Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 140184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 701(@200wpm)___ 561(@250wpm)___ 467(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 701(@200wpm)___ 561(@250wpm)___ 467(@300wpm)
He puts the vase full of water on the counter, then takes the bouquet from me, but he doesn’t open the tissue paper they’re bundled in so he can put them in the water. Instead, he puts the bouquet on the counter and pushes his hands into the back pockets of my jeans, then leans in to give me a slow, intensely thorough kiss that makes my insides warm and my heart fluttery.
I feel a little dazed when he pulls back and gazes down at me. “Let’s go upstairs.”
My heart soars. “Upstairs?”
He nods, and I can see in the sureness of his gaze he means to get me out of my clothes as soon as we get up there.
“I have sandwiches in the oven,” I say stupidly, but it’s the first thought to pop into my head. “They have to come out in like ten minutes.”
Milo smirks. “I think Jonathan can handle pulling a pan out of the oven.” He takes my hand to pull me around the island and back toward the foyer. Glancing at his son almost as an afterthought as we pass, he tells him casually, “Put her flowers in the vase, too, will you?”
Jonathan does not say a single goddamn word, and although my whole body warms with mild embarrassment at how brazenly Milo is flaunting what he’s about to do, I’m far too excited to care.
Chapter twenty-nine
Milo
Kennedy plays at shyness as I push her into the bedroom and close the door behind us.
I don’t need to turn the light on since it’s still daytime. Clouds obscure the sun, so it’s dreary outside, but still daylight.
Slowly, Kennedy moves backward as I move toward her. It’s a dance, the choreography of a hunt, but she yearns to be captured so she doesn’t work too hard to dance away from me, even in play.
My fault.
I’ve made her worry about slipping away from me if she wandered too far.
I catch her now, cradling her face in one hand and sliding the other into her wild curly hair and cradling her skull. “Come here, you,” I murmur, and she does.
She lets me pull her in, and her arms wrap around me. I kiss her forehead as the distance between us disappears, then the corners of her eyebrows. There’s not an inch of her body I don’t want to kiss, so I even drop one on the tip of her nose and make her smile.
“I know we’ve talked about all this and both explained our reasons, but I want to touch on it one last time before we close this chapter and move on.”
Her smile fades, but she’s not disappointed or frustrated. She’s just giving me the attention I’ve asked for.
“Okay.”
I keep her close, keep my fingers in her hair and my lips touching her skin wherever they can. “I know we’ve had a rough few days. I’m sorry for making it worse instead of better. You put your trust in me, and I let you down.”
“You didn’t—”
I kiss her pretty lips to shut her up. “Yes, I did,” I say flatly. “My reasons don’t change that fact, but I want you to know that I’m aware of it because, obviously, I hope it never happens again. I’m not a perfect man, but I am yours, and I will always do my best to take care of you.”
Her hand comes up to caress my jaw. “You did, Milo. It wasn’t the way I asked you to take care of me, but even letting me go to Jonathan when you didn’t want to do what I asked…” She drops my gaze, but only for a moment. “I know it wasn’t easy, and the thought that I hurt you makes me feel sick, but you did let me have what I needed without regard for yourself. You could have grabbed me and hauled me back to your bedroom. You could have pounded on his bedroom door and refused to let it happen, but you didn’t. It irked me in the moment because I really wanted it to be you, and your stubbornness made me so mad, but even then, you made sure I was taken care of. You were ready to raise hell and lock me in a closet when you thought I meant to leave the house and potentially put myself in danger, but you knew Jonathan would take care of me.”
I’m glad she sees it that way. I know it complicated everything and I know it’s selfish as hell, but I’d much prefer she gets everything she needs under my roof than go anywhere else for it. As crazy as this past weekend was, I don’t know how I would have handled a complete separation.
“This is your home. We’re your family now. I want you to be comfortable here—around all of us,” I add.