Page 108 of The Heartbreaker

“You matter to me.” His thumb stretched to my lips, pulling at the bottom one. “More than you probably even realize.”

“Oh, no, Ridge. I realize. And those feelings are reciprocated—trust me.” I finally released his fingers and ran mine over his bare chest. “What’s your plan for after breakfast?”

“We’ll pack up our things here, and I’ll take you home. Then, I’ve got to go to Jana’s and pick up Daisy. Jana flies out late this afternoon for a ten-day work trip.”

“I want to ask you something … it’s going to be a tough question.” I sat up, folding my legs in front of me.

“Ask away.”

I rubbed my hands together, linking my fingers, bending them back and forward. “I’m not trying to rush things—please know that. I’m all about taking our time and?—”

“You don’t have to sugarcoat the question, Addison. I know that’s what you’re doing. I want you to feel okay about asking me anything.”

I nodded, stalling a few moments before I said, “When do you think it’s time that I meet Daisy outside the classroom?”

“That’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot. But the first step is Jana. I need to have a conversation with her before Daisy meets you in a personal setting. The last thing I want is my daughter to tell her mother that Miss Lark was hanging out at her dad’s house—because Daisy will. The one thing my girl is excellent at is ratting someone out.”

I laughed, knowing just what he was talking about since I’d experienced it in class. “I understand.”

“But that doesn’t mean I’m putting it off.”

“I know.” My voice was soft. “You’re just waiting for a time that feels right.”

“On Jana’s end, meaning I need to feel her out and assess her mood and pick a time when it makes sense to tell her. It has nothing to do with me not being ready as far as you and I are concerned, and it has everything to do with making sure Jana is ready to handle your transition from teacher to girlfriend and hearing how all of that went down and how we met.” He mashed his lips together. “As for timing, things have felt right between us for a while, baby. In my opinion anyway.”

“Mine too—you know, minus the wholeturtle speedthing that I’d insisted on because my morals were getting in the way.” I winked, but the lightheartedness ended as soon as I added, “Telling her how we met. That’s … mega heavy.”

“But important.”

“And just something else for me to worry about. What if it disgusts her? What if?—”

“I’m going to stop you right there because you don’t have to worry. Jana is open-minded about most things. The teacher part, I’m assuming, would bother her much more than the stripping.”

When I swallowed, my throat was so tight. “How do you know that?”

“Because I know her and because I don’t believe she’d ever knock another woman’s hustle. Not when the motivation is family, like yours was.”

I appreciated that—I did—but I still wanted to die, so I said, “That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Listen to me …” As he stalled, he rubbed my skin in a way that was intended to make me feel better, and his expression softened. “If I didn’t believe in us and think we were in it for the long haul, I wouldn’t even be considering this. I want you to know that too. And I know we don’t have years under our belt. Shit, we don’t even have six months, but there’s something different about us, Addison. I want Jana to know that, and I want her to understand.”

“Are you saying I’m wifey material?” My grin was wide, my giggle as honest as I could be.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Ridge

Not waking up to you this morning sucked.

Me

SAME.

And I’m not kidding. I was just thinking that when my eyes opened and there weren’t any arms around me or a rock-hard, sweltering body behind me. ;)

Ridge

That was a good night at the hotel, wasn’t it?