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CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Evan
Waking up with Christy in my bed makes this the best morning I’ve had in a while. Knowing I have nothing to do until we fly out tonight just proves I’m in heaven right now.
I feel her stir so I pull her close to me and kiss the back of her head.
“Good morning,” I whisper.
“Mmm. Good morning.” She holds my hand that’s against her stomach.
Having her this close to me awakens another part of me, and when she shimmies her ass against me, she knows exactly what she’s doing.
“You’ve awaken something inside of me in more ways than you think,” I whisper, kissing her head again.
“Then what’s stopping you from taking what’s yours?”
I laugh, taking full advantage of her words and flipping her over so I’m lying between her legs again—right where I belong.
We kiss, and after I secure the condom, I’m quickly inside her again for what I feel like will be a daily aspect of our lives for a while to come—when I’m in town at least.
Once we’ve had our fill of each other, we lie in bed for a little while longer before getting up and heading to the kitchen together.
I pour her a cup of coffee. With this amazing level of comfort about her, she walks to the couch, grabs the blanket she folded and put on the back of it, and tucks her legs under her before covering herself with the blanket. I stand and lean against the wall between the kitchen and living room, just watching her.
“What?” she says after she’s all comfy and taking her first sip.
I hide my grin under my cup. “Now I know why you had me buy that blanket.”
“I knew it would be amazing, and I was right.”
I walk to her, sit down, and curl up next to her. “When you put it in my cart, were you secretly wishing you’d be curled up in it after waking up here?”
“Maybe …” she says, all cute-like, making me want to hold her even tighter.
She rests her head on my shoulder as we sit in peace, drinking our coffee and watching the rest of the world wake up with the sun continuing to rise.
“It’s not often I get to sit and enjoy my mornings like this,” she says with a blissful sigh.
“Me neither.” I take another sip. “What’s your plan for the day?”
She inhales and exhales, thinking about my question, then shakes her head. “Nothing really. I’m sure I have some shopping to do and cleaning up around the house, but nothing planned.” She turns to look at me over her shoulder. “What time is your flight?”
“Not until five. We’re just going to Texas, so it’s a quick flight.”
“How long will you be gone for?”
“Only three days, and then we’re home for seven.”
She nestles up next to me more, like hearing that made her happy.
“Will you be here on my days I’m home?”
“Here in Nashville, or here in your home?”
“My home,” I state clearly.
She leans up to look at me fully. “I have Nolan, remember?”
“And I have an empty bedroom. We can go buy him a bed to put in there.”
She bites her bottom lip. “It’s not that easy.”
I lift my hand to pull her lip out from her assault. “I get it. We can go as slow as you want. I just want you to know that I want to wake up with you as many days as I can.”
Her eyes meet mine, and I see the hesitation in them.
“Come here.” I pull her closer to me. “There’s no need for that face. Everything will come in time. We’ll figure it out.”
“I haven’t dated anyone since Nolan’s dad. I don’t know how this works,” she says timidly.
“It works however you want it to work. Just know, I’m all in. You and Nolan are a package deal, and I knew that the moment I saw the picture of him at your station. It doesn’t scare me or make me pause in any way, shape, or form.”
She turns to kiss me. “Thank you.”
I hold our kiss, making sure she knows I meant everything I said.
“It starts with today,” I say, trying to lift the mood a bit. “Can we all go to lunch together?”
When she doesn’t answer, I pipe in again, “We can totally pretend that I just happen to be at the same place as you guys and maybe you can offer for me to join you.”
She laughs and drops her head to my chest. “We don’t have to go that far.”
“Hey, I just want you to know that I’m up for anything.”
She picks on the strings hanging off the blanket. “I don’t know if he’ll even understand what dating is. I’ve never brought guys around. He has his uncle Jamie, and the other guys at Station 47 have all welcomed him in, but that’s about it. Well, of course, my dad, too, but that’s a grandpa thing,” she says with a chuckle.
I hold her tighter. “Me being gone for stretches at a time might be a good thing. It will force us to go slow. We can just take it day by day. We’ll start with lunch today. Do we ride together, or should I meet you wherever we want to go?”
She thinks, and I give her the time she needs to work through whatever is going on in her head.
“We can go together. I’ll go pick him up from my sister’s and go home, and then I’ll text you when we’re ready so you can come get us.”
I kiss the top of her head. “Sounds like a plan.”
Christy
I leave Evan’s place with the biggest smile on my face. I keep trying not to think about us or get my hopes up, but it’s just so hard when I’m with him. It’s like I want to pinch myself to make sure this is all real.
Every time he kisses me though, I know it’s real. From my toes to my fingertips, I feel every ounce of how real it truly is.
I texted my sister, telling her that I was on my way, but I did not expect her to be standing at the curb, waiting for me to pull up.
When I do, she instantly opens the door and hops in. “Tell me everything—and I mean, everything …” she says, all sultry, making me laugh.
“Hi. Good morning. How’s my son?” I tease.
She raises her eyebrows at me in a don’t give me that shit way, and I laugh even harder.
I drop my head back on the rest with a sigh. “It was amazing. He’s amazing.”
“So, like, you guys …” She leaves that question hanging in the air.
I smirk, then look at her. “Twice.”
“Ah!” She claps, bouncing up and down. “Was it everything you’d dreamed of?”
“So much better. He’s just …” I can’t put it into words. “I don’t know. I’m trying to keep my feet on the ground here. Everything is just too perfect.”
She grabs my hand. “There’s nothing wrong with perfect.”
“Perfect is scary.”
“Perfect is real. I knew the first time Jamie kissed me that it was different.”
My eyes meet hers.
I want to hear more, so she continues, “They say, when you know, you know. What has he said?”
I close my eyes, feeling happy tears prick the back of them. “He said he’s in, Nolan and all.”
“Really?” Her voice cracks with emotion, and I can’t fight the few tears that slip out.
I nod, wiping them away. “Right? What am I supposed to say to that?”
“You don’t have to say anything. You deserve this. Don’t fight it and enjoy the ride. Remember, it’s your plans, but God’s path. He could be the guy you’ve been waiting for. You just needed to bring Nolan into the world first.”
That really makes the tears fall, so she reaches up and gives me a hug.
I’ve never once thought that Nolan was a mistake. No matter what his father did to us, I knew he was meant to be here, so hearing her say that just fills my heart even more.
“Come on.” She pulls back from our hug. “Let’s go get that little boy of yours.”