My mind may not have a clue what was next, but my body sure did. I walked right up to him, ignoring the man who had been trying to talk to him since Austin came down, and wrapped my arms around his neck, laying a playful nip and gentle kiss to his mouth.
“Good morning,” I muttered.
Who the hell was I?
It didn’t matter. My brain could take a vacation any time because his beautiful, radiant smile was worth it.
“Did you two love birds enjoy last night?” The old man’s voice barely permeated our bubble.
“Very much,” Austin answered, not looking away from me.
“Young love,” the old man muttered and laughed. “I’ll leave you two alone. Got to grab breakfast before it’s all gone.”
“Yeah, we’ll be right in,” I said absently.
My heart beat so hard I was sure he’d be able to hear it in the silence between us.
One.
Two.
“Listen, Rae—”
“Did you see Raelynn Vos and her husband last night?” A high-pitched voice carried from around the corner.
“Who?” another one asked.
“Kenneth Vos’s daughter. Bless him,” she cooed. “He’s running for Senate, and he has her gallivanting around social media making a fool of herself.”
I peeked over my shoulder and took the smallest step back to glimpse who was talking. A tall plant blocked most of my view, but I was able to see it was the same girls that Aubrey had been with earlier, but she wasn’t there anymore. They all looked the same, perfectly put together with fake, bitchy smiles.
“Oh, yes. God, her husband is so hot. I’d give at least half my trust fund to fuck him.”
I snapped my attention back to Austin to find a thundercloud brewing over his features. When he cringed at the comment, I couldn’t help but breathe a small laugh.
“He’s in marketing for some elite company. Poor man will probably end up cheating intellectually because he’s married to such an airhead.”
“Don’t worry, he’ll come home to bang her. She’s got more experience than all the women put together at the party last night.”
A gaggle of laughter spilled around the corner and sank into my chest. Warmth bloomed into something fragile—not like a delicate flower, more like a bomb. Women spewed vile words all the time, and they never bothered me. I knew my worth, and their opinions didn’t change that—but maybe they could change Austin’s.
I couldn’t help but think of his angry words in Vegas. He apologized, and I was sure he didn’t mean them, but maybe they came from somewhere, and these girls’ words only reminded him of it.
Heat spread into my cheeks—through my veins until it almost took on a life of its own.
“This is bullshit,” Austin growled.
The deep rumble of his voice forced my attention to him. The thundercloud grew to apocalyptic size, and the sight of it was enough to cut off the spread of my own anger. He took two steps around me before I snagged his arm.
He looked to my hand and back to me, ready to go to war…for me. It was enough. I didn’t need him to defend me—just knowing he would was enough to make their words disappear.
“Don’t worry about it. They’re just bitches with nothing better to talk about.”
“But what they said was wrong.”
“Who cares. It doesn’t change anything about me, and I sure as hell don’t need their approval for anything. I’m fucking awesome.”
He studied me for a moment before the tension fled his body and the skies parted over his soft laugh. He shook his head and hooked his arm around my shoulders like he had a million times before.
And just like before, I tucked into his side and wrapped my arms around his broad back. Except this time was different. It wasn’t like the times before at all. This time, he pressed a gentle kiss to the crown of my head. This time, our hands held tighter, and they didn’t remain still without any thought. No, they roamed every ridge of his back as he stroked mine, exploring every dip and curve, remembering what it felt like when there wasn’t anything between us.
I pressed my cheek into his chest, closed my eyes, and inhaled his woodsy scent. It was the same cologne I bought him after our first Christmas together, but now it sank into my veins and reminded me of how it smelled mixed with sweat and sex.
I sat on the edge of begging him to fuck breakfast and take me back upstairs when a group walked by and greeted us on their way to the kitchen. Pulling back, I attempted to push the thought from my head and failed because when I met his gaze, the same want and need burned behind his green eyes.
Another group walked through.
More greetings.
With a laugh, I shook my head. “We better get something to eat before it’s all gone.”