Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 129951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
“Your call,” I said to the coffee.
“I mean no offense, Vivi,” he said gently.
I focused on him. “Honey, I get it. You’re loaded. It should be your choice, just as it should the woman’s.” I smiled at him. “You’re deft with application.” My smile died. “I just want it to be as good for you as it is for me.”
“That’s very sweet, darling.” He came in for a lip brush. “I’ll bear it in mind.”
“All I ask.”
“But I’m concerned you have any fears it wasn’t good for me.”
“I said as good.”
His eyes twinkled. “Ah. Rest assured, I do believe it was as good. I promise.”
“Mm,” I hummed.
“Now, the question is, are we going to attempt to eat this?” He gestured to the tray.
I reached to grab a spoon and stuck it in the oatmeal.
It remained on end.
I turned to him. “I think…no.”
“I don’t even believe Bartie would clean that mess for us, and he eats everything. I’ll go down and see if there are some croissants.”
“How about I go down and scramble some eggs and make some non-burnt toast?” I offered.
“How long will that take?” he asked curiously.
He was cute.
“Maybe fifteen minutes. With walking there and back time, maybe twenty-five.”
He smiled at me and moved from the bed, saying, “No. It’s croissants.”
I wasn’t going to object.
Though, as I watched the muscles of his back bunch and flex while he walked to the door, I called, “Hurry.”
He shot me a smug look before he opened the door.
“That means fast, Battle.”
He shook his head and disappeared.
I sank into his big, comfy bed and smiled to myself.
Then I took another sip of super strong coffee, set it aside and reached for a grapefruit half.
We’d just done it again, and miracle of miracles, Mr. Control the Proceedings let me be on top.
Battle was a cuddler after, which made me rejoice, because I was too.
And that was what we were doing.
Cuddling.
Though, it was sexy cuddling, because we were naked, and most of his “cuddles” involved drawing random patterns on my ass.
“I’ll return,” he whispered, slid me off him, got out of bed and went to the bathroom.
I pulled the duvet up the front of my body and wrapped my limbs round it, waiting for his return.
He didn’t take long, and when he came back, he tugged the bedclothes from my grip and positioned us as we were before he left me.
“I see your point about the prophylactics,” he muttered after he had me where he wanted me.
Aw.
He didn’t want to leave me.
“Still your call,” I said.
“We’ll see.”
His fingers went back to drawing.
I rested my cheek on his shoulder and let them.
Eventually, he wrapped his arms around me and just held me.
Was there ever a better Saturday?
No.
Not ever.
“Do you miss her?” he asked softly.
I lifted my head to look at him. “Miss who?”
“Your mum.”
For the second time that day, dang it, tears filled my eyes.
He shoved my face in his throat and said, “Stupid question. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“She was stay at home. Dad worked. She was going to go back to work when I was in kindergarten. That happened earlier, necessarily. They were young. Just starting out. New family. Crushing mortgage. He had a life insurance policy, but it pretty much only covered his funeral. I learned this all later, from Gram. Mom had no choice but to sell the house and move in with them. It was only going to be until she got on her feet, but we became a family, so we stayed. I don’t think she liked it. But she did like there was always someone there for her girls. Someone to get them from school or take them to a friend’s house. Someone to help with the grocery shopping. She worked reception at a dentist’s practice. She was there for twenty-three years. She didn’t make a ton. We had more because we had them.”
“She never remarried?”
I got choked up, swallowed it down, and said huskily, “I guess Dad was a hard act to follow.”
He gave me a squeeze.
I pulled out of his throat to look at him. “She was great. The one good thing was, after Solène and I left, Mom could get a little house of her own. She loved that house. Did it up exactly the way she wanted. I just wish she had more time in it.”
“I do too, for her, for you.”
I gave him a shaky smile and continued, “Gram and Gramps were great too. We were really happy. We didn’t know we didn’t have much. Both my grandparents were teachers, so they weren’t rolling in it either. But we had each other, and the way they raised us, with a lot of love, laughter, support, togetherness, that was all we needed.”
“That’s beautiful.”
“It was. And I’m glad you have a version of that too, with your sisters. I think that’s why I’m so comfortable here. There’s a lot of love in this house. It’s a big house, but it still feels like a home.”