“She’s gonna live with me for a while,” I inform them all, trying to lighten the mood, then take a long sip of my soda.
“So she’s gonna live—”
“At Cara’s house in town,” Josh cuts Seth off quickly.
The men and Nancy exchange small smiles.
I’m lost. “Am I missing something?”
“Nope.” Josh shakes his head, grabs a large platter of steaks, and takes my hand. “Let’s go throw these on the grill.”
“Oh, hell no!” Zack objects. “You always overcook the steaks.”
“I know how to cook a damn good steak,” Ty announces.
“Actually, I’m going to let you guys fight over the steaks and go freshen up a bit.” I tug on Josh’s hand, pulling him down so I can kiss him quickly, but he passes the steaks off to Ty and folds me into his arms, bending me back and kissing the living hell out of me in front of his entire family.
“Wow,” I mutter, breathless, when he lets me back up. “What was that for?”
“I just love you.” He winks and smacks my ass as I turn to walk back to his bedroom.
“Love you back. I’ll just be a minute.”
“No hurry,” he assures me happily as I saunter down the hallway, pulling my suitcase behind me.
I plop the heavy case on the bed and unzip it, pulling my toiletries out so I can brush my teeth and my hair and reapply deodorant.
Feeling marginally better, I grab a few things that need to be hung and move to the closet, coming to an abrupt halt at the open doorway.
There in the closet are all of my clothes from home, hanging side by side with Josh’s things.
I’m struck speechless. I can’t move. A dress falls from my hands to the floor and my hand covers my mouth.
“I called in a favor,” Josh says from behind me. I can’t make myself turn around to look at him.
“What does that mean?” I whisper.
“You already agreed to move in here,” he reminds me, and comes up behind me, wraps his arms around my waist, and kisses my cheek. “So while I was gone, I had Ty bring your clothes and personal things over. We can move the rest later.”
“Kind of presumptuous, aren’t you?” I ask dryly.
“Maybe.” He turns me in his arms and tilts my chin back to look me in the eye. “I need to wake up next to you every morning, Carolina, starting now. Tell me this is okay.”
“Are you gonna start wearing cowboy hats and belt buckles?” I ask with a half smile.
“I hadn’t planned on it, no.” He chuckles and nuzzles my nose with his, tucking my hair behind my ear.
“Maybe I’ll start wearing cowboy hats,” I giggle, and kiss him playfully.
“You can wear anything you like, sweetheart, as long as you do it while living here with me.” He’s grinning, but his eyes are watching me closely.
I sigh and drag my fingertips down his cheek. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be, my love.”