Page 32 of The P*ssy Next Door
Through it all, Willa remained a beacon of calm, guiding us through it all with a smile on her face. She thrived in this chaos, and it was the sexiest thing to watch her in her element. She was so good with people and had them all charmed the second she took their orders. Even Everett couldn't hold a candle to the way Willa made people feel welcome.
I felt a swell of pride and something deeper, something I wasn't quite ready to name.
As the rush finally died down and the last customer left with their latte-ish drink in hand, Willa turned to us, her hands on her hips. “Well, that was... an experience.”
“We killed it, didn't we?” Everett asked, grinning broadly despite the smear of chocolate sauce on his cheek.
Willa laughed, tossing him a towel. “Let's just say it's a good thing you boys have football to fall back on. I don't think the barista life is for you.”
I flipped her open sign to closed. My brothers and Trixie, who I hadn't even seen come in, said their goodbyes, and headed out. I lingered behind, needing to be near her and all that energetic charm a little longer.
“Thank you for today,” she murmured, resting her head against my chest. “I know it wasn't exactly smooth sailing, but it meant a lot that you all tried so hard to help the coffee shop out.”
I kissed the top of her head, breathing in the sweet scent of sugar and tea. “It was fun. But I won't be able to do it tomorrow or Sunday, we've got a game in Florida.”
“Oh my god, I wish I was going to Florida.” She fake pouted and her shoulders dropped. “I cannot tell you how much I miss the humidity. Why didn't anyone remind me I was going to need a gallon of lotion a day in this damn three-hundred-days-of-sunshine hell hole of a mountain desert?”
I tingle ran up my spine and ended in me blurting out, “Then why don't you come with me?”
“Yeah, right.” She didn't think my offer was legitimate. I was more serious than a roughing the receiver flag on the play.
“For real, flower.” This was the perfect chance for me to show her that I could give her the freedom and adventure she craved. “Liam closed when the espresso machine was down anyway, so the regulars won't even blink an eye if you're not open. And we've got room on the jet for you with us. Come with me. It will be fun.”
“You say ‘on the jet’ like that's no big deal.” She gave me a sideways look and she still wasn't convinced. “You know it isn't, right? Not everyone has a family jet.”
“The Kingmans aren't any family.” And if anyone could help me show Willa life in Denver was interesting, it would be my family. Today, more than ever, showed me I should have been relying on my brothers to help me win Willa's favor. She had fun with us today.
“That's the understatement of the year.” She bit her lip and smiled up at me from under her lashes. “I really would like to come along though. If you're sure it's okay if I invade your man jet.”
Yes. I got her. “Jules and the girls were already planning to come along too, so it will be perfectly boy-girl, boy-girl. I was going to be the odd man out, so see, you have to come to even the numbers out.”
“By girls, you mean some friends of Jules?”
Oh, I was definitely waiting until tomorrow to let her find out she'd be riding in the jet with Kelsey Best. To the rest of us, she was just one of the girls, and she and Jules were definitely friends, so this wasn't a lie. Just a fun secret. “Yeah.”
As we boarded the Kingman private jet, I couldn't help but grin at the look of awe on Willa's face. “This is really how you travel to every game?” she asked, running her hand along the plush leather seats.
“Perks of being a Kingman,” I said with a wink, guiding her to a seat at the plane's table next to Jules and across from Penelope. “Stick with me, kid, and you'll go places.”
She laughed, settling in as my dad and Everett followed us onto the plane. I watched with more than a little giddiness as she easily fell into conversation with Jules and Penelope, their chatter filling the cabin.
A few minutes later, Chris and Trixie boarded. Upon seeing the table of girls, Trixie shoved Chris into the seat next to me and sat with the other ladies. Then Declan and Kelsey joined us. Willa's eyes widened as Kelsey greeted her warmly and sat across from her.
“I'll have to stop by your coffee shop when we get back,” Kelsey said, her megawatt smile genuine. “Declan's been raving about your interesting drink offerings.”
Willa just nodded until Kelsey's dachshund poked its head up out of her bag and made everyone laugh. “Is this the infamous Wiener the Pooh? I follow her on InstaSnap.”
Pooh wiggled and barked until Kelsey handed her over to Willa. “She sure seems to like you.”
“I think she probably smells my cat, Seven of Nine Lives.”
Trixie snort-laughed and pulled out her phone. “You named your cat after a Star Trek character? I have a feeling we're going to be BFFs, because this is my pet rooster named Luke Skycocker.”
She showed her screen to Willa and that was all it took for my girl to relax.After the flight got underway, Willa showed even more how she fit in with my family so fucking easily. She already had the girls in the palm of her hand when she recommended some kind of romance novels about wolf shifters who played college football. She instantly won my brothers over even more than she had yesterday at the coffee shop when she started talking stats with them.
My dad watched on with a quiet smile, and during a lull in the conversation, he leaned over to me, his voice low. “She's a keeper, son. Don't let that one get away.”
I swallowed hard, my heart swelling at his approval. “I don't plan on it, Pops. Trust me.”