As soon as the door closes behind Bruce, Noah turns to me. He gazes at me like I’m the only thing he can see
and the only thing he cares about.
His palm slides along my jaw, weaving under my hair to grip the nape of my neck. It’s a thing he does, a slow,
powerful reminder of his strength and his barely-controlled vigor. Every time he does it, I go wet for him.
I love how handsome he is, how big and unashamedly rugged, even though he shouldn’t be rugged. He can’t
help it. He’s a ridiculously sexy, manly hunk, who’d fit in just as easily wrangling bucking broncos on some wild
Wyoming ranch as he would in a Manhattan boardroom. It was one of the first things I noticed about him, and its
effect only compounds itself.
Most of all, I love how he makes me feel alive in a way I’ve never experienced. He’s woken up a part of
me—my lucky, Irish wild side—that was always hidden in there somewhere but never had a chance to find the
light of day. Like a seed that, under his blazing August sun, has not only sprouted, but has found her full,
noon-time bloom. “I can’t believe you just did all that.”
He kisses me. “My little dream girl is getting good at saying yes.” “When have I ever said no to you, Noah
Steel?” “I didn’t want you to start now. I was pr epared to go to a billion to knock those bad boys off your wildest
dreams list.”
“You’re crazy.” He’s a gem and a ke eper. Hang on to him with everything you’ve got. I already knew that,
Enid, but thanks for the tip.
“Crazy for you, baby girl.” His hand tangles in my hair, the other pulling me against his big, hard body.
“Your brothers are coming over?” I gasp. “Sounds like it. Cash is probably going to blow a major gasket but
just ignore him. I’d lock them out but Colton knows the code.”
He claims me with his mouth, the kiss turning slippery and greedy. We’re so caught up in the kiss, it takes us a
few seconds to register a sound. Of someone clearing his throat. “Eh-ehm. Hello-o-o.” I recognize it as Colton’s
voice.
We break the kiss and turn to see... a whole bunch of people standing there staring at us. Taking in every detail
of the way I’m practically wrapped around Noah and his hands are gripping my ass.
Slowly, we disengage. Noah’s arm goes around me. His stance is protective, like he’s shielding me. “To what
do we owe the astounding pleasure of this unannounced visit by my entire family?” Noah asks sarcastically.
Cash is here, looking surly, with his arm around the waist of a gorgeous woman with wavy reddish-blond hair.
Colton is grinning widely, holding the hand of another beautiful woman wearing the cutest dress. There’s another
man who could only be the oldest brother. He’s tall and black- haired, almost prodigally handsome. He’s got his
arm slung around a petite woman with dark hair. She’s exotic-looking and absolutely stunning.
Noah makes the introductions. “Lucky, you’ve met Cash and Colton. This is Dusty, Lila, Alexander and Ivy.
“So nice to meet you all.” Dusty st eps forward and kisses my cheek. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you,
Lucky,” she says with a big smile and a distinctly Texan twang. She’s wearing a pink top and jeans that show off
her gorgeous body, and cowgirl boots. “We’ve all been waiting for Noah to fall as hard and as fast as the rest of
them. We had to come meet you.”
Colton smiles and kisses Lila. “I fell the hardest.” Then he holds up the large brown paper bag he’s holding.
“We brought dinner. Hope you lovebirds are hungry.”
There’s a lot of cheek-kissing as they all greet me. Their banter and conversation flow easily, like only a
close-knit family’s can. Colton, Lila, Alexander and Ivy make their way over to the massive marble kitchen
island and start setting out the food, laughing and groaning at Colton’s terrible jokes.
Only Cash hangs back, and Dusty stays close to him. Cash is glaring at Noah. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Actually I’ve never felt more sane in my life, brother.” Noah isn’t fazed by Cash’s bad mood in the slightest.
This morning, it would have terrified me. Now, with Noah’s reassurance still wrapped around me, it has no effect
whatsoever. I can’t feel bad about any of it.
“I should take you outside and pummel you into next week,” Cash seethes.
“I’d like to see you try that,” Noah laughs. “Things happened, none of which had anything to do with you.”
Dusty winks at me, running her hand over Cash’s shoulder. He immediately softens. They exchange a glance
and it’s almost comical watching Cash melt. It’s easy to see that he’s absolutely besotted. And I’m relieved. Under
Dusty’s influence, his rage is clearly being cooled by several degrees.
Noah’s arm is still around me. “Lucky and I came to an agreement. Just the two of us. The offer you and I
made together was already off the table. Shit happens, bro. Deal with it.”
Colton laughs, entertained by the argument. The nearby kitchen group are obviously listening in.
“Colton invested an obscene amount of money in my business before I even had a business,” Lila offers.
“Alexander bought my apartment building for me, only three days after we met,” Ivy adds. Alexander grins at
her, both wolfishly and adoringly.
“And Cash,” Dusty says, kissing his cheek, “bought my mother’s house for her, set up a recording deal for my
sister and forced me to move in with him even though he was my boss.”
Churlishly, Cash relents a little more. “I’m still your boss.” “Only at work,” she teases him and his eyes
narrow at her like he’s thinking absolutely filthy thoughts.
Colton tucks a strand of Lila’s hair behind her ear. “It’s just the way we Maddoxes operate, Cash, you know
that as well as anyone. You can hardly complain about it when Noah does the same thing.”
Alexander’s voice is de ep and commanding, with that big-brother authority that pretty much settles the matter.
“Cash, you wouldn’t have a
company to invest with at all if Noah hadn’t saved your ass when you spent months dreamily googling ‘Tex’
while your business floundered.”
Cash looks chagrinned for a mini-second, then he pulls Dusty closer. “I need to be consoled, Tex. My family
is bullying me.”
“Aw,” she glides the backs of her fingers across his jaw. “It sucks when the bully gets bullied. You deserve all
of it.”
He kisses her. “You’re in for it later,” he murmurs. Then he stands up and offers his hand to me. “I’m sorry,
Lucky. I’m an asshole. I try not to be but it happens anyway. Please forgive me.” I can’t help smiling as I take his
hand and he leans in to kiss my cheek. Then he offers his hand to Noah. “Dude, I’m just jealous. You two are
going to make an absolute killing with Ashton Holdings. Your company is a little gem, Lucky.”
“Thank you. I know it is.” With that, the tension is completely gone, all is forgiven and dinner is served. We
sit outside on the huge, private patio and I find myself in a whirlwind of fun and getting to know them all.
As an only child with parents who were either gone or almost entirely absent, it’s so new to be around such a
boisterous, loving family.
And that’s what they are. A family. I’m a little quieter than the rest of them, but it’s so fascinating to me to
watch their kindness with each other, their genuine, bone-de ep friendship and their easy laughter. I’m sort of
falling in love with all of them.
It turns out Lila is Lila Bailey, the up and coming designer everyone is talking about. When I tell her I recently
bought one of her tops and it’s my favorite piece of clothing, she invites me to come in to her design studio and
choose anything I like.
Colton, as always, is the life of the party. He satellites around Lila, touching her, smoothing her hair, kissing
her and generally being so in love with her it’s wildly entertaining to watch. The two of them banter constantly and
have everyone laughing. They tell me the story of how they met at a party and he insisted on driving her to her
friend’s wedding in L. A. in a fancy tour bus, and then they ended up getting married (and pregnant) in Vegas.
I’m also amazed to learn that Ivy is Ivy Laine. She’s one of my favorite musicians. She hugs me when I tell
her I love her music and have been
listening to her new album on r epeat. She’s so humble and beautiful it’s impossible not to love her.
Alexander watches Ivy like a man obsessed. Ivy is also pregnant, and a little further along than Lila. The two
of them tell me the story of how they met on a fake date and Alexander is so honest and funny about how fast he
fell for her it makes me smile.
Dusty is outgoing and easy to get to know, and Cash is a very different person to the intimidating boardroom
shark when he’s around her. He’s relaxed and so smitten, his humility shines through. It turns out to be impossible
not to love him for it.
And Noah is... mine. I’ve given up trying to analyze it. When you know, you know, and sometimes that’s
enough.
After we’ve finished eating dinner, he pulls me onto his lap. His strong arms hold me and I lean in to him,
breathing in his minty, woodsy scent that’s become so familiar. “You okay, Irish?” he murmurs.
“Very okay. Are you?” He slowly shakes his head. I touch my fingers to his stubbled jaw. “Why not?” He
whispers in my ear as the others laugh at something one of them said. “You’re so beautiful my heart hurts.”
I haven’t said the words in a very long time. They were locked away until Noah broke my heart wide open. I
lean close to him and whisper back, “I love you.”