Sophie and Kylie look at the guys as if they’re nuts.
I feel my cheeks flush and attempt to hide my face in Collins’ chest.
“Gremlin is his nickname for Mia,” Colton finishes.
“Awe,” Sophie and Kylie both sing out at the same time. Their eyes are full of envy.
I give them both a meek grin. Then look up at Collins, expecting him to be angry at his brothers for breaking the guy code again. I’m surprised to find his eyes, kind and caring, staring lovingly back into mine. He chuckles and kisses the top of my head. Apparently, he’s totally okay with this round of jabs. And more than that, he’s not denying it. He’s not even embarrassed by his brothers calling me his first love. My heartbeat kicks up, and I reach up and kiss him.
“Ugh,” Pace says. “Get a room.”
The others laugh. Then he thinks better of it. “Never mind. We’d never see you again. Stay, but let’s keep things PG.” He squeezes into the loveseat next to Max and Kylie, throwing his arm around Max as if to emphasize why we are keeping things PG.
Collins says, “Right, Gremlins.” He pulls out the remote and locates the movie easily on one of his satellite services.
“You’ve seen this, right?” he asks me.
I shake my head.
“You mean all this time you just let me call you gremlin, and you weren’t even curious?”
“I knew from the shirt it’s a cute little fuzzy creature.”
Collins shakes his head incredulously and sets the movie to play. He dims the lights, and I settle in next to him. The others all settle in too. I look around me, feeling warmed by their company. I know that we haven’t talked seriously about our future, but still, being here with him, and with his family, everything just feels right. I wonder, and hope that gatherings like this one might become a tradition. I’d love to be able to look forward to family day on the boat each Sunday.
I realize that when I showed up here several weeks ago I was ashamed and embarrassed by my situation and am happy to find that is no longer the case. Now I know I’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. I feel wanted. And I love it.
Collins leans down and whispers that we should stay the night on the boat and I gaze up at him, my heart filled to bursting.
Chapter Twenty-One
Collins
I power down my laptop, and gather up my belongings from my desk. It’s Friday, time to start the weekend, and can’t wait to spend it with Mia. Dating Mia Monroe is an experience I was wholly unprepared for. She’s fun and carefree and easy going. Nothing like the Botoxed, uptight women I’ve been with since moving to LA.
Mia and I have been casually dating for the past two weeks. We’ve been to the ballet, made a trip to a world-renowned winery, and attended a designer’s first showing of a jewelry collection—during which, Mia actually yawned. It’s time to change up my game. This is Mia. My Mia. And tonight I’ve got something perfect planned. At least I hope I do.
Smiling to myself as I stroll toward the elevator, I say goodbye to a few dedicated employees who are still here after five o’clock on a Friday. There was an office-poll about my recent transformation. Apparently I look more rested, smile more often, and just seem happier. Shit, one brave soul even asked if I’d had work done, implying I’d gotten plastic surgery. They thought I was unaware of the whispering and quiet conversations had behind cubicle walls. But I wasn’t. In fact I was as curious about this transformation as they were. At first, they assumed my twenty-three-year-old supermodel girlfriend was responsible for the smile on my face. But then they’d seen Mia bring me lunch one day—a steak sandwich from my favorite deli—and realized I was no longer dating Tatianna. I didn’t say a word. I actually thought the whole thing was quite humorous. Besides, it was none of their damn business. I felt happy and ten years younger, and it wasn’t just the fantastic sex I was having. It was because Mia brought out the best in me. I grin as I pass by a particularly chatty administrative assistant. Raising one eyebrow, her gaze darts away from mine and she begins frantically typing on her keyboard. I have a feeling if I look closer, it’ll all be gibberish. “Good night, Miss Corrigan,” I say.
“Good night, sir,” she squeaks.
Chuckling to myself, I punch the button for the elevator that will take me to the underground parking garage. Picturing how the night’s events will go, I can’t help the satisfied grin that uncurls on my mouth. Mia is going to be beside herself when she sees what I have planned.
It’s also the night I’m going to tell her that I want her to officially move in with me—not just crash in a guest room with her things tucked away in a suitcase that she could tow away at a moment’s notice, but to move into my bedroom with me. Share my home with me. I’m excited as shit, and I know if I admitted any of this to my brothers, they’d accuse me of growing a vagina. But things beneath my trousers have never been better. In fact, I felt like a teenager again, growing hard at the mere thought of Mia—often at inopportune times, like in a staff meeting. I pull out my cell and text her.