Page 13 of The One Who Got Away (Murdock Brothers #4)

Eloise

Nerves fizzed under my skin as I got out of the car. The driveway and street were a maze of cars, trucks, and even a motorcycle. It was Sunday dinner at the Murdocks.

My first official one.

Never one to come empty handed, I grabbed my cooler. I’d texted Gus to meet me outside.

Where the heck was he?

“You can do this,” I whispered. “It’s no big deal. You know all of them. Piece of cake.” Or in this case, a piece of chocolate mousse pie.

The door opened and instead of Gus, Joe Murdock stood on the porch with his imposing shoulders and weathered face. Was that a bit of foreshadowing to what I had to look forward to?

Gus was a bit shorter than the other men in his family, but he definitely had the same bone structure of his dad.

“Hi, Mr. Murdock.”

He came down the stairs in his easy, loose-limbed way. He took the cooler from me. “No need for formalities, Little E.”

I blushed and looked down at my suede boots. Joe had been the one to start that nickname and it had run like wildfire through the brothers. All except Gus. I was always El or Eloise. Or love. My favorite one. “It’s good to see you, Joe.”

He looped his arm around my shoulders. “Took you forever to come see us.”

“Sorry, it’s been a lot with Mom.”

“I was sorry to hear about the split.” He pulled me into an easy hug and my eyes prickled. “Is there anything we can do?”

“No. She’s slowly finding this new Melody.”

I’d reached out to my dad, but things were still strained there. I had a lot of anger toward him still.

“Well, bring her next time. She’s going to be family.”

“Uh. Thanks, I’ll pass that along.”

He pressed a quick kiss to my temple. “Gus told us all about his accident in Costa Rica. New lease on life includes a fire under his ass in many ways.”

Relieved that he’d finally fessed up to his family, I smiled up at Joe. “That’s for sure. He’s been a workout maniac.”

“Not what I meant.”

“Okay.” I drew out the word, confused.

“I snuck out here to make sure you’re on the same page as Gus.”

“What page is that? I love him.”

He squeezed me. “I like the sound of that. Just making sure you knew our son was definitely thinking about his future. And it includes you.”

My heart swelled. “Goes the same for me. We wasted enough time.”

“Now that’s my girl!”

I laughed as he led me up the stairs.

Gus was in the doorway, behind the screen door. He gave me a rueful smile. “My mom kept holding me up, now I know why.” He pushed open the screen. “Whatever he said, it was probably an exaggeration.”

“So, you don’t love me?”

He hurried out and gathered me into his arms. “Nope. We’re good there. Thanks, Old Man.”

“Watch it, Angus.” His dad’s voice boomed. “And I approve when you ask the question.”

“Dad!”

“What? I see what I see and she’s the one. Don’t be stupid.” He clapped Gus on the shoulder and went inside with my cooler.

“Well, that wasn’t awkward or anything.” He lowered his mouth to mine. “I do love you.”

“Good thing we’re on the same page.” I widened my eyes innocently.

“God, is that what he said?” He pressed his forehead to mine. “They’re just excited I finally stepped up.”

“Everyone?”

“Well, especially my mom and dad. They are doing the hard press for grandkids.”

A surprised laugh exploded out of me. “We just got together.”

“Did you ever hear the story of my parents?”

“No.”

“My dad asked my mom to marry him in ten days.”

“Holy Hannah.”

“Yeah. They’re waiting for one of us to beat the clock.”

“You already lost.”

“I definitely won, but I knew I loved you when I was fifteen. Still took me a few years to figure it out. It kept getting tangled up in hormones.”

“And you never made a move.” I linked my fingers at the back of his neck.

“I want to say I regret it, but maybe we wouldn’t be here.”

My heart turned over in my chest. “Maybe. I kinda think we would, though.”

“Yeah?”

I nodded. “It just took us a little time to get it right.”

“And I’m never letting you go, again.”

“Even when I come as a package deal?” I wasn’t sure when my mom would be ready to be out on her own again.

“We’ll figure it out. I actually have a few ideas.”

“Is that right?”

He nodded. “Besides—as long as I have you, everything else will work out.”

I went up on my toes and he met me in the middle.

I always wondered if he was the one who got away. I should have known better.

We were simply always meant to be.