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I nod, and he kisses my forehead before brushing noses with Ave, making sure he has her attention, too.
He looks between us both. “This is forever—no matter what. We fight, I love you. You don’t agree with me on dad stuff, I love you.” Ave chuckles, and he smiles before sobering his features, looking down at me. “We struggle for forgiveness… I loveyou.”
I’ll love you regardless, he tells me without words.
“This is the bestest day ever,” Ave says, dropping her legs from Lance’s waist and standing. “Can I finish my ice cream now?”
“Go for it,” Lance tells her, not letting me go.
He smiles down at me, his eyes watching as if he knows all that’s in my head and understands it when I don’t.
With Ave busy at the table, he leans in to place a light kiss at the corner of my mouth.
He doesn’t say anything else, letting his hand brush my abdomen as he rounds me and heads back to the table.
And with him goes another piece of my heart.
TWENTY-SIX
Lance
Some would call my day perfect, the best even—Waverley did. But I know that until I’m done with Scarlet Lowell tonight, it won’t be enough.
She’s in her bedroom when I find her, her hand working the clasp of her earring free. I stand just inside the door, knowing she’s noticed but chooses to ignore me. I was too much at dinner. Maybe not for Waverley. In fact, I think it was exactly what Waverley and I needed. Her words stole a piece of me I never knew I owned.
I promised myself there and then I’d never let her question my love for her again.
I know what it’s like to fight for the love of a parent, and Waverley won’t ever know that pain.
“You need something, handsome?” Scarlet asks.
I push off from the door, pulling my hands from my pockets as I approach her. When I’m at her back, I pull her hair off her shoulder and kiss the smooth skin beneath. “You know, you almost look too good to spoil.”
She peers up at me in the mirror, a hesitant smile lurking.
I trace her jaw with my finger until I reach her ear. “Almost,” I rasp.
I work the other earring free, dipping my head to place a kiss just below. Her skin is warm, sweet from her body wash and perfume. I run my nose up the length of her neck, my eyes drifting closed. My palms smooth up her thighs, over her dress, my fingers dipping and dragging over her skin through the holes. “Ilovethis dress,” I tell her, gathering it in my hands and inching it up her legs. She lifts her arms when it reaches her waist, helping me remove it.
I toss it to the ground, my eyes already on the long length of her back.
Dropping my hand, I run my finger over the cheek of her ass.
Goose bumps trail.
Can I want to rush this, desperate to taste her, and want to make it last all night at the same time?
Heart thudding, I lean into her and wrap my arms around her body, holding her, the smell of her shampoo reminding me of a million moments just like this one. “Tell me I can have you tomorrow.”
She twists her head up to look at me. “Lance…” she whispers.
“I know.” I force a smile. “I know.”
Pushing up on her tiptoes, she palms my cheek, bringing her lips to mine. Her kiss is slow, an apology, maybe. But it’s enough—fuck, it’s enough.
Even if it’s all she’ll ever give me, it’s enough.
I tug on the string of her bikini top, the material going slack at her breasts. I gently pull it free of her arms and let it drop to the floor.
