Not that it would come to fisticuffs, but Vince could admit to himself that of all his brothers, Trask would be the most challenging in a fight.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, asshole,” Vince responded heartily.
Now that there were no little ears around, he could let the expletives fly.
“That’s what I’m here for,” Trask told him, taking no offense as he sat back down and continued eating.
“I’ve seen you around town, Lace.” Kyle spoke up next. “But it’s nice to finally meet you.” He welcomed her into the group by nudging out the chair next to him, where Lace sat. Vince took the next one over.
“Are you really dating my goofy brother?” Kyle continued.
Lace gave him a huge, smile, then turned to Vince with nothing but hot calculations in her eyes.
“Yup. I sure am,” she answered somewhat breathlessly. “We’re all dressed up and ready to go.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Lace realized she’d laughed more than she had in ages with Vince and his brothers, but as they drove away from the Bear’s Claw, she wished that they didn’t have to do any more visiting.
Not that she didn’t love Ellen Sothard. But now that Lace’s courage was up, having more or less told Vince earlier that theywerehaving sex when they arrived home, she wanted to get to it.
She already knew that being in bed with Vince would be epic—a no brainer from the way he kissed—but she was also riding a high right now over her own boldness at stating her desires; a daring so unlike her, that she didn’t want time for her manufactured courage to crash and burn.
Unfortunately, she could already feel doubts creeping in.
Like…
How would Vince react to her skinnier than normal body?
Sure, she still had an ass—that being the appendage to which Vince had admitted having the most interest—but her hips had flattened out, her legs and arms had lost some muscle tone, and her boobs…
Well, that was where most of her worry lay.
The girlswerestill high and firm.Ish. But after all the poking and prodding, as well as the diagnostic slicing and dicingthey’d undergone, Lace wondered if she’d feel sexy having them handled. Or sucked.
Sure, it would be a completelydifferentkind of touch—and no doctor hadorallyexamined her nipples, she giggled to herself—but over the past few months she’d pretty much disconnected her brain from her front end in order to mitigate any future shock that might come from not having a breast or breasts.
And then, there was her port.
Very attractive.
With its lumpiness, lines, and tape, even when not in use, it was kind of the focal point of her chest, and it screamed “cancer” to her.
She wondered how Vince would see it?
Probably with all the aplomb he’d shown so far with everything else she’d hit him with about her cancer trajectory.
He really was an extraordinary man.
Lace just prayed that he wouldn’t get tired of all her medical shit and bail on her once she let her emotional barriers down and finally admitted to loving him.
Maybe she should just go for it and say the words now instead of being chicken-shit. Because if Vince left herbeforeshe said it, she might never again have the chance to utter those words to any man.
Stop whining, she chastised herself, but it was a losing battle.
That’s how unsure of herself she’d become.
And didn’t that suck.