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Trace and Colin’s father had been Clay’s best friend. When their parents died in a terrible car accident they were sent to a foster home. Clay had been overseas at the time. It was in the foster home where Trace and Colin met Gavin. By the time Clay found them, the three of them were fast friends.
So he arranged to take them all home.
Discovering that Colin and Gavin felt the same way he did about Lila, had both surprised and relieved Trace. At that time she’d been in college and far too young to cope with what they wanted, but they’d spent many nights talking, dreaming, scheming. Whenever she’d come home for the holidays they’d done their best to avoid her, not wanting to risk temptation.
They pushed her away, which he now knew had been the wrong thing to do. They had hurt her when that was the last thing any of them wanted. Clay had realized what was going on and gave them a lecture. Their foster dad had been furious and worried. He’d made the three of them swear not to touch her until she’d had some time to live a bit. He’d also made them promise to stop acting like assholes when she was around.
She was older now, though, and they didn’t intend to hold back any longer.
Here to bring you home.
The words echoed around Lila’s brain. They were taking her home.
Clay tried his best to make her feel at home. He even went so far as to paint her bedroom in soft pink, buying the girliest furnishings he could find. She’d never had the heart to tell him that she hated pink.
She’d never been one to worry over clothes or make-up or the way she looked. Growing up with four men, she’d become a bit of a tomboy and that didn’t worry her in the slightest.
“Hey, I need to get dressed,” she complained as Colin started for the door. “And I can walk.”
“We’ve got a long drive ahead of us. You might as well sleep for most of it,” Colin replied.
“And what about when we stop?” she asked. “You expect me to walk around in my pajamas?”
Colin sighed, then set her down. “Fine, grab something out of your bag. But hurry up, I want to get back on the road.”
Lila knew they would have flown if she hadn’t been so terrified of flying. The first and only time she’d ever been in an airplane was when Clay had brought her back from Chicago to his large ranch in Texas. That had been an experience she never wanted to repeat. She’d spent most of the flight curled up in Clay’s lap with her eyes screwed shut. Of course, he had to force her to sit in her own seat during takeoff and landing. She was ashamed to say she’d cried during both.
But Clay had never lost patience with her. He just held her hand and talked to her quietly.
She climbed into some old sweatpants and a t-shirt, then threw on her favorite sweater. Stepping back into the room, she found the guys waiting patiently. Trace had her suitcase in one hand and Colin had her Tubby.
She blushed. Clay had bought Tubby, her teddy bear, at the airport gift shop before their flight left, hoping he’d help with her nerves. She’d had him by her side ever since. Big, brown and ugly as sin, Tubby was the first and best present she’d ever received.
“Umm, I’m ready.”
Colin came towards her and picked her up as easily as if she were a small child. He held her against his chest, handing her Tubby, which she took gratefully. She figured it was kind of childish to be so attached to a bear, but she loved the soft, worn toy.
“Colin! You don’t need to carry me everywhere!” she protested as they locked up and left.
He grinned down at her. “But I like carrying you. Reminds me of when we first got you. I don’t think you walked more than a few steps around the house that first year. You spent most of your time in Clay’s arms.”
Although he was exaggerating, it was true that for that first year she’d been almost afraid to let Clay out of her sight and he’d taken to carrying her around, her legs too short to keep up with him.
Unfortunately, although she’d grown, her legs were still embarrassingly short.
“Besides, you’re tired and you don’t need to be walking around in the cold when you’re sick.”
“I’m not sick,” she insisted.
“Uh-huh, well, you keep telling yourself that, Lila. But I can hear you wheezing.”
Trace sent them a concerned look as he beeped open Colin’s truck and opened the back door.
Colin set her in the back seat and fastened the seatbelt. They were the most over-protective men she’d ever met and damned if that didn’t make her feel the slightest bit warm inside.
“I’m not a child, you know. You guys seem to forget I’m an adult now.”
Colin climbed into the front seat as Trace turned to look at her. “We know, baby. Hell, even when you were a kid, you acted so grown up. You never threw a tantrum or broke the rules or did anything bratty.”
