Page 70 of Claiming Lily

“Or when he tried to dye his hair green,” Dad adds helpfully.

“Or the phase where he only wore superhero underwear to preschool.”

“Mom!”

She chuckles. Dad leads her out, and the door closes behind them with a soft click, leaving us in sudden silence. I turn to face Lily, searching her expression for any sign that my family’s chaos has scared her off.

“Are you okay?”

She nods, that same mischievous glint still sparkling in her eyes. “Never better. Feel like mowing the lawn?”

I groan, letting my head fall back. “You’re never going to let me live that down.”

The front door opens again and Gage and Hudson tromp in, wiping their hands on shop rags.

“Did Carol tell her about the naked mowing?” Hudson asks, reading the situation with frightening accuracy.

“Oh, she told me a lot more than that,” Lily confesses, grinning wickedly. “Apparently Cole had quite the adventurous childhood.”

Gage chuckles while Hudson shakes his head like he expected nothing less from my mother. I pretend to hate every second of this torture, crossing my arms and scowling at the lot of them. “You’re all dead to me.”

The truth is, watching Lily fit so seamlessly into the chaos, seeing her laugh until her sides hurt with the people who matter most to me, fills something inside my chest I didn’t even realize was empty.

She belongs here. With us. With me.

The realization hits like a freight train, stealing my breath and making my heart pound against my ribs. I’ve never felt anything close to this before. A bone-deep certainty that she’s it for me. That whatever this thing between us is, I’ll do everything in my power to keep it.

Keep her.

Lily catches me staring and raises an eyebrow. “What?”

“Nothing.” I reach for her hand, tangling our fingers together. “Just thinking.”

“Dangerous territory,” Gage observes dryly.

“Shut up,” I tell him, but I’m smiling as I squeeze Lily’s hand.

Yeah, I’m going to keep her.

Chapter Twenty-One

LILY

Depending on the day of the week and which of the guys ends up staying up the latest determines where I wake up after falling asleep while watching a movie. Cole’s bed is warm and soft. His arm is draped over me, pulling my back against his chest. I press against his erection, biting my lip as he makes a sound of approval, loving how responsive these men are when I’m around.

He presses into my ass. “Good morning,” he rasps.

“I guess so,” I tease and rock against his length.

“It can be better.” Cole slides his hand beneath my sleep shorts, cupping me and running his lips up my throat. “Fuck, waking up with you in my bed is my new favorite thing.”

“Mmm,” I agree.

He kisses my neck and guides my leg over his, spreading me. “Damn, Red, you’re soaking wet.” He traces one of his fingers over my clit.

I writhe into the touch, sucking in a breath.

“So needy.” He slides two fingers into me. “Perfectly warm and rippled.”