Page 83 of Creed

Okay. Goodnight.

Jameson:

Night, babe.

I put my phone down,and when I looked up, I found Laura staring at me with a big smirk on her face. “What?”

“Oh, you’ve got it bad, girl.”

“I know. I can’t help it.” I let out a breath. “This man gives me all the feels. He always has.”

“Does he have a brother?”

“He has plenty,” I giggled. “And you will meet them all soon enough.”

“I can’t wait.”

Laura and I finished off her bottle of wine, and another that we’d grabbed from my secret stash. We talked and laughed for hours, and for a short while, the world outside had gone quiet. I hadn’t meant to drink as much as I did, but Laura had a habit of topping off my glass when I wasn’t looking. By the time it was well after midnight, we were both feeling the effects, so Laura decided to skip the drive home and crash on the sofa.

“You need to make sure Mr. Wonderful knows that you and I come as a set,” she’d declared, pulling the throw blanket over herself dramatically. “He can’t have you without me.”

“I’ll let him know.”

“You better. Because you’re mine first.” She closed her eyes and rolled to her side with a huff. “I’ll share and all, but only if he plays nice.”

“Noted. Now, get some sleep.”

She let out a yawn and a mumble, and I knew she was already halfway there. I turned out the light and slipped off to my room. I slipped on my pajamas, and I fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow. The next morning, she was up and gone before I even got out of bed.

She left a note on the counter:

Had fun,lightweight.

Can’t wait to meet your sexy biker and his brothers.

Love ya- Laura

I smiledand shook my head as I dropped it on the table next to the grocery list I still hadn’t tackled. I would get to it, along with the laundry, but I needed coffee first. So, I started a fresh pot and got to work.

I spent the next few hours cleaning up the kitchen, folding the laundry that had been in the basket for a day, and finishing all the little tasks I hadn’t gotten to the night before.

As I scurried around the house, I found myself wondering about Jameson. I hadn’t heard from him since our last few texts, and even though it shouldn’t have bothered me, it did.

I kept telling myself he was probably busy and that he would call when he could, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. It would have been so easy to call him and ask him flat out what was going on. It might’ve eased the worry twisting in my stomach, but I resisted the urge.

I’d promised myself this time would be different.

I would try my best not to always think the worst.

I would believe that he wouldn’t put me off unless he had to. That one was tough, especially with that gnawing feeling in my gut. But I managed.

I kept myself busy right up until I heard Brian’s truck pull into the driveway. I walked over and opened the front door, watching as they grabbed their things from the back and started up the sidewalk.

It felt good seeing their adorable faces coming towards me, but that little uplifting moment quickly vanished when I saw that Brian was following them up the walk. Damn. He usually just dropped them and drove away, and I really wished he would’ve done the same today. I was in no mood for his bullshit.

“Hey, Mom.”

Chrissy gave me a quick hug before darting into the house. Austin followed behind, pretending he was too old for hugs. “Hey, Bud. How was the weekend?”