Page 62 of Reckless (Adventures in Love 3)
“I should go clean up.”
“Not yet.” He holds me tight, then pulls a blanket over us. “I like you like this.”
“I like being with you like this,” I admit, letting my eyes slide closed. As I lie there, listening to the steady beat of his heart, I try to decipher exactly what the emotion is that’s sitting in the middle of my chest. It doesn’t feel like anything I’ve ever felt before; it’s light and heavy but warm and comforting. It’s not love—I know that I’ve felt that emotion a time or two before. I just hope that whatever it is, he’s feeling it too.
“My sister called me this afternoon. She asked if I was heading down to her for Thanksgiving,” he says into the dark, breaking the comfortable silence between us, and I move my head to rest my chin on his chest.
“Are you?”
“Yeah, but I’d like you to go with me,” he says, and my heart pounds. I know he told me that he wanted me to meet his sister and her family when they came for the New Year in a few months, but that was a long ways off. I also know without him telling me that him wanting me to meet his sister is huge. She’s the woman who basically raised him after his mother left, and he’s the man he is today because of her.
“I’d like that. I’ll talk to Cybil and see what we can work out for the store; maybe one of the other ladies who are working with us will be willing to cover the store while I’m out of town.” I rest my cheek back where it was, then ask, “Is your dad going to be there too?”
“No.” His fingers, which were moving along my spine, still. “He . . .” He clears his throat. “Neither Lizzy or I see him much. He works a lot.”
My chest aches from the pain in his voice, and I wish I knew what to say or do to make it better. But since there are no words to make him feel better, I turn my head to kiss his chest, then whisper, “I’m sorry.”
“Thanks, baby,” he whispers back, and I hug his waist, then feel his lips rest against the top of my hair. “What time are your dad and your mom leaving to drive home?” he asks, dragging me from my thoughts, and I glance over at the clock on the bedside table.
“Soon. They said six; it’s five thirty,” I tell him quietly, wishing that their time here wasn’t already up and that they were going to be here a little longer. It’s been so good having them around, and with them here, I honestly feel like I have everything I need and then some.
“Let’s get dressed. It’s cold out—I’ll drive you up to the house so that you can say goodbye to them.”
“Okay,” I say quietly, pushing up off his chest and going to the bathroom to clean up before I get dressed in a pair of sweats and a long-sleeved shirt.
After I’m ready, he drives us up to the house, and then Cybil, Tanner, Claire, Maverick, and I say goodbye to my parents. The only thing making the moment a little easier is having Maverick’s arms wrapped around me as I cry while watching them drive off, as well as the knowledge that they will be back in a month for another visit.
Chapter 19
JADE
With the sun setting, I watch Blake, Everly, and Sam as they slow dance in the middle of the empty dance floor while a man and woman sing about how they will follow each other no matter where they go in life. Tears fill my eyes, and I quickly grab my napkin to blot under them. Having gotten to know Everly and her sweet son, I couldn’t be happier for her and Sam and Blake. They truly make a beautiful family.
“Oh God, I’m going to cry,” Cybil whispers, and I turn toward her, finding tears wetting her cheeks.
“You’re already crying, Sunshine,” Tanner says, moving Claire to his other thigh so that he can pull his wife against his side and kiss her temple.
“They are just so perfect together,” she tells him, and I grab her napkin and hand it to her so that she can wipe her face. The good thing is that we are not the only two bawling our eyes out; there doesn’t seem to be a dry eye as I look around the tent that we are sitting under. Not that it’s the first time I’ve cried today—I sobbed during their ceremony when Blake’s mom handed Sam over to Blake, and he placed a gold bracelet around Sam’s tiny wrist as a promise to love him forever as he would love his mom.
“Thank goodness,” Tanner mutters when the song changes to one that is more upbeat and the DJ asks others to join the new couple on the dance floor. “I thought I was going to float out onto the lake with all the tears around here.”
