“It’s okay.” She leaned her head against my shoulder. “You were hanging out with Taylor and Jon. I knew you would be home eventually.”
“I’ll always come home to you, darling—no matter what.” I squeezed her tight and then placed her on the couch.
I could tell by Charley’s mood that she hadn’t tossed and turned all night waiting for me to get home. Staying out late didn’t seem to bother her when she thought I was hanging out with my friends instead of working at Moretti’s. Maybe that was my fault—I didn’t exactly walk out of the apartment with a smile on my face when I came home to change after class every day. She probably picked up on it, and noticed a difference in my demeanor when I was on my way to see Taylor, or spend time with Jon. She obviously liked them both. I would never be the type of mother that stayed out every night, but if it didn’t upset her, I might be able to occasionally fall asleep in Jon’s arms. I needed it—even if I didn’t get it often.
“Can we watch Frozen?” Charley reached for the remote.
“No Frozen this morning.” My mother walked into the room and shook her head. “You don’t get to watch television all day just because pre-school is out for the summer.”
“Grandma!” Charley groaned and put down the remote.
“Why don’t you go get that book about Elsa and Anna that we got you for Christmas?” I gave Charley a nudge. “I’ll let you read it to me.”
“Only if you help me with the words I don’t understand.” She looked up at me.
“Of course.” I smiled and nodded.
Sitting on the couch—reading with my daughter—those were the moments I was going to miss when she was older. I had plenty of reasons to put the book down. I needed to look for a job—I needed to check in with Addison to see if there were any new developments in the custody case—but those could wait. I remembered how special the memories were of sitting on the couch trying to read Snow White, the book version of my favorite movie from childhood, while my mother helped me with the words I didn’t understand.
Charley would probably do the same one day when she had a little girl or boy that was obsessed with a movie, she didn’t want to watch for the thousandth time. I just hoped it wouldn’t be the Monroe girls against the world by then—it might not have been our real family name, but it was the one I would use unless a man with a dark, piercing stare gave me a reason to change it at some point in the future.
It’s too early to really think about a ring or a dress, but I can’t help but wonder if that could be in our future…
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jon
A few days later
I woke up early on the day of the wedding and reached to pull Melanie into my arms, but she wasn’t there. The bed was warm—her perfume was still lingering on the sheets—evidence that she hadn’t been gone very long. I sat up and saw her clothes still on the floor. That confirmed she was still in the house. I slid on my boxers and walked downstairs. I could smell coffee and bacon, so that drew me to the kitchen where I found Melanie standing over the stove wearing nothing, but the shirt she peeled off me the night before. It looked a hell of a lot better on her than it did on me. I hung right below her ass, an
d I could tell she wasn’t wearing panties. I stared at her for a moment, and my cock twinged with desire.
“Good morning, gorgeous.” I walked up behind her and put my hands on her hips.
“Good morning yourself.” She leaned back against me. “I figured we should eat breakfast—we won’t get to eat again until the reception.”
“That’s true.” I kissed her neck and pushed my hand underneath the edge of the shirt she was wearing. “But we don’t have to be at Benson Estate for several hours…”
“Easy for someone who just has to put on a suit to say…” she sighed. “It’s going to take me a long time to get ready.”
“Yes…” I moved my hand to her clit. “But you still have to shower at some point.”
“Oh god,” she moaned and leaned forward.
“Don’t get too distracted. You’ll burn the bacon.” I pulled my finger away.
“You’re so mean…” She shook her head and reached for the tongs.
“You like it when I’m mean,” I growled into her ear and kissed her neck. “What was it you said last night? Pull down my panties and spank me harder?
“If you tease me about it, that will be the last time you get to pull them down.” She flipped the bacon and turned towards me with a grin on her face.
“Just try to resist me…” I pulled her close and crushed her lips beneath mine.
I already know you can’t.
We barely got the bacon off the stove before we were on the dining room table—lost in an urge that just couldn’t wait. Our passion erupted and became a distraction from everything that was looming on the horizon. We made love until our food was cold, and the coffee pot had to be turned back on, but neither of us complained when we finally returned to the kitchen. After breakfast was officially over, we teased each other in the shower, and our bodies intertwined with pleasure one more time before we were done. That should have been enough to satisfy our morning desires, but we still teased each other while we got ready—and came dangerously close to being more than fashionably late to an event that didn’t exactly cater to that sort of tardiness.