She smiles. “Thanks. You look good too.”
Her eyes roam over me, full of heat and desire. I love the way she looks at me. I reach for her hand, wrapping it gently in mine.
“You should stop looking at me like that, especially when we’re at your parents’ house.”
She smiles. “Looking at you how?”
I gently tickle her side. “You know how.”
She laughs and pushes my hand away. “We should go inside. My parents are looking forward to meeting you.”
My eyes widen. “They are?”
“Yes! Don’t look so surprised.”
“Do they know…” I trail off.
“They know everything. Well, my mom does. I’m sure she’ll fill my dad in later.”
“And she was okay with it?”
She shrugs. “She said everyone has a past. She knows that better than anyone, I guess.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
Before she can reply, a car pulls into the driveway, kicking up a spray of gravel.
She glances past me. “I’ll tell you later. Cade and Sophie have just arrived.” Giving my hand a squeeze, she adds, “All of my brothers are coming except Wyatt. Sorry. I know he’s the one you were most looking forward to meeting.” She playfully sticks out her tongue, and I roll my eyes. “But seriously, this is going to be a baptism of fire. Are you ready for it?”
I lean down and capture her lips with mine. “I’m ready,” I whisper against her mouth.
“Okay. Here we go then.”
Hand in hand, we walk over to where Cade and Sophie have parked.
“Hi,” Sophie says as she steps out of the car and heads toward us. I let go of Ash’s hand as Sophie pulls her in for a hug. “Nice to see you again, Ben,” she says, stepping back from Ashlyn before leaning in to press a quick kiss on my cheek.
I nod. “Good to see you again too, Sophie. And congratulations on your son.”
“Thanks,” she says with a warm smile.
I look past her to see Cade pulling an infant carrier from the back seat, juggling it with a large diaper bag.
“Hey, Cade. Here, let me help with that,” I say, stepping around Sophie and reaching for the bag.
“I've got it,” Cade snaps, despite clearly struggling with both the carrier and the bag.
I hold my hands up and step back.
“Stop being an ass, Cade, and take the offer of help,” Ashlyn says, plucking the diaper bag from his hand and passing it to me. She kisses Cade briefly on the cheek before peering into the infant carrier.
“Hello, gorgeous boy. God, he’s grown already,” she says, looking over her shoulder at Sophie.
Sophie laughs. “I’m not surprised. All he does is feed.”
“We should get him inside,” Cade says.
“Are you going to speak to Ben, Cade?” Ash asks as the four of us walk toward the house.
