21. Greer

CHAPTER 21

GREER

The next morning, I opened my eyes to find the most beautiful man I'd ever seen looking at me. Lying face to face in my big king-sized bed, I reached out and ran my palm over his face.

Austin smiled and covered my hand with his before lacing our fingers together. Without breaking eye contact, he brought my palm to his mouth and placed a kiss in the middle of my palm. My heart was overflowing with emotion, and I prayed to God this was real.

Looking into my eyes, he shocked the hell out of me with six little words. "I think we should get married."

I blinked at him. And blinked again. Three. Then four blinks.

"Greer? Did you hear me?"

The blinking picked up speed. Maybe I was asleep.

"You're not asleep. And you're not dreaming," he mused, trying to stifle a smile that was threatening to overtake his gorgeous face.

"You mind repeating that? Because what I heard made no sense."

Austin grinned and rolled himself on top of me. The heavy weight of his body on mine pressed me into the expensive moon mattress, and I'd never been happier. How had I gone without him for so long? I was pretty damn sure no one had ever made me feel this way before. No one but him.

"I said," he whispered against my lips, "I think we should get married."

My brows flew up under my disheveled hair as my eyes became saucers. "You do?"

He bit his bottom lip and nodded as he settled between my legs. Austin braced himself on one elbow as he used his right to slide around the back of my head. My hands slid around him as I held him to me. Placing open-mouthed kisses on my throat, he kissed my neck before moving to my cheek. My eyes closed as I tried to process all the feelings and emotions coursing through me as he kissed the edge of my mouth. And when his lips found mine, and his tongue slipped into my mouth, the world stopped.

Suddenly, his suggestion made perfect sense. We were meant to be together. There was no doubt in my mind, and, it would seem, none in his. So what was I waiting for? Time was not on our side, and who knew how long either of us would live. But it sure seemed that we were so much better together than apart. The last decade and a half had proved that.

I tried to pull myself out of the love-drunk haze we were experiencing, but his kiss was more addictive than the finest chocolate. I craved him and never wanted this to end.

But I had to know he was serious. Placing my hands on his face, I pulled back and looked into the green eyes I saw in my dreams. I wanted nothing more than to say yes, but something was holding me back.

Austin smiled down at me. "I see how much you love me every time your eyes meet mine. It's the same way you looked at me all those years ago in Chicago. And the way you tried to hide the longing every time I walked into your office back in Portland would be impossible to miss now. You didn't feel sorry for me like I thought. You were sorry for how much time we'd lost. I can see it now."

My eyes were welling against my will, but this was Austin. My Austin.

"Don't you think it's a little soon?"

"Not at all. I think it's long overdue. I'm tired of being angry. I just want to love you, go to bed with you every night, and wake up next to you every morning. I can put all that behind me if I know you're mine and I'm yours. The only way either of us is going to feel secure is if we make it official."

I wanted to make a joke about possessing a magic wand, or boat oar, in my case, but I didn't. And I didn't diminish his request by joking about my age. Because it didn't matter when you loved someone like we'd always loved each other.

I pulled his mouth to mine and kissed him like he'd kissed me before giving him my answer.

"Okay, babe. Let's get married."

The smile that lit his face up was breathtaking as my soon-to-be husband lit my world on fire. And I hoped he never stopped.

An hour later, I walked down the stairs to find my sister. I knew she would be ready to grill me about Austin after steering clear of her last night. Now that our status had changed, I looked at the world in a different light and realized I was fucking happy. Happier than I'd ever been in my entire life.

After getting a cup of coffee, I found her out on the veranda. It was her favorite place in the entire house.

Katherine smiled at me over the rim of her coffee cup when I sat down across from her. Might as well get the inquisition over with.

"Good morning. What's on the agenda today?"

She reached over and darkened her iPad. "Well, the maid of honor arrives today, and some of our friends from Chicago. But let's start with you, since you avoided me last night."

I chuckled as I looked at her. "What about me?"

"Well, big brother, you can start by explaining why you brought Austin with you. I thought we were on the same page. I told you I was taking care of you socially."

I sat back and crossed my leg over my knee before steeling my expression. "And I told you I wasn't interested. I'm happy to be cordial, but I will not be forming any liaisons of any kind with anyone except the man upstairs in my shower. Seriously, Kat. I would have thought you would have learned something after the last time."

My usual unending patience was growing thin for her incessant meddling in my personal life.

"But he's Carter's little brother? You're old enough to be his father, Greer."

I nodded, because she wasn't wrong. But I didn't need a reminder of that. "Maybe I am, but there's nothing little about him. Anywhere."

She released a shocked gasp. I didn't do sexual innuendo with my little sister. Carter, yes. Katherine, no. And I was needling her, hoping she would give up this never-ending quest to find me a woman. "You know what I mean! And there's no way I'm buying that you're having sex with him. You're not gay, for Christ-sake."

And with three little words, she'd just pushed the wrong button less than two minutes into our conversation. I held up a finger. "Let me stop you there before you go any further. I am not one of your children. I'm your older brother. And you're right, I'm not gay. But one thing I can assure you of is that it's none of your concern how I identify or who I sleep with."

Her eyes widened at my straightforward response. She was used to me caving to her, but not this time. And not anymore. "Greer, do you hear yourself? You're almost sixty years old and telling me you've just discovered that you like men?"

The hairs on the back of my neck prickled with awareness. I could feel him close by without having to look.

"You're right. He doesn't like men," I heard him say from behind me. Then his hand landed on my shoulder, followed by a gentle squeeze. "I'm the only man he's ever loved. And I love him."

My breath caught in my chest at his admission, even after his proposal. The reality hadn't set in yet, so I smiled as Austin took the chair next to mine. Dressed in shorts and another tight T-shirt, he looked like the rest of my life.

"This conversation doesn't concern you, Austin," she quipped. "It's between me and my brother, so if you don't mind, I'd like to have this conversation alone."

One side of his mouth inched up in a misleading smile. "Well, I do mind. And if you're questioning his life choices, then I'd say it's one hundred percent my business. So go ahead. Say what you need to say, or ask whatever you need to ask, because we have plans."

She narrowed her eyes at Austin, then looked over at me. "Greer. Tell him to leave us alone. This is a private family conversation."

I glanced at him and smiled. "I think he needs to stay."

His eyes lit with amusement. If he didn't announce it, then I wasn't going to just yet.

But Katherine interrupted our moment. "How long has this been going on?"

I turned back to look at her. "This is new," I replied as Austin said, "about fourteen years."

Her brows drew together in confusion as she looked back and forth from me to Austin. Then a smile broke across her face. "You two are ridiculous. I knew it! This is all a joke," she laughed. "You almost had me there, Greer."

I sighed. "I assure you, Katherine, this thing between us is no joke."

My sister's good humor faded quickly. She raised her hand and pointed at us. "No way. You two don't even have your story straight. My teenagers lie better than this. You really should have at least rehearsed what you were going to say."

Austin reached for my cup and took a sip of my coffee before placing it back in front of me. He extended his arm over the back of my chair as we sat silently staring at her. My sister became more flustered as she looked back and forth at our unfazed expressions. We were both so damn happy.

"There's no way. You've only been divorced for... eleven years. You would have had to..." she trailed off. Then she looked horrified. "Did you cheat on my friend?"

I laughed humorlessly. "Absolutely not. I was never unfaithful. But you know we were both better off as friends. We were never in love with each other."

"Then what the fuck is he talking about with this fourteen-year shit?"

I went to speak, but Austin spoke first. I was concerned he was going to blow up like the hothead I knew he could be, but his response surprised me. "It's really very simple, Katherine. I've been in love with your brother since I was twenty-two years old. But our timing wasn't right. I was leaving for the Navy, and things got in the way." He hugged me closer. "But our timing is perfect now. And I don't intend to let him go. Ever."

Katherine tilted her head and looked at me. "Is this why you divorced Sabrina?"

I shook my head. "No. We divorced because we shouldn't have gotten married to begin with. And if you're honest with yourself, you know that as well as I do."

"But you were going to have a family."

I held up my hand and cut her off before she ruined my day. "I'm done. We're going out for breakfast, and probably for the rest of the day. We might be back tomorrow."

Austin stood from his chair and leaned down to kiss my cheek. We needed to get out of here, and I knew exactly where to take him for some uninterrupted privacy.

"Where are we going?" he asked as we headed up the stairs.

I looked over at him, and my tension eased. "I thought we could go hiking around the volcano trails. And when we're done, I'm taking you to the most beautiful place in Costa Rica."

"Sounds romantic, Mr. Rowan."

"It will be. Pack a bag, sweetheart. We're staying the night."