“Are you trying to convince me or yourself of that?”
I unbuckled my seat belt and climbed out of the car. “Let’s get the ice so we can get back.” I did my best not to slam the car door.
Knox turned off the car and followed after me. “I think you need to consider talking to—”
I stopped in my tracks just before entering the store and whirled around to face him. “Just because I’m an orphan and alone, I don’t need you to step in to be a parental figure for me.” I regretted my harsh words the moment they left my mouth, but my need for him to let it go had overridden me.
His expression hardened. “I’ve never seen you as a child.”
“Then why?” I snapped.
“You seriously don’t know the answer to that?”
My shoulders slumped. He was an overbearing, pushy butthead because he cared. “I’m acting like a brat.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “At least you’re self-aware.”
I scowled at him. “Are you aware that you can be a real ass sometimes?”
That got him to smile. “I’m fully aware.”
Fighting to not smile, I shook my head. “Thank you for worrying about me, but I am fine.”
His smile dropped. “You’re not fine, Shiloh.”
That was true. “I’ll be alright, though.”
“Would you tell me or any of us if you weren’t?”
He was asking me to promise something I wasn’t sure I could deliver. “I think you’d know if I wasn’t.” Before he could push the matter, I grabbed his hand and tilted my head toward the store. “Can we please get the ice and get back home? I still have a bunch more decorations to put up and need to finish Keelan’s cake.”
He stared down at my hand. I thought he might pull his from my grasp. When he didn’t, I tugged a little as I took a step toward the entrance. His fingers closed around mine and we went inside.
Music was playing inside and out back. All the decorations were up. Colt and Creed had blown up all the balloons for me. Snacks and drinks had been set out on the dining room table. The bell rang as I was writing Happy Birthday, Keelan with frosting on his two-tier, double-chocolate cake. Creed went to answer it. All of them had been standing around me in the kitchen as I finished the last touches to the cake.
Standing up straight, I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. “All done.”
Keelan smiled. “It looks amazing.” He and Knox were leaning against the kitchen counter near the sink. Both had beers in their hands.
Colt was sitting at the island, smiling at me. “You got frosting on your forehead.”
Keelan grabbed a napkin and held it out to me.
“I was bound to get chocolate somewhere.” I took the napkin and wiped at my forehead as I walked over to the sink. Turning on the tap, I washed away the chocolate all over my hands. “I’m glad I didn’t get any on my clothes.” I was wearing the new white cover-up dress over my new white bikini.
As I was drying my hands on a tea towel, Knox stepped closer. I froze mid-drying as his hand came up under my chin and he gently swiped his thumb along my jaw. “You got chocolate here, too.”
“Hey,” a feminine voice said.
“Hey, Stephanie,” Keelan said.
Stephanie was the beautiful front receptionist who worked at Desert Stone. She didn’t like me, and I had a feeling it had to do with her feelings for Knox. I scrunched my nose at the thought of her being here. Knox’s brows lifted in question. I schooled my face before I turned.
Stephanie was staring at me, eyes narrowed a little. She looked from me to Knox before returning her attention to Keelan. She plastered a smile on her face and held out a gift bag to him. “This is for you. Happy birthday!”
Keelan took it with a kind smile. “Thank you.” Keelan looked to me. “Is there a place we can put gifts?”
“Yes, there is.” I moved to take the gift from him at the same time Creed returned to the kitchen.
Stephanie looked back and forth between Keelan and me as I took her gift from Keelan’s hands. “Does she live here or something? Why do you need to ask her where to put your gifts in your own home?” She let out a dry laugh like she found it funny.
The tension in the room became thick and all the guys seemed to go still. Even Creed froze before taking a seat on the stool next to Colt at the island.
Keelan’s kind smile dropped. “Shiloh busted her ass to make today extra special for me. It makes her happy for everything to have a place and what makes her happy makes me happy.”