Long Road Home

by Kate Stacy

  I swear I was made to be wrapped in his arms.

  I try to focus on my conversation with Grayson, but it’s so hard with Drake touching me. I still feel tingles when his skin touches mine.

  “Right, well...do you want to do dinner?”

  “Um…” I look to Drake and he nods, clearly hearing what Grayson asked. “Sure. Drake is home, so it works out perfectly. You two can finally meet.”

  “Oh, awesome.” He’s not fooling anyone. I can tell that he’s less than thrilled, but I’m not letting him ruin this for me.

  “Perfect. I’ll talk to him and we’ll hash out some plans, but I think it’d be easiest if you came here. I’ll cook.”

  I don’t want to risk any drama or confrontation out in public. They’re both protective of me and have already butted heads once.

  “Sounds good, Hails. I’ll just meet you at the bakery before you get off so I can follow you home.”

  DRAKE

  I listen as Hailee finishes her call.

  I can’t say I’m excited to meet her friend. Thinking about the way he spoke to her that day on the phone still pisses me off, but I’ll give him a chance. Only for her.

  I’m still deciding whether the timing of his call was shitty or perfect. I didn’t intend to take things that far, but once I tasted her lips—I couldn’t help myself. It’s probably a good thing that we were interrupted. She wanted slow and I don’t want to push.

  After she hangs up, she turns around, hugging me tightly.

  “So, dinner Tuesday then?”

  “Yeah. Thank you for agreeing. I know you didn’t get the best impression from him, but he’s not as bad as he seemed, I swear.”

  “It’s no problem, baby. I think it’s a great idea to do dinner here. Maybe we should invite Jax and Madalyn over too. I haven’t seen much of Jaxson lately.”

  “Of course!” She starts typing on her phone, but continues talking, “Please don’t let me steal all of your time. I don’t want you missing out on time with other people because of me.”

  I gently put my hand over hers, so she’ll stop typing for a second and look at me. When she does, I tell her, “I’ve spent every minute exactly where I want to be.”

  She bites her lip and nods, that sexy blush spreading across her cheeks, down her delicate throat.

  I love that she’s still a bit shy around me.

  I hope it never changes. I love that innocence about her.

  I use my thumb to pull her lip from between her teeth. “You gotta stop biting that lip, baby.”

  “Why?”

  I give her a devilish grin. “Makes me wanna bite it too.”

  “Oh.”

  I lean in, dropping a slow, sweet kiss on her lips. I don’t linger.

  I nod toward her phone. “Texting Mads?”

  “Yep. I let them know about dinner. Now I just have to decide what to cook and make a grocery list, so I can stop at the store on my way home tomorrow.”

  “Anything you want. I can meet you at the bakery. We can go to the store together. I need to grab a few things before I head back out anyway.”

  She pouts. “When are you leaving again?”

  “I’ll probably leave early Wednesday morning. I’ll try my hardest to be back in two weeks.”

  “Okay, honey.”

  “Let’s go get some sleep, darlin’. You’ve got an early morning.”

  I walk her to her room, kiss her goodnight, and spend the next few hours wishing she was in my bed.

  Soon.

  The next afternoon, I meet her at the bakery as planned. She lets me know that her mom is keeping Elijah while we go shopping, so we have to stop there to pick him up before we head home.

  “Shopping with a toddler is a pain in the ass. I avoid it whenever I can.”

  “I can imagine. I’m sure I’ll find out eventually, but until then—I won’t argue with some time alone with you.”

  I follow her through the store while she grabs all the ingredients she needs to make chipotle lime shrimp tacos, fresh salsa, black beans and rice. She walks down the last aisle to grab something...strawberries for margaritas, I think. I’m too focused on watching her ass in those jeans.

  Fucking phenomenal.

  She opens a freezer door, grabs what she needs, then starts laughing. My gaze flicks up to her eyes and I realize she’s noticed what has my attention.

  I grin and shrug.

  “I won’t apologize, baby. Your ass looks incredible in those jeans.”

  She winks and replies, “You can kiss my ass.”

  There’s my sassy girl.

  “Don’t tempt me, baby. I have no problem kissing that ass.”

  She laughs. “You’re obsessed.”

  “It’s one of my favorite things. That and donuts.” I grab a box from a display in the middle of the aisle.

  She shakes her head, still laughing, but she doesn’t stop walking. I’m still trailing behind her.

  “Hell, just put the two together. I’d eat donuts off your ass.”

  She looks back at me, mouth open and eyes wide in surprise before she starts laughing even harder.

  “Did you reall—Oh. My. God. You’re so ridiculous!”

  I laugh with her, but I’m not joking. I’d do it. Maybe that makes me a dirty motherfucker, but I don’t care. I don’t say anything else about it because we’re close to a few other shoppers now.

  I walk faster to get right behind her, wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her neck. “Let’s get outta here and go get the little man before you get me into trouble.”

  HAILEE

  The bakery was busier than usual. I ran behind schedule all day, so I was glad that Jaxson offered to pick up Elijah. Grayson showed up early, waiting while Madalyn and I finished up. She rode with me while he followed closely behind.

  Introductions at home went as well as could be expected. It was obvious that Drake and Grayson were sizing each other up, but they were civil toward each other. I really hope that the tension between the two of them dissipates. I don’t know what I’ll do if they can’t get along.

  I finally opened up the other day and told Madalyn that Drake and I are together. She was mad at first that I didn’t tell her everything right away, but she got over it quickly. She understood that it was important for me to have a firm grasp on where our relationship stood before I opened up to anyone else about it.

  She’s happy for me and swears she knew that Drake would be perfect for me. She couldn’t possibly have known that, but I’ll let her think what she wants.

  Having her and Jaxon here as a buffer between Gray and Drake was a great idea. They met him not long after I moved here, and we’ve all spent time together plenty of times over the past few years. Grayson truly isn’t the asshole that Drake thinks he is, but the only way to get him to see that is for him to get to know Gray.

  The guys are all out in the yard playing with Elijah while Madalyn helps me finish prepping dinner. The skewered shrimp are soaking in a chipotle lime sauce, waiting to be grilled. We’ve got the sides finished and all the taco fixings in a neat spread down the center of the dining table.

  We head back to the kitchen so I can whip up a batch of frozen strawberry lime margaritas. They pair perfectly with our dinner choice. I rim the glasses with salt and fill them before garnishing with slices of fresh strawberries and lime. Mads grabs her drink, I grab mine and the tray with the shrimp and we head for the back door.

  Drake must see me coming, because before I can even get the door fully opened, he’s there offering to help.

  “Here, baby. Let me grab that.” He takes the tray of shrimp, kisses my cheek, and heads toward the grill. Mads and I go sit in the lounge chairs and it isn’t long before Elijah comes and climbs into my lap. I snuggle him while Mads and I chat about some new recipes we want to try at the bakery. The shrimp doesn’t take long to cook, so what seems like minutes later we’re all headed inside the house.

  Everyone gathers around the table and starts plat
ing their food. Conversation is casual and easy. I mentally sigh with relief.

  So far, so good.

  I sit between Elijah and Drake. Grayson is across from Drake with Madalyn between him and Jaxson. Everyone digs in, not able to resist the delicious aroma of the food.

  Drake takes the first bite of his taco and groans. He swallows and says, “Oh, God. This might be the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.”

  My dirty mind takes over causing me to snicker. I have to cover my mouth since it’s full.

  Drake chuckles, shaking his head. “Dirty girl.”

  Grayson is watching our interaction closely. I can tell he’s silently judging the way that Drake is treating me. He has nothing to worry about. Drake has done nothing but spoil me since the day we met. He’s calm, patient, loving, and supportive. Exactly what I need.

  Elijah gets grumpy soon after we start eating, obviously tired from all of his running around outside. It’s getting close to his bedtime. I lift him from the booster seat next to me and snuggle him while I continue to eat. Drake notices and immediately reaches for him.

  “Let me hold him while you finish eating, darlin’.”

  “It’s okay, I’ve got him.”

  “Really baby, I’m finished. There’s no sense in you trying to eat one-handed when I can hold him.”

  I can’t argue with that, so I pass him over, Elijah practically leaping into Drake’s waiting arms. My little boy snuggles closely to Drake, head tucked under his chin.

  I adore seeing him with my son.

  I can’t help but notice that Grayson’s eyes have softened a bit seeing the sweet interaction between Drake and Elijah. He’s well aware that Elijah doesn’t like just anybody. He’s a shy child, much like me, but he took to Drake instantly.

  I quickly finish eating and excuse myself to put Elijah to bed. He falls asleep pretty quickly, so I go back to the living room to join the others. I walk into the room and see Grayson and Drake engaged in a hushed conversation. Jaxson is standing nearby, but Madalyn is nowhere in sight. They don’t notice me right away, but it doesn’t matter because I can’t hear what they’re saying.

  Jaxson notices me first, acknowledging my presence with a smile. Hopefully, his smile means that they didn’t try to kill each other for the fifteen minutes that I wasn’t in the room. Drake notices his movement and looks away from Grayson. His eyes meet mine and my lips automatically tip to a smile. His eyes are bright, radiating happiness.

  I close my eyes for a second and breathe a sigh of relief.

  Thank God, they aren’t arguing.

  “He asleep, darlin’?” I open my eyes to see all the guys looking at me.

  “Yeah, out like a light.”

  “Good, now you can relax.”

  I smile. He’s always trying to take care of me.

  I cross the room to him, leaning in as he wraps his strong arms around me. Grayson watches us, smiling. I haven’t heard much about the wedding other than tidbits here and there about Tara being extremely busy and running around like crazy, so I decide to ask him what’s going on.

  I’m glad there’s no tension in the room anymore, but I want the focus off of me and my relationship with Drake.

  “So Gray, how’s the wedding planning going?”

  He tips his head back, breathing a heavy sigh. “My fiancée is driving me insane. I love her, but she’s turning into one of those crazy women…”

  “Bridezilla?” I laugh. I can totally see Tara barking orders at people.

  “Exactly.” He huffs out a laugh. “She wants my opinion on everything, then gets mad at me when what I say isn’t what she wants. I don’t even know why I bother.”

  This makes Drake and Jaxson chuckle.

  “Man, I’m glad Madalyn wasn’t like that when we got married. I would have spanked her ass and told her to calm down.”

  This gets a laugh from everyone, especially when Madalyn walks back into the room with a sassy response, “Damn, if I’d have known that, I would have gone full Bridezilla.”

  We all roar with laughter, but only for a second before Drake suggests we go outside so we don’t wake Elijah. We follow him outside, sitting on a lounge chair while he lights the fire pit. I decide I want another margarita, so I head back inside to get a drink and grab a beer for Drake while I’m there.

  They’re still talking about the wedding when I come back, which reminds me that I’m not sure what I’m supposed to wear. I don’t hesitate to ask, “What exactly do you want me to wear? It’s kinda unusual to have a girl stand up as best man. I’m not wearing a tux.”

  I pass the beer to Drake and set the pitcher of margaritas on the table beside me after refilling my glass. I go to take a seat, but he pulls me into his lap instead.

  “You’re wearing a dress, smartass.” Grayson chuckles as he shakes his head. “Tara was supposed to get you the information. Since she hasn’t, I get to give her hell about it.”

  He smiles deviously, waging his eyebrows as he pulls out his phone to text her.

  The rest of us talk while he exchanges a few texts with her.

  It’s only a few minutes later that he interrupts, “That’s the dress she wants you to get.” He passes his phone to me, so I can see the picture. “I already sent you a text with the details.”

  I look at the image on his screen and smile. The dress is gorgeous. It’s not something I would ever choose for myself, but it’s not about me. I’ll wear whatever she wants me to. It’s their wedding.

  “It’s beautiful! I’m not sure how I’ll fit all of my curves into it, but I’m sure I’ll find a way.”

  Drake squeezes my hip. “Hush, baby. You’ll look absolutely gorgeous in that dress.”

  Everyone else agrees as Grayson’s phone gets passed around. He gets it back, puts it back in his pocket and looks at Drake. “Are you going to be joining Hailee at the wedding?”

  “If that’s what she wants.”

  I don’t hesitate. “Of course! I can’t wait to see how well you clean up.”

  I’m not sure I can handle seeing him in a suit and tie.

  He smirks, giving a sexy wink before taking a pull of his beer. “Then that’s where I’ll be. Just give me the date and I’ll make sure I’m here.”

  Conversation flows effortlessly for another hour or so before everyone decides to call it a night. Our friends have a long drive home, not to mention that Madalyn and I have to be at the bakery before the sun rises.

  We need more nights like this. It was great to get everyone together, and of course, I’m thrilled that Drake and Gray are getting along now since they’re both so important to me. I might not know what their hushed conversation was about earlier, but whatever was said was enough to erase the tension between the two of them.

  Drake leaves me at my bedroom door once again, telling me to “Sleep sweet.” The kiss he gives me is long and deep. He leaves me panting and my head spinning.

  I love the way his kisses affect me.

  DRAKE

  Last night was a success.

  I have to admit, Grayson isn’t as big of an asshole as I thought he would be. He’s actually a nice guy. I still don’t like the way he talked to her before, but I guess if she can move past it I can, too. I can see me being friends with him as long as he doesn’t cross that line again.

  I paid close attention to his interactions with Hailee, throughout the evening. I really thought that I’d see some hint of him having feelings for her or something, but there was nothing. I know damn well that he was watching me just as closely. We’re both protective alpha males, that’s all there is to it. He needed to see that she didn’t need protecting from me.

  All bets were off when Hailee left the room. He made sure I knew that if I hurt her, I would have to deal with him, but I made it absolutely clear that I would never hurt her intentionally. I also made sure he knew that it’s my job to protect her now. The whole conversation was civil. I know Jax was standing on the sidelines to make sure nothing bad went do
wn. I wouldn’t disrespect Hailee by starting shit with her friend, so there was never a reason for him to worry.

  My bags are already packed and loaded into my Pete.

  I drove the truck over to The Millers’ apartment, so I could see Elijah before I left. I meant to get up early this morning, so I could see him before they left for the day, but I overslept. I spent about an hour with him before heading over to the bakery to see Hailee.

  There’s no way I’m leaving town without seeing my girl.

  The bakery is busy when I get there, but I’ve still got a little time. I wait at the back of the line. No one comes in after me, so it seems I got here right at the end of their morning rush. When I get to the front of the line, Madalyn gives me a huge smile before asking what she can get me.

  “There’s only one thing here I want more than a couple of those donuts,” I say, pointing to my favorites in the glass display case.

  “Your sweetness is in the back, working on a fresh batch as we speak. Go back there to see her.” She hands me the bag with my donuts.

  She doesn’t have to tell me twice. I make my way behind the counter and through the door to the kitchen. Hailee is facing away from me, dipping donuts into a glazed frosting before adding sprinkles. She must have heard the noise from up front when I opened the door, because without turning, she starts talking.

  “Mads, please tell me it’s slowing down out there.” She uses her forearm to brush some loose strands of hair from her face. “If I have to make another batch of donuts after these I might scream.”

  She’s a mess. A beautiful, damn mess.

  She’s wearing leggings that show every dip and curve of her thick thighs and luscious ass. Her shirt is loose, but the apron tied around her waist is making it ride up in the back. Her hair is up in one of those messy buns and it’s starting to come undone.

  Sexy as hell.

  “Do I get a tasty treat if I tell you that the rush is over?”

  She gasps, turning quickly, almost dropping the donut in her hands.