CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

JOSH

She isn’t happy with me, but I’m not willing to hide our relationship.

I like keeping my private life private most of the time, but with her I want everyone to know.

“No way,” Zoey says. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Ryder laughs, probably thinking it’s a joke. My other two idiot brothers sit there with stupid grins on their faces.

Kim hurls a glare at me and then answers Zoey, “We’re seeing each other. I wanted to keep it private. But ...” She blows air out between her lips and throws her hands up.

I reach over to kiss her, but she tilts her head away. “I just couldn’t keep it private anymore.”

“Hold up!” Zoey puts both hands on the table and locks her elbows. “Just wait a minute, now. How long has this been going on?”

“I met her at the engagement party,” I answer.

Zoey’s head swivels to Kim. “You didn’t tell us you were dating. One of Ryder’s brothers, no less. I told you about them.”

Ohhhh. She just had to add that last part, didn’t she? “What the hell is wrong with her dating me? You married my brother, so there must be some redeeming quality about us.”

Zoey doesn’t want us hooking up with her friends. She acts like we aren’t good enough. I really don’t care. No one is going to stop me from seeing Kim. We have an excellent thing going, and I won’t let her friends ruin it.

A loud whistle pierces the room. “Stop it!” Kim grabs my hand. Her touch instantly settles me. “I know you warned us against dating the brothers,” she says, “but I like him. He’s been good to me.”

Zoey: “Are you sure about this?”

Kim gives me one of her beautiful smiles. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Great,” Ryder says. “Now that that’s cleared up, Zoey can stop wanting to kill you.”

Ryder’s attempt at a joke breaks the tension. It’ll be a while before her friends trust me. But that’s okay. At least it’s a start. And things will get better between us when they realize Kim is mine and I plan on making her happy.

I can’t help but smile as Kim visits her friends. She has wormed her way into my life, and it turns out it’s not all that scary.

Ryder raises an eyebrow at me, letting me know he sees the change in me. I shrug, letting him know it’s unexpected, but at least I’m willing.

The night ends up going better than expected, and I take Kim back to my place. She’s exhausted from the long day. So, instead of sex, I hold her until she falls asleep. I’ll just wake her up in the morning with my head between her legs. She’s going to like that.