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Looking at the time, I notice that it is after midday, and I decide to order some food for everyone for lunch. Knowing Molly will wake up hungry after not touching the bagel I brought her for breakfast, I want to make sure she’ll have something too. I call Romeo at the restaurant and have him organize some food. Molly loved his pasta dish when we went there previously. Romeo has done so much for our family, saving Shaun from my father when he had captured Scarlett in the warehouse at the docks. After that, Romeo decided to retire and focus on his family and Shaun set him up with the Italian Restaurant which is now Romeo’s pride and joy. Within thirty minutes, fresh pizza and pasta adorn my kitchen bench. I go to check on Molly, but she surprises me when she walks out of my room, freshly showered and looking rested.
“Hey, I was just coming to check on you.” I walk to her and take her in my arms, not able to control myself when I am around her. I constantly need to touch her, make sure she is real because she truly is an angel.
“I heard voices, so I thought I should freshen up and come out.”
Kissing her on the lips, I say, “Come, meet the family.” I pull her along by her hand to the kitchen before she can change her mind. Marco, Shaun, and Scarlett are sitting at the kitchen bench, all digging into the food as Molly and I approach. Damn, it feels good to bring her into my inner circle, I squeeze her hand to ensure it is all real and actually happening.
“Molly, so good to see you again.” Scarlett, not one to shy away from affection, jumps off the stool, walks over and embraces Molly in a hug. Seeing my cousin hug my girl in welcome makes my heart swell. Even though my mom is still alive and living down in Florida, we don’t have a very close relationship and therefore Scarlett really is the only strong family bond I have left.
“You too,” Molly says quietly. It is then I realize that while this rat pack of a group is my family, to Molly, this is overwhelming given she doesn’t have any siblings or any other close family or friends aside from Shirley in her life. Shaun and Marco say hello quickly, and I pull out a stool, eager for her to sit, eat, and relax with us. I am comforted when I see her pile her plate with the fresh pasta and a big chunk of bread from the banquet we have on offer.
“Is this Romeo’s work?” She looks at me with a smile in her eyes. Before I can reply, Scarlett jumps in and the two women get busy talking about food, cooking, and a whole lot of things that women usually talk about. I am content with the fact that the two most important women in my life are getting along like long lost friends. Molly is coming out of her shell and looking more relaxed now that the ice has been broken and food has been eaten.
The five of us finish all the lunch and do a quick video call to Romeo to thank him for the food, before the family leaves and Molly and I depart to visit Shirley at the hospital. We are quiet in the car, both lost in our own thoughts. Molly no doubt is still thinking about the break-in and her gran. I am thinking about how I can talk them both into moving in with me.
Walking down the hall to Shirley’s room, I am glad I had her moved. This floor has added not only extra privacy, but it is also nice and quiet, ideal for her recovery. I am relieved to see how much better it is for her in a private room as we walk in and find that most of her color has returned to her face, and she is sitting up looking healthier than I have ever seen her before. I can now see where Molly gets her vibrancy.
Giving me a sly grin and a cheeky wink in greeting, Shirley encases Molly’s hand, and they start talking non-stop, catching up on everything without taking a breath. I take a moment to soak in these two amazing women who have been thrust into my life.
Understandably, Shirley is upset by the break-in and looks relieved when I tell her that Molly is staying with me and that when she is discharged from the hospital, she is also welcome, and that I have a room all ready for her. At this statement, Molly gives me a side eye of confusion, shock and trepidation, but I put my arm around her, kiss her cheek and tell them both I am here to look after them and would love for them to stay with me. They seem open to the idea of staying with me and the conversation is parked for a later date. I am glad I positioned it so they have time to think about it and discuss it together like I know they will. They are both fiercely independent, so it isn’t going to be easy, but these past few weeks have highlighted Shirley’s vulnerabilities and the break-in has rattled Molly.
As they move to other topics of discussion, I smile to myself, genuinely happy for the first time in a long time. If only I can get rid of this feeling in my stomach that things are about to get worse before they get better.
***
24
MOLLY
Back at Stephen’s apartment after spending the afternoon with gran, I am bewitched by the amazing view he has from his living room floor to ceiling windows.
Not only do these windows let in an amazing amount of natural light, which makes you feel like you are outdoors, but the framed view it gives of the city is astounding. Not to mention, the whole thing opens up to an expansive terrace where there is an entire outdoor space, although I am perfectly fine snuggled on his couch, which is adorned with cashmere blankets and soft cushions that make me feel like I am sitting in a cloud.
I am reflecting on our small conversation from earlier where he surprised me by asking both gran and I to stay with him. While he didn’t provide details and didn’t indicate that it would be permanent, I know that is what he wants. I want to jump all in with him. I want to move in, start a fresh new life with him filled with romance, love, support, and everything else that he offers. But I am also hesitant because we haven’t known each other long, and even though it feels right, perhaps it is all going a little fast? But maybe I have more of my mother in me than I first thought because she met my dad and within a week was following him across the country and twenty years later, they are still together. It all feels so right. Like he is who I have been waiting for.
As the sun is setting, the city lights come on; it is a stunning view that I won’t forget in a hurry. Stephen is on the phone in his study, finalizing a few work issues, as I am having a cup of chamomile tea, looking at the view and getting lost in all my thoughts. I am still exhausted from last night, although my nerves have calmed down a lot and I am much more positive after seeing gran. She looks amazing and the nurses are saying that she can be discharged in a matter of days once she finishes her course of antibiotics, which is currently being administered to her via a drip in her arm.
Even though the terror of last night still replays in my mind, Stephen has been so attentive and caring, and I wonder what I would have done without him. I am not used to relying on other people; it has always just been gran and I, but the more I get to know Stephen, the more I want to be with him. I feel both protected and cared for when I am with him. Before I get too lost in my daydream, he walks out from his office, looking even more handsome than when he went in if that is even possible.
“Everything okay?” I ask as he walks across the room to me.
“It is now,” he replies as he picks me up bridal style, and I squeal in laughter as he walks us down the hall to his room.
“You like to carry me?” I ask him, giggling at his approach. Although it isn’t hard, given his large 6’2” frame compared to my 5’4” petite build; he could pick me up and toss me around and it would be nothing to him.
“You deserve to be carried, and I just want you in my arms where you belong,” he says before throwing me on the bed and jumping beside me, taking me in his arms again. Laughing, I look at him and he is smiling. I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen him smile. Not that he is unhappy all the time, just always deep in thought, like he has a lot on his mind. Truth be told, I myself have had a lot on my mind these past few weeks too, so it feels nice to laugh and smile with each other. He pulls me on top of him, his hands on either side of my waist as he sits up and we are face to face, breathing in the same air.
Stephen speaks first, desire crackling in the air between us. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you in my life, but I am really happy that you ran into me with your coffee that morning at the club.”
His serious gaze gives me pause. He has such a way with words, like he needs to tell me everything in case either of us go away. It is refreshing, I like his honesty.
“Well, if I remember correctly, you were the one who didn’t look where you were walking and split your coffee all over me,” I say back to him, teasing, wanting to keep the light heartedness to our conversation.
Smiling, he looks at me. “Tell me, angel, did the coffee get you here?” he asks as he kisses my neck. “Or here,” he says as he kisses my collarbone, “or did it reach down here,” he whispers as his fingers draw a trail down my chest to my breasts. His kisses resume at my neck but more passionately than before while his hand massages my breast.
I am putty in this man's hands as I moan softly, feeling his lips and his hands everywhere on my body as my hips grind down on his now hard length below me. In one swift movement, he pulls up my top and unclips my bra before taking a nipple in his mouth and making me gasp at his feverish action.
I slowly grab his top and pull it off over his shoulders, running my hands over his masculine chest, feeling every dip and curve of his muscles. His body truly is a work of art. He rolls me over, so I am underneath him, as my fingers struggle to undo the button of his jeans and he quickly stands to take them off. I notice that he is not wearing any underwear as he lies back on top of me and pulls down my pants and underwear together and throws them to the floor.
