Page 102 of Unwrapping Love

“And surf,” she said. “Even in the morning and not worry you are messing up my schedule.”

Last week he finally got up earlier on her days off and surfed when the waves were nice. Not always great in the morning, but if the report looked good, he was taking advantage of it.

“I’m not,” he said. “You’ve got my word.”

“I love you, Rowan. I’m not someone who throws that word around freely, but love or not, I’ll kick your butt if I think you’re holding back trying to protect me.”

He wrapped her up and pushed her back onto the bed, rolling on top of her. “You’re scary this way. Show me more.”

She spread her legs and wrapped them around his hips. “You got this dress so I could do this, huh?”

“No, but I’m glad it works.” He gave her a loud kiss. “I’m not free with the L word either, but I’ll make sure you always feel it.”

29

FAMILY LOYALTY

“Is it horrible of me to say I can’t wait to see you all dressed up?” Rowan asked two weeks later.

They were in the Hamptons, at their hotel with the rest of his family, and lots of other extended family that flew in for Foster and Charlotte’s wedding.

“No,” Saylor said from the small seating area of their room. A hotel West owned so he could have the entire family’s identities kept private for his wedding to Abby a few years ago.

Foster wasn’t as well known, but wanted the wedding away from people. Foster was planning to have it at his house on Merrick Bay, an hour from here, but West argued there was no room and he’d take care of it.

That was all Rowan knew, though he was positive Charlotte and her sister, Amanda, dealt with everything for the actual wedding and reception.

He had to admit, he was shocked Charlotte didn’t take her sister up on the offer to get married on Amore Island where Amanda lived with her husband Drew Bond. The Bond family owned most of the island, with lots of hotels and wedding destinations.

Talk about a nightmare getting people there and back on the ferry. Which was probably why they decided against it.

“It’s not sexist of me, right? To want to see the woman I love in a fancy dress and her hair all done pretty?”

“As long as it’s not sexist of me to say I want to see the man I love in a suit.”

He cringed. “I hate those fuckers. Actually, it’s not the suit. It’s the tie.”

“Are you wearing a tie today? You said this is more casual.”

“No tie,” he said.

She picked up a pencil close by on the nightstand and tossed it at him. He caught it. “Then stop complaining. Who is in the wedding if you’re not? You said you were all in West’s wedding.”

“We were. It was nice he’d done that. I wasn’t in Braylon, Laken, or Talia’s and that was fine with me.”

“That’s nice. It’s got to be so hard with all the siblings.”

“It is. Elias is Foster’s best man. They are close like Nelson and me. When Elias gets married in a few months, Foster will be his. Charlotte’s sister, Amanda, is the matron of honor. That’s it, nothing more.”

Saylor had met all of his siblings in person on Thursday for a big family dinner at West’s. He knew she’d fit right in and had. There wasn’t much going on, so he and Saylor could explore the area during the day on Thursday and then some on Friday.

When the rehearsal and dinner happened on Friday, the bulk of his extended family had arrived or were on the way. They’d all had dinner at the restaurant where West had secured a private room.

It was hard for him to keep track of his nine cousins on his mother’s side and then four on his father’s side. Thankfully, everyone was single except for Phoenix. But Saylor did a great job.

And his mother, yeah, she found a new best friend. He wasn’t so sure he liked that, but Aileen Carlisle had been by Saylor’s side every minute she could with questions about Rowan’s life.

Maybe he should talk to his mother more than he did. Damn, she was nosier than he remembered.