“Did you know that I wanted you then?” I ask as we lock eyes and she raises a brow.
“You were eighteen, you dirty perv,” she sasses, and I grin wide, not denying it.
“Your dirty perv,” I murmur as I gently rub my thumb along her bottom lip. “I know all this seems sudden for you,” I whisper, “I know it seems like I’ve done a one eighty because I’ve spent five years pushing you away believing you deserved more than me, than club life. I need you to keep an open mind for me, baby,to see that when I tell you I’m in love with you and I want forever with you, that I mean it.”
Her eyes race between mine, and she nods and agrees, “I’ll keep my mind open, Miles, because I love you too,” and I press my lips against hers, enjoying the way our bodies light up before I rasp, “Seaside?”
She grins widely and says, “We’ve never been to the seaside together.”
I smirk as I run my fingers through her hair, and I murmur, “Well, I think it’s time to change that.”
“Seaside it is then,” she whispers as she looks at me with hesitation, but also hope, and that is good enough for now.
Kissing her lips one more time, I wrap my arm around her waist and walk her towards the door as I say, “Crash is about to be everywhere you are by the way, and is even going to get Belle to speak to you, he wants his sister back.”
She groans as she leans into me. I chuckle as I guide her out of the house, and she lays her head on my shoulder, contentment running through me.
A man could really fucking get used to this.
Chapter 16
Clark – Three Weeks Later
I frown as I tap my pen on my notebook and look over the timetable the college has sent me, ready to start my course, which, as Miles mentioned, is paid in full and nonrefundable.
I want to be mad at him, I really do, but I just can’t because I’m grateful he took the initiative, knowing my pride wouldn’t allow him to help.
Three weeks, and gah, it feels like a dream if I’m honest.
Every week I’ve gone to therapy with Miles, heard his pain, and talked through my hesitation with this relationship. It seems, for me, sudden, whereas for him, as he said, he’s been figuring shit out for a while, all while I thought he had a mistress.
I hear Willow giggle from upstairs, where she’s having her own little tea party before her ballet class, and I smile slightly while worry churns.
The times I need to be at the hospital and in the classroom at college don’t work with childcare.
I sigh. This was another reason I never looked into college or tried to pursue my dream job. Childcare.
Over the years, because I have no trust in the brothers or the old ladies, Miles’s parents, or even my own family, I relied on Belle for childcare. My fear of betrayal and lack of reliable support pushed me to count on her more than anyone else.
Belle helped a lot, and even now, Drew picks up Willow a few times a week. I can’t ask them for more. Belle hasn't contacted me much lately—Miles says she’s giving me space while we figure our marriage out and she has her own life. Being a permanent babysitter isn’t on her to-do list. She wants a future with my brother, which, again, is gross in my eyes, but he makes her happy, and I’ve got to stop relying on her when it comes to my daughter.
“I’m going to have to call Miles,” I groan out loud, seeing this intense schedule.
I understand why it is tense. It’s in-house learning, and because I already have all the qualifications except the degree, it’s only a one-year course but I’m a mom first. Miles is only in his second year of residency, so he can’t dictate his hours either.
Sighing, I grab my phone, knowing I need to disappoint my husband.
He went on a run yesterday but had to find a motel near Rose Hill for the night because of the sudden weather change. I didn’t realize how much I’ve come to look forward to our evenings together.
Every night we have dinner as a family and then he’ll help Willow with her numbers and spelling and if he isn’t on night shift, he’ll put her to bed. Then he spends the evening massaging my legs that are over his lap while he goes through the accountsBones has sent him to double check before we bathe together, my back pressed against his front.
Every night he’s been home, he’s spent inside me…
It’s perfect, almost too perfect, and I hate it, but I’m always waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I'm still struggling to accept that my brother's best friend, my husband, actually wants me.
Shaking my head, I bring up Miles’s number, hating to interrupt his meeting with the Dark Angels but a knock sounds at the front door, and I frown when it opens.
