Titus threw his head back and laughed. “Shit. I didn’t even feel an earthquake.”
I smiled back. “I sure as hell felt one.”
Titus quit laughing and looked over, our gazes locked as the moment spread out and the heat passed back and forth between us. Oh boy, had I felt an earthquake.
Two weeks later
A peal of laughter from the lobby had me heading over quicker than my heels could manage before things got out of control. My sisters were here, all four of them. If I didn’t get them up to my room in the next thirty seconds, they’d drive all the guests away with their bickering, teasing, and general tomfoolery. I had no idea what tomfoolery even meant, but my mom sure said it enough when describing her harem of daughters.
“Girls!” I whisper-shouted, pointing to the stairs with a stern look.
Oakley flashed me a look that told me to eat shit, but the others looked properly chastised and headed up to my room. I followed, Big Foot hot on my heels. I didn’t advise him sticking around for the sister reunion, but he wasn’t one for listening to logical explanations. Now that I thought about it, he and Oakley shared the same look of disdain.
By the time we all piled into my room, there wasn’t anywhere for me to sit. Izzy and Esme lounged on my bed, Oakley took the recliner, and Vee sat on the little velvet stool I used when putting on makeup. I gave them all a dirty look and sat cross-legged on the floor, kicking my shoes off and groaning at the feeling of freedom. I loved my calves in a stiletto, but my toes threatened mutiny.
Oakley sat forward, the obvious spokesperson for today’s sister meeting. “We’re here to get the scoop since you’ve neglected to keep us in the loop.”
“Wow, Oak, that even rhymed,” I said dryly, smirking at the irritation plain as day on her face.
“You. Titus. Details.” She sat back and crossed her arms, an imposing position even without her usual law enforcement uniform and sidearm.
“I had to hear from freaking Poppy that you two were even dating.” Vee looked seriously put out. “Lame, Amelia. Super lame.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, we decided to give dating a try. How dare we try to keep our private life private.”
Esme stood up on my bed and whooped, doing some sort of hip gyration I never wanted to see a sister of mine do.
“Keep it down, dummy. It’s a hotel!”
That shut her up, but didn’t shut down the huge shit-eating grin on her face. She plopped down on the mattress as if it were an outdoor trampoline, nearly sending Izzy flying off the bed.
“I knew it!” Esme shouted in a whisper.
“When did it all change?” Izzy asked in a calm voice I appreciated.
A weird sensation took up in my stomach, making me take a deep breath. I didn’t like sharing this kind of emotional stuff, but I could admit it felt good to have some information that my sisters didn’t.
“Well…if you must know,” I drew out dramatically. They all leaned in. “He kissed me one night in his truck and it was damn good. Then he asked me out on a date two weeks ago when we came over to Mom and Dad’s for dinner. I said yes in a weak moment.”
I quit talking, taking in the wide eyes and riveted expressions all around me. I quite liked them hanging on my every word. Wasn’t often you got the attention of all of them at once and they were quiet.
“And?” Vee screeched when I didn’t continue.
I spread my hands out. “And…it’s been good. Really good.” I looked out the window, seeing the tree outside with its leaves changing color and starting to fall. I thought back to the nights Titus and I had been able to steal away. Honestly, I hadn’t been able to see him as much as I wanted, but when we did get together, it was perfect. Easy. Like we should always have been together like that. And my vibrator was getting a nice break.
“Really good?” Esme screwed up her face and used those annoying air quote fingers. “That’s all we get?”
“Hold up, Esme.” Oakley leaned forward again, peering at my face in a way that made me highly uncomfortable. “Forget the words she’s saying. Look at her eyes.” Oakley clapped her hands and grinned. “Little Amelia is in love!”
Everyone gasped.
“What?” I gaped. “No, I’m not!”
Izzy tittered. “Your face says differently.”
I crossed my arms and schooled my face into the meanest expression I could conjure up. I thought about cheaters who ruin all the good stuff for everybody else. And cheap lip glosses that turned into glue five seconds after swiping them on your lips. And yoga pants that looked so cute on your ass but gave you camel toe in the front. My good mood started sliding away with each passing second.
“Amelia,” Esme said gently. “You don’t have to put up a façade for us. We’re your best friends. We’re all just so happy to see you happy, we can’t help but tease you. We were so worried about you when you were with Daire.”
“You two were so not right for each other,” Izzy said with wide, frightened eyes.
“He was hot, though, in that bad-boy kind of way, you have to admit.” Vee waggled her eyebrows. Oakley threw a pillow at her, which set her off giggling.
“It’s so different with Titus,” I said, looking back out the window, thinking about how I felt around him. “I can trust him one hundred percent. He cares about me, even stupid little things like reminding me to eat when I get busy here at work. Texting me funny memes he knows will make me laugh. So far dating hasn’t ruined our friendship at all. If anything, it’s enhanced it.”
Oakley popped out of the recliner and had a seat next to me on the floor, putting her arm around my shoulders like she used
