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He glances over at me. “Prepared for what?”

“It’s another world down there, so just be prepared.”

“Are you trying to scare me out of coming with you or something?”

“No!” I say, laughing at his wide eyes. “It’s just, it’s not California. Imagine big hair, cowboy boots, thick accents, and lots of hugging. Texas is a different world.”

“Will I get to drink moonshine and eat fried alligator tail?” he asks with a wicked grin.

“Do you always have to be a smartass?” I narrow my eyes at him.

“You’re worrying for nothing,” he says in a calming voice. “It’ll be great.” He leans over and presses a sweet kiss on my lips.

“Yeah, I can’t wait to see them all, even if they drive me crazy sometimes.”

“Well, if you can handle Viola and our crazy family, I’m sure I’ll be just fine.”

His words give me reassurance, and I can’t wait to spend time with him for four days without having to worry about work schedules. I know they’ll all fall in love with him just as I have.

CHAPTER TWENTY

DREW

I traded a few shifts so traveling to Texas to meet Courtney’s family would be possible. She’s so happy and keeps cracking jokes about it, but I’m nervous as hell. I’ve heard too many stories about her big bad brothers, and all I can hope is they don’t beat the shit out of me. To make it worse, she randomly mentions how she’s never brought a Californian home to meet her parents.

We wake up at the butt-crack of dawn to fly to San Antonio to connect to San Angelo Airport. I’ve been given warnings on how much she hates connecting and how the small planes make her nervous. Once we land, we’ll have an hour drive to El Dorado.

In the airport, I can’t keep my hands from her and vice versa; otherwise, it feels awkward. Knowing she’s mine makes me so fucking happy. No words can explain the way I feel when I’m lost in her eyes, her mouth, and the smell of her skin. I feel this is the way it should’ve always been–us together. It took years to get to this point, but without all the bullshit, I’m not sure I would’ve appreciated being with her as much. To feel the same way someone feels about you is surreal.

We board and Courtney lets me sit by the window, but she conveniently leans over my body to look out. I’d let her sit on my lap but it would be highly inappropriate, and I’m sure the flight attendants and the little old lady on the other side of Courtney wouldn’t appreciate it.

“I want to go to the bathroom and join the mile-high club with you,” I say into her ear.

“How romantic and a little gross.” She snorts. “People poop in there.”

I playfully pout, and she smiles.

“Okay, fine. Add it to our sex bucket list.”

She leans over and says dirty things into my ear and instantly I’m hard. She giggles, knowing and feeling exactly what she’s started. I try not to picture her naked, sitting on my face, but she’s the one who put that thought into my mind in the first place.

“You’re going to pay for this,” I glance down at the bulge that’s visible and discretely try to adjust myself.

“I look forward to it.” She quickly smacks her lips against mine. The smell of her skin and soap are almost too much, but I try to push all the dirty things I want to do to her right now out of my mind. I wrap my arm around her body. My hand brushes the smooth skin on her back, and we stare out the window until the plane lands. Quickly we connect to the smaller plane and are in the air for all of forty-five minutes. Every bump, she grabs my hand and squeezes.

Once we land again, we impatiently wait for our turn to exit the plane, grab our carry-ons and head to the front of the tiniest airport I’ve ever flown into, where her brother Jackson will be picking us up.

“He can sometimes be an asshole; just a warning,” she says as we wheel our suitcases through the miniature terminal.

“Travis is my best friend. I’m used to it.”

We walk outside, and the dry, hot air rushes across my face. Courtney lets go of her carry-on, and I grab it before it rolls away. She takes off running across the pickup area where Jackson picks her up and swings her around then sets her on the ground.

I can hear her talking about the flight and he leans his muscular body against the big truck with his arms crossed, eying me and sizing me up like any big brother would do. But I’m not the slightest bit intimidated because I’ve given that look to some of the guys Viola’s brought home to meet me. As I walk closer, I see he looks like Courtney with their matching blonde hair and blue eyes, but he’s much taller than her. Still, it’s obvious they’re siblings.