley in front of everyone, and it’s the closest I’ve felt to normal in weeks. Her making the move? Her choosing this? It’s more than I could’ve hoped for tonight.
I pull her in tighter, resting my chin on her head. Something inside me settles, easing all the discomfort from earlier. It feels right, like all the pieces are starting to fall back into place.
I soften into her.
Well… not all of me.
One part stiffens, pressed right up against the curve of her ass.
Our laughter fades, and Cooper comes over, stealing Ryan’s attention. But not before he says, “It’s great to have you here, man.”
“Thanks. Good to be here.”
Alley turns, her arms sliding around my back, chin tilted up toward me. “You were really great tonight,” she whispers. “Thanks for being here.”
“I just want to be wherever you are, babe.” I press a quick kiss to her lips.
She lays her ear against my chest and tightens her grip around me. I close my eyes and breathe her in. The scent of her shampoo fills my nostrils—coconut, vanilla, and the beach in Hawaii.
It smells like our shower. Her pillow. Memories.
It smells like her. AndGod,I don’t ever want to stop smelling that smell.
Reminds me of our first date—the hug goodnight after I kissed her for the first time. The first night she slept over. The first shower I took after she moved in.
Fuck, I love that smell.
But I love it most when it’s on her.
Chapter Twenty
JENSEN
“Matt,will you hand me the salad?” Megan asks, slathering butter on a thick slice of sourdough. He passes it over, and then her eyes land on me. “So, what’s new with Alley? Are you guys getting back together? Is she coming to the Berkshires? And—because we’re all dying to know—have you, you know…” She glances toward my niece and nephew at the counter, then lowers her voice. “Slept together?”
Megan texted Matt and me earlier asking if we wanted to come over for Sunday dinner. I’d just landed from Chicago a couple hours ago—barely had time to go home and shower before Matt showed up at my door ready to go.
