My clothes are on a chair in the corner of the room, my phone tucked safely in one of the pockets of my pants. In less than an hour, that phone is going to ring. It’s going to be Graham and he’s going to be pissed.
There is a meeting scheduled at Landry Holdings at eight-thirty. It’s a meeting I’m going to miss because I’m not about to shorten this moment for anything in the world by untangling our bodies just to get my phone.
Glancing down at her, I take in her pouty lips that are pressed together like they want kissed. Her lashes are splayed against her cheeks, her arm stretched lazily over my stomach. It’s a beautiful sight. It’s an even better feeling.
I might have suspected that I couldn’t fully connect with another woman because my heart was still with her. It was one of the only explanations why I found a fatal flaw in every date I had, in every girl that I even vaguely considered dating. They just weren’t right. Something was slightly amiss and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
My fing
er—hell, my whole hand—is on top of it now. It’s absolutely clear that I have two choices: live alone for the rest of my life or fight like hell for this. For her. For us.
There might be two choices, but there’s only one answer.
Ellie begins to stir, rolling away from me and stretching.
“Shh,” I whisper, trying to bring her in beside me again.
Her beautiful eyes pop open. “Are you going to let me sleep all day?” she laughs sleepily.
“I’d let you sleep all week if that meant I got to hold you.”
“What time is it?”
“Almost eight or so.”
She furrows her brows as if she’s just waking up and putting all the pieces together. Before she can comment, my phone rings through the silence.
“Shit,” I groan. Reality has officially broken through. “I really need to get that.”
After she wiggles to the side, I unfold my body and pad across the floor. Her gaze is hot against my back, searing my skin as I grab my phone and bring it to my ear.
“Hello?”
“Where the hell are you?” Graham asks.
“Occupied.”
“Damn it, Ford. Just because Lincoln has shaped up a bit, doesn’t mean you have to fill the vacancy.”
“Easy there, captain,” I laugh. “Hoda will be there. She has the files, and I went over everything with her yesterday. She knows where I stand. You don’t really need me.”
I listen to Graham’s tirade, slipping on my pants and shrugging on my shirt. It’s hard to pay attention to what my brother is saying as Ellie sits up in bed, her breasts perky, her nipples in stiff peaks.
She climbs out of bed, her ass so perfectly round I want to palm it. I’m only reminded of the call when I hear Graham mutter a string of profanities.
“Relax, Graham. I heard everything you said.”
“You did fucking not.”
“Okay. You’re right. I didn’t. But I get the gist of it.”
He sighs. “Moments like this, I loathe being the only responsible one out of all of you.”
“I’ll make it up to you.”
“I’ll add it to your tab,” he says. “Oh, before I go—Barrett will be in town in a couple of days. Mom wants everyone at the Farm for dinner. She said something about Linc wanting to get together anyway so it’s perfect timing. I’ll text you when.”
“I’ll be there. Talk to you later.”