Or, maybe I kiss him. It’s kind of hard to tell.
But our lips meet and I very much enjoy the mix of apples, cinnamon, and Everett.
We kiss lazily for several seconds.
Finally, he lifts his head. “Anything else?”
“We had really great sex,” I say. “But I think maybe you like me in part because you really like my family. How big a part of your feelings for me is Graham?”
He kisses me again before answering this time. The kiss is slow, but it’s deep. His lips taste, his tongue strokes, his hands glide up and down my back.
Eventually, he says huskily, “I didn’t even know you were related to Graham until this morning, remember? But I will tell you this—my mother is a very spontaneous person. She often makes decisions simply because it feels good. My fatherhatedthat. In fact, he told me my entire life that decisions needed to be well thought out and make sense. He insisted I use my head and not my heart. My grandparents reiterated that. I was made to believe that following my heart or my gut was foolish and dangerous.”
His hand is stroking up and down my arm, and his gaze is locked on mine.
“And then I met your brother. Graham is the first person who didn’t know who I was, who my parents were, didn’t know that I had several million dollars in a trust fund, didn’t know that I had a genius IQ. He sat down next to me, and we started talking and immediately hit it off for reasons that I still don’t totally understand. A lot like how I met you. We didn’t even know each other’s real first names, but we clicked.”
He's right. I simply nod.
“Following my gut and trusting Graham has turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” Everett says. “So, I’ve decided to do more of it. And that’s why I crossed the bar that night. My head was telling me to leave, that I didn’t want to be in that bar that night, that I wasn’t going to fit in, and that it wasn’t going to be fun. But then I saw you. And my gut and my heart screamed at me to go talk to you. And that turned out amazingly well.”
He grins, and my entire body clenches, I swear.
“Sitting around the table today with your family, myheadwas telling me that they are great people that I can trust, and there are one million reasons to like them, but even more, my gut and heart were happy, content, so glad to be there and hoping for many more opportunities.”
I know I’m staring at him. I have no words. What am I supposed to do with all of that?
So, I take a deep breath, kiss him quickly on the mouth, and then push him back onto his stool.
“We need to talk about work,” I say quickly.
Maybe that will save me. I need to remind myself why I can’t climb into this guy’s lap, strip all of our clothes off, and just fall in love with him.
Okay, I should probably take our clothes off before I climb into his lap, but other than that,thatplan is what my gut is tellingmeto do.
And I know it’s a bad idea. So, I need myheadto get back in charge here.
He sits back on his seat. He also gives me a sexy smirk. “I suppose you think if we’re going to talk business, I don’t get to keep kissing you?”
I clear my throat. “Right.”
“Fine,” he says with a very put-upon sigh.
I have to admit—to myself only perhaps—his insistence that heneedsto kiss me and that he can’t resist is pretty nice for a girl's ego. Especially after a boyfriend who chose a job over continuing to kiss me.
“So I’ve decided that I want to stay in Sapphire Falls long-term,” I tell him.
He nods. “I’m not surprised. This is clearly a place where you’re happy. And after your brother and sister-in-law announced their pregnancy, I could tell that it affected you.”
I nod, unable to keep the huge smile from my face. No one was shocked by Carver and Kaelyn’s announcement over dessert, but we are all thrilled.
I had already been thinking that Graham’s offer to work in Sapphire Falls was coming at the perfect time. Being home has been nice after I got over the idea that it somehow meant I had failed. Being with all my friends again, seeing how happy Harlow, Jefferson, Carver, and Kaelyn are. Being able to hang out with Sloan, Sasha, and others has been wonderful. I had friends in Chicago, but I will never find friends like the people I’ve grown up with in Sapphire Falls. And I love being around my mom and dad.
“Yeah, I really want to be here for nieces and nephews. No matter what Harlow says, I think she and Jefferson are not going to be far behind.”
“That’s awesome,” Everett says. “I don’t have siblings, but I can understand how much you’ll love your siblings’ children. I know I’ll love Graham’s kids.”
My heart squeezes at that. Everett hasn’t said the word ‘brother’, but he and Graham do have a brotherly bond.
