Page 52 of The Little Things
His arm shot out, banding around me and yanking me forward. My squeak turned into a giggle as I fell into him. Bracing my hands on his broad chest, I lifted up on the toes of my high-heeled sandals and pressed my lips against his.
“Hey, baby,” he rasped once I lowered back down, smiling at me with an affection that warmed my heart. I would never get tired of him looking at me like that. Like I was everything.
“Hi,” I returned, smiling giddily.
“Screw the party, I want to fuck you in that dress. Then I want to strip you out of it and do it all over again.”
I laughed, feeling lighter than air. It was the effect Zach had on me. When he was around, I was just... happy. “We can’t skip it. It’s for you!”
He let out a groan, pulling my hips to his so I could feel the evidence of his arousal prodding my belly. “You feel what you do to me? I’m gonna walk around like this all damn night because of you.”
Man, he was good for my ego, that was for damn sure. Knowing I could drive this man as crazy as he drove me made me feel incredibly powerful. “I’ll make it worth your while, I promise.”
“Fine,” he said on a displeased grunt. He nipped my bottom lip. “You ready to do this?”
“Yeah. Give me a second.” I turned and jogged back into the kitchen, grabbing the bottle of wine I’d bought in town earlier after borrowing Ivy’s car. I really needed to learn how to drive a stick shift, for crying out loud.
“Ready.”
He took the bottle from me and grabbed hold of my hand, lacing our fingers together. I pulled the cabin door open and let him lead me to his truck. I could have met him at his parents’ house or his place after he got off work, but he’d insisted on picking me up. “You didn’t have to bring anything.”
I shot him a look as I climbed into the passenger seat when he held the door open for me. “Our moms are friends, so I know yours taught you not to show up at someone’s house empty-handed just like mine did.”
He chuckled and passed the bottle back to me. “Valid point.” He closed my door for me as I buckled up then rounded the hood, climbing in behind the wheel. “This is going to be great,” he assured me as he started the engine. “You’ll see.”
Lennix rushed out the front door of her parents’ house, bounding down the steps, lunging forward, and wrapping me in a crushing embrace the second my feet hit the ground.
“I can’t believe you’re dating my brother!” she squealed loud enough to burst my eardrum. I pulled back with a wince, hoping she hadn’t rendered me partially deaf. “This is the best news ever!”
“Jesus, Len. Give her some space, will you?” He yanked me from his sister’s embrace and tucked me into his side, giving Lennix a frown. “You’re either gonna crack all her ribs or scare her off.”
She clasped her hands together beneath her chin and did a little dance-y hop. “Oh my God, you’re so stinking cute, all protective over her and stuff. I love it! You two are so cute together.”
I curled my lips between my teeth to hide my smile.
Zach rolled his eyes, but I could see the way the corners of his mouth twitched with a suppressed smile. “Are you about done losing your mind so we can go inside?”
Lennix shot her big brother a vicious glare and crossed her arms over her chest. “You know, she might be your girlfriend, but she was my friend first. Uteruses before dude-eruses, jerk face.”
Zach tilted his face down to me like he was looking for some sort of confirmation. I lifted my shoulders in a shrug. “It’s true. It’s scientifically proven.”
“Christ,” he grunted, but I knew it was all in good fun. “The two of you teaming up together will be my nightmare, won’t it?”
“Probably,” Lennix chirped sunnily as she reached forward and grabbed me by the arm. She pulled me out of Zach’s hold and looped our arms together, leading me toward the porch steps. “Consider this payback for the way you threatened every boy I ever brought home.” She cast me a look and said, “He scared my prom date so bad the guy was afraid to lay a finger on me. I spent the entire night dancing by myself because he thought even that would be too intimate.”
My head fell back on a deep laugh. Maybe Zach was right. Maybe this night wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“This is ridiculous,” Zach grumbled for the millionth time since we arrived at the party a little over an hour ago. “I can’t believe you guys did this.”
I’d laughed so much since Lennix pulled me through the door into her parents’ house that the muscles in my stomach ached. This really had been the best night so far.
The cake in the center of the table had to have been the biggest sheet cake I’d ever seen. There was no way this group of roughly ten people was going to make a dent in it. The words piped across the center in swirly, feminine pink icing read Happy Adoption Day, and there were twenty-three bright sparkler-style candles lit up like flares.
The Paulson family went all out for Zach’s adoption day party. There were mylar superhero balloons and streamers and printed out photographs of Zach through the years, only it appeared that they’d picked the worst, most unflattering ones to put on display.
Apparently, as soon as Becky called to inform them of Zach’s and my relationship status, they’d gotten the brilliant idea to throw the most embarrassing party their imaginations could concoct, and they’d done a fantastic job. They’d even reworked the words to Happy Birthday to make it about adoption. Each terrible picture had a hilarious story behind it, and I hadn’t been able to get enough.
As soon as the last strains of the song came to an end, Zach shot a scowl through the entire group and grumbled, “Tomorrow I’m findin’ a lawyer and filing whatever is the equivalent of divorcing your family.”