Wild Forces: A Friends to Lovers Romance (O-Town Book 2) by Karen Renee (summer reads .TXT) 📕

Before I could tell Brock we would do just that, Gabe spoke. “Not a chance in hell, Brock. Time for you to get a taste of your own medicine.”

Over an hour later, we ate dinner with Brock and Cecilia at the dinette table. I couldn’t help but envy Brock and Gabe’s close brotherly relationship. They goaded one another, but I could tell they still cared about each other with a fierceness Sera and I never had.

I glanced up from those thoughts and caught Cecilia’s eyes on me, but the look on her face said she knew what I was feeling. She gave me a slight smile and the tiniest of nods.

Gabe

CASSIE MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT she pulled one over on me, sharing a look with Cecilia, but very little got by me where she was concerned. Part of me couldn’t wait to meet her sister because someone needed to set her straight about how to treat Cassie, but another part of me could wait because I damn well didn’t trust myself not to throat-punch the woman. That look on Cassie’s face told me her sister treated her poorly, even beyond the sick and twisted way she shared the death of Cassie’s cat.

Again, I understood why Dad kept my mom out of our lives seventeen years ago. My bond with my brothers wasn’t something I thought I took for granted, but seeing Cassie’s expression made me realize, I sort of did.

Brock and Cecilia finished eating before my girl. Brock took care of Cecilia’s dish while she went to shower after working all day at Walt Disney World.

When Cassie finally finished, I grabbed her plate to take it to the sink.

“Gabe, I can do things for myself, you know.”

After I rinsed the plate, and loaded it into the dishwasher, I turned to her. “I know that, but I also know what you did before you got here. The question is whether or not you need another dose of Crown Royal tonight.”

She grimaced which made me grin. “No way! That stuff is too strong for me, and I gotta work in the morning.”

I nodded. “Then let me get some shoes and we’re headed to your place.”

When we reached the bottom of the stairwell, I stopped Cassie and wrapped my arms around her. “Okay, sweetheart. Did you drop Mom’s ashes off at your unit before you came to see me and Brock?”

A look washed over her face, and I wished I could take a picture of it. It was a blend of tenderness and adoration, and the hell of it was that the adoration seemed to be pointed at me.

“You would probably make really great candy, Gabriel, because you can be so damn sweet it isn’t even funny.”

I pulled her closer. “Caring about what matters to you isn’t me being sweet, Cassie. It’s me being a decent human being.”

She pressed into me, and rose up to kiss me. It wasn’t my intention to make out with her in front of the building, but no matter how much she denied it, she damn sure knew what she was doing when she kissed me.

I pulled away from her smiling. “You gonna answer my question, honey?”

She backed away. “Yeah. I left the ashes in my car, and I’ll need to get them before we go to my place.”

My eyes widened. “You left your cat in the car?”

“This will sound crazy, but she loved going for car rides. Until she found herself inside the shelter office, that was.”

“Only you, Cassie,” I muttered, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

She put her arm around my waist, and we went to her car. I carried the urn up to her unit. It hit me when I stood in front of her bookcase that I shouldn’t decide where to place her cat.

She put her purse down, and saw me standing in the living room. That look crossed her face again for a fleeting moment.

“Do you want to—”

“She’d have loved you,” she whispered.

I cocked my head. “Your cat?”

She nodded and I noticed her eyes were welling. “Honey, get over here before you cry. I don’t want to presume about where you want—”

“Right in front of you is fine, Gabe. She was never here because it’s against the rules, and... and, my stupid bitchy sister had to rub that in!”

Her voice had risen, so I put the urn down and quickly moved to her. “C’mon, sweetheart. Let’s lay down or something, so you can let it all out.”

She shook her head. “Thank you, Gabe, but you should probably go home. I’m not in a very good mood, and —”

“And you can stop right there, Daughtry. Even if we weren’t fucking each other’s brains out most of the time these days, you know I’d still be here for you. Who made you day-drink after finding out? I did. So don’t you dare think you can push me away because I asked you to lay down and let it all out.”

“Well, fine. If you insist, but I warned you.”

“Honey, the look you shared with Cecilia at dinner warned me plenty. So enough.”

Her eyes slid to the side and back. “What look?”

I chuckled. “Really, Cassie? You know what look,” I murmured while I took her hand to lead her to her bedroom.

“Seriously, Gabe,” she whispered.

I stopped and caught her eyes. “I know, Cassie-Cass. From the sounds of it, nothing about this day has been easy for you, so I’m going to make sure you have an easy night. Now, the couch where you can be closer to Mom, or your bed?”

Her struggle with the decision played out on her face.

“There’s more room on your bed, darlin’, but if you want to be in the living room, we can snuggle there.”

Still, she couldn’t decide, so I cupped her chin. “Are we listening to music or are we watching TV?”

Her breath hitched audibly as she exhaled. “Music.”

I grabbed her hand again, “C’mon.”

“But my iPod—”

“iPod, schmiPod. We’re listening to my music, baby.”

Cassie took her shoes off, and