Page 44 of Hidden Vows (Love in Ashford Falls #3)

thirty-five

JUDE

“You’re gonna make me late,” Abbey moans out, the sound echoing off the shower walls around us. Her body arches and she presses her ass into my aching cock.

“We have time.” My hands on her hips separate, one moving up her body to toy with a pebbled nipple while the other slips between her legs, finding her already soaked clit.

Three days since she told me about the baby growing inside her, and we can’t keep our hands off each other. She may have been nervous to tell me about the baby, but I’ve spent every moment I’m with her making it clear how happy and excited I am to be taking this next step.

Nothing about this baby changes any of my wants when it comes to Abbey. I was desperate to keep her in my life before we found out, and I’m just as desperate to keep her in my life now.

“Babe,” she gasps as I slide my finger down to her entrance and back up. “I don’t have time for your teasing.” She turns her head to catch my eye as she reaches between us, her grip on my cock tight, teasing me like I’m teasing her. “Fuck me, or I’ll take care of it myself.”

I groan at her words, but do as she says—I want her just as much as she wants me. “Hands on the wall, love.”

Her hands land on the wall and she bends at the waist, arching her back and presenting her ass to me in the most delectable way. I can’t stop myself from smoothing my hands over her cheeks first. “There it is.”

I line myself up at her entrance and bury myself to the hilt in one thrust. I don’t give her time to adjust, I keep one hand on her hip, holding her in place and slip my other around to play with her clit. If she wants this hard and fast, that’s exactly what she’ll get.

“Yesss,” she hisses as my fingers circle her clit, her ass grinding against me when I have yet to move.

“Stop trying to control it, love. You know I’ll take care of you.” I nip at her neck, careful not to leave a mark—not today anyway.

I start to rock my hips, my pace picking up speed as her body starts to go taut, her orgasm building more and more. “That’s it. Let go, mo ghrá.”

“Jude,” she moans, pushing off the wall, forcing my cock to slip free, but it’s clear what she wants when she spins around to face me. “I need to see you.”

I don’t wait for more from her before my hands are on the backs of her thighs and I’m lifting her, pressing her back into the wall for more leverage. I easily slide back in, finding the rhythm she needs.

With her eyes on mine and our bodies wound around each other, we both find our release quickly, everything about the moment exactly what we need.

Those three little words almost slip past my lips, but I don’t want to say it quite yet. I don’t want the first time I say those words after seventeen years to be right after sex. I never want her to think I didn’t mean it when I say those words again.

“Everything looks amazing,” Ava gushes as she bounces up to Gage and me an hour before closing. “Abbey did amazing!”

“She knocked it out of the park.” I smile at her before searching for the woman of the day. Everything’s been perfect since she opened the doors at noon this afternoon.

Just before the clock struck twelve, I pressed a kiss to her lips, wished her luck, and the two of us tore the paper off the windows and door.

The crowd Abbey saw outside brought tears to her eyes.

I wasn’t surprised in the slightest at either sight.

This town loves Abbey and was always going to come out in droves to support her.

And Abbey, while strong, isn’t afraid to let those beautiful emotions shine.

She had every right to be emotional about today. This was a dream come true and a long time coming. The pride I had coursing through me was unlike any I’d felt before.

The only thing that was dragging her down was the lack of acknowledgement from her dad.

She hasn’t talked to him since that conversation I walked in on.

I know she’s reached out a few times, but he hasn’t returned any of her calls.

She was both panicked about the fact George had yet to be paid—though he wasn’t pressing her about it—and hurt that he was treating her like this.

Honestly, even I was surprised he was ignoring her. He may be an asshole, and I might hate him, but when it comes to his family, he’s normally a decent guy. When he said he’d show up for her, he always did. The fact that he hadn’t shown up today was pissing me off more than normal.

“This place is going to be so freaking popular.” I don’t even try to fight the laugh that breaks free at the way she pulls at Gage’s arm.

He doesn’t even care when her bouncing makes him spill his drink.

The love he has for her pours off him in waves, and if I didn’t have the same feeling for the woman striding toward me right now, I might be a little jealous of him.

“Hey.” She leans up to press a kiss to my cheek, her eyes shining bright with happiness.

“How you feeling?” I ask, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her front to my side. I’m so proud of her, but I also miss her. Even if I’ve spent the whole day in the same room as her, she’s been moving nonstop talking to people and being a proper business owner.

“I’m great. Everything has been perfect.” She beams.

“I was just thinking the same thing, mo ghrá.” The smile that breaks out across her lips is one I know is meant for only me. It speaks of love and comfort, and the dreams of our future. Of the secrets and hopes we share.

“You two are so cute,” Ava practically shouts, breaking the moment, but nothing could ruin the happiness coursing through me, not when Abbey keeps looking at me like that.

“I told you to stay away from my daughter,” a voice seethes quietly behind me.

I understand why Abbey removed the bell from above the door today—with people coming in and out all day it would’ve been ringing nonstop—but in this moment I’m wishing I had the heads up.

Abbey’s entire body goes stiff against mine, but I notice she doesn’t try to pull away. If anything, she presses in closer.

“That’s the first thing you have to say on a day like today?” I answer just as quietly, turning slowly to face him.

Edward seethes before us, and I’m afraid he might hit his breaking point and snap.

I’d prefer not to do this today, but I won’t cause a scene out here on Abbey’s opening day. “Let’s go to the kitchen.”

Releasing my hold on Abbey’s waist, I take her hand in mine and lead the way. I don’t look to see if Edward is following us, I have no doubt he will.

“Dad, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all week,” Abbey says as soon as the door swings closed behind Edward.

“I’ve been busy.”

“That’s all you have to say? George hasn’t received the final payment. What’s taking so long?” Abbey crosses her arms, her posture straight as she faces her father head on.

“I’ve decided to withdraw my investment. I’m not sure I can trust you to run a business seeing how you run your personal life.” His tone is flat, his gaze never moving from mine.

“What?” Abbey’s arms fall, and I hear her voice waiver, but only for a moment. “You can’t do that. We have a contract.”

“There’s always a way out of a contract. I thought I taught you better.” Now his eyes shift to Abbey, and I swear it’s disgust I see in the curve of his lips. “The morality clause would suffice in this situation.”

Abbey takes a step away from him, her back hitting my front. I lift a hand to her hip and squeeze, making sure she knows I’m here. I want so desperately to come to her aid, but I know she needs to do this on her own.

“How?” she whispers.

“Take your pick. Cohabitating with a man you’re not married to. Public indecency.”

“Excuse me?” Abbey shouts. “Public indecency?”

“Are you telling me you two haven’t been together in this bookstore? ”

“There’s no way you can know that,” she coughs out.

“Your reaction is proof enough.”

The words are barely out of his mouth before the door swings open, Ava, Quinn, and Emily stepping through the door.

“All right. That’s enough,” I snap, stepping in front of Abbey. “You can hate me and threaten me all you want, but you will not talk to my wife like that.” The gasps that sound around the room aren’t only from the three women who just walked in. “I don’t want to make Abbey choose between us.”

“Jude,” Abbey interrupts, placing a calming hand to my back. I take a deep breath, stepping back to Abbey’s side to let her talk. This is her fight, and I’ll support her however I can. “He won’t have to ask me to choose. If you can’t respect me, I don’t want you in my life.”

I can’t tell if the words hit Edward the way they should, nothing about his expression changes. “Is that how you really feel?” he asks, his tone flat.

“Yes.” Abbey’s voice is strong, not an ounce of hesitation in her response.

“But let me make something very clear.” She steps forward, her tone softening with her next words.

“You’ve hurt me more than anyone else ever has and I think more than anyone else ever will, but even knowing that, I still want you in my life.

You’re my dad.” Her voice cracks and it takes her a second to continue.

“I love you, and I know you love me, so please, figure your shit out so we can have a relationship.”

Edward doesn’t move, but his eyes bounce between Abbey’s, and maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I swear I see pain and guilt in them.

“And one more thing, something I need you to really hear.” She glances at me over her shoulder for only a moment.

We haven’t talked about telling anyone, but I know the words that are about to come out of her mouth before she even starts.

“I’m pregnant.” This time there are only two little gasps to accompany that announcement.

“If you don’t want to figure this out for me, then do it for your future grandchild.

Because I can promise, you won’t be a part of my child’s life if you continue down this path. ”

Edward may not verbally respond to the news, and if I hadn’t been paying attention I would’ve missed the slight widening of his eyes. But as quickly as it happened his expression clears.

“Sir.” I step up to Abbey’s side, taking her hand in mine.

“I don’t know if you heard, but my father woke up from his coma last week.

” His eyes shifting to mine is the only indication he’s listening to me.

“I finally asked him if he knew why you hated our family so much, and the story he told was honestly heartbreaking.”

It wasn’t the first thing I talked to him about on my visits with him, but it was probably one of the most important things we talked about. And the second he finished telling me that story, I wished I’d asked him sooner.

Grace and my dad were the very best of friends. They shared everything, just like Abbey and I did. But where their relationship differed from ours? They never loved each other the way Abbey and I do. People like to say men and women can’t be friends, but that was truly all Grace and Dad were.

When Grace went away to college she fell madly in love with Edward.

Dad said Grace called it a once in a lifetime love, the kind that made it impossible to ever fall in love again.

Over time, as Edward watched Grace’s relationship with my father, jealousy morphed and grew into obsession and possession.

Dad tried to convince Grace to leave, but she loved him too much, and then she found out she was pregnant with Abbey.

Grace was so happy about getting pregnant, and she saw how happy Edward was at the idea of having a daughter that she believed everything would get better. But of course, that didn’t happen.

Grace never said it, but she didn’t have to.

After my mother died, my father leaned heavily on Grace for support, and when Edward witnessed that support, his jealousy grew.

Edward loved Grace so much and feared losing her to another man that he internalized everything so much he couldn’t let anyone else into his heart—especially his daughter for fear he’d lose her too.

And after all the threats Edward threw my way, I can’t help but agree.

I don’t think it would’ve mattered what man tried to be a part of Abbey’s life, Edward was always going to find a way to come between them. But being the son of the man he thought would steal his wife definitely didn’t help.

“I don’t know what I can do or say to make you believe me”—Abbey’s hand smooths down my back, giving me the strength to continue—“but I swear to you, if you want it, you will always be a part of our life.”

Edward’s eyes shift to Abbey and for a split second I see the love shine through, but it’s gone in the blink of an eye and then he’s spinning on his heel, marching out of the room.