Page 84 of Yours, Unexpectedly

“I—I’m fine. Sorry about that, I didn’t see you,” she mutters.

“No problem. Are you hurt?”

“Anders! There you are.” Melody pops out of nowhere, dropping a large box of condoms in my basket. I raise my eyebrow at her because obviously she has plans that I was unaware of. I take the box out of my basket and hand it back to her, looking back to Bex who is slack-jawed.

“I… I should go,” she says, leaving her basket and beelining toward the exit.

I open the French door that leads out onto the back deck causing all four Bardot men to stop what they are doing. Hugo smiles and walks over to me holding out his hand to shake. He pulls me into a hug and murmurs, “Let them have their fun. I’ll intervene if things get out of hand.” What the hell does that mean?

He leans back and gives me a wink before having a seat in one of the adirondack chairs around the firepit, picking up his glass of red wine to take a sip.

Turning back toward the brothers, I find Ben and Gabe with their arms crossed over their chests. They would actually look intimidating if I hadn’t known them for years and knew neither of them would ever hurt a fly. Instead of participating in their antics, Jules rolls his eyes and takes the seat next to his father.

“So, you would like to date our sister, huh?” Ben asks.

“It’s more of something I’m actively doing, but yes,” I reply with a smirk. “Are you here to defend her honor? Demand that she’s worth at least three goats and four cows?”

“Hey! She’s worth way more than some livestock!” he cuts in.

“I’m aware,” I chuckle. “I’m also aware this isn’t regency England, so there’s no need for us to get into marriage contracts or anything like that.”

“Marriage?” Gabe questions. “Who said anything about marriage?!”

My eyes slide over to Jules and Hugo to see that they are already exchanging knowing glances.

“Well, I guess I did—”

“You want to marry our sister?” Ben’s disbelief is evident on his face.

“Honestly, it’s a conversation I’d rather have with her first,” I state, carefully watching Gabe’s face to gauge his reaction. He knows I’m serious about Bex, but we haven't talked about quite how serious. Mainly because I’m still worried I’m going to spook Bex, so I’ve been more focused on that.

“I said it before—you two just make sense together.” Gabe shrugs and then joins his brother and dad around the fire.

“You’re giving up that easily?!” Ben whines. “C’mon, this was supposed to be like a ‘We’ll kill you if you hurt our baby sister!’ kind of talk!”

“He already knows we’ll kill him if he hurts Bex,” Gabe states, a little too matter-of-factly.

Ben slumps his shoulders but joins his family around the fire, motioning for me to take the last seat. Ben and Gabe are still grumbling when Jules’ voice breaks through.

“Does she stir your soul?” he asks, eyes searching mine.

I don’t even have to think twice about what he’s asking.

“Yeah.” I nod. “She really does.”

Ten minutes later, Bex comes outside and sits on my lap. I loop my arms around her waist, drawing her snuggly against me and planting my face right between her shoulder blades so I can kiss her neck. I didn’t realize how much I’d longed to do this very thing in this very place until this moment.

Conversation continues around us as Bex turns so she can see my face. “How bad was it?” She winces.

I kiss again, right under where her ear meets her neck—a spot I quickly realized was her favorite. Her body shivers and she nuzzles in closer to me.

“Oh, you know your brothers,” I whisper. “A lot of talk but not a lot of action.” I wink and she smirks.

“At least you weren’t subjected to a sex talk from my mom.” She shivers again but for an entirely different reason. I bite my lip in an attempt to keep from laughing. Of course Bex notices, though. “Oh really? Laughing at my expense? Maybe I should let her know that you need some tips.”

“As absurd as that would be, you have to remember that I didn’t grow up with a family like yours. They may be a little… vocal at times, but look around.” She follows my instructions, sighing. “They care. They want you to be happy. How amazing is that?”

“I know,” she mumbles. “It would just be more amazing if my mom didn’t feel the need to make sure you knew where the clitoris was.”

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