“Yeah. Everything all right?” There’s concern in Lawry’s voice.
“Fine. I just need a woman’s help planning something for Adelyn.”
“Okay. I have a scheduled conference call with a BCC client in five minutes. I’ll come down after that.”
Adelyn is an event planner. She pays careful attention to all details so I want everything about this weekend to be flawless for her.
I’ve changed my mind about staying at Mom and Dad’s house. Sleeping with Adelyn in the bedroom where I used to jack off into a sock won’t make for an unforgettable weekend. I want to make love to her in the most romantic hotel in Savannah. Wine and dine her in the finest restaurants. Hold hands with her while I show her iconic Savannah.
“Hey, dipshit.” Porter doesn’t knock or ask permission to enter my office. He waltzes in like always.
He sinks into the chair across from me and puts his motherfucking feet on my desk. Guess I don’t have room to bitch though. I do the same to him and Lucas at least once a day. “Frankie says you like the label for the Winter Lager.”
“Yeah, it’s cool. Very hipster.” Fits in with our branding perfectly.
“She did a great job on that design.”
“She initially told me you were the one who rocked it.”
“Not true. It’s all her idea and artwork. All I did was help her fine-tune the text.”
Odd she wouldn’t want to take credit.
“I could tell it wasn’t your work. It didn’t have the Porter look about it.” I chuckle. “You do realize she’s better than you, right?”
“I know. She’s damn good at what she does. A very talented artist.”
“Especially for someone so young.”
“She’s not that young.”
“Twenty-one is pretty fucking young. Don’t you remember the shit we did when we were her age?”
“We were guys in a fraternity. Total dumbasses. She doesn’t act the way we did.”
“That’s good to know because if she pulled shit like we did, she wouldn’t work here for very long.” Our asses stayed in some kind of trouble all the time.
“I want to talk about her position at Iron City.”
Frankie was originally brought on as an intern to help Porter until we could find someone with more experience to take a full-time position. She’s been with us most of the summer, and I’m sure her ninety days must be coming to an end soon.
“I want to keep her. Give her the full-time position.”
I was under the impression Frankie planned on leaving Birmingham at the end of the summer. “What happened to her moving away?”
“She changed her mind.”
“I know Scott’s happy about that.” That man is crazy about his daughter. He’s wrapped around her little finger.
“She wants the full-time position, and she’s proven she can do it. She might not have a lot of experience, but anyone else we’d hire wouldn’t have grown up around this place and understand the business like she does.”
I can’t disagree with that.
Scott is a loyal employee. Always honest and dependable. Hard-working. I’m sure he has raised Frankie to be the same way.
“You’re in charge of art, marketing, and branding so it’s your decision as far as I’m concerned. If you think she does a good job, then give the position to her.”
“I think she’s perfect for the job so I guess it’s settled. She’s staying.”
Porter looks happy. Maybe a little too happy.
“Are you fucking her?”
Porter’s eyes widen. “What?”
He didn’t say no. “You heard me. Are. You. Fucking. Her?”
He takes his feet off my desk and sits upright before leaning forward, his forearms resting on his thighs. “I can’t believe you’re asking me that.”
“I’ve asked you twice now, and you’ve not denied it yet.” He’s avoiding the question. Same as the other times when I asked if he were seeing someone.
He’s been sneaking around with someone for a couple of months, disappearing whole weekends at a time. He’s never admitted to anything, and I haven’t been able to figure out why a thirty-year-old man would do that. Until now.
“Damn. You’ve been fucking around with Frankie the whole summer and I didn’t see it.”
“No, I haven’t.” Porter looks at the open door and then back at me. “And you need to shut the fuck up, bro. Anyone walking by your office could hear you. Shit like that gets back to Scott he will kill me.”
I don’t believe him. “Then you’d better shut the door because I’m not finished.”
Porter bolts to the door and closes it. No, slams it.
“You want Frankie to work alongside you? Fine. Hire her. You want her as your fuck buddy? Fine. Fuck her. But don’t let it become a problem for Iron City.”
“There is no problem.”
That sounds a little more like an admission than denial.
“Good. Because bosses who fuck twenty-one-year-old employees sometimes get themselves into some precarious situations. Especially when the said twenty-one-year-old has a father also employed at the same company. Are we on the same page?”
“Trust me, Oliver. I get it.”
I’m not sure he does.
Like most fathers, I’m certain Scott still sees Frankie as his little girl. He may not be happy about her getting fucked by her boss, a man nearly ten years her senior. “Don’t piss Scott off. He’s a good warehouse manager. I’d hate to have to replace him because he goes to jail for killing you.”
“I’m not a dumb fucker.”
“You are a dumb fucker because that’s what pussy does to men. It turns them into dumb fuckers. And that’s even truer when the pussy is attached to a woman you love.”
“You really have a lot of room to be lecturing me on the topic. Adelyn has you so pussy-whipped you can’t see straight.”
“I’m not denying it. I am a slave to her pussy and it doesn’t stop there. I’m falling so hard for her.”
Porter’s head jerks upward from its lowered position, his eyes wide. His lips part, but no words come from them.
“I fucking love that woman.”
Porter rubs his hand over his chin. “Damn, Oliver. I wasn’t expecting you to say that.”
It’s true so why deny it?
A soft rap on my door prevents me from completely owning up to just how fucking deep I am with Adelyn. “Yeah, come in.”
Lawry pokes her head through the doorway and sees Porter. “Busy? Need me to come back?”
I can tell that he has already decided. He’s giving Frankie the full-time job and has every intention of continuing to fuck her. His decision.
“Your mind is made up about Frankie?”
“Yep.”
“Then I think we’re done here.”
I fully trust Porter’s decision. He wouldn’t jeopardize Iron City for a piece of ass. But I’m not certain he’s considered the business side of hiring her full-time and where his responsibilities will lie as her direct superior. “Don’t forget to stop by and tell Molly to change Frankie’s status to full-time so her benefits will kick in first of the month.”
“On it.”
Lawry waits until Porter is gone to say anything. “Frankie’s being given the full-time designer job?”
I totally forgot that position is also responsible for BCC’s design and marketing. “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about discussing that with you. My bad.”
“I’m not mad. I love her work.”
“Have you seen her label for the Winter Lager?”
“No.”
I take out Frankie’s design and push it in Lawry’s direction. “It reminds me of Lucas but with a full beard.”
“Wow. This is really good. And it totally looks like an illustration of Lucas. He’ll think this is hilarious.”
“The position is in his department. She’ll be under him so I thought he had the right to choose who got the job.”
“I think we both know what he wants under him, and her daddy will shit when he finds out.”
“Then Scott should probably get ready to shit.”
Lawry lifts her brow. “They’re already sleeping together?”
“He never came out and admitted it but I’m pretty sure they are.”
“You know what, Ollie? It’s not our concern. Porter’s a grown man and is very aware of what he’s doing.”
“It turns out I was pretty wrong the last time I tried to judge someone else’s relationship, so I should probably do myself a favor and back off.”
“Exactly. And who knows? Frankie might be the one for Porter.”
“Maybe.” Twenty-fucking-one. She’s legal, but shit, I still see her as a kid. And Porter should, too.
What happens if things go badly? What happens when Scott finds out? Because he will find out. It’s inevitable. Fuck. Porter is his employer. Iron City would go to shit without a good warehouse manager. We need him and he needs his job. He has a family to support. Other kids besides Frankie.
“Okay. What kind of plans are we making for Adelyn?”
“I’m taking her to Savannah for a long weekend. I need you to help me organize a romantic getaway.”
“Oh, fun. You have to stay at the Bohemian. Great place for hotel sex.”
I’m not sure I needed to know that from my sister. “And you have to do the candlelight dinner in the vault at The Olde Pink House. I can take care of getting that lined up for you.” Lawry’s eyes grow large. “Are you thinking of asking her to marry you? Is that what this trip is about?”
“No. I just told her I loved her for the first time last week.”
“Aww. My baby brother is in love.” She sighs and puts her hands over her heart.
“Shut up, Lawry.”
“Don’t be that way, Ollie. I think it’s wonderful. I adore Adelyn. So do Mom and Dad. I think she would make a great wife for you.”
I once thought I was ready to be married, but it turned out that the one woman I thought I could trust with all of my heart betrayed me. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to allow myself to be that kind of vulnerable again.”
“You said you’d never love again but look at you. We’re sitting here planning a romantic getaway because you love Adelyn.”
“I do love her but marriage is a huge deal.”
Lawry smirks. “You’re telling me marriage is a huge deal? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Okay. That was dumb to say.”
“Being married is wonderful. Lucas and I are so happy. It would have been such a shame for us to miss out on this life together because he was burned by his first marriage and didn’t allow himself to be vulnerable again.”
Lawry and Lucas are so perfect together that it slipped my mind he was once married to someone else.
He flat-out refused to ever marry again or have children and Lawry left his ass. Both were a fucking mess until they got their shit together. It was a long six months.
“Does Adelyn want to be married one day?”
“I don’t know; we’ve not discussed it.”
“If you’re saying ‘I love you’ to each other, then the marriage conversation is going to come up soon. You might want to have an idea about how you’ll respond.”
“If I’m smart, I will.”
“You feel the way you feel. You can’t help that. But I’m doubting Adelyn is going to want to hear that you can’t move forward with her because of the pain another woman caused you.”
“I doubt she’d like hearing that at all.”
I loved Eden. It wouldn’t be true to say I didn’t just because I despise her today. But what I had with her doesn’t compare to the love I have for Adelyn Maxwell. It’s in a whole other league of its own. I will do anything for her. Be her alpha. Be her protector. Maybe even her husband if she wants that from me.
“Lucas thought he couldn’t move forward with me because of the past, and it almost ruined us. Eden destroyed the relationship you had with her. Don’t let it wreck what you have with Adelyn. She isn’t the one who betrayed you, so don’t punish her by withholding your trust.”
Eden loved the attention of men. It should have been a red flag but I ignored it because I thought she was hot. And I thought the sex was even hotter. She was talented in bed. I’ll give her that. But there was always a disconnect, like I was fucking an empty body.
It’s the complete opposite with Adelyn. We connect, intertwine, weave until we become one. She gives me every part of herself. Wholly. Willingly. Happily. I feel her in my bones.
In. My. Fucking. Bones.
“Don’t worry, sis. I won’t let the past dictate my future. I love Adelyn too much to let that happen.”
I’m lying on my side behind Adelyn, my cock still inside her. She’s slick with my semen as it oozes out of her around my dick. Our morning routine. “Is it weird I love filling you with my cum? Especially in the morning so I know there’s a little part of me inside you all day when we can’t be together.”
“Maybe a little weird but I like it. It makes me feel like I’m really yours.” She twists and looks at me over her shoulder. “Is it weird I like feeling owned by you?”
“I want you to feel like you’re mine. Because you are.” I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her against me as I kiss her shoulder. “And I love you.”
She laces her fingers through mine and squeezes. “I love you too.”
It’s been a few days since my marriage conversation with Lawry. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head for a second. And I’m glad. What I want out of life has come full circle.
Bringing up the marriage topic feels like I’m turning the crank on a jack-in-the-box. Any second the motherfucker could jump out of the top and make me shit my pants.
I should ease into the conversation, turn the crank slowly. “There’s something I want to talk about, but I’m afraid you’ll freak out.”
“Why would I freak out?”
“Because it’s hard core.”
“Oh. I’ve been wondering when you were going to bring it up. I’m sort of surprised you waited this long.”
Why would I have brought it up before now? She’s not given me any indication she wanted to talk about marriage. “What are your thoughts about it?”
“I would do it if it’s what you wanted.”
Really? That’s a very blasé answer about something as serious as becoming husband and wife.
“You would do it just like that? You wouldn’t even take time to think it over?”
I would expect someone like Adelyn, a daughter of a preacher, would need to put much more thought into the decision.
“Well, to me it’s just one more way of making me yours.”
“Well, yeah. It’s the biggest possible way to make you mine. You’d take my name. That would definitely mean you’re mine forever.”
“Huh?” She twists so she can see my face. “I don’t think we’re talking about the same thing.”
I’m confused. “What are you talking about?”
“I thought you were asking me for anal sex.”
Fuck. “No. I was talking about marriage, but now that I know you’ll let me fuck you in the ass, I may go for it.”
Adelyn’s breath hitches.
“Oh wow. We really got our lines crossed on that one.”
She straightens, not allowing me to see her face. And I think I’ve fucked up. I shouldn’t have mentioned the “m” word. “I’m sorry. We don’t have to discuss this right now. Or ever if you don’t want to.”
“I’m a little caught off guard but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to talk about it.”
She doesn’t move and her breathing has changed. Louder. Quicker. And her chest is rising and falling faster.
“I don’t want to have a conversation this important while I stare at your back.”
“Sorry.” She pulls away and rolls to lie on her side so we’re face-to-face.
I reach for her hand and intertwine our fingers. “What are your thoughts about it? Marriage, not anal sex.”
She giggles and it lightens the mood of the conversation. “It doesn’t work like that. You brought it up. That means you have to talk about it first.”
I was afraid she would say that but I guess it’s only fair I lay my heart on the line first.
A smile tugs at her lips and she fights to keep it suppressed. My girl’s trying to camouflage her excitement, which is adorable, but her hazels give her away.
“My life has been one big party. I’ve had a helluva time boozing it up and going through women, especially the last three years. I’m tired of flings and empty relationships. I’m ready to start preparing for a life with a woman who wants to be mine. Only mine. One who wants to eventually take my name and one day have children with me. I don’t mean I have to have these things tomorrow or the next day. But that’s the life I want when the time is right for her and me.”
Adelyn is unblinking as she watches me speak.
“I want a faithful wife who loves me and our children.”
Adelyn looks dazed by my admission. I may even be a little stunned by it myself. That wasn’t where I intended to go. I didn’t want to scare the shit out of Adelyn, but my heart stole the driver’s seat from my head.
“What do you want?”
I’m tense. Every second feels like hours. If she says she wants the complete opposite, this could end right here and now.
We’ve only known each other three months, and I am not ready to walk away from her.
I didn’t think that over completely, and the realization makes me wish I’d kept my fucking mouth shut.
But what if the chance I’m taking pays off? What if she wants the same things in life? What if she wants me too?
Her eyes betray her again when they pool with tears. Happy tears. I know because that smile she’s been fighting is winning the tug of war. “This woman you’re talking about. The one who is only yours. The one to eventually take your name and give you children. This faithful wife who loves you and your children.” A tear rolls down Adelyn’s cheek as she places her hand on my face. “I want to be her.”
Neighbor Girl (Southern Girl Series Book 2) Page 20
