It may have been scraps from Christian’s table, but I loved what I had.
Spending the night with Christian while he massaged and caressed every inch of me had only confirmed that more. He hadn’t tried to do anything beyond kiss and hold me and I loved him for it. I wanted him more for it.
Get it together, Hannah.
I knew I had to stop thinking about him in this way, or I’d drive myself crazy, but I almost couldn’t help myself. I felt so safe when I was with him. I knew that he’d do anything to protect me now. Turning over, I groaned into my pillow. Then I forced myself to stop thinking about him and got up.
A brand new day stretched in front of me.
A knock on my door went from quiet to long and loud and I knew that it was Annie. I smiled and slipped from the bed, wrapped myself in a robe, and padded to the door.
When I opened it, she smiled up at me in her PJ’s with her hair all adorably messy.
“Good morning,” I said. “You’re up early.”
“We go shopping today.”
“Yes, we do.” I grinned. “Right after we put on clothes, brush our teeth, and have breakfast.”
She groaned. “Can’t we do all of that stuff later?”
“Should we go in our robes and PJ’s?” I asked.
Annie’s little face lit up. “Can we?”
“You know we can’t.” I laughed and messed up her hair even more.
She giggled. “Stop it!”
“Fine,” I said. “Let’s get ready to start the day, hmm?”
“You two have fun,” Christian said, as he walked out of his bedroom fully dressed and looking drop dead hot. “I’ll see you both after work.”
“Okay, Daddy,” Annie said as she ran over and gave him a tight hug.
“I second that okay daddy bit,” I said and I winked at him.
He laughed. A happy sound.
“Daddy, give Hannah a hug too.”
“A hug for Hannah?” Christian asked as he pulled me into a bear hug.
I slapped his arm until he let me go.
“We’re going to the mall to go shopping,” Annie announced.
“Great. Bring something back for me.”
“Okay,” she said happily and ran off to get ready.
When Christian was sure she was gone, he yanked me back against his body and kissed me so hard my knees buckled.
“What was that for?” I asked breathlessly.
“Just felt like it.”
I groaned. “Can’t you kiss me when I don’t have morning breath?”
“It’s always amazing kissing you.”
I felt my cheeks bloom with heat. Sometimes he could say the sweetest things and it always threw me off. I walked him to the door to wave him off.
Just before he walked out of the door, Christian slipped me a credit card and whispered in my ear to go crazy. Stark raving crazy or he would be disappointed in me.
I looked down at the card. It had my name on it. I looked up and he winked at me. I didn’t know about stark raving crazy, but we were definitely going to have some fun as Annie was outgrowing some of her clothes and I was sure she could use an update.
I got myself and Annie ready for our girls’ day out then we drove to the mall.
Annie was so excited she took my hand and practically dragged me through the entrance. She was surprisingly strong. We stopped in front of the toy store and Annie's eyes went wide as she took in all the possibilities.
"Clothes first," I reminded her. "And then toys."
"Aww, can't we do toys first?"
She looked super cute and I was sorely tempted, but I knew what would happen if I let her have her way. We'd be in the toy store all day and then she wouldn't feel like shopping for clothes. It was enough to make me want to cave, but I straightened my spine and shook my head. "Toys after. Come on, don't you want new clothes? I'm sure there are some cute PJ's too."
"New PJ's?" she asked curiously.
"Yeah, the kind with animal ears and tails."
"Cool beans!"
I laughed as she swiftly abandoned the idea of toy shopping for new clothes. At least, I could redirect her when I needed to.
We walked into a kiddie store and her eyes lit up as she led me over to one of the racks. "Look at this dress. It's so cute!"
I smiled as I pushed through the rack. "I like this one better."
We went through the clothes together and pulled out things we liked. I draped them over my arm one by one before I went back to rummaging in the racks. By the time I glanced up, I was sure we were going to spend a fortune. "Annie, we need to try some of these things on to make sure they fit. I think we should. Annie?"
I glanced around. She had been right by my side the whole time, but now she was just gone. My heart started to race as I turned around and started to look around for her. I peeked between the racks and around the store, but I couldn't find her.