An unmistakable sense of warmth stole through her as she looked down at him.
Too soon, he sat up. “Come on. You need to be on your side.”
Ridley moved slowly, smiling at the burn of thigh muscles that hadn’t gotten such a workout in a long time. Jackson caught her grinning to herself and chuckled.
“I guess I don’t have to ask if I hurt you this time, huh?”
Ridley settled beneath the covers with a happy sigh. “Mmm. I feel all warm and gooey.”
Jackson scooted behind her, spooning her in the cradle of his body. “I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you sooner. There shouldn’t be anything we can’t talk about.”
Ridley nodded then paused. Her eyes went to her nightstand drawer. Did she really want to go there?
“What’s wrong? You just tensed up again.” Jackson’s soft question pulled her out of her thoughts.
Before she could change her mind, Ri leaned forward and pulled the drawer open. The crumpled white business card was in the back right corner. She handed it to Jackson without meeting his eyes.
“Oh Ridley. How long have you had this?” Jackson kissed her shoulder. “Look at me baby.”
She rolled over to face him, immediately stung by the look of disappointment on his face. Now that some time had passed and especially after the way they’d just reconnected, she was completely sure Jackson wouldn’t cheat on her. There had to be a reasonable explanation and she was ashamed she hadn’t trusted him from the start.
“I missed you so much and then I saw that card.” She sniffled and wiped away a tear that slipped from her eye. “But I know that’s no excuse for going through your coat.”
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “I want to explain something to you but I might mess it up, so bear with me.”
Rolling the other way, Jackson put the mangled up business card on his own night table.
“Alana’s manager reached out to ask if I’d consider producing a song for her. I said no initially but after a little thought, I decided to offer the job to Mac. He’s been trying to grow and branch out and this is a good opportunity for him. I only had the business card because I wouldn’t know how to contact her otherwise. Because I don’t keep tabs on her or stay in touch at all. I’m not interested in what she’s doing or where she is normally. Quite frankly, I don’t think of her at all.”
Ridley bit her lip, ashamed at how pleased that made her. “I know you don’t. I trust you.”
“Good. Now lets get ready for bed. I’ll bring you some tea and give you a foot rub.”
She watched him climb out of bed, her eyes fixed on his perfectly toned ass as he left the room. Then let out a giggle.
Life seriously didn’t get much better than this.
?
Ridley finally found the energy to get up. If she didn’t wash the makeup off her face, she’d end up with a break out. It didn’t seem fair that she now had problematic skin on top of all the weight gain that came with pregnancy but now that she knew her husband loved her curvy figure, maybe it wasn’t so bad. It was definitely fun to have enough cleavage for several people.
She washed her face and then started the process of toning, moisturizing and then applying an entire cabinet full of skin care products. When she was almost done, her eyes went over her shoulder in the mirror to see Jackson watching her from their bed.
“Hey, you’re back. Sorry it’s taking me so long.”
Jackson just continued to watch her with a curious little smile on his face.
“What?” she asked.
“It’s one of my favorite things, watching you get ready for bed.”
“It is?” Ridley found that a little hard to believe. She didn’t even like going through the long process so she could only imagine how boring it was for someone else to observe.
But Jackson nodded. “I love watching how serious you get selecting just which bottle to use next. Although I guess it doesn’t even matter which one you choose. I just love watching you exist. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Ri. Never forget that.”
Ridley’s hand slowly lowered from her face. “You are just the sweetest thing. How could I have ever doubted you?” She flicked off the light in the bathroom and then climbed in bed next to him, cuddling up under his arm.
He propped his head on his hand. “You’re going to occasionally have doubts. Everyone does. You don’t think I have them?”