She assured him, “I do.” Those two little words, which sounded too much like wedding vows, had her spinning away again. Arms hugged around herself, she moved into the kitchen until the bar separated them.
“Slow down, babe.” To help put her at ease, he took a seat at the bar. “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out.”Somehow.
“I love seeing Callie so happy, and I love Tanner because hegave that to her. I love Addie, too. I’ve never known anyone like her.”
She threw that word out like confetti, leaving love scattered everywhere. Normally, hearing it just once would make him twitchy. This time, with Glory, he didn’t have a problem with it. “Addie is special,” he agreed. But what Tanner and Addie had to do with anything, he didn’t know.
“You know my parents died when I was younger.” Needlessly, she straightened the canisters beside the stove. “Callie’s parents have been wonderful—”
He snorted. Liz and Frank were a unique type of obtuse critics, especially when it came to Glory. To be fair, it was more Liz than Frank, but Frank didn’t intercede, and in Kam’s book, that made him guilty, too.
Moving past that, Glory said, “I appreciate everything they did for me, but I’ve never quite measured up to them.”
Unable to bite off the words, Kam said, “They set impossible standards. Ignore them.”
When she looked up at him, she wore a gentle smile. “That’s what Callie always says.”
“I knew right off that Callie was an insightful woman.”
The smile flickered a little more, before it disappeared. “Addie just accepts me as I am.”
Like a ton of bricks, it hit him. She’d found acceptance here and she didn’t want to risk it. “Glory.” Fuck the distance between them. He strode around the counter and tugged her back into his arms. Right now, that’s where she belonged. “I would never do anything to hurt your relationship with Addie or Tanner. I couldn’t. You’re family now and that’s not something either of them would take lightly.”
Resting her cheek to his chest, she slid her arms around him and gave him a tight hug. “Still. Promise you won’t say anything to anyone.”
“They saw me kiss you earlier.”
“One kiss. That’s all. But this...”
Yeah, this was definitely more.
“No one needs the distraction right now.”
So he was a distraction? He supposed he’d been worse things in his lifetime. Pressing a kiss to her lips bought him a little time. He cupped her face, tipped it up, and deepened the kiss. Once they were both breathing hard, he lightened up. “I promise.”
Glory let out a grateful breath. “Thank you.”
There she went, charming him again. “You’re welcome.” Hopefully, once he settled down with her in a bed, she’d forget her silly rules. “People are bound to notice that I’m staying here, too.”
Dismissing that as insignificant, she said, “You’re protective, so that’s fine.”
She honestly thought anyone would believe they were beneath the same roof and not doing anything?
“Just don’t mention the sex.”
Right. The sex.Lights out. Some clothes on.“I’m not an asshole who brags, so no problem.” He thought of how she’d stretched the shirt so low and wondered what she was hiding. He’d held her ass in his hands and as far as he could tell, that sweet part of her anatomy was perfection.
Though for sure, he’d never approached sex with a list of rules laid out first. Especially not minutes after ungoverned carnality in a foyer.
Then again, nothing with Glory felt standard. It was all new and different—and more exciting because of it.
6
Well, now that she’d made a complete fool of herself, Glory wondered how to proceed. Deflecting seemed her best bet. “I should head back to Callie’s. I promised her she wouldn’t have to lift a finger.”
“How about we go together?”
“Because... why?”
