Page 47 of Protecting Addison
Hedidlove Addison. The feeling had been there from the start, when he’d asked her to marry him, but it had grown exponentially since then. Every day he’d spent with her, the more he’d gotten to know her, the more sure he became that she was the perfect woman for him. Now he just had to figure out how to make her love him back the same way. That was the rub. He had no idea how to accomplish that.
“Ricky? Dinner?”
“Sorry, no. Whatever you make, I’ll eat.”
“Liver and onions?”
MacGyver almost gagged simply at hearing the words. “Um…”
She let him off the hook and giggled. “Kidding. I know how much you hate that stuff. I haven’t forgotten the story you told me about having to choke it down while at a dignitary’s house overseas. How about hamburgers?”
“Sounds perfect. Addy…are you really okay?”
“Yeah. Thanks. And we’ll talk tonight. Promise.”
“Okay. Have a good rest of the day and let me know if you need me.”
“I always need you, but I think I’ll manage.”
His dick twitched at her words. She had no idea what she did to him. Then she giggled again…and he figured that maybe shedidknow, and was enjoying the power she had over him.
“Killin’ me, Addy,” he said.
“Just keeping you on your toes. See you when you get home. Be safe.”
“Always. Later.”
“Bye.”
It was a struggle not to end their conversations with “I love you,” but the last thing he wanted to do was freak her out, so he’d keep his feelings to himself…for now. But after this morning, after feeling her come apart under and around him, MacGyver felt better that he couldshowher how much she meant to him, at least, even if he couldn’t say the words yet. There was no going back after this morning. Not after feeling how wet she got for him. Tasting her.
Smiling, MacGyver headed back up the stairs to the conference room he and his team were using today. They had a few more things to go over and then they’d be done for the day. There was nothing he wanted to do less than leave the country, now that things with his wife were finally progressing physically, but he’d waited this long. He could wait a little longer to make Addison his in every way.
CHAPTERNINE
Later that night, after the kids were in bed, Addison knew it was time to talk to Ricky about Brady. She didn’t want to. She still had an uneasy feeling about her ex coming back into her life so suddenly. She couldn’t put her finger on why, but things had been going so well with her, Ricky, and their family, she couldn’t help but think Brady’s arrival would shake things up…in a not-so-good way.
“Come here,” Ricky said from the couch, holding out a hand to her.
Addison walked over and let him pull her down next to him. She leaned into him, feeling some of the stress of the day dissipate a little. Being with him always did that for her. She was an independent woman, had been a single mother for over a decade, and yet having someone to lean on, to talk through stressful situations, was a gift she didn’t truly appreciate until now.
She decided to not beat around the bush, but to come right out and tell Ricky what happened at the hospital. She sat up a little and said, “Ellory’s biological father was at the hospital today.”
“What? Are you joking?”
Okay, maybe just blurting that out hadn’t been the best way to break the news to Ricky. He was obviously shocked, but surprisingly, he sounded pissed too. “No. We were waiting to be called back when he approached me.”
“Was Ellory there too?”
“Well yeah, but across the room. She didn’t see him or hear what we were talking about.”
“What did he want? Where has he been all this time? Did he apologize for leaving you high and dry with an infant? For not sending you any of the money he promised?”
“Um…no to the second two questions, and I don’t know where he’s been. He seemed just as surprised to see me as I was to see him. I guess he’s working there. At the hospital. He’s a janitor.”
“And? What did he want?” Ricky asked, his hazel gaze boring into her own.
“He said he wanted to meet Ellory. I’m assuming he wants to get to know her.”
