Before the Sunset (Cottonwood Cove, #4)(18)

“All right, well, just let me know when you want to meet. It was good to see you both,” Reese said, stepping out of my arms and reaching for my hand.

Carl looked surprised that she was ready to walk away, and I loved seeing the bastard squirm.

“Yeah. I’ll text you, and we’ll get that scheduled. I’m glad you’re home, Reese.”

She nodded casually, as if it didn’t matter when he texted her, and I fucking loved it. We walked hand in hand toward my truck, and I waited until we were around the corner of the building to speak. “You okay? You handled that well.”

She nodded, and I helped her into the truck. Her eyes watered the slightest bit, and she shrugged. “It’s just weird, you know? We were supposed to be married by now. Did I mess everything up by leaving? Was I not worth the wait, Chewy?”

And that fucking did it. The first tear streaked down her face, and a sharp ache moved across my chest. I slipped my hands beneath her knees and her neck, and I lifted her just enough so that I could slide into the truck and drop her onto my lap. I tugged the door closed and wrapped my arms around her.

“You’re okay, Miney. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s his loss.”

“It doesn’t seem like it is, does it?” she croaked. “He seems to be doing just fine. He’s already got a new relationship, and they look happy.”

“No, they don’t. He looked fucking miserable and jealous. Did you see the way he was staring at me when I had my arms around you? He was struggling to control himself.”

She sniffed, and her phone vibrated in her purse, which was sitting beside us on the seat. “Really? You think so?”

“Hell yeah, I do. There is no one like you,” I said. “He can try all he wants, but I know it, and he knows it. Christy Rae Lovell doesn’t hold a candle to you.”

“She’s pretty; you can’t deny it.”

“I honestly didn’t notice, Miney. Because my eyes were on you.”

She sniffed once more and then tipped her head back to look at me. “You’re the best fake boyfriend in the world, Chewy.”

Her phone vibrated again, and she reached into her purse and pulled it out. I glanced down at the screen to see a lengthy text from Dr. Limpdick.

“I think you might be right about him being jealous,” she said, her tone lighter now. “He wants to meet during the week. For dinner. It was supposed to be coffee, but he said we have a lot to discuss.”

“There you go. See, everything is going to be fine.” I kissed her forehead, and I shifted to get out of the truck, but she surprised me by wrapping her arms around my neck and hugging me even tighter.

“I’d be lost without you. Thank you for always having my back.”

“Always will, you know that. Now, how about we go home and watch our two favorite movies and chill out?”

“Let’s do it. I think we should watch Star Wars first because you just saved the day,” she said as I moved her off my lap and climbed out of the truck.

Once I was in the driver’s seat, I glanced over. She was still staring down at her phone as he continued to text her.

It bothered me that he kept fucking with her head. He’d cut her off, had gotten fully into another relationship, and didn’t have a care in the world about Reese.

Until he found out that she was coming home and that she was with me.

And the minute he thought she was happy without him, he wanted to swoop back in.

That didn’t sit well with me, but I wasn’t about to take this moment from her. She was happy, and I’d just have to deal with it.

“How exactly did I save the day?”

“Well, that kiss clearly sent him sideways.” She chuckled, tucking her phone back into her purse.

“Yeah. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision.”

“It was a good one.”

“Good decision or good kiss?” I chuckled as I pulled into my garage.

She turned to face me. “I mean, I haven’t kissed anyone in over a year, and you are a trained actor.”

I barked out a laugh. “Damn straight. And I’ve always loved kissing, so obviously I’m good at it.”

“If you say so, Romeo.” She jumped out of the truck, and I slipped out and shut the garage door.

“Well, I didn’t say it first; you did. Just admit it. Best kiss you’ve ever had.”

“I’m not going to say that.”

“Because it isn’t true, or because you feel guilty admitting your ex-boyfriend is a terrible lover?”

She set her purse down on the kitchen island and gaped at me. “I never said that. I said he has some medical limitations with certain things, but he’s a great lover. I mean, not that I have anything to compare him to. You know that he’s the only guy I’ve ever been with.”

“That still breaks my heart,” I said, pressing my hand to my chest dramatically. “You should have had a fling in London. Had some fun. Only being with Carl would be like never eating anything but a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “Just because I’m not like you does not mean my way is the wrong way. I found a guy I loved my senior year of high school, and I like monogamy.”

I grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and motioned for her to follow me to the couch. My home had one big open great room with a large brown sectional couch that Reese had picked out a while back. I set the water bottles down and kicked off my favorite cowboy boots and sat down. Reese did the same and reached for the throw blanket on the back of the couch.