I laugh softly, running my fingers through his hair. “Damn right it was.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
It’s late afternoon when the chopper touches down. We climb out, and Dan assures us he’ll meet us at the cabin when he finishes bedding the bird. The four of us walk casually back over the hill and climb the stairs. When we step inside, we find the house in utter chaos.
Sitting around the large living room table are Addison, Mickey, Ben, and Gio with cards in their hands. Mickey is accusing Addison of cheating, while Gio and Ben are snickering with amusement.
“What’s going on?” I ask, and Mickey scowls.
“I don’t know how, but Addison is kicking my ass at Go Fish. I think she has X-ray vision.”
Tristan heads over and scoops her up before sitting down in her chair and looking at her hand.
“Don’t be a sore loser, Mickey. My girl is a card shark,” he gloats proudly, and I smile.
“Where is everyone else?” I ask, and Ben nods toward the kitchen.
“Maeve, Casey, and Suzy are cooking up a storm, and Sage took Vienna to the lake.”
Just then, Suzy bustles out of the kitchen door and waves her hand around. “Clean this up. We need to set the table.”
Mickey and Addison shout their disappointment, but Suzy is taking none of their shit. “Addison, you need a bath before dinner. Tristan and Xavier, you’re in charge of that. Gio, you can set the table when Mickey has cleaned up the mess. Ben, go find us some wine in the cellar to have with dinner, and Tori, you and Colton can go get the other two from the lake.”
“What would you like me to do?” Dan asks, coming through the door with a backpack over his shoulder.
“Hey, buddy, why don’t you help me pick the wine?” Ben says, standing up and giving Dan a manly handshake.
Dan wrinkles his nose. “I’m not much of a wine drinker.”
Ben winks. “There are some bottles of scotch and bourbon down there too.”
Dan’s eyes light up, and he slings his backpack into a corner. “Lead the way.”
Xavier and Tristan take a chatty Addison upstairs. I hear her tell them about the handheld console Sage bought her and challenge them to a game of Mario Kart.
I wave my hand at the door and gesture to Colton. “Shall we?” I ask, and he follows me out and down the steps before taking my hand in his.
I feel a little awkward, but I go with it. They are so comfortable with casual displays of affection. It isn’t something I’ve really experienced before. Dad and Gio were affectionate in private, but in public, we kept outward displays of affection to a minimum.
Colton is intuitive, though, and he gives my hand a squeeze. “You’ll get used to it. You’ve let us in now, and we’re like black mold—incredibly hard to get rid of once we’ve infected you.”
I scoff out loud. “So romantic.”
He chuckles then turns serious. “Please don’t hurt us, Tori. I’m not sure if we could handle any more heart break.”
I scoff, suddenly feeling defensive, and try to tug my hand out of his, but he refuses to let me go. “And you think I can? You might believe I’m this cold, hard as nails bitch, but I can assure you, my heart breaks as easily as the next person’s. I let you guys in after being careful not to let anyone but Sage in for a long time, and you obliterated my trust.”
He sighs. “I know we did, and we are going to do everything in our power never to do that again.”
“No more secrets or lies,” I tell him. “From here on out, we’re a hundred percent honest with one another, even if we’re worried the other person will be mad or hurt.”
“Agreed.” He tugs me closer and drapes his arm over my shoulders as we approach the little jetty next to the boathouse. The drizzle from before has stopped, but the clouds are heavy, and the wind has really picked up, causing the lake to slosh with its fury.
“I think we’re going to get a storm,” I tell him as we pick up the pace. “Sage and Vienna must be inside.” I point to the building when I don’t see them sitting on the wooden pier. “Come on.”
“I bet he’s showing her his fishing rod,” Colton says dryly as I push the door open to the small shed and the smell of damp wood and boat fuel hits my nostrils.
“I don’t doubt it. He’s pretty enamored with it,” I reply as we navigate around the boat we use in the summer to tow inflatables and fish from, past the canoes, and stand-up paddle boards to the small kitchen and living area we use when we have barbeques and parties down here. There’s a fireplace we use to roast marshmallows that brings back such sweet memories of summer as a kid. Those were some of my favorite times, becausePenny wouldn’t come out to the cabin, and it would be just Dad, Carla, Mickey, Ben, and Suzy with me and Gio.
