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I laugh. “You’re so damn cute.”
Her cheeks stain. “I have to jump to put them on. It’s something like that to take them off, too.”
I lick my lips and sink my teeth into the lower one. “We got forever, baby. I’m in no hurry.”
I slowly work her jeans down and off. Followed by the panties with a Hawaiian flower pattern and think about how they’re the perfect clothing to cover paradise. That place between her legs is my heaven. While I spread her legs apart, maybe I admire her a bit too long.
“You’re making me nervous, cowboy.”
“Why?”
She covers her eyes. “Staring at me like that. Like you can see… everything.”
“Didn’t you hear me? Youareeverything.”
We spend the rest of the day and night making love. Being in love.
I’m never letting this go.
ChapterThirty-Two
MOLLY
The next twoweeks pass like a dream come true. Dash and I go to the hardware store and bring home all those little swatch stick colors and tons of tiny paint pots. We stay up late into the night, painting our new home together with his beer and my wine. We road trip to Albuquerque to furniture showrooms where we pick out our sofas and end tables. He trails me through shops while I surely bore him, asking if he prefers stripes on couch pillows or bird patterns.
And… we make a home. A real home. The kind that has a bit of each of us in it. The kind that has our souls in it.
But now, college is out, which means today is the first day Lily is officially a resident of Starlight Canyon.
Nerves sizzle through my body. Lily knows the whole story. She knows everything. And she’s happy for me. She is. But today, she meets Dash, in the flesh, and I just don’t know how it’s all going to go down. Lily doesn’t hold back. She’ll probably poke the bear. She’ll definitely judge him.Hard.Because even though I’m the big sister, she’s protective of what she has, too. And for many years, all we felt we had was each other.
Dash wants to meet up at the hotel. With the additional business of sleigh rides and residents actually filling up the rooms in what used to be the off season, the hotel manager, Savannah, had the place decorated to the nines.
We enter the double-height lobby. Lily stamps snow off her feet as her eyes trace the arc of the oak beams and twinkling Christmas lights. Her mouth hangs open. “Wow. They need a picture ofthison the website.”
She’s in awe as anyone would be. There are fake boughs of holly all over the elegant woodwork, and a twenty-foot-tall Christmas tree decorated so beautifully. She’s right. This lobby should be on the front page of the DecemberArchitectural Digest.
I’ve gotten to know Savannah, or Sav as she goes by, better over the past month since sorting out how the sleigh rides will work logistically with the yard. I tried to drop hints the hotel needs weddings here and more events on-site with an ulterior motive to my sister being offered an Events Manager position eventually. She’ll be okay being a wedding planner to start but she didn’t go into events and hotel management for nothing. I’d love for her to have a more secure position.
Security. Security like I feel now. I know I can offer it to her temporarily, obviously Dash already said she should stay in the other apartment, and there have been talks about my mom moving there, too. But Lily is a woman with her own mind, goals, and a shitload more ambition than I have.
I know she won’t stop until she’s a boss lady. I just hope she can find a place for her ambition here.
Dash appears from behind the manager’s office near the reception desk, which is only slightly odd. I guess he might want to just make sure everything is going well, too, though almost since I got the manager’s position, he’s trusted me to steer the ship.
He comes on over with a hand out and a thin-lipped, boyish smile. It’s a nervous smile, and I glow inside thinking how important it is for him to make a good impression with my sister. I remember how nervous I was with his mom.
“Lily.” He offers a hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
She doesn’t take his hand but shoves hers on her hip. “You’re going to shake my hand? Seriously? Come here.”
She opens her arms wide, and he puts half his body in them for her to hug him.
“Dash, I couldn’t very well shake your hand. You hooked me up. Thanks for letting me use the apartment until I get on my feet.” She lets go of him.
“I’m not counting the days. Stay long as you like.” His eyebrows dance the way I’ve come to understand is his way of smiling without his lips.
He gestures an arm out toward some comfy chairs in the corner of the lobby. “I ordered some hot cocoas. Hope you like marshmallows? And extra whipped cream?” He throws me a knowing glance because him knowing me, I don’t skimp on the extras anymore.
