“Really? I thought just Emily was going over to discuss her kitchen plans.” The three of them whipped out their keys. “Elisabeth’s.”
With a nod, they climbed into their trucks and followed Ross to Elisabeth’s house.
The house was dark, save for a flash of light from the television in the living room.
“What the hell are they doing?” Wes asked. “You hear that?”
They listened as they ascended the porch steps. Luke went to the window and flagged them over with his hand. The three of them peered into the window at the four girls piled on the couch hugging one another, clutching tissues and wiping their eyes.
“Aw, hell.” Ross turned his back to the window.
“Tears.” Luke followed suit.
“Fuck.” Wes fell into line.
Ross leaned back in and looked in the window just as Emily glanced up and screamed. She fell off the couch, and all the girls started screaming.
“Holy shit.” Wes barreled into the house. The girls were huddled together against the wall, still screaming. “It’s us. It’s us.”
“You ass!” Emily threw a pillow at him.
“Wes! What were you thinking? We thought you were Peeping Toms,” Callie said with a harsh stare.
Luke wrapped Daisy into his arms. “Peeping Toms in Trusty?” He laughed and Daisy swatted his stomach.
With the others beating on each other, Ross folded Elisabeth into his arms and brushed her tears with his thumb. “I’m sorry we scared you, babe.” He pressed his cheek to hers and whispered, “I love you.” He hadn’t planned on saying it, and he definitely hadn’t planned on saying it in front of his brothers as they tried to calm their drunken, upset girlfriends, but he couldn’t hold back any longer.
Elisabeth leaned back and blinked her long lashes at him. “You…”
He smiled down at her and nodded. “I do. I love you.”
More tears sprang from her eyes. He buried his hand beneath her hair and kissed her. She tasted sugary sweet, and it was a taste he’d never forget.
“Hey!” Emily yelled and slapped Ross on the back. “Look at you two making out while you nearly gave us heart attacks. Thank God we already ended our Skype call with Rebecca. She probably would have called the Trusty police.”
Ross reluctantly parted lips with Elisabeth, then turned to face his sister. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes glassy, and she was swaying on her feet. Ross wrapped an arm around her waist.
“You’re either staying here tonight, or I’m driving you home, sis.”
Emily banged her forehead against his chest. “I love your girlfriend,” Emily gushed.
“Me too. What’ll it be? Here or your place?” He glanced at Wes and Luke, holding their girlfriends. Wes and Luke lifted their heads when Ross said, “Me too,” and passed him a smile and nod.
“Mine,” Emily said. “But we have to clean up. We can’t leave Elisssssabeth with this mess.” She swayed back and Ross caught her.
“I’ll clean up. Wes, can you take Callie and Daisy home? Luke, can you help me deliver cars so everyone has theirs in the morning?”
“Sure.” Luke held Daisy against him.
Ross assessed the room. “Pizza, cheese, crackers, chocolate, tears, and margaritas. Looks like we missed a great night, minus the tears.”
Elisabeth ran her finger along the back of his neck. “We’ll have our own party.”
“Promises, promises.”
Ross and his brothers got everyone home safely; then Ross stopped at home and picked up the boys. By the time he arrived back at Elisabeth’s, she was fast asleep on the couch. Knight jumped onto the couch and snuggled in at her feet while Ranger and Sarge sprawled out on the living room floor. Ross cleaned up the living room and then sat in an armchair and drew in a deep breath. This was where he wanted to be, with Lis and the boys.
He gathered her in his arms, and Knight gave him a look of disapproval as he carried her upstairs. He wondered if she’d remember what he’d said when she woke up. He laid her on the bed and undressed her, down to her skivvies and tank top, then drew the blankets up to her chest. She was so damn beautiful as she licked her lips in her sleep and settled into the mattress with a sleepy sigh. Ross stripped to his briefs and slipped beneath the blankets. Elisabeth instinctively snuggled against him.
He kissed the top of her head. “I love you, Lis.” He didn’t care if she heard it or not. It felt damn good to say it.
“I love you, too,” she said against his chest, and with the next breath she was fast asleep.
Chapter Nineteen
ELISABETH’S HEAD WAS pounding. She must be dying, or someone was surely torturing her. She opened her eyes to the morning light and slammed them immediately shut with a groan. It was Thursday, and she had to take care of the animals and deliver pies. Oh God. No, no, no. She rolled onto her side, and when she didn’t roll into Ross, she reached an arm across the sheets and felt for him. The bed was empty. She didn’t dare call out for him, because even her thoughts echoed in her head, as the night before came back in bits and pieces. She smiled at the memory of the girls’ night, then cringed because smiling hurt. The familiar tapping of nails on hardwood came closer. Click, click, click! A wet nose pressed against her cheek, followed by a distinct doggy tongue that smelled like one of her puppy cookies. She reached a hand out and stroked the dog’s head. She didn’t need to open her eyes to know it was Knight. He and Ranger were the only ones who crawled onto the bed, and Ranger did it in stealth mode, pulling himself up by the front paws, whereas Knight came up in one giant leap. As he did now, landing on her feet.
She groaned again and flung her pillow over her head. The bed beside her dipped and the very male, sexy scent of Ross filled her senses. She opened one eye and shoved the pillow to the side, drinking him in. Even through half-open, hungover eyes he looked like the god of hotness.
“My poor girl.” Ross spoke quietly. “I brought you some ibuprofen, but I wasn’t sure of your cure of choice, so I brought tomato juice, which will help level out your blood sugar levels, or water, your choice.”
She pulled the pillow over her head again. “How do people do this?”
“Get through hangovers? I’ve gotten through many. You just face them head-on.”
“I’ve only had one before, and it wasn’t this bad. Can you just shoot me?”
He moved the pillow and kissed her forehead. “No, but I can love you through it.”
She opened her eyes and remembered. I love you. She smiled, which sent another bolt of pain through her head. “You love me,” she whispered.
“So I guess you remember.” He smiled down at her and brushed her hair off her shoulders.
“I’ll never forget.” She pushed up so she was sitting and took a moment to get her bearings. Ross handed her the tablets and she whispered, “Water.” She gulped down the medicine and leaned in to his chest. “Can’t I just stay here all day?”
“I’m not sure you want all my clients in the bedroom, but I did take care of the animals for you.”
She fisted her hands in his shirt. “You’re the greatest boyfriend ever. No wonder I love you.”
He lifted her chin so he could see her eyes, and he pressed a kiss to her lips.
“My breath has to be nasty.” She turned away, and he drew her back again.
“I don’t care.” He kissed her again. “I want you to know something. I’ve never said that I loved a single girlfriend before. Not a single one. Just you, babe.”
She lowered her eyes. She couldn’t say the same, and she wondered if he knew that from their conversation in the truck before they made love.
“It’s okay. I know you’ve said it before. You told me. I just wanted you to know.”
She continued clutching his shirt. “Yes, I said it before, but what I had with Robbie wasn’t like what we have. I know that now. That wasn’t love, Ross. What we have is real and true. What I had with him was friendship.”
“Lis, you don’t have to explain. We all have pasts. It’s okay if you loved him. Some people love many people in their lifetimes. You love me now, and that’s what matters.” Ross tried to stand, but she held on tight.
“Ross.”
He pressed his finger to her lips. “I don’t question your love for me, Lis. I believe you. That’s what love is, putting aside our insecurities and trusting in our partners. I have to get to work, but if you need me, just text, okay? I’m taking the boys with me to the clinic.”
She nodded, gritting through the ache in her head. “Thank you for taking care of me and the animals.”
“I always will.”
Elisabeth listened as he went out the front door with the boys. She breathed deeply, wondering how on earth she got lucky enough to be with the kindest man on the planet—and how she was going to make it through her deliveries with a killer headache.
Her cell phone vibrated, and she grabbed it from the nightstand and read the text from Emily.
Are you alive?
She texted back. Barely. You?
A minute later her response came through. Did my brother tell you he loves you, or did I dream that?
She closed her eyes for a beat, reveling in the answer and the friendship before texting back. YES!