It's Our Time (Carolina Rebels Book 4)

by Lindsay Paige

  “About time you got here.”

  I look around the box. Sydney’s the only one left. “Sorry, gorgeous. I got held up. You could’ve headed out without me.”

  “I didn’t know if you would check your phone first, so I didn’t want you to freak if you came and I wasn’t here.”

  I take her hand and start leading her out of the building. “You cut your hair.”

  “And messed with the color. Do you like it?”

  “Yeah. Still up for going to the bar?”

  “Actually, can we go home? There’s something I want to talk to you about and then I figured…” Her voice fades as she slides a hand up my chest.

  “Home it is.”

  “Really? No convincing?”

  She seems so surprised that I wonder if maybe I’m better off going to the bar instead. I replay what she said in my head. “Well, maybe that depends. What did you want to talk about?”

  “Nothing serious. Just something about Savannah’s birthday.”

  We’ve reached her car, so as soon as she unlocks it, I open the door for her. She smiles to herself.

  “What is it?”

  “Nothing. I’ll see you at home.”

  I grab her hand before she can slide into the driver’s seat. “Tell me what you’re smiling about.”

  “It’s nothing. I’ve always liked you opening my door is all.”

  “Oh. Yeah, well, my dad taught me good—” I abruptly stop. Talking about Dad and giving him credit for my abilities to be a gentleman is not something I want to do anymore.

  “We should talk about that too,” Sydney says quietly.

  “Not tonight. I’ll see you at home.”

  She nods, and I see her off before following after her. Instead of thinking about my father, I wonder what she wants to discuss about Savannah’s birthday. That is much more interesting than the issue of my father.

  Sydney beat me home with enough of a lead to already be inside when I get there.

  “Babe?” I call out when I don’t see or hear her.

  “Don’t come back here yet!” she shouts from the bedroom.

  “Why?” I ask as I start walking that way.

  “Because I said so! Just wait! I mean it, Ian!” Her voice grows louder the closer I get. “If you so much as peek in here, no sex!”

  That really gets my attention. “What the fuck are you doing in there?”

  “Stop talking to me or I’ll change my mind!” she yells. I lean against the wall and wait. Not five seconds later, she changes her mind. “Talk to me, Ian. I’m done, but now, I’m second-guessing myself, so talk to me while I make up my mind.”

  “Why don’t you let me come in and we’ll get this over with?” I turn to walk in because this is ridiculous.

  “No!” There’s actual fear in her voice. That’s the only thing that makes me stay put. “Talk to me, Ian,” she repeats softly.

  “Okay. Uh, how was the game? With the girls, I mean?”

  “Oh! I know what icing and off-sides are. I know which position you play and what you do, as well as the forwards. Obviously, I learned about some penalties, too. I think I have a good basic understanding of things. Thank you for asking them to explain it to me. I think I have new friends.”

  Wow. She just sounded excited. About a sport! Should I go outside to see if it’s raining cats and dogs? Or maybe see if pigs are flying? Try to go to hell and see if it’s frozen over? This is unbelievable. “That’s great, babe,” I tell her honestly.

  She’s quiet for a moment. “I spent a lot of your money today.”

  “How much is a lot?” I ask mostly out of curiosity. To see what her definition of a lot is.

  “Two-fifty,” she whispers. “I used my money for my hair, nails, and massage.”

  “I won’t go broke because you went on a shopping spree, Sydney, and I told you to use my card anyway. I don’t care if you splurge on yourself every now and then.”

  “Well, I bought some things for Savannah, too.”

  “That’s good. What else did you buy?”

  “Come look.”

  Finally! I round the corner and stop short.

  Wow. I don’t even know where to look first. Has she worn heels since prom? They look damn good on her. So do the stockings that stop mid-thigh. The lingerie is sheer, so I can see the new bra and panty set. It must be new because I would definitely remember that.

  Sydney laughs. My gaze reluctantly rises to her face. “And here I was worried this would be a waste of money.”

  “What makes you think it’s not?”

  “You can barely look me in the eyes for five seconds because you’re looking everywhere else. Are you going to observe or would you like a hands-on experience?”

  “Come here.”

  She tilts her head. “Why can’t you come to me?”

  “Because I want to see if you can still walk in those things.” I nod down at her heels.

  “You’re such an ass.” She laughs, but she does walk over to me and looks hot as hell doing it. Sydney immediately pushes my suit jacket off my shoulders. It’s hard to fathom the fact that she was nervous over this.

  “Why didn’t you want me to see you?” I ask, grabbing her hips as she unbuttons my shirt.

  “Is it weird that I’m more comfortable being naked? I mean, this is showy and normally, we just undress and have at it. Not a lot of thinking. This is thinking.”

  “Who knew that you and thinking would be a good thing?”

  There’s that laugh again. We’ve done enough talking. I walk her backward to the bed.

  “I love you,” she whispers right before she falls.

  “I know.” I grin.

  “Ian.” It’s a stern warning as she crawls up the bed and I quickly undress.

  “I love you too, babe.” With a hand on each ankle, I glide up her skin, climbing up the bed as I go. My grin grows as her legs spread. I go straight for her hips, switching to using only one hand as the other helps prop me up.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Enjoying what you bought.”

  Sydney grabs my face and yanks me all the way up, kissing me hard. My hips crash to hers and I wish there wasn’t anything separating us. Her and her fucking clothes. She’s killing me with this kiss. This is not her normal kiss. Her usual slow start makes no appearance. It’s zero to sixty with a strong grip on my face, tongues slashing around inside of mouths, and me letting out a groan that sounds more like a growl when she bites my lower lip. My body falls onto hers because my arm gives. She makes an oof sound.

  That’s apparently her opportunity to make her simple demand. “Enjoy me.”

  Easiest thing she’s ever asked me to do.

  My dream was much like my reality. I was wrapped around a beautiful woman who just so happened to be all mine. The first thing I become aware of as I’m waking up is Sydney’s fingers walking up the arm I have locked tight around her waist.

  “Morning,” I mumble, so she knows I’m awake.

  “Morning.” A soft kiss is pressed to my mouth. “We never talked.”

  “Talk then.”

  “Your eyes are closed.”

  “Don’t need ‘em to listen, babe.” Besides, she’s naked. It’s bad enough that I can feel her. If I open my eyes and see even a little of her, it’ll push me over the edge. She wants to talk, so I’ll listen better if I’m not even more distracted by the sight of her.

  “How will I know if you fall back asleep?”

  “Wouldn’t do that to you. What is it about her birthday that you want to go over?”

  “Can I redecorate her room? Paint it and everything?”

  I peek an eye open. What?

  “She’s never had her own room, Ian, and definitely not something that was full of as much personality as she is. I just want to give her a bedroom that suits her. If I can.”

  “Have at it.” The landlord told me when I moved in that I could paint if I wanted, and I did, because it needed it. If Sydney wants
to paint Savannah’s room, she can. “I’ll help you as much as I can.”

  “Oh, I’m so excited!” She kisses me hard as her phone rings.

  “Ignore it.”

  “It’s Logan.” She rolls away from me, grabs her phone, and laughs as she answers and sees me with a frown. “Hello?” I slip my hand between her legs. She jumps and tries to push it away. “Okay. Good.” Her legs squeeze around my hand while it dives a little lower, slipping the tip of my finger inside of her. “How long has she been feeling bad?” she asks. That makes me pause. Is she talking about Savannah? “And her fever started when?” Another pause. I remove my hand. “Okay. Thanks. As soon as I get dressed, I’ll be on my way.”

  “Savannah’s sick?”

  “Yeah. She started throwing up last night, but didn’t start running a fever until this morning, which is why he called.”

  I get out of bed and start getting dressed. “Why didn’t he call last night?” He should have called last night. She’s been sick all this time and he didn’t tell us! Her parents! What the fuck?

  “He was letting us have a night to ourselves, and he called us the moment she was worse,” she defends. How is she not pissed?

  “She was worse the moment she threw up!” I shout, yanking my shirt over my head.

  “Ian!” Sydney is suddenly in front of me and she grabs my face. “Savannah is fine. She’s been sick before. Take a chill pill, okay? Worrying is fine; overreacting is not. You’ll feel better once you see her, so take a deep breath, finish getting ready, and we’ll go pick her up.”

  I pull away from her, annoyed that she isn’t bothered by this, and hurry up to brush my teeth so I can see my daughter. Twenty minutes later, I rush through the apartment door. Savannah is asleep on the couch with her feet in Logan’s lap. My hammering heart slows a bit at being able to see her finally. She rouses awake when I carefully pick her up.

  “I don’t feel good, Daddy,” she whines.

  “I know, little Miss. We’re taking you home.” I walk out without a second glance. I’m much calmer now, but I still think he should’ve called sooner. Plus, I do want to get her home sooner rather than later. I get Savannah into her car seat and crawl into the backseat to sit next to her. My heart swells when she reaches out to hold my hand.

  Sydney is glaring as she walks toward the car. She’s talking the moment she gets in. “You know, you should stop being rude to him. He’s basically the reason we’re together.”

  “Hush, Mommy,” she whines her order. Savannah tries to turn in her car seat like she wants to lie on her side, but huffs in frustration. “I wanna sit with you,” she says to me.

  “You have to sit in your car seat. We’ll be home soon.”

  She frowns and tears well in her eyes. Fuck. She’s killing me here. I’m too tempted to pull her over into my lap and hold her for the rest of the ride home, but I’m not risking her safety. She’ll be okay until we get home. Savannah doesn’t think so, though, because she fusses the entire way. Sydney, on the other hand, glares at me every so often via the rearview mirror. I ignore her.

  When we get home, I carry Savannah inside and sit down on the couch. She rests her head on my thigh. At what point do we take her to the doctor? How high was her fever? I place my hand against her forehead. Still hot. To soothe her or me, I’m not sure, I start repeatedly pushing her hair away from her face. Sydney sits next to me.

  “There’s a virus going around the daycare. She probably has it,” she says.

  “I don’t like this.” I’m feeling a little sick over seeing her feeling bad. Even as she dozes off, she looks like she feels miserable. I don’t like this one bit. I want Savannah better right now.

  If only it was as simple as that.

  “Welcome to parenthood. She had a really bad cold last year with this terrible cough that just didn’t want to go away. When she’s sick, you feel like crap because she’s so pitiful and it sucks.”

  That it does. Remembering what she said earlier, I ask, “Why is Logan the reason we’re together?”

  “The text you got when you were out of town about us meeting to talk? He actually sent that. He’s also the one who said I should move in. He’s been pushing me toward you ever since you found out about Savannah. Who knows if I’d be here without him doing that and telling me what needs to be said?”

  She’d be here because I’d eventually convince her this is exactly where she needs to be. I don’t say that. Instead, I put an arm around her and settle in.

  “Are you going to admit you shouldn’t have been rude?”

  “Nope.”

  “Ian,” she starts, but I cut her off.

  “I missed enough of her life, babe. She’s…” My throat tightens and I swallow away the difficulty. “She’s my little girl, and I should get every opportunity to worry over her and take care of her from here on out. If I was on the road, I’d expect you to tell me the moment you could, even though there would be nothing I could do. You already know what you’re okay with; I don’t until it happens. I stand by my actions.”

  Savannah curls into a ball, which makes me wonder if she’s cold. I grab the blanket from the back of the couch with my free hand and cover her up.

  “Okay,” Sydney says. “I see your point. I’m sorry that I forget to see things from your view.”

  “It’s fine. Not everyone can be as perfect as I am.”

  She laughs. We fall silent. Sydney turns the TV on and leans into me. “Hey, did you ever talk to your mom?”

  “I texted her and she told me that she wanted to talk, but I haven’t called her.”

  “What about your dad?” she whispers, causing me to sigh.

  “I don’t want to deal with him yet.” Not at all. Now that the fury is starting to fade, I’m torn. I want him to meet Savannah, but I want to keep him from her as punishment for making Sydney think I wanted nothing to do with them for so long. He was never planning to tell me about Savannah. That’s what I can’t get over. After how he raised me, how could he do this to me and my own kid? I can’t wrap my mind around it.

  Savannah rolls over, her eyes sleepily looking at me.

  “Babe, get a trash can,” I order as I take note of her pale face. Sydney runs to grab one. “You feeling okay, little Miss?”

  She shakes her head. Sydney makes it back just in time for Savannah to cough. I roll her over, hold her hair back, and she pukes after the second cough. She starts crying and mumbles about not feeling good. Sydney brings her some water so she can at least swish and spit.

  “Want to lay back down?” I ask her.

  “Nooooo,” she cries, crawling into my lap to rest her head on my shoulder. I slouch into the couch so she’s not too upright and grab the blanket to tuck it around her. As I begin to rub her back, she takes a fistful of my beard. She just holds on.

  When Sydney returns with a clean trash can, it occurs to me that Savannah should probably want her mommy. Yet, she hasn’t seemed like she wanted to go anywhere else.

  “Shouldn’t she want you?” I ask.

  Sydney kisses the top of Savannah’s head, but that must annoy her because she makes a whining noise and buries her face closer to my neck. “No,” Sydney answers. “She only wants me when no one else is around. I don’t know why, but if Chris or Logan was around, she’d almost always want to snuggle with them instead when she wasn’t feeling well. She likes the men in her life better than her mommy.”

  “Well, I like Mommy more.”

  Sydney laughs. “I bet you do.”

  Savannah refused to be by herself, so Sydney and I were always next to her. She even slept in our bed. She’s feeling better today. I couldn’t be happier because it killed me to see her so miserable. She is definitely pitiful when she’s sick. She mopes and is grouchy if you bother her, but you never know what’s going to annoy her. I have to say, though, I did enjoy all the attention she gave me. It felt pretty damn good that she wanted me instead of Sydney. It felt good to be taking care of her too.


  But there is one drawback. Guess who’s throwing up?

  Sydney, thankfully.

  I have to leave tomorrow morning for a game, and Savannah’s skating lessons start today. Sydney obviously isn’t taking her, so I am. As I walk Savannah over to her instructor, I keep chuckling to myself. She’s clutching my hand because she already has the skates on. However, her balance is just fine.

  Her instructor’s name is Paula, thank goodness for her name tag because I had forgotten. She’s looking down at a clipboard when we walk up, but she lifts her head, her eyes widening. “You’re Ian Rhett!”

  “Ah, yeah. I’m here with my daughter, Savannah, for the class.”

  Paula frowns. “You have a daughter? I mean, not that it’s impossible, but I’ve been a fan of the Rebels for a while and usually we know which players have kids. God, I’m rambling; sorry.” She starts to stare at her clipboard. “I have a Savannah Jarvis, but not a Savannah Rhett.”

  “That’s her,” I confirm.

  Paula is either confused or intrigued or both by that, and I choose to ignore it all. “Okay. Thanks. You can wait with the other parents over there if you’d like.” She crouches to look at Savannah. “Are you excited for your first lesson?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good. Why don’t you come with me?” She holds out her hand, but Savannah looks up at me.

  “Go ahead. I’ll wait right here.”

  It takes her a second to decide to let go of my hand and follow Paula to join the rest of the kids. They try to keep things really simple, short, and fun at this point while they both get the kids comfortable on the skates and teach them how to move around on the ice with them. My phone rings, a call from Sydney, so I answer.

  “You should be resting,” I say in lieu of hello.

  “I am. How is it so far?”

  “Babe, it’s literally just starting.” I laugh. “Nothing to report. You’ll be able to see it when you bring her next. Hang up and take a nap.”