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Overwhelmed, I stepped away from him. “Holy shit, Holden. Like, holy shit. This isn’t big, it’s fucking mammoth.” I placed my hands on the sides of my head and took a breath of the fresh air. Closing my eyes, I imagined what life would be like here with Holden. Our own log home, a successful club, friends, family … and the sound of little feet pitter-pattering on the hardwood floors. It was a life I hadn’t dared to dream about, much less with a man as amazing as Holden. Looking at him, I nodded. “Yes. I want this with you.” A jolt of excitement shot down my spine, and I bounced up and down on my toes, clapping. Seconds later, I launched myself at him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. “I love you.”
He grabbed my ass, lifting me. “I love you more.” He kissed me deeply, and I moaned as his hot tongue swept across mine.
Breathless, we pulled away. “We should get to Mom’s. She hates it when people are late for dinner.” He set me down, my feet meeting the ground that would hopefully be ours soon.
“I’ll call my realtor on the way and let him know I want to put in an offer. It’s been on the market for a few months due to the price, but it’s worth every penny to me.”
I beamed up at him. “Let’s do it.”
***
An hour and a half later, Zayne pulled up next to Vaughn’s Mercedes at Catherine’s house. Reid hopped out when he saw us.
This time I waited until Zayne had turned off the car to climb out. “Hey,” I said, hugging Reid. “You should have gone on in.”
Reid gave me a nonchalant shrug. “It seemed easier to wait for you and Holden.”
I rubbed his biceps. “She doesn’t bite … much.”
Holden chuckled as he slipped his arm around my waist. “River didn’t think that when she first met her.”
“Yeah, she was rather intimidating, but not anymore.” I laughed at the reminder of meeting Catherine in the kitchen for the first time. She’d asked if I needed birth control, and I’d nearly passed out cold. A mother sticking her nose into her son’s sex life wasn’t okay with me.
Holden rang the doorbell, and we waited for Catherine to answer. Seconds later, the door swung open wide, and Catherine stood there with a huge smile on her face. “Hi, kids.”
We entered the foyer, and she gave me a big hug. I remembered Holden had mentioned that Catherine wanted to redecorate eventually, but the white marble floors, the wood staircase that led downstairs, and the chandelier were stunning. I wasn’t sure how it could look better. “I hope you get to meet Mallory soon. You two will get along great.”
I glanced at Holden and Reid. “I would love to meet her. Maybe she’ll be open to visiting now that Reid is here.”
Catherine hugged and kissed each of her sons on their cheek. “I hope you’re hungry.”
“Starved,” Reid immediately replied.
Holden chuckled. “I don’t know about River, but I’m definitely ready to eat. What’s for dinner?”
Catherine motioned for us to follow her. It had been a while since I’d seen the formal dining room. The first time I saw it, I recalled gawking at the large chandelier hanging over the center of the cherrywood table. I would have to ask Holden if we could find a hutch and table similar to Catherine’s for our new home. It would look amazing with the right logs in the house.
A woman in her early forties appeared with a bottle of red wine. She began filling our glasses as we sat down.
“Thank you, Leena.” Catherine picked up the glass and swirled the liquid around before tasting it. “Mm, excellent. It’s a Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon. I hope you all like it.”
Reid took a sip, and his brown eyes narrowed, then he took another drink. “I’ve not had a lot of wine, but it’s very smooth.”
Holden and I took a drink, and to my surprise, I loved it. “Wow, I’m impressed. I’m like Reid, I haven’t tasted a lot of wines, but that’s really nice.”
Holden stretched his arm out on the back of my chair. “It’s one of Mom’s favorites. Tim hated it, so Mom kept it in stock.” He winked at Catherine.
“Mallory was also a fan, so I didn’t do it just to irritate him. Although I’ll admit, it was one of the reasons.”
I glanced at Reid, who was wearing a faraway expression.
“Reid? Are you okay?” I placed my hand on Holden’s knee under the table.
He ran his fingers through his dark hair, frowning. “I understand why Tim isn’t on our list of all-time favorite people, but I don’t know this man. Did he have any good qualities? Did he think about me after I was taken? If possible, I would like to hear about both sides of him.”
Catherine’s face paled. “Of course. I’m sorry, I should have thought about it.”
“He’s smart. It was … Dad who helped me with my calculus homework when no one else could,” Holden added.
