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Before Rose and Kipton could respond, the waitress brought over our pizza and plates. Once she was out of earshot, Rose spoke.
“That has to be hard for him. And what I mean by that is, his whole life, he’s essentially been on his own. Though I know since he’s been working for Tanner and Timberlynn, he’s been pulled in and treated like one of the family.”
I nodded as I held my plate up for Kipton to put a slice of pizza on it. “He has. He comes to dinner a lot, and my mom and dad adore him. So does Nathan. When he came to dinner the other night, my father even teased him about us being together, in a weird, threatening kind of way.”
Rose rolled her eyes. “Those Shaw men. Poor Bryson is scared to death of my father, and I don’t know why. He’s a pussy cat, but all he has to say is one thing to Bryson abouthurting me, and my husband is cowering in a corner with his knees to his chest, rocking.”
Kipton laughed. “My father was the same way with any guy I dated. I think it has to be hard on fathers to see their daughters fall in love with a man they know is going to steal her away from him.”
“I totally get that. But what do I do about Maverick preparing for the end before we’ve even begun? You can tell that he’s not convinced yet that he’s family…and I don’t know how to make him understand that.”
Rose and Kipton exchanged a glance, then focused on me.
“I’m not one to give advice on this. I pushed Bryson away for fear of being hurt myself, so I can’t offer much.”
Kipton set her slice of pizza down. “Where do you see things going? I know it’s in the early days still.”
I leaned back in the chair and thought for a moment. It felt like too important of a question to simply pop off an answer.
“When I’m with Maverick, I feel…content. I’m happy. I woke up this morning and thought to myself that I wished I could have rolled over and seen his smile first thing. Yes, the sex is off-the-charts amazing, but I truly enjoy just spending time with him. And maybe it’s too fast, and maybe I’m just thrown off by these heavy feelings I’m having for him, but I think…no, Iknow, I could fall so head over heels in love with him. And it’s not the same kind of love I thought I felt for Ben. It feels carnal. Deeper and more powerful. The idea of not looking into his eyes every day for the rest of my life makes me feel sad.”
Rose and Kipton exchanged a knowing look.
“I don’t know how to tell you this, Lil, but you’vealreadyfallen in love with him.”
Kipton nodded. “I agree with Rose. You’ve already jumped, my friend. So might as well enjoy the fall.”
Sighing, I whispered, “I think you’re both right.”
Chapter Fourteen
MAVERICK
“Maverick, we can’t sit in your truck all night, you know. We have to go in. My entire family is probably staring out the windows, wondering why we’ve been sitting here for so long. My father probably thinks we’re making out.”
I snapped my head to glance at Lily with what I was sure was a look of terror.
Lily laughed and shook her head as she took my hand in hers. “It’s just family game night. You’ve gotten out of going before because my parents let it slide that you declined every invitation, but there’s no turning back now that we’re together. It’s almost like a requirement that you must fulfill. And since we’ve started dating you’ve still somehow managed to get out of game night.”
“It was a busy July,” I said as I looked past her to Brock and Lincoln’s house. “This is big, Lil. It’s your entire family, and I’m just a horse trainer who works on the ranch.”
She squeezed my hand. “You are not, Maverick. You’re my boyfriend, and you mean more to us than that. Do youhonestly think my family views all the people who work on the ranch that way?”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that. But I told you, you could do so much better.”
“In whose eyes? Not in mine. Not in my parents’, and certainly not in Nathan’s. My brother looks up to you, Maverick, like an older brother. Please don’t cheapen how my family feels about you…or howIfeel about you. Or your value and worth to any of us.”
I scrubbed my hand down my face. “I’m sorry, old habits and all.”
She leaned over and gently kissed me. “Just think, after this, we can go back to your place. You have tomorrow off, right?”
“I do,” I said with a small grin.
“How does a sleepover sound?”
Desire swept over me. “A sleepover sounds like an amazing idea.”
“I thought you’d like that. I was also thinking maybe you could take a few days off in August. We could go to Glacier National Park. Now that you have someone to go with you…no more alone time for you, babe.”
