AllFreeNovel
Share Us
hering him every second of the day would be a mistake. He needs time with his thoughts and his son to heal and to continue accepting my place in his life. That it’s okay for him to love again. I want him to know how much I respect that there are parts of his life I don’t have a place in yet.
With that in mind, I push my chair back and stand up. “I’m going to step outside and make a hotel reservation. It’ll probably be at least a week until the moving company gets my belongings back to me.”
He stops mid-sip and sets his glass down. “Don’t.”
His voice carries and I feel eyes on me from patrons around us. “Don’t what?” I ask quietly, leaning forward over the table.
The vein in his temple throbs and I can’t understand what I did wrong. “I have enough doubt for the both of us, so don’t make assumptions.”
“I was just going to call a hotel.”
“No, you assumed it was best you call a hotel. But you didn’t ask what I thought.”
I laugh, which probably isn’t wise given the harsh tone of his voice, but I can’t help it. We’re not exactly a sit down and share our feelings kind of couple. Hell, we aren’t even a couple.
“I don’t see what’s so funny.” He tries hard to contain his smile but one pushes through as a small laugh bursts through his curved lips.
“Neither one of us knows what the hell we’re doing.”
In the instant it takes him to hear me, his face contorts to frustration and his hands rake through his hair. “I know exactly what I’m doing, angel, so park your sweet ass in the chair and listen to me. You’re not staying in a hotel. You’re staying with me.”
“You don’t get to order me around,” I snap at him. His eyes narrow at my tone and I try not to laugh again. When he doesn’t smile, I reluctantly sit down. “I mean it. Just because I care about you doesn’t mean you can treat me like I’m a toy . . . like . . .”
“Don’t say it,” he growls, his hand clawing at the tablecloth. “I know exactly who you are. You’re mine and don’t ever think I don’t know that. Don’t ever assume I think you’re anything like the other women I’ve fucked. You’re different and you always have been. You’re with me and I want you to stay with me.” His brown eyes hold my attention as they plead with me to hear the promises he’s making. It’s not forever, but it’s right now and that’s all I can ask for. “And not because I ordered you to, but because you want to. Will you stay with me?”
“Yes,” I say, swallowing against the lump in my throat so I don’t cry. “What about Javier? It will be weird enough for him that you’re dating someone. I don’t think it’s wise for us to be sleeping with each other.”
“I don’t give a fuck what’s wise. We aren’t practicing abstinence.”
Finally something we completely agree on. “I meant that we should probably hold off sleeping in your bed for a while.”
Humor returns to his expression as he strokes my hand on the table with his fingers. “You can sleep in my bed and I’ll take the couch. And then I can sneak in to see you when Javier goes to bed.”
The way his eyebrows waggle with delight makes me laugh and I shake my head. “He’s a good kid, you know.”
“Yeah.” He leans back in the chair. “How well do you know him?”
I wonder briefly if this is a conversation we should be having. Tori never even told Aidan about our friendship. I’m sure he has no idea how much time we spent together and how often Javier was around. In a way, I respect Tori for keeping our relationships separate. It had to be difficult, especially given the past she has with Aidan. The best approach is to probably answer his questions as they come.
“Enough to know you’re a pretty remarkable father,” I answer. “Oh, and that I’ll never beat that kid in air hockey.”
He laughs with a flash of pride in his eyes. I laugh too when he pats his chest. “I taught him that.” Then his eyebrows knit tightly together. There’s the conflict and here comes the inquiry. “You and Tori are pretty close, huh?”
“Very,” I answer honestly. “We hit it off when you first introduced us.”
“How close is very?” The hesitation in his voice grows. “Did she tell you about us?”
The stress and worry staring back at me is too intense and totally unnecessary. I feel far more uncomfortable now than when Tori told me about them. He needs a dose of what he usually dishes out. Humorous deflection and a nudge toward changing the subject.
“There might have been a wild girls’ night out that involved a lot of Tug-talk. Oh, and your sister came. She’s awesome, but she kind of drunk-invited me to her wedding, and I kind of drunk-accepted. So, I don’t really know if she expects me to show up.”
I expect him to laugh, but the worry remains. Maybe even stronger than it was seconds before. The tight set of his jaw concerns me as now I think he’s upset with me. “Well, you’re off the hook with that one. The wedding’s off.”
I exhale, feeling relief that it’s not me he’s upset with. “Oh . . . Because of Gabe?”
His head cocks to the side, clearly baffled with what I asked. “Who?”
“Some guy named Gabe that Liv kept going on about.”
