I had big shoes to fill.
Very big.
The elevator doors opened, and I stepped inside. “Something smells good.” I carried my bag to the couch and set it down. Every time I came home and she was already there, it was a brand-new experience. Like it was the first day she’d moved in all over again.
“Well, I’m glad it smells better than it looks…”
“If you don’t want to cook, you don’t have to. I can do it.”
“I know, but I’m trying to get better.”
I came into the kitchen and gave her a quick kiss.
She motioned to the pan. “Is it supposed to look like that?”
The dish was both soggy and charred…not sure how she managed that. “Um…”
“Ugh.” She grabbed the pan and carried it to the trash can. “I give up.” She tossed everything inside and set the pan back on the stove.
“Cooking is an art.”
“It’s a science. You follow directions. Not any different from being in an organic chemistry lab.”
“If that were the case, you would have mastered this. It’s more than that. There’s more to the process than just the directions, skills you acquire over time.” I opened the fridge and took a look.
She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest. “At least I can fuck better than I cook.”
I chuckled. “That’s why I asked you to move in.” I grabbed a couple things and set them on the counter. “Let’s do this together. I’ll teach you.”
She hopped on the counter and crossed her legs. “I’m burned out. I’ll just watch you.”
“Alright. As long as you’re naked.”
“Then we may as well order a pizza…because no cooking will get done.”
“That’s fine with me.” I left the food on the counter and moved between her legs, our eyes level. My hands rested on her thighs, and I stepped closer, examining the perfection of her face, her plump lips and her intelligent eyes. My hand moved to her neck before it slid into her hair. As an anchor, I tugged her head back, pressing my lips to her neck, kissing her warm skin.
She melted right at my touch, her hands immediately slipping underneath my scrubs. Her fingers made contact with my hardness, and she let out a moan as my tongue slid across her skin.
The heat turned into an inferno instantly.
Warm breaths filled the kitchen. Clothes were dropped. Dinner was forgotten.
I carried her into our bedroom, which now had her clothes in my closet, her shoes at the foot of my bed, her makeup on the counter. Any trace of my ex-wife had been erased when she moved out. But now, she’d been replaced entirely, by the woman I was supposed to be with.
We hit the bed and moved together hard, like rabbits in spring, our bodies coming together with such desperation that it was as if last night never happened, as if the flirty texts we sent back and forth throughout the day had never happened. As if this had never happened before, it happened for the first time.
When I was inside her, she released a moan of ecstasy, like just feeling me was a climax.
My eyes were on hers, our bodies moving together perfectly, our hearts beating as one.
Her hand slid into my hair, and she cupped my face. “I love you.”
Through the heat and grunts, I said it back. “I love you, baby.”
I hadn’t shared my space with anyone in years, but her intrusion felt like the missing piece of my life. I didn’t have to share, when I wanted to give her everything I had. It was less strange that she was there, and more strange that she hadn’t been there the entire time.
I rarely made dinner now because when I came home, we usually ended up naked somewhere, and once the fun was over, we spent our time talking in the dark. That was what we did now, lie in bed, the fall air pressing up against the windows.
She was on me, her arm draped across my stomach, her eyes opening and closing.
I couldn’t remember a time in my life when I was this happy.
Because it had never happened before.
She was the missing piece that my broken soul needed. She was the family that I lost. She was the love who abandoned me. She was the best friend I hadn’t had since childhood.
She was everything.
My palm moved up her thigh, feeling the smoothness and the muscle underneath. My penthouse was above most of the lights, so the only thing I could see from the window was a taller building in the distance with the lights on. But the rest was just nighttime sky. Our breaths were quiet, and in our comfortable companionship, we didn’t say a word. If we didn’t eat soon, her stomach would growl, and every time I heard that sound, I thought it was the cutest thing in the world.
Our relationship had progressed out of order. It wasn’t traditional or normal. Because when we came together…that was it. She was the person I was supposed to be with—and I was her person too.
So, I just went for it. “You want to marry me?”
She didn’t still at the question. Her eyes didn’t tense up. It was as if she’d expected it, knew it was coming in that moment. She propped herself up on one elbow and looked down at me, her hair sliding past. Her eyes met mine.
I held her gaze, my heart beating slow, still in a state of serenity. Because I knew the answer before she gave it.
“Took you long enough.” A slow smile crept on to her lips.
I smiled back, my heart aching in a way it never had before.
Because she was it.
The one.
16
Daisy
“I want to try this one.” I pointed through the glass case at the diamond ring.
The saleswoman pulled it out and set it on the counter.
I tried it on then stared at my hand. “What do you think?”
Atlas was beside me, a happy smirk on his face. “I love it if you do.”
“I really want your opinion.”
“And I want you to have whatever one you want.”
The saleswoman smiled. “He’s a keeper.”
I turned back to the glass case and tried on a few more, finding a princess cut diamond that I loved, the gem sparkling flawlessly. “I think this is my girl. How much?” I examined it on my hand before I returned it to the counter.
The place didn’t post their prices—on purpose.
Before the saleswoman could answer, Atlas spoke. “Doesn’t matter. It’s yours now.”
That was all the saleswoman needed to hear before she took the ring and headed straight to the register.
I turned to Atlas and gave him a playful shove. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” His arm circled my waist, and he pulled me close, giving me an inappropriate smooch in the jewelry store.
My hand moved to his and forced it onto my ass so he would squeeze it.
He chuckled against my lips before he pulled away. “Let me take care of this so you can wear it out of the store.” He moved to the register and pulled out his wallet.
I pulled my phone out of my purse and made the call. “Hey, Mooooooooom. Guess what?”
Atlas was back instantly, waving his arms frantically.
“What?” I asked.
“Honey?” Mom’s voice came over the line. “You there?”
He grabbed the phone and covered the receiver. “Don’t tell them yet.”
“Why?” I asked blankly.
“Just don’t.” He handed the phone back and headed back to the register.
I returned the phone to my ear and tried to think of something to say. “I…played the lotto and won.”
Atlas turned back to me, his eyebrows raised.
I couldn’t think of anything better on the spot, so I waved my arms around like an idiot.
“What?” Mom asked, confused. “The Lotto?”
“Yep. Thought we should get our nails done this weekend. My treat.”
“How much did you win?” she asked.
“Five bucks.”
She chuckled. “That’s going to co
ver just one nail, but I’m in.”
“Perfect. See you then.” I hung up when Atlas finished the transaction, the ring in his hand. “Why can’t I tell my mom? I tell her everything.”
He slipped the ring onto my left hand, where it fit snugly. “Because I didn’t ask your dad.”
“So…?”
“I need to talk to him.”
“News flash, you already asked me.” I waved the ring in front of his face.
“I know,” he said with a sigh. “It was in the moment and it just felt right, but I feel guilty not talking to him about it. After we talk, we can tell everyone.”
“So, you’re going to pretend you haven’t asked me?”
“No. I’ll tell him the truth. But…you guys are so close that I feel like he should know first. And I want him to know that his blessing means a lot to me.”
“He already gave you his blessing—”
“I’ll talk to him tomorrow, okay?”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. But I’m not taking this off.”
“You better not take it off ever.”
I should be working right now.
But I was staring at my fat diamond ring.
I held out my hand and examined the diamond as it sparkled, the way it glittered with the slightest movement. It was beautiful. His proposal wasn’t on a beach or in a crowded restaurant, wasn’t even a surprise, but it was perfect. We were so right together that we should have gotten married a long time ago.
“Girl, what’s that on your hand?”
“Oh, you noticed?” I feigned innocence by touching my fingertips to my lips, showing off the ring again.
Shelly chuckled and took a seat. “I’ve seen you staring at it from my office for the last five minutes, so I had to figure out exactly what you were looking at.”
“Well, now you know. This bitch is off the market.”
“That’s so exciting. I’m glad you and Atlas worked it out. Is he coming back?”
I shook my head. “No. He says he needs to focus on his position at the lab.”
“With your dad?”
“Yep.”
She looked at my desk, seeing the pizza that was only missing a slice. “You going to eat that?”
“No.” I immediately rubbed my stomach. “I’m having this weird aversion to pizza. Every time I try to eat it, I feel like shit and throw up.”
“That’s what that smell is in the bathroom…”
I rolled my eyes. “I had the janitor clean it up.”
“Well, still smells.”
“Thanks, girl.”
She chuckled and looked at the pizza again. “Wait…so this has happened a couple times?”
“Last week when I moved in, it happened, and then there was this other morning. But I think I’m just getting older. And then today…” I finally ignored my ring and grabbed the folder that needed my attention.
“Uh…Daisy?”
“Hmm?”
“Have…you taken a pregnancy test?”
I looked up at her again because the suggestion was preposterous. “No. But I’m on the pill.”
“Were you on the pill when you guys got back together?”
“Yes, I—” My thoughts went back to the casino, when I hadn’t expected Atlas to show up. I’d stopped taking my pills because I was too depressed to remember, but then I got back on it again the next day.
Shelly’s eyes widened.
I grabbed my purse and ran out of there. “Shit, I’ve got to go.”
I stepped into the office at the back of the building. The desks were empty because everyone was busy doing errands and whatever else. Matt emerged from the back, in a collared shirt and slacks.
Without saying hello, I just blurted out what I needed. “Where’s my mom?”
He stilled for a second. “Hey, Daisy. Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Totally. Never better. Never worse, actually. I mean, I need to see my mom. You know where she is?”
“I think she’s prepping a client’s vacation home right now. Working with the designer to get everything ready for the place in the Hamptons.”
She was two hours outside the city? “Fuck…”
Matt studied me for a second before he moved to his desk and grabbed his keys. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride.”
“What?” I asked incredulously. “Matt, that’s very sweet, but you don’t need to—”
“If my kids needed me, she would drop everything in a heartbeat.” He nodded to the door. “Let’s get going.”
We made small talk on the drive. He didn’t ask any intrusive questions about my dilemma and tried to keep it lighthearted and easy. Since it was in the middle of the day in the fall, there wasn’t much traffic, so we arrived fairly quickly.
We pulled up to the beach house, an estate with a perfect view of the water and sand.
There were cars in the roundabout, so we parked behind them and got out.
When we went inside, voices were audible.
“This wall needs a large painting. Not a collage of images, not some abstract artwork.” Mom’s voice was easily recognizable. “He’s very old-fashioned…and old.”
Another voice laughed.
Matt announced himself. “Hey, Cleo. It’s me.”
“Matt?” Her heels clicked as she came around the corner. “What are you doing here?” Her eyes abandoned his and went straight to me. “Honey? What are you…?”
Matt motioned for the designer to follow him outside to give us privacy.
I stared at Mom, and for the first time, I didn’t know what to say. I’d come all the way here because I needed her, but now I didn’t know where to begin.
Her hands grabbed onto my arms, and she squeezed me, looking into my gaze with a frightened look. “Honey, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m okay. Just…scared.”
“Talk to me, honey.” She rubbed my arms, more relieved now that she knew I was okay. “You aren’t scared of anything.”
“Well…I’m pregnant.”
She inhaled a deep breath, her fingers losing their grip on my arms for a moment. Joy was instant. Not a shred of disappointment. “Daisy…that’s wonderful.”
I nodded, eyes watering. “It is, but…”
“But what?”
“Atlas told me babies he fathers can only end in miscarriages, so…” I closed my eyes, and the tears fell.
Mom wrapped her arms around me and smothered me close, letting me cry, letting me be weak. She engulfed me with her love, did her best to shield me from pain.
I’d looked at that test result in the bathroom at CVS just a few hours ago, and I was riding the roller coaster of emotions, full of tension. There was excitement because having a family was something I wanted. Maybe not right this second, but that was fine. I could make it work. But then it was swept away when I was afraid I might lose it.
I couldn’t lose it.
The maternal instincts already kicked in. A biological phenomenon. An evolutionary impulse to protect the life inside me.
“I don’t know what to do.”
Mom pulled away, her eyes wet. “What does your father always say?”
I gave a slight nod. “Medicine only goes so far…until there’s God.”
“Exactly.”
“I don’t want to tell Atlas… He’ll get so upset.”
“Because he assumes…” She couldn’t even say it.
I nodded.
She released a heavy sigh. “You have to tell him, Daisy. And if you don’t, he’ll figure it out anyway. That’s one drawback to being with a doctor. I tried to hide Dex from your father, but he knew.”
“Yeah…you’re right.”
“I know I’m not scientific like the rest of you, so I can’t say that this will work out with any credibility, but I believe there’s hope. I believe that anything is possible. So, I say we get to a good doctor right away and get to work on making sure this little person becomes a member of our fami
ly in a couple months.”
I nodded, tears flowing down my face. That was why I came to my mom.
Because she always knew what to say to make me feel better.
17
Atlas
I’d put it off long enough.
I had to tell him.
Daisy was getting anxious, and then when it didn’t happen, she turned quiet.
Really quiet.
When I’d asked her to marry me, I meant it. I wasn’t dragging my feet or having a change of heart. When I spoke to Dr. Hamilton, I wasn’t just asking for his blessing to be with his daughter. I was asking to be a member of his family.
That was hard for me.
Because a part of me was afraid he would say no. That it happened too fast. That we didn’t know each other well enough. That she just moved in. A million objective reasons that were all valid.
He came into the lab in the late afternoon and immediately got to work, heading to the microscopes on the other side of the room so he could check the samples that I compiled. He went through all of them before he went to the other parts of the lab, getting up to speed without asking a single question.
I watched him, ignoring my work in front of me.
He crossed the room and sat across from me, in a gray hoodie and with a shadow on his jawline. He looked tired today, but we’d been working longer hours than usual, spending our time here at the facility and at the hospital in the city.
“Everything alright?” I asked.
He nodded. “Just a lot to keep track of…”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve never worked this much before, except prior to my marriage. Cleo doesn’t complain because she knows how important this is to me, but I do feel guilty for not spending more time with her. We have dinner every night, but that’s it.”
“I understand.” I’d been busy too, busier than Daisy.
He dropped his chin and looked at his notebook.
Here goes nothing. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“I’m all ears.” He continued to scribble in his notebook. When I didn’t speak, he looked up.
The Girl Who Always Wins (Soulless Book 13) Page 14