I smile. I was right! I was right! And I’m so excited! I bounce in my seat; I’m so thrilled.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Caine
Mikayla is smiling. She raises a hand and wipes the tears away from her cheeks. Her beautiful face is puffy, her eyes a deeper shade of green, but she’s smiling.
“Okay, our first road trip. Let’s do this!” she says, emphasizing the wordthis. “Twenty questions,” she announces.
“Favorite color?”
“Blue. Favorite food?”
“Mashedpotatoes, but with gravy!” She emphasizes.
For almost an hour we just go back and forth, asking each other the most random shit. And it’s silly and fun. Finally, she seems like herself again.
The song “What I Want”by Morgan Wallen and Tate McRae plays on the radio as we hit the four-hour mark. Mikayla leans back and listens to the lyrics. I grab her hand and link my fingers with hers.
I recall the night she called me. The night her car broke down.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been more grateful that a car broke down than when yours did.” I share with her.
I bring the back of her hand to my lips and rub mine against the softness of her skin.
I turn and see her smiling. “Has it really only been a week?” she asks. “Feels like it’s been longer.”
We drift back into a comfortable silence. “All the Way”by BigXthaPlug & Bailey Zimmerman comes on and I just shake my head because I know that will never happen to us. We have a long way to go, but I know this… we will make it.
“I knew it!” Mikayla claps her hands, bouncing in her seat as we pull up to the restaurant. “I knew it!”
My heart smiles when the melody of her laughter echoes in the car.
“I did good?” I ask. “This felt right for our first date.”
“It’s perfect,” she says, beaming at me, her hands together, resting against her cheek. The way she’s looking at me—it hits me right in my gut. I turn off the car and reach for her, needing her touch.
I rest my lips against her forehead and just soak in the soft scent of her, a mix of jasmine and vanilla, and something uniquely Mikayla.
“Let me get your door,” I say before I jump out of the car and run around the back to get her door.
With her hand clasped in mine, we walk into the restaurant, and Mikayla bursts out laughing as we both see the one fucking person I thought wouldn’t be here.
“I swear I asked,” I whisper, pulling Mikayla into my chest, as though to shield her from Pamela’s wrath.
“Oh, baby, the only way this night could get better is if your brothers were here,” she says with a huge grin.
“Hi Caine,” the owner says sheepishly. “We were short staffed,” she adds in a low voice.
“What are you guys doing here?”
No. No. No!
I turn and see a smiling Patrick, Rabecca, Hugh, Lance and fucking Kyle sitting next to the table we are walking to!
“Pat!” Mikayla says excitedly,letting go of my hand and giving him a big hug.
“Hi, Mikayla!” Patrick greets. “This is my wife, Rabecca,” he says, a proud smile on his face.
