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But instead of giving him a few seconds to get any kind of grip at all, she smiled. And said, "Good," a beat before she slid her hand beneath his boxers and they finally came skin to skin.
The last of Sean's self-control snapped. He slid his hands into her hair and dragged her mouth back to his, their kiss spiraling off as fast, as hard, as he was now moving inside the tight clasp of her hand.
Everything but Serena disappeared. Everything but the sweet taste of her mouth. Everything but the tangle of her tongue against his. Everything but the scent of her skin and the silky slide of her hair between his fingertips. Everything but the sound of her gasps of excitement. Everything but the emotion that washed over him at the exact moment that pleasure shot through and out of him, over and over and over again.
"I knew it," she whispered against his mouth. "I knew I would love doing that with you."
Jesus, she wasn't the only one who had loved it. And after the way she'd just blown his entire world apart, it was nearly impossible to muster up the energy to clean both of them up and kick off the rest of his clothes. Fortunately, his reward was getting to wrap her in his arms and draw the covers over them. And as he mentally rewound the sexiest hour of his life, he was amazed to realize that being with Serena wasn't just about feeling good, just about getting off.
Love had changed everything--had taken every kiss, every touch, and magnified the impact a million times over. His mother had told him it would be like this, but he hadn't understood. Not until now. Not until Serena.
"She would have loved you."
It was an opening Serena could have taken if she'd wanted to push some more. But somehow she knew he still wasn't yet ready to tell her everything.
Instead, she simply whispered, "I would have loved her, too," then tucked her head against his chest.
Somehow, he thought as he pulled her even closer, she knew.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
At noon the following day, Sean's eighteen-year-old sister stood in her open front door and stared at Serena with big eyes. "Oh my God, I can't believe you're actually here. It's so amazing to meet you!" She threw her arms around Serena, instantly welcoming.
"Serena, this is my little sister, Madison."
"Maddie," his sister quickly corrected.
"I told them all you were coming and not to freak you out," he continued, "but you know how little sisters are."
Maddie shot Sean a frown when she finally let go of Serena. "We're awesome, that's how we are. It's not like I asked Serena to take a selfie with me, or anything." Maddie looked back at Serena and gave her a slightly crooked smile. "Sorry, it's just that I've seen you in like a million magazines and now here you are in my house."
"Not quite yet, Mads," Sean pointed out, "since you haven't actually let us in."
"Oh, sorry!" She jumped aside, and that was when she finally saw the box Serena was holding. The eggshell-blue box that could only have come from one store. "You didn't need to bring me a present." But from the way her eyes lit up, she was clearly glad that Serena had. Serena liked Sean's youngest sister immediately. She was as tiny as her brother was big, and also bright and fun.
Serena had agonized over what to wear to Maddie's party today. Her usual uniform of jeans and a baggy T-shirt would have been rude--plus she was feeling more and more ready to stop hiding who she really was--but she didn't want to be overdressed, either. Finally, Abi had suggested a pair of slim black jeans and a fitted white crocheted top with a matching white tank. Simple, but pretty.
"I hope you like it, Maddie."
She had handed the box to his sister just as Sean's father stepped into the entryway. She could easily see the family resemblance in all three of them, but it was especially strong between the two men. But even with a welcoming smile, Michael Morrison couldn't hide the grief in every line of his face, the too-deep hollows beneath his cheekbones and the lingering despair in his eyes.
"Mr. Morrison, thank you for including me today."
"Mike, please. And it's a pleasure to meet you, Serena. Come inside and let me get you a drink before you head into the backyard and meet everyone else."
"Sean mentioned that you were a pretty serious gardener, so I brought these for you." She reached into her bag and pulled out a bag of bulbs. "I've always loved the scent of freesias," she said when he simply stared at her gift.
"My wife did, too," he said softly, and Serena silently cursed herself for inadvertently causing him pain with her gift.
"I'm so sorry for your loss," she said, her throat tightening more on every word.
And then, from seemingly out of nowhere, Sean's other sister appeared, as if she had a radar for when her father was faltering and knew exactly when he needed her to save him. "Dad, I'm pretty sure Drew's about to break the gas grill by lighting charcoal on it." As their father headed out toward the backyard to deal with the situation, Olivia said, "You must be Serena."
Sean's arm around her waist tightened as she smiled said, "You're Olivia, aren't you? Sean has told me so many great things about you."
Serena held out her hand and made sure to keep her expression as easy as possible, as if she hadn't already picked up on all of the varied dynamics in their family. Because as far as she could see there was a lot going on, and she'd only met half of them so far...
Like any eighteen-year-old might have, Maddie looked caught between her older sibling's silent tug of war over Serena's presence and wanting to defuse the situation. "If you could point me toward something to drink," Serena said to her, "that would be great."
Maddie gave her a relieved smile. "Sure, come into the kitchen with me and I'll show you what we've got."
Leaving Sean and Olivia behind for a moment, Serena said, "Happy birthday," and then asked, "How's your senior year going?"
"Pretty good," Maddie said with a grin that looked so much like Sean's. "Although I'm pretty sure if I don't get into Stanford everyone is going to freak."
"Is that where you want to go?"
Maddie shrugged. "Six out of seven Morrisons either graduated from Stanford or are going to soon. It doesn't have a culinary program, but I figure I can major in business or something and then at least I'll know how to manage my finances when I open my own restaurant."
"You want to be a chef?"
"For as long as I can remember."
"Aren't there amazing cooking schools in San Francisco and Napa Valley?"
"There are, and I've done some of their summer programs. In fact, I made most of the food we're going to be eating today." She opened up the fridge. "Here's what we've got to drink. What looks good?"
Sensing Maddie wanted to move on from their talk about her futu
re, Serena had just taken out a bottle of San Pellegrino when the side door into the kitchen opened and a man she hadn't yet met walked in.
"Want another one of these?" Maddie held up a beer bottle for him.
"Nope, water's good. I've got to head back to the office later." He held out his hand to Serena. "I'm Sean's brother Grant."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Serena."
Grant Morrison was a very good-looking man. Tall and ridiculously handsome like Sean, and yet, he wasn't having anywhere near the kind of effect on her that Sean had from the very first moment she'd met him. In fact, despite what she suspected was Grant's naturally high level of intensity, she actually felt quite comfortable with him. Immediately sensing what a serious and focused businessman he was, she thought about how she'd met many men like him over the years and had actually liked quite a few of them. At least, the ones who hadn't secretly hit on her when they thought her mother's attention was elsewhere.
Something told Serena that Grant would never hit on her in a million years. It was a very comforting thought.
"Serena," Maddie said, "come on outside and you can try the blue cheese bacon dip I made as a starter."
Smiling at Grant as she passed him, Serena nearly ran headfirst into Sean coming in through the kitchen door. Only...it wasn't Sean standing in front of her, but a really close copy of him.
"I'm Justin," he said, "and you must be the reason why my brother is finally happy again."
He said the words so easily that she might have missed the serious intent behind them if she wasn't already so attuned to Sean's happiness. What's more, Justin gave her a grin that was such a perfect replica of the way Sean looked at her that it should have set every cell in her body to tingling...only it didn't. Not at all.
But hadn't she always known that what was on the surface didn't make up the whole? She was more than her face. And so were Justin and Sean. Just because their outsides were so similar didn't mean they were the same inside. Although at the very least, she could tell from nothing more than Justin's smile that he was nice. Sizzling hot like his other brothers, certainly, and with a kindness that radiated even from the way he held the door open for her.
