“But don’t worry. I’ve got a way you can make it up to me for doubting my awesome business sense.”

Devin grips my thighs and pulls me to the edge of the counter. I snake my hands between us and push him away.

“Unh-uhh. You don’t get a reward for being a brat.” I wag a finger at him.

Devin lets out a deep sigh. If he’s annoyed now, he’s going to be livid in a few seconds when he finds out he’s got major boyfriend duties coming his way already.

“You. Me.” I point to his chest, then my own, and his eyes light up. “And my family.” His eyes go wide in something that looks a bit like panic. “Saturday night for the monthly Allen family dinner.”

“You sure?” he asks, his voice soft and hesitant.

“Positive. Momma Allen’s orders.”

Devin’s jaw drops. “You told your mom about me?” He sounds embarrassed and giddy.

I slap my hands on his shoulders. “Technically, I told my brother Jake. And that blabbermouth told Mom.”

Devin’s excitement slips away. He looks down at the floor and nods. He tries to pull away, but I grip his shirt.

“Hey, where you going?”

“Like you care,” is his terse response.

I pull him into me and wrap my legs around him to make damn sure he isn’t going anywhere. “Excuse me?” I ask, cupping his face and forcing him to look at me.

“I get it. You’re stuck bringing me because your brother can’t keep a secret. I’m nothing special.”

His expression is hard as a slab of marble, but those eyes… Those deep, dark eyes hold so much uncertainty. I push down the urge to tell this giant teddy bear in his grizzly bear disguise that I love his brooding ass.

I’m not ready to take that leap just yet, so I tell him what the pouty grump needs to hear instead. “Jake, my middle brother, is my best friend. I can tell him anything and he’ll give me the hard truth he knows I need to hear. But I’ve never talked to him about guys before. It was this unspoken rule. My love life was my business, but then I guess there’s never been anyone worth talking about.”

“But you told him about me? Us?” Devin slides his hands up from my knees to my thighs, gripping me firmly. Possessively.

I nod. “I asked him if I was coming on too strong. If I was going to get myself hurt.”

“And?” Devin asks, his coal-black eyes searching mine.

I take a deep breath and quirk up the corner of my mouth. “He said to stop being such a pussy.”

A thick chuckle rumbles out of Devin, making my heart dance. “I think I like Jake.”