by Amali Rose
Addy runs straight to him and pulls him into a hug. Grayson sinks into her, wrapping his arms tight around her waist and burying his face into her neck. His shoulders shake slightly, and while there is not one part of me that doesn’t want to get to Miles and Lulu as fast as possible, I turn my back and give them their moment.
“Charlie,” Grayson’s roughened voice calls me, and I move back toward them, grasping his hand and offering him a tight smile.
“Is he…” I struggle to finish the sentence.
“Yeah, he seems to be doing okay.” His voice breaks and he scrubs his hands over his face. “They’ve been doing tests, but Dad’s telling anyone who’ll listen that he’s fine, the grumpy bastard. We should be getting results soon.”
Relief washes over me.
“Do you two want a minute? I can go up by myself.”
Adelaide looks at me, suitably contrite. “I guess I owe you an explanation.”
“Yeah, you do.” I give her a kiss on the cheek. “We’ll talk later. Where can I find them, Gray?”
“Sixth floor. Turn left as soon as you step out of the elevator and then it’s the fourth room on your right. You’ll hear Dad bitching, trust me.”
I give them both a hug and then make my way up, needing to get my hands on Miles and Lulu.
The elevator seems to be moving at the speed of a snail, hours seem to fill each second and the apprehension Grayson had managed to calm, takes flight once again.
It suddenly occurs to me that Miles never called me and nerves skitter along my spine. What if he doesn’t want me here?
His earlier text flashes through my mind. I hope I find you in every one of them.
I don’t know about any other universe, but he found me in this one and I won’t let my stupid fears keep me from him a second longer.
As soon as the elevator doors open, I race out, following Grayson’s directions. I spot Thomas first, he’s pacing the hallway, his phone to his ear and Lulu balanced in his arms.
She has her head resting on his shoulder and is rubbing her eyes, looking tired and grumpy. She notices me before Thomas does and immediately wriggles out of his grasp, racing down the hall and throwing herself at my legs, holding on tight.
I see Thomas end his call and head in my direction, but I ignore him and lift Lulu into my arms.
“Hey, beautiful, are you doing okay?”
“Gramps is sick.” She looks so despondent and her voice holds none of its usual spark. It breaks my heart.
“I know, baby, but the doctors are helping him.”
“Charlotte.”
I glance up to find Thomas right in front of me. I steel myself for whatever is about to come but he surprises me with a genuine smile.
“Thank you for being here, I know Miles will be relieved.”
“Is he okay? Where is he?”
Lulu snuggles into me, burying her nose in the crook of my neck and I reach down and place a kiss on her head, desperate to give her some sort of comfort.
“He’s in with the doctor, going through the results of Dad’s tests. I just stepped out to take a call from Chrissy.”
“Right,” I murmur, unsure what to say next.
His eyes flit between Lulu and me, and for a brief moment, he fixates on her fingers that are playing with a lock of my hair.
“Look, I just want to apologize for what I said to you that night. I know you and Miles have been having some issues and if I’ve contributed to that in any way, then I’m sorry.” His shoulders slump and a look of weariness engulfs him. “I just want him to be happy, Charlie, and he hasn’t been in a very long time.”
I don’t have it in me to hold a grudge. It’s obvious he cares about Miles, and even though he behaved like a jerk, I understand it came from a place of love.
For Miles, obviously. I barely have his tolerance. But this is a step in the right direction, and I won’t throw it in his face.
“It didn’t have anything to do with you, I promise. He made a mistake and I punished him for it.” I shrug. “A little too much, I think.”
He opens his mouth to say something, but we’re interrupted by the sound of the door behind Thomas opening and Robert’s exasperated cry.
“For Christ’s sake.”
“For Christ’s sake,” Lulu mumbles against my neck, half asleep.
I glance up and get my first look at Miles in almost a week. His focus is on the chuckling doctor beside him and he looks exhausted.
Thomas heads in their direction and I follow, albeit at a slower pace, my nerves creeping back up.
I know the second he sees me. It’s as though his entire body relaxes. I know, because mine does exactly the same thing. It’s like I’ve been holding my breath and I had no clue until the sight of him forced me to exhale.
Thomas asks the doctor a question and I try to pay attention, but Miles hasn’t taken his eyes off me.
“You came.”
Did he really think I wouldn’t? Does he not realize how head-over-heels, stupidly in love with him I am?
Shame washes over me when I realize that my disappearing act probably made him doubt that very thing.
“Of course. I’m—”
“Chrissy is going to come and get Lulu,” Thomas interrupts, and when I look at him, I notice the doctor walking away.
“Thanks, Tom.”
“I can take her home,” I offer. “I’m already here, it makes sense.”
“Are you sure?” Thomas asks. “It would be easier than Chrissy dragging the kids out this late.”
“It’s no trouble. I’ll take Miles’ car.”
Miles doesn’t seem convinced, but Thomas is already calling his wife to tell her to stay home.
It’s just the three of us now and Miles takes a step closer to me. He looks like he wants to reach out, but he’s holding himself back.
Without a second thought, I launch myself at him and wrap my free arm around his neck. He catches me and holds Lulu and me tight to him, breathing deeply.
We don’t say anything, now is not the time. Now, he just needs to know he has me. For as long as he wants me, I’m his.
I check on Lulu who is fast asleep on the sofa in the playroom. Pongo tucked under her tiny hand, she’s snoring softly, and I can’t take my eyes off her. How she suckered her way into my heart so easily, I’ll never know but I’ll be forever grateful.
Not wanting to wake her, I walk back to the kitchen and sit at the island bench. There’s a pint of ice cream before me, as well as an assortment of candy that I raided from the pantry. It’s safe to say I’ve been eating my feelings for the last few hours.
I grab a Kit Kat from the bag and shove it in my mouth, considering how lucky Robert was tonight. From what I gathered at my brief visit, he’s going to walk away from this relatively unscathed and I’m so thankful. The fear that was etched on Miles, Grayson, and Thomas’ faces will stay with me forever.
I hear the soft snick of the door opening, followed by quiet footsteps. There’s a pause and I know Miles is checking in on Lulu, so I wait. Because I would wait for this man until the end of time. I just hope he was prepared to do the same.
“Hey.” His whispered voice greets me, and I want to throw myself at him, just as I did at the hospital, but this time I’m the one holding myself back.
“Hi.”
We stare at each other across the room, the silence heavy with everything unresolved and unsaid.
“I fucked up, Chicago.”
“Yes.” I nod, because what else could I say?
“Were you ever coming back to me?”
I want to say yes. After everything he’s been through tonight, I want to give him that peace, but I can’t. Because I’m a coward and have spent most of my life ruled by fear.
Without Robert’s scare tonight, would I have found the courage to follow through and make that call?
“I don’t know.”
“Right.” He bites his lip and nods before taking the last few steps across the r
oom and sitting next to me. “You can’t run every time I fuck up.”
“How often are you planning on fucking up?” I snap back causing him to laugh and lean down to kiss my neck.
“I’m sure it’ll be plenty.” He grabs the bag of Swedish Fish and bites the head off one, chewing thoughtfully. “I won’t let you go, I’ll always come after you. But it sure would make things easier if you could just be mad at me while we’re together.”
He side-eyes me, challenging me to argue.
“How about you try not to fuck up and I’ll try to yell and scream when you do, instead of running?”
“Deal.” He puts down the candy and offers me his hand, waiting for me to shake it. It reminds me of the first time he did it at the supermarket all those months ago. Who would have ever imagined we would end up here?
I take his hand and shake, but he pulls me to him, and I fall off my seat just as his mouth lands on mine. His tongue sweeps through my mouth and I can taste his apology. His promise. His intent.
We spend necessary moments savoring each other, and when we pull apart, I’m breathless.
“I’m going to move Lulu to her bed. Will you stay tonight?”
I agree, and as we move wordlessly through the house, I watch him care for his daughter, and it strikes me how much I love his kindness. How huge his heart is and how rare his need to protect is.
I think I’ll always rebel against that a little. I’m so used to being the protector myself, it’s an odd feeling knowing someone will fight for me with the same intensity I would for them.
At the same time, I welcome it and I make a silent promise to myself to never get scared again.
He pulls his t-shirt off and climbs into bed beside me in his boxer briefs. I’m lying on my side and I watch him as he slides through the bed until he’s beside me, mimicking my position. We’re nose to nose, breathing each other’s air and it hits me how much I’ve missed him.
A silent tear leaks down my cheek and he leans over and kisses it.
“Are we okay?”
“No,” I whisper. “But I promise to be not okay by your side, instead of alone.”
He considers me seriously. “I accept those terms.”
“I’m so glad.” I snort out a quiet laugh.
“I missed you.”
I lift my hand and run my fingers along his jaw. His eyes are still tired, but they’ve regained a bit of their spark. “I missed you, too.” I kiss his nose. “Is your dad really going to be okay?”
“Yeah.” He sighs and rolls over onto his back. “It looks like it was angina, not a heart attack, so they’re confident there will be no permanent damage. He’ll need to go on medication and make some lifestyle changes.” He turns his head and rolls his eyes. “Which he’s thrilled about.”
“I bet.” I giggle. “Did you see Grayson and Addy at the hospital?”
“Did I see them? I can’t unsee them.” He pretends to shiver in disgust. “Once everyone was sure Dad was going to be okay, they excused themselves. When I went looking for them later, I found them practically dry humping in the stairwell.”
“I wish I could say that surprises me, but Addy’s a bit of an exhibitionist.”
“Says the woman who let herself get fucked against a window.” He scoffs.
“Hey!” I slap his chest. “That was a one-off.”
“Really?” He rolls back to me and drops his arm over my waist, his hand grabbing my ass. “I bet it won’t be.”
“Dream on, ice cream hater.” I scoot a bit closer. “Are we going to talk about last week?”
“If we have to,” he grumbles.
“Lying to me doesn’t protect me, we need to get that straight right now. You should have told me you were doing the show—”
“You would have tried to stop me.”
“Yeah, I absolutely would have.” I lift my hand to cradle his cheek. “But if you had insisted, I would have supported you. And I wouldn’t have been so blindsided. Do you have any idea how it felt to find out like that?”
He bends his head down and presses it to my shoulder. “It wasn’t how I intended it to happen, but I do accept that, even if everything had gone to plan, you still would have had every right to be pissed.”
“And trust me, I would’ve been.” I run my fingertips through his chest hair, enjoying the feel. “What happened after I hung up?”
“Uhhh…” He ducks his head and looks embarrassed. “I kind of stormed off the set, swearing at everyone.”
I purse my lips and close my eyes, imagining how well that must have gone down. “So, basically you made everything a hell of a lot worse.”
“Yeah, it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.” He turns serious. “I’m sorry it’s affecting your job, Chicago. That’s the last thing I ever wanted.”
“It’s fine.” And it is. Somewhere along the line, my job became the least important thing in my life and I’m more than okay with that.
“What will you do if you lose your job?” He kisses along the curve of my neck.
“I’ll find another one,” I answer simply and then I stop the path of his lips. “You met my mom.”
“Yeah, she’s a…”
“Nightmare?” I supply, remembering Adelaide’s words from all those months ago. “You know, I’ve spent so many years making excuses for her and trying to justify her behavior, but now? I’ve known Lulu for three months and I couldn’t imagine ever treating her the way Mom did me. It would kill me to hurt her like that.” I pause, trying to work up the courage for what I need to say next. “I don’t think I can have her in my life anymore.” I peer up at him, expecting him to be disgusted but all I see is understanding.
“I’ll support whatever decision you make. If it helps, I think despite the awful example you had, you’ll be an amazing mom to our kids.” He slips a hand under the t-shirt I borrowed from him and smoothes it over my stomach.
“Our kids, huh?”
“Yep.” He pops the P. “I figure we’ll have four or five.”
“Four or five?” I shriek, pushing him away.
He’s about to dive back on me when we hear the door creak open and soft footfalls running across the room.
Lulu’s head suddenly appears at the side of the bed, and she waves a pointed finger at us, glaring. “You two woke me up.” She growls.
Laughing, I reach over and pull her into the huge bed, where she promptly snuggles between us.
Miles grins at me and I shake my head wondering how I got here, but so glad I did.
“We might have to invest in a lock on the door if you’re serious about all those kids.”
He leans over and brushes a kiss across my mouth. “I’ll install it tomorrow.”
Ten Years Later…
Charlie’s ass pushes back against my cock meeting me thrust for thrust and the sight of her arched back, her face pressed into her pillow to smother her moans, causes me to drive myself in deeper, my harsh breathing filling the room.
Seconds later I feel her pussy pulsing around my cock, milking it, and I lose myself in her muffled sounds. Three short thrusts later, I’m coming hard, buried inside my wife and we ride our orgasms out together.
Pulling out, I fall on the bed beside her and give her an arrogant smirk.
“You’re welcome.”
“You’re ridiculous,” she counters.
“You’re both disgusting!” Lulu bangs on our bedroom door making gagging noises. “Stop being gross and come and make us breakfast.”
I look at Charlie and she looks back at me, amusement lighting her eyes.
“Is thirteen too young for her to make it on her own?” I question.
She throws a pillow at me. “We’re not throwing our daughter out so you can get laid with no repercussions. Now go make my babies pancakes.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I duck down and take her nipple in my mouth sucking hard until she begins to writhe under me, then I quickly release it, grinning as she curses me out.
“Don’t forget Addy, Grayson, and the boys are coming for dinner tonight and you promised to clean the grill today,” Charlie shouts at my retreating back.
Half an hour later, I slide a huge plate of pancakes on the table in front of my family and take a seat beside Lulu. I tweak her nose and she groans, rolling her eyes.
“Thanks.” She quickly fills her plate with pancakes before turning to Charlie. “Mom, can you take Jenna and me to the movies today?”
“Sure, what time?”
“Can I come too?” Juliette asks, walking into the kitchen and almost tripping over Mintie and our border collie Bridie, who are curled around each other, asleep, in the doorway.
Lulu looks at her sister, shaking her head. “Nope, you’re too young.”
Juliet scrunches her nose up and glares at her. “I’m six, that’s not too young.”
“J, I’ll take you and Caleb to a movie while Lu goes with her friend.”
My little man grins at Charlie around a mouthful of pancakes and syrup, looking at her as if she hung the moon.
I know the feeling well.
“Don’t you have a meeting with the shelter supervisor today?”
Charlie has been the lawyer for a nonprofit animal shelter for the last five years. She got out of corporate law after Juliette was born, wanting something more flexible. The shelter job has been a dream come true for her.
“I can drop the girls off.” I watch in disgust as Charlie and Lulu both smother their pancakes in ice cream and maple syrup. Ice cream. On pancakes. Sometimes they make it difficult to love them.
“No way,” Lulu barks. “The last time you took us to the mall, you scared my boyfriend.”
I take a gulp of orange juice and shake my head. “You don’t have a boyfriend, Tallulah. You’re too young.”
“Daaaad.” She groans before throwing Charlie a pleading look.
“Relax, Lu. I’ll take you.” She turns to me. “The meeting was rescheduled to Monday, so I’m all yours, all day.”
“Really?” I waggle my eyebrows at her, loving her giggle.
