Save Me(WITSEC #2)(23)

Standing up straight, I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. “All done.”

Keelan smiled. “It looks amazing.” He and Knox were leaning against the kitchen counter near the sink. Both had beers in their hands.

Colt was sitting at the island, smiling at me. “You got frosting on your forehead.”

Keelan grabbed a napkin and held it out to me.

“I was bound to get chocolate somewhere.” I took the napkin and wiped at my forehead as I walked over to the sink. Turning on the tap, I washed away the chocolate all over my hands. “I’m glad I didn’t get any on my clothes.” I was wearing the new white cover-up dress over my new white bikini.

As I was drying my hands on a tea towel, Knox stepped closer. I froze mid-drying as his hand came up under my chin and he gently swiped his thumb along my jaw. “You got chocolate here, too.”

“Hey,” a feminine voice said.

“Hey, Stephanie,” Keelan said.

Stephanie was the beautiful front receptionist who worked at Desert Stone. She didn’t like me, and I had a feeling it had to do with her feelings for Knox. I scrunched my nose at the thought of her being here. Knox’s brows lifted in question. I schooled my face before I turned.

Stephanie was staring at me, eyes narrowed a little. She looked from me to Knox before returning her attention to Keelan. She plastered a smile on her face and held out a gift bag to him. “This is for you. Happy birthday!”

Keelan took it with a kind smile. “Thank you.” Keelan looked to me. “Is there a place we can put gifts?”

“Yes, there is.” I moved to take the gift from him at the same time Creed returned to the kitchen.

Stephanie looked back and forth between Keelan and me as I took her gift from Keelan’s hands. “Does she live here or something? Why do you need to ask her where to put your gifts in your own home?” She let out a dry laugh like she found it funny.

The tension in the room became thick and all the guys seemed to go still. Even Creed froze before taking a seat on the stool next to Colt at the island.

Keelan’s kind smile dropped. “Shiloh busted her ass to make today extra special for me. It makes her happy for everything to have a place and what makes her happy makes me happy.”

I was as shocked as I was touched by what he said.

“Oh, I didn’t know you two were dating,” Stephanie said.

The tension increased and I took that as my opportunity to leave the room. I didn’t want to hear Keelan correct her. I set her gift on the coffee table in the living room, then went to Colt’s room to get mine. As I walked into his room, the doorbell rang again.

Needing a minute, I sat on Colt’s bed next to my gifts for Keelan. Shame was twisting up my stomach. I should have been the one to correct her about Keelan and me. I hoped Colt and Creed didn’t take me dashing out of there the wrong way. Maybe I was overthinking things because I felt guilty about having feelings for my boyfriends’ older brothers.

“Shi.”

I looked up and saw Keelan standing in the doorway. “Sorry. I was just about to head out,” I said, grabbing his gifts.

“What’s going on?” he asked as he moved into the room and sat next to me on the bed.

“Nothing.” I fiddled with a hair tie I had around my wrist. I needed to pull my hair up. As pretty as it was down, it was too hot, especially if we were going to be outside, hanging by the pool.

He pointed to the gifts I was holding. “Are those for me?”

“No, I bought these for myself,” I teased, making him smile. “I was bringing them out for you to open later.”

“Can I open them now?” he asked.

I held one out to him. “You’re the birthday boy.”

He opened the first one and pulled out two sets of pajamas for men. One set was Superman, and the other was Batman. He let out a genuine laugh as he looked them over. “Now we can match,” he said.

I handed him the second gift and he unwrapped it, revealing a collector’s edition box set of all the seasons of Game of Thrones. He looked it over, reading that it came with bonus scenes. “Our Game of Thrones dates are going to be even better.” He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly. “Thank you, baby girl.”

I hugged him back. I made the mistake of breathing his scent in. It was addictive and heady. Keelan pulled away slowly, stopping when our faces were inches apart. He cupped my cheek and his eyes dropped to my lips. Right then, I wanted nothing more than for him to kiss me. I wanted it badly, but I wouldn’t do that to Colt and Creed again.

I pulled away, clearing my throat. “You’re welcome.” Needing to occupy myself, I took my hair tie off my wrist and twisted it around my fingers. “We should return to the party.”

“I’d rather stay in here with you,” he said, making my heart skip a beat.

My hair tie flew out of my hands. “Dang it,” I said, standing from the bed. I searched the floor, not seeing it anywhere. “I’m going to have to run back home and get another one.”

Keelan searched the floor. “Maybe it rolled under the bed or nightstand.”

I got down on my hands and knees. I felt around under the bed and behind Keelan’s feet. When I stuck my hand under the nightstand, my fingers landed on what felt like my hair tie. I scooped it up. “I found it,” I said, holding it up to show Keelan. Staying on my knees, I began to gather my hair on top of my head.