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“How are those not considered reality shows?” Abbey’s laughter filled the dining room and my heart as she and Duke debated TV shows. It was hard to picture the girl I had once thought Abbey to be. Now all I could see in front of me was this beautiful, artsy woman who loved my animals and could put up with Duke’s moods.
We were either extremely lucky or in serious trouble.
ABBEY
Iblinked and stretched as the sun streamed through the window in the guest room, enjoying the sounds of the morning. It was distant—the lowered voices and footsteps in the outside hall let me know the guys were awake already. My thoughts drifted to them when the knocking started at my door.
Wiggling from under the covers, I padded to the door with the friendly border collie at my feet. Liam stood on the other side, frozen—exactly like Duke had been the day before. My face heated as I glanced down.Shit.
I’d opened the door again in nothing but a shirt and underwear. This time it was my clothes and not Duke’s. My tank clung to my body, and I realized too late it did nothing to hide my boy shorts from view.
Liam’s eyes wandered to mine, and my ears felt like they were on fire. He opened and closed his mouth, reminding me of a fish out of water. I couldn’t help but smirk.
Liam cleared his throat. “Umm…”
“Good morning, Liam.” Jax squeezed his way between us and sat on my feet, staring up at his owner.
“Tu me tues, dulcinée.” Liam ran his hand down his face.
I about swooned on the spot. He was speaking French, and it didn’t matter that I had no idea what he said. Heat pooled at my core, and my heart pounded in my chest. “Whatever you say.” I leaned against the doorframe. It was probably silly, but he could say anything in French, and my answer would be yes.
Commotion in the other room had me peering into the hallway beyond Liam.
“Where is she? Let me at her.” Grace’s voice echoed down the hall, seeming to bring Liam to his senses.
“Blake and Grace are here for you,” he said, right before Grace barreled past him, nearly tackling me to the floor. Jax yelped and rushed out of the room, followed by Liam after he mumbled goodbye.
“Hi.” I laughed through Grace’s all-consuming hug. “My ribs,” I wheezed when she didn’t let up.
“Grace, let the woman breathe.” Blake waddled into the room. “And maybe let her get dressed.”
When I pried myself from Grace’s grasp, I rushed to my bag and pulled out clothes for the day. Blake shut the door, and I quickly changed.
“So, I know you said wine and ice cream, but what about mimosas and cinnamon rolls?” Blake didn’t have the patience to wait for me to get dressed. When we were younger, she never wanted to wait. She did what she could to get the gossip out of me as soon as she knew something was wrong. Her thinking was that it was worse to let something fester.
She wasn’t wrong. I had wanted to call the girls when I was on the road… and the first time Jeff had hit me. But I let him sweet talk me into thinking it was my fault. And when I realized I needed to get out, I didn’t call them. Jeff has beaten me both physically and mentally; I didn’t think I was worthy of them dropping everything at the ranch to hurry and be by my side. I knew they would, but I’d convinced myself their life on the ranch needed their attention more than I did.
I nodded before shoving my shirt over my head. “Okay.” My stomach growled, and we all laughed. My constant hunger wasn’t anything new to them.
“Be back later, boys. We’re stealing her for the day,” Blake called as we walked out of the house.
Liam and Duke appeared in the living room just before I closed the door. I took one long look at them. Liam winked with a smile, and Duke’s jaw tightened.
I sighed as the door clicked shut. Those two were going to drive me crazy. It’s like that saying,you always want what you can’t have. Or in my case, what Ishouldn’thave. I didn’t need another guy in my life, let alone two. I needed to find time to learn to be me again.
We fell into light conversation as they led me to a building in the distance. I saw a few cowboys sitting at bench tables, drinking their coffee. The large island that separated what looked like the kitchen from the eating area was lined with food. My eyes widened at the delicious breakfast buffet, and my stomach whined that I hadn’t already dug in.
“Jessie, do you have the goods?” Grace asked a tall, blonde woman standing on the kitchen side of the island. She wiped her hands on her apron and nodded.
“As requested.” Jessie reached under the counter and produced a bottle of champagne, then disappeared and returned with a pitcher of orange juice and a plate piled high with gooey cinnamon rolls.
My mouth watered.
Blake led us to a table close by and settled in. I was happy to see Jessie joining us.
“Please tell me you’re Abbey.” Jessie poured the champagne into mason jars for everyone except Blake, and Grace topped them off with orange juice.
“I am.” I took a sip of my mimosa and smacked my lips. Refreshing and delicious.
