He taps the end of my nose with his finger. “Anytime, sweetheart,” he whispers.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Luke
I’m a fairly patient man, but Christ, it’s being tested right now.
If Troy’s mother complains about the ‘décor’ in the house once more, I’m going to hand her a paint brush and tell her to get to fucking work.
There’s nothing wrong with the house, but even if there was, it’s none of her god damn business.
This isn’t Troy’s house anymore, it’s Mia’s, and having Everly roam around pointing out every little thing that Troy would have, or could have done is not helpful in the least.
If I didn’t think it’d upset Mia, I would have yelled at her by now.
Troy’s not coming back, and no amount of bitching and moaning is going to change the fact.
It’s not even about Troy at this point.
Everly’s just a horrible person and Robert is like a spineless jellyfish.
Mia deserves so much more than this shit.
I linger in the doorway of Joe’s room as his so-called grandparents both say goodnight to him.
Everly rolls her eyes at me as she passes, and I send out a prayer that Mia can survive downstairs with the witch before I get back down there.
Robert is still sitting on the edge of Joe’s bed, talking to him about the trains that he used to drive when he was younger.
Joe’s eyes are wide and excited. He loves trains almost as much as trucks and dinosaurs.
“Domas?” he asks excitedly. “Domas?”
Robert looks over his shoulder at me in confusion.
“Thomas,” I elaborate. “You know… ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’.”
“Oh of course,” Robert replies, looking back at Joe with a grin. “You get some sleep and I’ll show you some photos tomorrow. I think there was one in there that looked just like Thomas.”
They say their goodnights and then it’s just Joe and I.
He looks so cute cuddled up in his big-boy bed.
He’s already so grown up it’s scary.
“Your dad loved trains, buddy,” I tell him as I sit down on the side of his bed. “Even got excited about them as an adult.” I chuckle at an old memory.
“Twains,” Joe mimics.
“Trains, trucks, cars… anything that went fast.” I grin.
“Dad,” he says.
I reach for the photo on his bedside table and turn it so he can see. It’s a photo of Mia and Troy just before our last deployment.
“There’s your mumma, and your dad.” I point to the two of them.
“Mumma.” He grins.
I look at the picture and smile. They were like night and day, Mia and Troy.
Mia is tiny, blonde and fair-skinned, Troy was huge, dark-haired and olive-skinned.
Joe is a mix of the two of them – fair-skinned and dark-haired. They both had green eyes, so it goes without saying that Joe was always going to inherit those.
“Dad.” I point to Troy and show him again, but he doesn’t seem interested anymore.
“Hug,” he announces, holding his arms out wide for me to cuddle him.
I have to catch myself sometimes in moments like these. It’s so bittersweet – receiving love and affection from Joe. I’ve been here to witness most of his firsts and I’m so thankful for that, but the sacrifice that led to me being the one here is not something I can take lightly.
“Goodnight, bud. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
He nods and yawns as he untangles his arms from my neck and snuggles down into his pillow.
He’s so sleepy already; it won’t be long before he drifts off.
I sit and watch as his eyelids grow heavier and heavier until they’re shut altogether. His lips form a little ‘o’ as sleep takes him deeper and deeper.
I’ve got so much love for this little guy – more than I thought I could have for another person. I care about Mia just as much, but this is different.
I can somewhat understand what people mean when they say that having a child is a different kind of love. He might not be my son, but he’s such a big part of my life that I feel it anyway.
A hand on my shoulder startles me.
I look up and Mia is smiling down at me.
“Little stinker, I didn’t even get to say goodnight,” she whispers.
I kiss the hand that’s sitting on my shoulder and she blushes. “He was worn out,” I tell her.
“Aren’t we all,” she mumbles.
I take her other hand in mine and pull her until she’s sitting in my lap.
“Is she still being a bitch?” I ask quietly.
“Does she ever stop?” Mia rolls her eyes. “She’s grilling me about why you’re here.”
“You don’t have to explain anything to her – to either of them, Mia.”
“I know,” she whispers. “She’s just so horrible though, you know? She twists my words and makes me feel guilty for things that are outside of my control.”
“This is the last time they’re staying here, okay, sweetheart? I’m not having you put up with this again.”
She wraps her arms around my shoulders and rests her head against mine.
“Thank you… for everything.”
“I’d say it’s a pleasure, but I don’t want to start lying to you now,” I say with a grin.
We’re still whispering, even though Joe is well and truly out to it. Short of one of his beloved trains driving through the room, there’s nothing that will wake him now.
“Well thank you for suffering for me.” She giggles softly, and I feel the motion through my whole body.
I’d suffer forever if she asked me to, but I’m not going to tell her that. The last time I opened my mouth when she was in my arms, I said things I’d sworn I was going to keep to myself.
“We better get back down there before the bloodhound sniffs us out. The last thing we need is her seeing you in my lap.”
Mia freezes and shudders. “Oh god, can you imagine?” She winces. “I’d never hear the end of it.”
I kiss the top of her head.
“Two nights, sweetheart, just two nights and then they’ll be gone.”
***
I wake in the middle of the night with a searing pain in my back.
I can’t stay on this god damn couch a minute longer.
I sit up and lean back against the arm of it.
I’m so uncomfortable I’m not sure I could fall back asleep down here if I tried, even though I’m exhausted.
Listening to someone nit-picking over you and the woman you love is draining as hell. I haven’t ever had to stand up for someone the way I have for Mia this past evening.
I know Everly will be right back at it first thing in the morning, so I need to rest. My patience has worn as thin as it can go without snapping entirely.
I know I don’t have many options right now.
I can’t go to the spare room like I should have done in the beginning, because thing one and thing two are crashed out in there.
That only leaves me two choices.
Mia’s room or home.
I know it’s only one choice when it comes down to it.
I’d never abandon Mia and Joe in the middle of the night like this – not even with a note and a promise to return early.
I push up to my feet and roll out my shoulders.
Everything aches more now than it did after I’d spent a week digging holes.
I trudge up the stairs, feeling around for the railing rather than turning the lights on.
I can see a soft glow coming from under Mia’s door – she sleeps with a small nightlight on near the door. I’ve never asked her why, but I assume it’s because of losing Troy. Maybe that light makes her feel less alone.
I turn the handle quietly and push the door open, doing my best not to make any noise that might wake Joe down the hall.
I can make out Mia, huddled to one side of the big bed in the centre
of the room.
It makes me sad that she still sleeps to one side, even after two years, but I guess old habits die hard.
“Mia,” I whisper into the dim room.
I get no reply.
I creep closer to the bed. There’s a fine line here between waking her gently and scaring the ever-loving shit out of her, and to be honest I’m not sure which side of that line I’m going to wind up on.
“Mia,” I whisper slightly louder.
“Mmmm?” she murmurs, still pretty much asleep.
“Mia, it’s Luke.”
“Luke.” She sighs softly, sounding satisfied.
I can’t stop myself from smiling at that.
“Mia, I’m going to sleep in here for a bit okay? My back is killing me.”
She rolls over and lifts the blanket for me.
I’m not sure if she’s even awake or not, but I’m not about to go back downstairs and put myself through another few hours of agony, so I round the bed and climb in next to her.
I rest my head on the pillow, facing her.
She looks so peaceful in her sleep, there’s no stress or worry on her face.
“Goodnight, sweetheart,” I whisper.
Her eyes blink sleepily as she shuffles her body closer to mine.
Her hand snakes out under the covers and her fingernails graze over my bare abdomen, causing me to shiver.
I should have put a shirt on. Me, lying next to Mia when I’m only half dressed, is not the best idea I’ve ever had. Sure, we’ve been sharing a few kisses here and there, but this is another step entirely.
She shuffles even closer, and on instinct, I lift my arm so she can tuck into my chest.
She might not be entirely conscious right now, but this is easily the best moment I’ve had in a long time.
She tilts her head back up to look at me as her fingers continue their travels over my skin.
“You have abs,” she tells me, her voice thick with sleep.
I chuckle. “Yeah. I guess I do.”
“There’s so many of them…” she yawns.
I lean down and kiss her forehead. “Get some more sleep, Mia.”
She sighs and wiggles around until she’s comfortable, her head on my shoulder, her arm wrapped around my middle and her leg thrown over my leg.
Her skin feels entirely too good against mine, and if I was a better man, I’d get myself out of here right now, but I’m not a better man. In fact, I’m a weak man where this woman is concerned.
So instead of being noble, I close my eyes and fall asleep feeling the most content I have in a long time.
CHAPTER NINE
Mia
I wake to the sound of breathing, and I freeze.
I dreamt that Luke had come in here last night, and there’s some vague memory about a rock-hard set of abs that I can’t quite put my finger on.
I feel the rise and fall of a chest under my face and it hits me like a big yellow school bus that it wasn’t a dream at all.
Luke is really in here – in my bed – and I’m cuddled into him like he’s a cosy pillow.
I twist, just a little bit so I can look up at him.
He makes a sleepy groaning noise and wraps his arm tight around me.
My heart is beating so fast; this is so wrong, but it feels so right.
I shouldn’t like the idea of him being here, in the bed I once shared with Troy, but I do.
I like it a lot.
I manage to shimmy his heavy arm down to my waist so I can look up at his handsome face.
I’ve always thought that Luke was a good-looking guy. When he turned up at our high school at the start of our final year, he could have had any girl he wanted, and he’s only gotten better with age.
I can’t see his eyes right now, but I can picture the shade of blue as if I was looking right into them.
His brown hair is dishevelled and in need of a cut, and his normally well-trimmed, sexy stubble is much the same. I kind of like him like this though, he looks rough and rugged and it suits him well.
I know I should probably get out of his arms and even further out of my bed, but truthfully, I don’t want to. I want to stay right where I am.
I lift the blanket and peek at his bare torso.
I bite back a moan of approval.
The abs were not a dream. He’s got a full set of the damn things.
I drop the cover back down before I start drooling all over him.
This isn’t the first time I’ve seen him with a bare chest, but it’s been a long time. He seems to stay covered up around me these days.
I realise now that it’s probably because he’s a gentleman, this current situation aside of course, and because he wanted me.
He wanted me.
He still does if the hand that’s now under my top and rubbing at the skin on my back is anything to go by.
I timidly look back up to his face, which is now smiling at me.
“Good morning,” he says, his voice thick and husky.
It sounds so sexy I find myself wishing I could hear it every morning.
“You’re in my bed,” I state.
He chuckles, and I feel it through my whole body. “I am. I’m sorry… I did ask, but I’m not sure you were actually awake,” he replies sheepishly.
“I don’t mind.” I can feel myself blush at my confession.
“Good.”
His eyes are blazing as they look into mine and I can feel tingles racing up and down my spine.
“My back couldn’t handle another second on that couch,” he murmurs as his hand reaches up to sweep my hair over my shoulder.
His fingers linger on my collarbone, tracing the shape.
I know he’s about to kiss me, I can feel it in the air between us.
This is dangerous territory, but I don’t want to run away, I want to go in all guns blazing.
“You are so beautiful, Mia,” he whispers.
“You are too,” I reply stupidly.
I see him grin at my comment.
I’m so nervous, I can’t even think straight.
He’s so close to me, our lips are only a fraction of an inch apart.
“Mia, Joe is awake and he’s—”
The loud voice comes from the door and my stomach sinks.
“What the fuck is going on in here?” Everly screeches from inside my doorway.
“Jesus, Everly, haven’t you ever heard of knocking?” Luke shouts at her.
She doesn’t even hear him; her evil glare is locked on me like a lion about to attack its prey.
“Oh my god, you’re sleeping with him, aren’t you?”
“Everly,” Luke warns her as I scramble to get away from him.
If I’m not touching him, maybe she’ll stop yelling at me.
“Mia, it’s okay.” He reaches for my hand and I let him take it. I sit there, staring at him with wide, scared eyes.
“It most certainly is not okay,” Everly sneers.
She takes a step towards the bed and Luke drags me behind his big body.
I know the old bitch in front of me isn’t going to physically hurt me, but her words are like poison and I know she’s only just getting started. I can still hear her from behind him, but Luke wants to do what he can to protect me.
I already know it won’t be enough. Everly is a volcano that’s about to blow and Luke and I, we’re the small town at the bottom of the mountain.
“Troy is barely gone, and you’ve already moved on to his so-called best friend!” she yells – loud enough for the whole neighbourhood to hear.
I can’t speak. She’s right.
“Calm down, Everly,” Luke demands.
“Don’t you tell me what to do.” She spits the words at him. “I wish it were you that died that day instead of him.”
I feel the tears welling in my eyes. I’d never wish another person dead – not even the horrible woman in front of me.
“And you.” She points a finger at me as I peek over Luke’s shoulde
r. “You’re nothing but a dirty little slut.”
I’m shaking so hard and I can’t make it stop.
I feel Luke tense in front of me. He’s about to snap.
“You’re a slag, a whore. Troy would be turning in his grave,” she carries on, obviously unaware of the storm brewing inside of him.
“Mia,” he says calmly – too calmly. “Go downstairs and find Joe, okay?”
He gets to his feet next to the bed and tugs on my hands to get me to climb off too.
I try to pull away from him, I just want to pull the covers over my head and hide, but I know he won’t let me.
He reaches out a long arm and snags my robe off the chair by the bed and drapes it over my shoulders.
I push my arms in like a small child being dressed as he leads me past a still-screaming Everly and out the door.
“Find Joe, Mia, put his headphones on with Peppa Pig or something, okay?”
I nod at him, I can feel the tears streaming down my face.
He gives me a gentle nudge in the direction of the staircase and I take off running; I can’t listen to that any longer.
I fly down the stairs, grabbing the iPad and headphones off the cabinet as I go past.
I can hear Joe in the kitchen; he’s sitting at the table with a stunned-looking Robert.
“Mia, what is it?” he asks.
I shake my head at him and swipe at the tears running down my face with the back of my hand.
“Good morning, baby,” I say to Joe. “I thought you might like some Peppa Pig while you eat.”
“Peppa!” he cheers, seemingly oblivious to the screaming I can still hear from upstairs.
I tap at the screen and slip the headphones over his ears.
I sag into a chair in relief as his total attention is taken by the screen.
Robert gets to his feet.
“Robert, don’t,” I beg.
“What on earth is all the yelling about?”
I shake my head, fresh tears trailing down my cheeks.
“I’m sorry, Mia, but I’m going up there.”
He walks out of the room in a hurry and I get back up to my feet.
I give Joe a kiss on the head and follow after him in defeat.
Mr. March: A Friends to Lovers Romance (Calendar Boys Book 3) Page 5