Page 66
She fell into the moment, into the feel of him on and above and around her. His hand found its way between them… his touch sure, possessive.
Again. Now.
She felt his words more than heard them, coming apart just as he followed.
She barely heard him step away to the bathroom. The mattress dipped as he returned and pulled her into his arms.
As their heartbeats settled, Oliver traced tingling little circles against her skin. “You’re making me remember how much I used to love birthdays.”
“I figured you for a guy who would. Did your family go all out when you were younger?”
“Oh yeah. Bouncy castles and water slides, and any whimsical character I wanted. Elaborate parties as I got older, too. Haven’t felt like celebrating in years. Until now.”
She wished they’d known each other as kids. He’d have been studious and focused and kind. That kindness still seeped through, when he didn’t try to block it.
“What were your birthdays like when you were a kid?” he asked.
Addy never talked much about herself—a habit from childhood, a fear that revealing the wrong thing would break her family apart. It was safer not to share. But Oliver had been open with her. He deserved to get to know a part of her too. “I never had birthday parties. My parents couldn’t quite ever find the time. But they always got me nice gifts—fancy trinkets to make up for their absence. Other kids’ parents would bring cupcakes to class to celebrate. I’d bake my own cupcakes to bring to class, and pretend my mom made them.”
“My nanny made the cupcakes.”
“Must have been rough.” She grinned against his shoulder.
His lips found the crown of her head. “Spending time with my oldest brother was my favorite part of birthdays. It was one of the few times of year Jackson came home from France to visit.”
“You and your siblings are close.”
“Very. I don’t think I’d have gotten through the last few years without them. They’re all married, have their own lives. But every single one of them stopped what they were doing to be there for me. I’ll never be able to make it up to them.”
“They love you. They were glad to be there. Kyle’s and my relationship is—well, it’s complicated—but Roman and I are close. I’d drop everything to be there for him if he needed me, and he’d do the same. He feels more like my brother than Kyle ever has. Actually, Kyle feels like our kid. I know it’s strange to think that way. But we pretty much raised him, the two of us.”
She couldn’t read the emotion that flashed across his eyes, but his lips flattened. “Roman let you come to my house alone.”
Angling her head, she crinkled her nose at him. “You weren’t ever a safety concern.”
“You didn’t know that. You didn’t know how bitter I was—”
“I didn’t anticipate the depth of your anger, no.” She shifted until she lay flat on top of him like a blanket, her chin propped on the back of her fist. “But never once did I feel unsafe with you. I wouldn’t have stayed otherwise. When Roman stopped by here—”
The hand sliding over her head froze. “He was here? When?”
“Monday. He was checking up on me because I hadn’t responded to his messages.”
“Is that who you texted when I took your phone?”
How had he guessed? “Yes.”
“And he let you stay here, without a way to contact him?”
“It wasn’t like that,” she said, wiggling to lie next to him again. “No one tells me what to do.”
“Don’t I know that by now.” When she punched him playfully in the ribs, he released an exaggerated growl. Capturing her hand, he brought it to his mouth. “All right. Let’s go to Galway.”
Chapter 35
Dressed and showered, they came downstairs and dragged on their shoes, but at the door, Oliver hesitated. When Addison laid a hand on his chest, his heart beat wildly under her palm even through his cable-knit sweater.
She couldn’t make him go with her. He wasn’t ready. He may have left the house once to get her medical care, but asking him to do so again—and on his birthday—wasn’t fair to him.
