Allison: Yeah, all of us wanted to hit him. Fritz suggested that maybe he should leave.
Since some of the tickets had been purchased online, I have no idea who they are talking about. But hopefully, Jeanine will know. We don’t need that kind of person shopping in my store. I make a mental note to text Fritz a thank you. I’m glad he and Ed were there last night.
Allison: I just got a text from Harry saying you took pity on him and let him stay at your house.
ME: There is still a chance Gran will shoot him. She had that shotgun out last night and called him a bearded intruder.
Savannah: Your grandmother is my spirit animal.
Allison: Just let Harry know what you need. He’ll run around for you, cook for you, anything. Let him, sweetie. I just wish we could be there for you.
I didn’t blame them at all for not coming. Allison was saving up her vacation days for her honeymoon and Savannah never got time off. And I didn’t need a person to hold my hand. I can handle anything that life throws at me, but truthfully, having Harry here was a relief. I have to be strong for my mom and handle a lot of the crap the lawyers are throwing at us.
ME: I completely understand, and I have Harry.
Savannah: That means you have the best.
I blink as I stare down at my phone. Savannah hardly ever says anything nice about anyone. Especially men. And I know she gives him a lot of shit, but if she said that about Harry…that is huge. And, hell, she’s right. He is the best. There has never been a man in my past that I could say that about. I close my eyes and hold my phone to my chest. Okay, so that is weird, but I am having a moment here, people. Right at that moment, I know there is no way I can toss Harry away. He’s everything I need in a man, and more. He doesn’t treat me like I might break, but he handles me as if I am the most precious thing in the world.
The door opens and it’s Harry. He’s wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. He looks…rumpled. Deliciously so.
“Oh, good, you’re awake.”
“Let me guess: Mom sent you.”
He nods and sits beside me on the mattress. “How are you feeling?”
“Actually, pretty good. That’s the best night of sleep I’ve had in a few days.”
Since the fight. He knows. I know. There’s no getting around it, but he understands that we can’t talk about it right now. And like Savannah says, that makes him the best. A lot of other guys wouldn’t have shown up, let alone be so understanding about the situation.
I scoot so that I can lean closer. I smile at him.
“What?”
“You’re pretty amazing.”
His eyebrows shoot up. “Yeah?”
I nod as I grab hold of his shirt and yank him closer. Our mouths are just a few inches apart. He’s smiling down at me and that twinkle in his eyes makes me melt.
“Yeah,” I say, licking my lips. His gaze follows the motion and the familiar ping of arousal rockets through my system. I can smell him, that amazing deep sandalwood scent that just seems to cling to him. I want to wallow in it like a pig in mud. Okay, that wasn’t a great analogy, but you get it. Right?
Anyway, back to the hunk who is staring at me, his eyes darkening, the only sound in my room is our heavy breathing. I want this—need him—on some level that I don’t completely understand. I don’t care. These have been truly horrible days and having him here makes everything so much better.
I keep my eyes open as I brush my mouth over his. Slowly, just nibbling on his lips. I watch as his eyes roll back, and his lids descend. The familiar surge of heat jolts me in a good way. It makes me feel alive, happy…and, oh my god, I love his mouth. He slips his hands to my hips, then skims them up to the sides of my breasts. I let my eyes close, needing this connection. I want to forget everything that’s going on and just fall into bed with him.
There’s a knock at my door, and barely a second passes before it swings open so hard that it bounces against the wall. My grandmother is standing there, holding a different rifle. Truthfully, those things probably don’t work. Most of them are considered historical pieces, but Gran likes to freak people out.
“Oh, you’re both dressed,” she says, disappointment filling her voice.
“You were hoping to see us naked? Listen, I get that you’re hip, Gran, but I’m not sharing Harry with you.”
Harry turns an adorable shade of pink. I will never get sick of embarrassing him.
“No. I thought we might have to do a shotgun wedding.”
I roll my eyes. “Like you could force me to do that. Besides, he slept with me last night and that wasn’t the first time.”
She frowns at us. Now I know this is all for show. Gran plays up the hick so well, you would think she was a guest star on Andy Griffith. I know she had a conservative upbringing, but that’s not her. Not after my grandfather died. She learned to say what she wanted to and damn the consequences. You’re getting the picture why I am the way I am, right? I love her to pieces, and I hope that one day I’m as crazy as she is.
“Go away.”
She sniffs. “I guess I’ll eat all the blueberry pancakes.”
“There might not even be any left since Will ate a lot already,” Harry says to her without turning around. He winks at me and I have to stifle a laugh.
“That man,” Gran mutters as she stomps down the hallway.
“Why don’t you come down and eat?” Harry says.
“I’d rather seduce you.”
He draws in a deep breath as if trying to calm himself, then says, “I want that too, but your mother said something about meeting your stepmother, half-brother, and half-sister.”
I sigh. I forgot about that. I don’t have any ill will toward the woman, but I would rather just deal with her through lawyers. It makes everything easier. On me…and most especially on my mother. If there is one thing my mother has proven, it is that she’s a class act. I have never doubted that; but, once again, she proved to the world that she kicks ass. Granted, she does it with a soft voice, but it hides a steel spine. Iron wrapped in silk. That’s my mama.
“Yeah, okay. Go down and protect some pancakes for me.”
He chuckles. “Your mother was saving some for you. Will only ate a few of them.”
I lean forward and kiss him. “Thank you so much for being here. You make everything better.”
His eyebrows shoot up, then a slow, sexy smile curves his mouth. “You’re very welcome.”
He gives me another kiss on my forehead, the act so tender, it almost brings tears to my eyes, but thankfully, I hold them back. He gives me a smile, then leaves me so I can get ready. While I would rather roll around in bed with him, I know I have tasks to accomplish and I need to be there for my mother. Still, I need a few minutes. My mind needs to settle. I’ve spent days being miserable without Harry. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that kind of pain for a man. Every day, I felt as if I didn’t want to go on.
I rest my head on my knees and sigh. I want to wallow in my bed. There were a few new books I had been sent by authors that I want to read. Sadly, that is not for today. Today is for ickiness.
My phone buzzes. More texts.
Allison: So, I take it you made up with Harry?
We really didn’t. I screwed it up by freaking out and then he messed it up even more. I’m not an idiot. We are both at fault because we both tried to control the situation. But nothing is resolved at the moment.
ME: Yeah. I guess. He said he didn’t want to talk about it right now. Said I had too much to worry about.
Allison: Aw, of course he did.
Savannah: He looked like shit from what everyone was saying.
Allison: He did.
Then she sends me a picture of Harry. He was sitting on his couch frowning at the TV as he held a beer in his hands. He looked so…dejected. I don’t think I have ever seen him look like that, and it almost breaks my heart. I did that. I made him sad.
No, it was both of us, but I have to take a little more of the b
lame. I should have explained my feelings, let him know everything. But I didn’t. Worse, I know why I did what I did. I was trying to control the situation. Something I constantly accused him of. He did do that, but I did too. And now realizing that, I have to decide how to fix it because I want Harry forever. This morning, last night…I just need him with me.
But this isn’t the moment to discuss it. Harry was right about that. Today is for another day of the Horrors of Vincent Morris and His Fucked-Up Life. That’s what I’m calling it anyway.
At least Harry is here. That makes everything better.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I should have known EJ was raised in an unconventional household. That woman marches to the beat of her own, very seductive drum and I’m glad for it. Apparently, I have the two women who raised her to be thankful for that.
When I woke about two hours earlier, I walked downstairs to find Will Barrow, notorious booty call. He was sitting at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in his hand while he scrolled through his iPad.
He had known who I was. Apparently, EJ’s Gran has been talking me up—or down, I don’t know which. He just didn’t look like I expected. Tall, lanky, with dark brown skin and a ready smile, the man was easygoing and made a mean cup of coffee. It wasn’t the color of his skin or that he was nice to me that struck me as odd. It was the fact that Will had to be at least twenty years younger than EJ’s Gran. That was…hell, it made her grandmother even more of a badass than I thought she was last night.
When I arrived downstairs this time, he was gone, apparently to work. EJ’s grandmother was sitting at the kitchen table, a gun in the seat vacated by her lover, and Lillibeth was cooking more pancakes.
“Is EJ coming?” she asks with a smile. She might not have the same stature as EJ, but EJ got her smile straight from her mother. The red hair, the green eyes, all come from her mother’s side of the family. They have the same sweet nature too.
“I think she’s going to take a shower first.”
EJ’s Gran grumbles something under her breath.
“Oh, shut up, Mama,” Lillibeth says with a laugh. “Did you get enough to eat, Harry?”
I nod. “Please don’t think you have to wait on me while I’m here. You have enough on your plate right now.”
“Aren’t you grateful, boy?” EJ’s Gran asks.
“I am very grateful, but I am not a boy.”
She keeps frowning at me, but I see a little twinkle in her eyes. She’s testing me and I’m ready for the challenge. I want EJ in my life forever and that means these two women come with her. Not that I’m complaining. In the few short hours I’ve been here, I’ve gotten a little attached to them. I see where EJ gets her sweetness…and her sass.
I sit down with a fresh cup of coffee. “So, Will went to work?” I ask.
Grandma James frowns and mumbles something.
“Yes. He owns a tour company in downtown Charleston,” Lillibeth says.
“He was surprising.”
“What do you mean by that?” her grandmother asks. “Got a problem with his skin color?”
I shake my head. “I mean that he seems really nice. Kind of robbing the cradle there, hmm?”
She opens her mouth, then snaps it shut.
“What’s going on in here?” EJ asks.
I hadn’t heard her come down, and when I turn to look at her, my heart rolls over in my chest. I don’t say anything. I can’t. She has her hair up in a long ponytail, a few wisps around her face. Very little makeup...wearing a T-shirt with the Magnolia Books emblem on it and a pair of jeans. She is stunning.
Mother. Fucking. Stunning.
This woman. God, is it any wonder that I love her?
“Your Gran is trying to intimidate Harry and he’s not having it,” Lillibeth says.
“Is that a fact?” she asks smiling at me. “Gran busting your balls?”
“Harry busted them right back,” Lillibeth says with a laugh.
Her grandmother isn’t saying anything. I look across the table and find her observing me. It’s unsettling, but there is something close to approval in her gaze.
“Get some coffee, Elliana. We have a long, crappy day ahead of us.”
I hear the exhaustion in her mother’s voice. I can’t see how a man could ever give up these women. From what Allison told me on the race to the airport, EJ has had no contact with her father in over a decade. He hadn’t even shown up to her high school graduation, let alone her college one. I know from my sister, who was ranting about what a shitty father EJ had, that he didn’t even acknowledge it. Like not even a card sent to tell her good job. Fucker.
“You let her call you Elliana without threatening murder,” I say.
“She’s my mama, and besides, I don’t always complain.” The smile she sends me tells me she has no problem when I use it in bed. I smile right back at her and the kitchen fades away. It’s like we’re the only two people in the room—hell, the world. My dick hardens and I can’t fight it. Not my need or my love for her. It’s something I’ve tried to control for months, but now that I know what loving her feels like, I don’t care. I just want her.
EJ’s face flushes as her eyes dilate.
Lillibeth clears her throat, breaking the spell. I blink and EJ turns even pinker. She gets her coffee and I look at her grandmother, who is eyeing me with suspicion again.
“I got my eye on you,” she says pointing at me.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” I say, smiling and drinking my coffee.
* * *
Six days later, we fly back to Texas. The entire trip was aggravating on so many levels, but great on one big detail. I think I might have made some headway with EJ. Granted, there wasn’t any time to talk, and it had killed me to set it aside while we dealt with her father’s death and the mess he had left behind.
The woman he had left Lillibeth for was just a younger version of her. I didn’t get it. At all. Why would you give up a woman like Lillibeth for a silly, immature version of her? And she still was. Her tirades at both EJ and Lillibeth got so out of hand, I had to step in. It wasn’t their fault EJ’s father had been an asshole. And they used the insurance money to bury him, along with setting up a trust for EJ’s two half siblings. That was when wife number two—or I guess not really, but you get me—lost it and started calling EJ all kinds of names in front of her own children. I waited until I saw the look in EJ’s eyes and stepped in. It was that or EJ was going to make that woman cry, and I know EJ would have regretted it. Otherwise, I would have let her do it.
After a pitstop at the bathroom, we make our way down to the baggage claim. I slip my arm around her shoulders and encourage EJ to lean against me. She’s tired and I know she is barely keeping it together. Then, I hear a shout. Being a combat veteran, the first thing I do is turn to assess the threat, shoving EJ behind me, and find Ed and Allison hurrying up to us.
It’s then that EJ wilts. Allison slips her arms around her and whispers to her. EJ nods, and I can see the sheen of tears in her eyes again. It had been so hard on her, but I am even more impressed with her than I was before the trip. She’s a rock.
Ed slaps me on the back.
“We could have gotten an Uber,” I say just as Allison tackles me.
“So good to see you. And there is no way I would have let you go in an Uber.”
“There’s one of ours,” EJ says, her voice a little weak. I know she’s exhausted and all I want to do is get her home. Then it hits me. She said ours. Not mine or yours, but ours. My spirit lifts. There have been little signs the last few days and this is just another one.
I nod and go retrieve it. Her bag comes out just a few seconds later. Soon, we are in Ed’s SUV heading home.
We’re sitting in the back, as I wrap my arm around her, and she settles her head on my shoulder.
“Go to my apartment,” I say.
I wait for her to disagree, but when she doesn’t, I look down. Her breathing is deep and even, her eyes clo
sed. It’s so damned late at night that there is very little traffic, and we make good time. When Ed pulls into my parking lot, peace settles over me. I just want to get us in the apartment and go to sleep. EJ had said something about going into work tomorrow, but I hope I can talk her out of it. She needs to rest.
Ed gets the bags and I give Allison my keys. I hope I can get EJ out of the car without waking her. I hurry around the car and slip my hands beneath her, pulling her up and out of the car. She mumbles something, then winds her arms around my neck. Once we’re in my apartment, I take her to the bedroom and lay her on top of my comforter.
Ed and Allison are waiting for me.
“How bad was it?” Allison asks.
“Bad. That woman…the one he wasn’t married to…she’s horrible. I feel for those kids.”
“I’m so glad you were there,” she says, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around my waist.
“You look like shit,” Ed says.
“Love you too, bro.”
He smiles. “Come on Allison, let Harry get some rest. You can bug him about this all later.”
She steps back. “We made sure you had some fresh stuff for breakfast tomorrow. It’s all in the fridge.”
I nod. “Thanks, guys.”
Ed punches my shoulder. “Go to bed before you fall down, Bradley.”
I walk them to the door, shutting and locking it before I head back to EJ. I step into my bedroom and she’s sitting on the bed blinking.
“How did I get here?”
“I carried you up.”
“I thought I was going home.”
“My apartment was closer, and you need rest. I can take you back to your apartment tomorrow.”
The moment the words are out of my mouth, I want to pull them back. I want her to stay here, be with me. But right now, I have no right to demand anything from her.
“M’kay,” she says, her voice sleepy as her eyes start too close. I pull out one of my t-shirts. I know she wants to just go to sleep, but I know she’ll feel better if she puts on something more comfortable than the maxi dress she’s wearing.
“Come on, love, let’s get you comfortable.”
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