AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My grin is explosive; I can’t help it.
While Claire fumbles with her key in the lock at her door, I look down at the mess of broken hairpins on the floor. I quirk a brow in question.
She glances down and then back at me. “Oh, uh…” With an anxious laugh, she sticks her hand in her hair, scratching at her scalp. “I kinda…tried to pick my lock last night.”
“You did not.”
Claire’s answering grin, entirely goofy and way too guilty, tells me she absolutely did. “Watched a YouTube video and everything. Sixteen million views and I still failed.”
Chuckling, I push her through her door.
From the edge of Claire’s bed, I watch as she brushes her teeth, washes her face, and combs her long waves down her back. She threads her fingers through her hair, looping strand over strand, gathering more pieces along the way until a thick braid hangs over her shoulder, and all I want to do is tug it free and love on her all over again.
Standing naked in front of me, she starts rooting through her dresser, humming to herself. For someone who’s been so oddly shy at times, she sure is suddenly incredibly comfortable around me. It’s a nice feeling, and I can't fight the pride that inflates my chest, happy that she’s chosen me to open up to. I wonder if she just needed to feel loved again to feel a little bit more like herself.
“Grab whatever you need to spend the night again,” I tell her, watching her tug on a soft-yellow sundress, lean legs on display.
She twists in my direction wearing an expression I can’t quite decipher. “You want me to stay over again?”
I want her to never leave my sight because I think I have a mild obsession, but I can’t really say that, can I? “I don’t plan on letting you go until you leave for work Monday morning.”
“You’re going to get sick of me,” she murmurs, fingering the scalloped hem of her dress.
Walking over to her, I wrap my arms around her and rest my chin on her shoulder. “Not possible.” I kiss her neck and clap a hand to her ass before walking out of her bedroom. “Pack your shit, Claire.”
I don’t know who spots her first, me or the damn dog. He leaps to his feet, whimpering as he sets his sights on her the second she pushes through the door of the coffee shop.
“She’s mine,” I remind him as Claire struts toward us with a drink in each hand and a little brown bag tucked under her arm. She brushes a kiss across my lips and hands me my coffee.
I love how much she loves to kiss, the way she craves touch, physical intimacy. It makes me wonder what her relationship with Aaron was like, before everything. Was it anything like this? Did he deny her what she needed, what she deserved?
Breaking off a chunk of muffin, she pushes it past my lips before shoving something into my pocket. I fish it out and glare at the twenty-dollar bill I gave her before she went into the café.
“Claire,” I start, swallowing down the delicious decoy. Her hand covers mine the second I reach for her, and she gently shoves the money and my hand back into my abdomen.
“I know you want to pay for this, but please just let me do something here.”
“I—”
“Please,” she repeats, and the quiet plea, the sincere look in her eyes, has my mouth closing, my hand dropping.
It seems pretty ass-backwards that my money makes her uncomfortable, considering it could make her very comfortable, but I don’t want to push her. I’ll ease her into being spoiled.
So I stuff the twenty in my pocket, then pull her into my side and kiss her temple. “Thank you, baby.”
“Well, if this isn’t the cutest display of public affection I ever did see!”
When my eyes land on my sister, stopped not five feet in front of us, hands clasped under her chin, my entire body vibrates with a groan.
Sully rips the leash free from my hand when he spies Harper, nearly tackling her to the ground. That big boy will never forget what she did for him.
“Hey Sul!” Harper drops to her knees, scratching his ears while he cleans her face with his tongue. “How’s my handsome man? Oh, so handsome! I woof you, Mr. Sully-Wully, yes I do!” She beams up at Claire and jerks her head toward me. “What are you doing still hanging out with this loser?”
“I tried to run.” Claire lifts both shoulders. “Didn’t get far.”
“Mmm, I believe that. Likes you too much. Isn’t that right, brother bear?” Harper’s scrutinizing assessment of my face and pointed look at Claire’s hand in mine, in public, tells me she wants details.
With a heavy sigh and a hand dragging over my face, I say, “Harper, you remember Claire. My girlfriend.”
