Declan
Mee? So now they have a nickname for my wife? I don’t even have a pet name for her yet.
I can’t stop the murderous feeling coursing through my veins as Mia and Cooper head into the kitchen, and I follow along behind. Chase is at the stove, and he turns and grins like a damn dog greeting his human when Mia walks over to help.
One thing is for sure.
They like her.
I mean they genuinely like her. I know my cousins, and they don’t extend themselves for someone they don’t genuinely want to spend time with. They’ll help anyone in need, and they know everyone in town, but they don’t have a lot of close friends.
Mia is already inside their tight inner circle. And she’s not even trying; she’s just being herself.
I don’t blame them for falling for her.
She’s got a zest for life I admire. She works as hard at her career as I do at mine, but she smiles a lot more. She’s fun and smart and beautiful, and she intrigues the hell out of me.
And I want her so much I can hardly keep my hands from reaching for her as she stands at the stove and stirs milk into the potatoes.
Cooper and Chase are hovering around her like fucking mother hens, so I grab a beer and go looking for Luke.
He’s left the back porch, but I find him in his favorite spot—his dad’s armchair in the den.
“So.” I take a seat across from him on the couch. “You and your brothers seem to have grown close with Mia while I was away.”
Luke’s eyes flash with humor. “Jealousy’s not a good look on you, cousin. Not used to losing the spotlight, huh?”
I squeeze the bottle of beer in my hand so tight I’m afraid I’ll break the glass. “Shut the fuck up.”
“And you’re just going to keep hiding in here with me, huh?” Luke raises an eyebrow. “You’re a damn coward, Dec.”
“I’m pragmatic,” I argue him. “I can’t…”
“Be alone with her because you won’t be able to keep your hands off of her?”
Something like that.
He shakes his head. “One day, you two kids will figure out your shit. Until then, you’re welcome to hang out here as much as you want. And for the record…” His gaze turns serious. “When you’re away, we look out for her. Nothing more, nothing less. You got me?”
I hold out my hand, and we bump fists. “Got it.”
Chapter Nineteen
I may have gotten over my initial irritation during my chat with Luke, but by the time Cooper and Chase and I go to the barn to check on the horses, I’m surly again.
After dinner, Mia and I returned to the cabin. As soon as we were alone, the chemistry between us hit nuclear levels, and she immediately made up the excuse that she had to take a bath.
A freaking bath.
I tried to distract myself with the TV, but all I could see in my head was the visual of a naked Mia in a bathtub filled with bubbles.
So I gave up on the television and headed back to hang out with my around-the-clock chaperones, AKA, my cousins.
And here I am in the barn, listening to Coop and Chase talk about the latest feed they ordered from the store in town.
Coop glances over at me. “You’re not listening.”
“I am. But let’s be honest, I don’t know anything about what you’re discussing. I’m a hockey player, not a cowboy.”
