With one last smirk, Luke beckons to Blake, and they head for the stairs.
“Blake just arrived from Texas,” Luke says over his shoulder. “Come up to the house so you can meet Logan and Macey too.”
We wait until their footsteps disappear before I throw the comforter over my head.
“Oh, my God, that was embarrassing,” I say, my voice coming out muffled from underneath the comforter.
Declan lifts the blanket and leans in to kiss my cheek. “I’m sorry about that. Normally, they would have no reason to enter the loft. I forgot my cousins were coming up from Texas today.”
“I’m still processing the fact that you have even more cousins than the ones who came to our wedding.”
Our weddingsounds intimate. Too intimate given that we’re naked in bed together, and I have no idea what to say about what we’re doing going forward.
Declan’s watching my face like he can see me blushing, but all he says is, “Blake lives on a ranch next to Logan’s family ranch in Texas.”
“And who’s Macey?”
He furrows his brow. “Honestly, I have no idea. Maybe Blake’s girlfriend? I guess we’ll find out. Blake and Logan’s dads are brothers. Their fathers’ father was my grandfather’s brother. All the cousins you’ve met up till now? We share the same grandfather.”
“Wow, that’s a big family. So the Wilds down in Texas are your second cousins?” I confirm.
“Right. But I’ve never met any of them before. They’re all cowboys, so Luke knows them pretty well. He and Logan have some history from back when Luke traveled the rodeo circuit.”
“Well, I’m even more embarrassed now. We both met Blake for the first time while completely naked.”
Declan smiles at me with such fondness I relax. “Mia, we’re married. It wouldn’t matter anyway even if we weren’t. But we are, and they don’t know the story behind our marriage.”
“Right. You’re right.” I shake my head. “I’m not conservative, exactly, but I’ve honestly never had someone catch me in bed with a man. Which sounds ridiculous when I hear that sentence out loud, because like you said, technically you’re my husband.”
Declan kisses me soundly on the lips. “I am. And I think we should talk more about this.”
“We should. But not now.”
“Agreed. We’ll talk later.” He reaches across me and picks up my shirt and jeans. “Here are your clothes. Let’s head back to the cabin and change before meeting anyone else.”
“Good idea.” I dress quickly and follow Declan down the stairs and away from our private paradise.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Jamie Beth is still sleeping in my room when Declan and I get home. I slip by her and into the shower.
Twenty minutes later, I leave her a note in case she wakes up, and Declan and I make the walk up to the main house. No one’s on the porch, so we go inside through the front door and make our way to the kitchen where we find Cooper and Chase.
It’s early on a Saturday, but the delicious aromas of coffee and bacon already fill the room.
“Smells so good in here,” I say.
“Mia!” Chase shoots me a grin. “Care to help me cook the eggs?”
Declan starts to tell him off, but I put my hand on Declan’s arm. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
“You two made it,” Luke says teasingly as he comes inside through the back door. Before I can come up with some kind of a silly retort to get him from saying more about finding Declan and me in the barn, I realize he’s not alone.
A dark-haired guy with whiskey-colored eyes and wearing worn blue jeans and a dark blue sweatshirt that reads Texas is with him. He’s carrying a paper bag in one hand.
“Meet Logan Wild, your cousin,” Luke says to us.
Logan extends his hand to Declan and then me. “Heard a lot about you, Declan. Not to mention watching you crush it on the ice on TV.”
