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CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

REED

“Are you sure you want to eat that?” I grimace at the vendor loading all sorts of precarious-looking items on top of the hotdog. Before now, just the thought of the so-called meat made me want to vomit into the nearest trash can, but watching Gia practically salivate for the food has me rethinking my previous conception.

“It’s sooo good.” She almost snatches the hotdog from the vendor, causing me to chuckle, then her eyes roll on a loud groan that has me adjusting my cock as she takes a huge bite out of it.

“Okay, give me one of those.” I push a twenty into the vendor’s hand, and he takes the cash with a laugh that mirrors my own.

Once I got in the SUV and over the fact we’d bumped into my mother, of all people, I undid my tie and threw it in the back of vehicle and could finally breathe more easily. Proof that some fucking idiot was trying to choke me with their creation.

I felt stripped bare with Gia sitting beside me. My demons were exposed despite the one still hanging over me, but when she brought my hand to her lips, much like I’d done earlier, all thoughts of her father were banished from my mind. In that moment, all that mattered was her.

My teeth sink into the hotdog. Jesus, my mother would have a fit if she realized I was eating processed food loaded with fat and additives, and somehow, that thought makes it much more delicious.

We start walking, and I take her hand in mine.

“I figured I’d bring us back to where we started out as a family,” I say, and nod toward the lake with the rowing boats. A few people are still milling around, and the odd family enjoy a picnic as the sun goes down. Each of them probably making the most of the warm evening, and honestly? It’s beautiful to see. It’s like an awakening. Why the fuck would I want to be in a stifled restaurant when I could be here with Gia and our family.

She smiles and drops her head, shaking it with the force of her laughter.

“You were a mess that day.”

A laugh booms from my chest. “You think? I thought I was going to die from the intake of algae.”

She rolls her eyes. “You’re so dramatic.”

I mock scoff and lay my free hand over my chest. “I couldn’t google quick enough. I even had Mase research it for me while I made my way over to you.”

“What did he say?” She smiles brightly.

“He must have told Tate, because the fucker called me up telling me I was going to be choking up tadpoles in my sleep, it’s why I laid on my side all night.”

Stopping in her tracks, she turns to face me. “I’m pretty sure you were on your back while I fucked you.”

“Apart from that time.” I nod.

She chews on her lip again, and I can’t help but to bend down and tug it from her, pulling it between my teeth as I hold her hips in place. When I release it, she stares at me with a look of awe. “Tonight’s been perfect, Reed.” She pants out heavily.

I step back and eye her skeptically. “Perfect?” It’s been a lot of things, but I wouldn’t call it perfect. My mother helped put a stop to that. “It’s ended perfectly.”

She glances over her shoulder, toward the hotdog vendor, and smiles. “It has.”

Throwing my arm around her, I tug her into my side. “Come on, let’s get home and relax.” When she bands her arm around my back, something settles inside me—a sense of peace and belonging.

I feel at home.