Page 6

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the door, almost falling on my face when it was shoved open right after me.

“Ouch!” I mumbled and turned around to glare at my cousins, Michaela, Lucy, Andrea, Elena, and Merida.

The latter two were Andrea’s little sisters, all three of them belonged to Uncle Andres and Aunt Ellie. Lucy was Aunt Destiny’s and Uncle Marat’s daughter. And Michaela was the woman of the hour, snuggling her little precious baby to her chest.

“Move over, lady with a baby,” she groaned and pushed her way through the throng.

She sat down in the chair against the wall so she could breastfeed, and I just sighed. So much for having a moment to myself.

Of fucking course, they followed me.

What did I expect, though? We were pretty much inseparable, despite the age differences between us.

“Okay, spill,” demanded Lucy.

“Should I even start or wait for everyone else to come busting in?” I was going for sarcastic, but the door opened again and Michelle Davis, Michaela’s BFF came in.

“Sorry I’m late!”

“Shelly!” Everyone squealed and hugged.

I just stood and waited for them to settle down.

Thank goodness Uncle Adrik and Aunt Sofia had outfitted the restroom with multiple stalls and a lounge area. With all the females in our family, it was really just out of self-preservation, since, of course, as it normally happened with women, we always had to pee at the same time.

Still, the banter and teasing continued, even after I emptied my bladder and washed my hands.

“Okay, okay, okay, hush! Now, I want to hear from Clementine,” Michaela stated, and everyone immediately shushed.

“Me too! I mean, holy shit, Clem! What was with you and Mr. Tall, Dark and Fuckable?”

“Oh my God, nothing is with me and Connor,” I said, but my bright pink blush gave me away.

Curse you, ivory skin!

“Yeah, right. Come on, tell us!”

“Nothing,” I repeated. “I mean, I teared up during the toast, and he just gave me his handkerchief. That was all.”

“You teared up? You never cry!”

I shrugged, straightening my dress in the mirror.

It was a real find. A classic cut bit of silk that fit my ultra curvy body. Plus, it was my favorite color. A rich emerald-green that brought out my eyes and highlighted my auburn locks.

“You know he is way older than you, right?” Andrea said.

“Oh my God, so what? Look at all our parents! Talk about age gap romance,” Lucy answered her with an exaggerated eye roll only that beauty could pull off and still look gorgeous.

“So, what’s gonna happen now?” Michaela asked, handing the baby to her honorary Aunt Shelly.

“What do you mean?”

“Are you two going to go out or what?” Lucy asked.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “I told him to text me. So, the ball’s in his court now.”

“I can ask Liam to ask him,” Michaela said, but I held up my hand.

“Please don’t. We are not in school, for Christ’s sake,” I said and shook my head.

The girls squealed, and baby Michael objected with a shriek of his own. I rolled my eyes, commiserating with the infant.

“By the way, I love your dress,” Merida said.

“Thanks. I figured with Christmas being so close, it worked.”

Biting my lip, I turned sideways and grimaced at the fact the dress did nothing to disguise the size of my ass.

Oh well.

“Sure does work, cousin. I noticed the way that man was watching you walk away. Hubba hubba,” Lucy teased.

I snorted and tossed a wad of tissue at her. Conversation drifted away from me and onto the baby, and I was more than okay with that.

I loved my cousins, and I was intrigued by Connor.

But I doubted the man was going to call or text me.

He was out of my league. I appealed to a different type of man. My one and only boyfriend had been a soft nerdy kind of guy who turned out to be less sweet and more controlling than I wanted or needed in my life.

I mean, I was surrounded by over-the-top males.

Just look at my father and uncles.

I thought Steve was different from all that potent masculinity I’d grown up with. Turned out that yeah, he was different, and a fuckton more toxic.

Little prick was a master manipulator, and he had me believing him, too. Maybe that was why I’d shied away from men for the past few years.

More fool me.

Watching Michaela and Liam and seeing their happiness and obvious devotion seemed to light a fire in me. I wanted what my cousin had. I wanted love, a husband, a family, and a home of my own.

I wasn’t saying Connor was the guy to do all that.

But he was definitely a good place to start. I needed to be proactive about waking up my slumbering libido.

I mean, holy fuck, the man was fine as hell. Everything about him caught my eye, from his fantastic taste in clothes and his tattooed body, especially those hands. He oozed power. His quiet demeanor commanded attention, as did his six foot plus frame.

He was big. And that stare of his?

I could just kiss my panties goodbye every time I caught his onyx gaze land in my direction.

Swoon.

He probably had a girlfriend.

Or two.

Besides, I really wasn’t half as nervy as I’d pretended to be, handing him that line to text me. Like I was a Bond girl or something.

Yeah, right.

I excused myself, planning to say goodbye to my parents before I left.

Only when I exited the restroom, there was someone waiting in the corridor.

Gulp.