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“Always, baby.” As if he needs to show me, he cradles my cheek in his warm palm and presses his lips to mine. “Am I allowed to call you my girl?” he asks, a grin tilting his lips.
“Do you want to?”
“Damn right I do.”
“Then that’s what you’ll call me.”
“Come on. Palmer’s probably pacing the floors by now.” He places his hand on the small of my back and guides me out of the room.
“Everything good?” Palmer asks.
“Perfect,” Deacon tells her. “Swimming, and we can order pizza or something later. I’m going to call Orrin back.”
“Well, we need to go get our suits.” Palmer points toward me.
“Okay. Hurry back,” Deacon says. He then leans in close and whispers, “You should leave one here so that I don’t have to lose time with you next time we want to swim. On second thought, never mind. We can skinny-dip.”
I have to shift my weight to alleviate the ache his words cause between my thighs. “Yes. That, we should do that.” I pull out of his hold and stride toward Palmer. His eyes heat at my confession, and he winks.
“We’ll be back,” she calls out, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the door. As soon as we are in her car and on the road, she speaks. “Spill.”
So I do. I tell her about running into him at his office and then dinner after. I tell her about him coming to the Tavern last night, and I tell her he wants to see me exclusively. She’s quiet the entire time, which is unlike her. When we pull into my apartment complex, she turns off the engine, removes her seat belt, and turns to face me.
“I need to confess. Deacon is the one I’ve been trying to fix you up with. You were both too stubborn to let me even try. The blind-date shoot was just an excuse to get the two of you in the same place at the same time. Sure, it’s great for my career, but I could have chosen any random stranger. I’m so happy for you.”
“It’s new,” I remind her. Although I suspected Deacon was the guy she’s been begging me to meet for the last few months, I can’t help but wonder if I had met him sooner if we would be where we are now. I firmly believe that I wasn’t ready for him yet. That we weren’t ready for each other.
Now we are.
“Nah, this is the start of something incredible.”
I can’t help but hope that she’s right.
twelve
Deacon
I wait until they’re gone before I call Orrin back. “Everything good?” he asks.
“Yeah, it’s all good. I wanted to make sure Ramsey was good with the plans before I made them.” My girl wants honesty, and I plan on giving her nothing but. I figured I might as well spill the beans with my best friend before he gets here. I know I’m not going to be able to control myself, and she doesn’t want me to.
“Why is Ramsey there?”
“She just left with Palmer to get their suits.” He doesn’t need an actual explanation, and he’s not getting one.
“Why did you need to check with my baby cousin?”
“First of all, she’s a grown woman, who is younger than you, but she’s not a baby. Second of all, that’s usually what you do when you’re dating someone.” I let the words fall. No point in easing into this conversation. He’s either going to accept it, or he’s not.
“You want to repeat that?” Orrin asks.
“You heard me the first time, but since you’re so old and all, I’ll repeat myself. Ramsey and I are dating.”
“Dating?” I can hear the disbelief in his tone. “She’s my baby cousin.”
“She’s also a very beautiful woman.”
“How long has this been going on?”
“It’s new.”
“Fuck, I was not expecting you to say that.”
“Well, she and I talked, and there are no secrets, so I thought I might as well tear off the Band-Aid, so to speak, so that when you get here, you don’t cause a scene and upset her.”
“Would that bother you?”
“Of course it would bother me. What jackass wants to see their girl upset?”
“Your girl?” he asks.
“What part of we’re dating do you not understand?” I laugh.
“You’re claiming her? That’s a hell of a lot more than just dating.”
“She’s mine, Orrin. Look, I understand she’s your cousin. I know she’s been through some shit, and you want to protect her, but you don’t have to protect her from me. Hell, if anything, I’m the one you should be worried about. She’s torn into my life like a tornado and has me thinking and feeling things I’ve never thought or felt.”
“Damn,” he mutters.
“Yeah. I’m into her, man. This isn’t just some ‘get my dick wet’ scenario. I really like her.” I more than like her. I’m starting to care about her. It’s too soon to be saying that, but I challenge anyone to spend time with Ramsey Smithfield and not harbor feelings for her. Friendship or otherwise. No wonder she and Palmer hit it off so well. My sister is the same way. Hell, both of my sisters are that way. You can’t help but want to be around them.
