I’m glad Ana’s mother had convinced her to come back, and that Ana convinced her sister to come too.
Good thing we have a couple of guest rooms. Serena and Ice are staying at our house. I’m not sure how Ana convinced Ice to stay, but I can’t say I’m unhappy about it.
What has shocked me is that I wasn’t at all jealous about Ana clutching his arm all day.
It almost felt right to me like he was always supposed to be on her other side.
It definitely stirred up feelings that I was trying to ignore about both of them together.
I wouldn’t pressure Ana to be with him if she didn’t want to, but I would welcome it if she wanted to give him a shot.
When I thought of any other brother joining and touching Ana, I was finding myself jealous and angry at the thought; but I never was with him. It’s what probably made me consider him. It helps that he’s very attractive. I can also tell he cares a lot about Ana.
There will be lots of time to explore that now that we are on our way home.
I’m not sure what Ice managed to get done, but the brothers told me they did a lot of work while I was gone. I’m pretty excited to see it.
When we get to the house, Ana lets out a gasp. I try my best not to do the same because most of it is done.
How did they get so much done in such a short amount of time?
Everything looks amazing.
“I can’t believe you guys did all this,” Ana says in amazement.
“Think of it as a fresh start and a new chapter for you guys. You guys couldn’t continue with the house the way it was,” Ice says.
“Hopefully it wasn’t all for nothing,” Ana says under her breath.
I can’t help the pain that those words cause me, but I did this to us.
Now that she’s back home, I’ll have a better shot at this.
Chapter Eight
Ana
Three weeks later…
I still can’t decide if staying here was a good or bad idea.
The house is fuller than it has ever been. Serena is staying with us, and Tank is often around to spend time with her and show her that he is not going anywhere. That has been quite entertaining to witness, since my sister has a hard time speaking to men she’s really attracted to.
Then there is Ice. I told him I wanted him to stay because he’s my friend, and I could use my friend right now. I also felt this need to be close to him. I also wanted to see for myself how he and Maverick act together.
Maverick is another story. Since we have been home, there has been no sight of the man Viking had become. He has been home whenever he’s not working, or out of town for club business. He has been finding things that got missed in the renovation. He has also been working on the front and back yard.
There are now flower beds in the front and back, which I never pictured Maverick adding but, when he’s out there with his shirt off, I find myself sitting on the deck with a lemonade watching him work. I can tell by the smirks he sends me that he doesn’t mind. I also pretend that I don’t see Ice in the window watching him right along with me.
They check each other out often. The sexual tension is thick, but no one has decided to bring it up yet.
I’m still sleeping in our bed alone, but it’s the only way I can draw the line with Maverick. Even if I toss and turn all night from wanting him beside me.
I head to the washroom to do my morning routine. That’s when I see a post-it note on the mirror that says, “I love waking up next to you. When you have that sleepy look on your face. It gets me every time.”
Over the weeks since we have been home, I have found little notes everywhere. Each one telling me something Maverick loved about me or about how I made him feel. It’s starting to crack the wall around my heart, especially since I didn’t think he thought much about me anymore.
I barely got any sleep last night because of being alone in a huge bed, so I end up stumbling out of my room in the morning in desperate need for coffee.
