When we both reach that climax, we fall together. Trading moans and sighs as our bodies cling like a lifeline.
“Ugh, now I want to go to work even less,” I mumble against his warm skin.
Westley chuckles. He sits back on his heels, taking me with him as he steps off the mattress and walks us to the bathroom.
He reaches into the shower, turning on the water, all while he holds me in his arms. “You get freshened up, and I’ll go make your mocha.”
“Aren’t you going to shower with me?” I ask, stepping under the hot spray after he puts me on my feet.
“Nah.” He smirks. “Want to wear your scent on me a little longer.”
I laugh as he walks out, tossing a wink over his shoulder.
It’s not just lazy mornings with Westley that I want. It’s happy days, loving nights, and a life full of wishes I didn’t dare to cast, but they came true anyway.
***
“That was pretty cute, West and Aurora coming in earlier,” Claire says as she stirs her brushes into the cleaning solution.
They came in this morning to give me a kiss after classes then headed over to Sweet Escape for brunch. I couldn’t take myeyes off them as they crossed the street, escaping into the pale blue bakery.
“Yeah.” I bite down on my lip, but there’s no stopping the grin that takes over my face.
It does something to me, seeing Westley with my daughter. And Aurora always looks so happy and relaxed whenever he’s around, too.
“I seem to recall not long ago saying you’d have a man to ride through every sunrise by the end of the year.” She turns her head back to the computer, pointing to herself. “Right again.”
I chuckle as my phone buzzes against the counter,Thiefwritten across the screen.
“Hey,” I say. “I’m leaving in a few minutes.”
“You gotta come to the hospital.”
My world stops spinning. “Why? What happened?”
I squeeze Claire’s arm, then point to my phone, mouthingI have to go. She nods, brows pinched as she waves me out the door.
I hear my daughter crying in the background.
“West. It hurts.” She sounds scared, and the pain cuts through the phone straight into me.
“I know, sweetie,” Westley soothes. “We’re almost there.”
“West!” I shout, racing through the staffroom to grab my bag and keys.
“We were down at the boat harbour getting ice cream, and she was walking along a ledge—barely even half a metre off the ground—and her foot slipped. She landed on her arm.”
I smack a hand to my mouth as I gasp. Aurora’s always been a careful child, barely gets sick, but thoughts of her in a hospital always take me back to the first time we were there. When I thought I’d lost her. When my world imploded, and I had to make a choice—succumb to the same fate as my parents, or run.I chose to run, and I’ve been running ever since. Every move I’ve made has been to keep us safe and hidden.
I feel dizzy as I stumble through the car park to my Jeep, catching myself on the door. My forehead presses against the cool glass, and my eyes close as I try to take deep breaths.
“She’s gonna be okay, baby. But I need you to meet us at the hospital.” Westley’s voice remains calm as the first tear slips down my cheek. “Mae?”
I sniffle. “I’m here.”
“I promise I won’t leave her side.”
I’m nodding, still clawing for breath, but my head doesn’t clear. My pulse doesn’t fall.
