Page 26 of Family Forever
He nearly laughed at her exaggerated exasperation but caught himself. However, Cole didn’t catch his chuckle. Marissa playfully slugged his brother in the shoulder. They laughed and shared a glance. Though he should be happy for his brother, jealousy coiled in the pit of his stomach.
Who was he kidding, it’s not like he and Marissa would work out anyhow. She had her whole life ahead of her, starting with college in the fall. She was young and she deserved to have fun. What did he have to offer? Nothing but tons of responsibility—five brothers to care for, okay, Cole was kind of on his own, so only four brothers. He may as well accept the fact he was going to live a lonely life for a while, at least in terms of the opposite sex.
As he drove along the country roads Marissa’s chatter trailed off and eventually silenced altogether as her head came to rest on his shoulder.
Dylan parked in the garage and cut the engine. Marissa didn’t even stir. He glanced over her, at Cole who’d already slid out of the vehicle.
“How much did she have to drink?” Dylan asked, working to keep his voice calm and non-accusatory in hopes to get a straight answer from his brother.
“Three or four half glasses of beer. We were playing beer pong. I drank most of them. I assumed she wasn’t much of a drinker.”
Cole reached for Marissa.
“I got her,” Dylan snapped, “just get the door.”
Dylan scooped her tiny body into his arms. She half-woke, threw her arms over his shoulders and tucked her head into the crook of his neck. The scent of her silky strands reminded him of a fresh spring morning. The soft, warm skin of her legs draped over his arm felt heavenly.
He carried her into the house, through the kitchen and living room, and into her bedroom where he set her on top of the bed. After unbuckling her sandals, he pulled them from her feet and eyed her pink painted toenails. There was nothing sexier than a pale blonde woman with hot pink toenails. God, how he wanted this angel who’d nearly been dropped on his doorstep. As he threw a blanket over her, she stirred and sighed. Her eyes fluttered open and she mumbled something he couldn’t quite make out so he crouched down closer to her. “What?”
She lifted her hand and placed it against his cheek. Warmth shot from his cheek, straight to his core, snapping his nerve endings to full attention.
“You’re so sweet,” she whispered breathily before her eyes shut again.
He leaned forward and touched his lips to her forehead. “So are you, sweetheart, so are you.”
His kiss and words appeared to go unnoticed. That was probably for the best.
Dylan sauntered to his room to find Luke spread out sideways on his bed. He slid into his sleep pants, eased Luke over to one side of the bed and then climbed between the cool sheets. Within seconds, his brother had his feet pressed against Dylan’s back.
What seemed like minutes later, but at sight of the alarm clock was a couple of hours, Dylan was awakened to the sound of footsteps drawing closer to him. Marissa’s silhouette defined itself in the darkness. Was he dreaming? He squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them again. Her outline was still there, only closer. What was she doing in his room?
Before he had a chance to fling himself off the mattress, she took a knee at the side of the bed. “I’m sorry, Dylan.”
With her close proximity, he could see the worry in her wide gaze. The whites of her eyes were stained red. She’d been crying, but why? And what was she sorry for?
He flung the covers back, stood, grabbed her hand and guided her into the living room. He couldn’t have her in his room, or anywhere near his bed. That was just too tempting and too dangerous for him. He motioned for her to sit on the couch, and he sat next to her. “What’s wrong? What are you sorry for?”
She hung her head as if in shame. Reaching over, he placed his fingers under her chin and edged her head toward him until their gazes met.
The sight of her watery eyes nearly broke his heart in half. “You need to tell me what’s wrong.”
She drew in a slow, deep breath. “I’m so sorry I keep disappointing you.”
What was she talking about? Little did she know, she could never disappoint him, what had he done to make her feel this way? He needed to know so he could remedy the problem. “Why do you think you disappointed me?”
“I saw the way you looked at me and Cole when we climbed into the truck at Jake’s house. It was the same look you gave me when I accidently forgot to pick Nate up from baseball practice a few weeks back, and the coach had to call you to go and get him.”
Damn his deceiving judgmental nature. Words escaped him. He wasn’t good at dealing with upset women, especially those he really didn’t want to upset. The desperate look in her eyes told him he’d better find something to say soon or she’d embark on a good ole crying jag, which was the last thing he wanted.
“I’m not disappointed in you at all. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
A tear slid down her cheek. “I did. You specifically told me to follow the color-coded schedule on the refrigerator. You said that because the boys have so much going on you did a schedule so nothing would get missed. That day I needed to pick up Aric from baseball practice and then go get Nate. You warned me not to let Aric talk me into making any extra stops or I’d be late for picking up Nate. I didn’t listen. I was so sure I could squeeze in letting Aric run into the sporting goods store and still pick Nate up on time, except I was wrong. And when I got to the athletic field and Nate wasn’t there I almost had a heart attack. I thought someone took him until you called and said you picked him up. And then when I got home you gave me a look that made me want to climb in a hole and hide.”
Good Lord, what was he doing to this poor girl?
Her gaze landed on the floor. “It was the same look you gave me tonight,” she whispered.
“Marissa.”
