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thirty
scarlett
Living in a hospital permanently never crossed my mind until I spent the entire night in Greyson’s arms on a lumpy twin bed. Content to linger here forever, I don’t even bat an eye when the morning nurse sends an arched eyebrow in our direction once she floats into the room.
“Good morning. I think me and this lady right here are going to stay an extra day—no, a week. This stunner told me she loves me and we have a twelve-year-old. We deserve a vacation. Can you make that happen?” Grey cracks a smile without opening his eyes.
She chuckles, checks his vitals, and mutters something like “young love,” on her way out.
The daylight streaming through the open blinds brings forth all his injuries in stark clarity, and I gasp at all the blue and purple bruises blooming on his face and arms.
“I’ll be fine, babe. Just bruises.”
“I know. But… they make me hurt just by looking at them.”
“Come here.” He pulls me close and gives me a kiss that tingles even my toes. “I’m fine,” he reassures me again, his warm male scent washing over me as he turns his head into the crook of my neck.
He murmurs, his lips tickling my neck, “Happy early birthday, Scar. Sorry I don’t have cake, but I can fulfill wishes.”
“It’s not for a few more days, silly. Are you sure your head feels all right?” My breath hitches when his teeth sink into the delicate skin where my pulse races and surges. He then licks up to my earlobe and I could combust. “Besides, my wish already came true. I don’t even have to blow out a candle for it.”
A laugh rumbles in his chest. “Well, I know one thing you can blo—oww!” That earned him a pinch to his good arm, which he then snakes around to dig into my ribs, sending me into a fit of giggles.
“Stop, stop! I don’t want to hurt you!” I squeal, careful not to jostle him too much. “You must be feeling better, though, if you can play around.”
He plops back on the pillow and turns his head toward me, brushing a thumb over my cheek. “Having you here helps.”
Lacing our fingers, we let our gazes roam over the other a bit longer in comfortable silence, as if we haven’t seen one another almost every day for the past twelve years. But this is different—he’s mine and I’m his.
I take our joined hands and press my lips to a bruised knuckle. “I think I’ve been waiting for you my whole life.”
Blue eyes flare and a kiss so passionate, yet so tender, steals my thoughts, steals my soul. “I love you. So much. Thank you for taking a chance on me,” he whispers to me as the sun brightens the room, reflecting off the bronze strands in his brown hair.
A happy tear slides into the groove of my smiling mouth. He brushes it away and I let out a deep-contented sigh before resting my head on his warm chest, my eyes drifting shut to the sound of his steady heartbeat. “I heart you, too.”
An hour of sleep later, I rouse, and reluctantly slide out of the bed, just in time for the doctor to sail into the room, clutching her silver stethoscope around her neck. The opportunity to clean up never better as my tangled blonde hair and racoon-rimmed blue eyes stare back at me in the bathroom mirror.Oof, he thinks this is sexy?My mind conjures up those blown pupils of his and I think,yes, yes, he does.A coy grin spreads across my face when I appreciate what transpired last night beneath those crisp sheets.
Two orgasms.Two.
I toy and spin my new bracelet, watching Grey finish up with the doctor and assess the whirlwind of the prior twenty-four hours. He catches my eye and winks, his crooked smile sending butterflies all throughout my body. It’s more than butterflies—it’s the realization I’ve found my calm within the storm. The right person won’t send your body into overdrive. The right person centers you, comforts you, and makes you feel like you’re home every time you’re around them.
Greyson is my home.
* * *
“We should tellTheo about us now before you take him to camp. Give him the week to process it,” Greyson says as we bounce over the gravel-filled driveway to his house.
He hisses in pain and I slow down to crawl before easing my car into park in front of his house. I’ve loved his place since I helped him draw up the blueprints for it. White composite siding, large wraparound porch complete with two rocking chairs, and black shutters frame the windows of his farmhouse. Burned wood flower boxes bursting with ferns and colorful zinnias create the perfect country oasis.
“But won’t he be distracted? We won’t be there to answer questions and he’s supposed to be having fun, not thinking about us,” I counter, stepping from my car and striding to the passenger side to help him out.
He grumbles, but nods as he grabs his plastic hospital bag from the floorboard. “Woman, you always going to be so practical?” Grunts fill the air as he pulls himself out of my car, cursing, his face beet red.
Taking his bag from him, I wrap my arm around his waist to steady him. “No pouting. We’ll tell him soon, I promise. Come on, he’s waiting for you. I had Savy bring him home—he’s been so worried.”
As if he’d been peeking out the front window like a puppy, Theo tears open the door and flies down the steps toward us.
“Be gentle, baby!” I yell as Theo launches himself into Grey’s arms, nearly sending them both to the ground.
