CHAPTER NINETEEN
It had been one week and two days since Cat had buried her father. In those nine days, Libby’s presence had been replaced by Cody. Her best friend had to fly back a couple of days after the funeral. She had a big project to complete at work. Although it was hard to say goodbye, it was easier knowing she had Cody by her side. At least for a little while longer.
Truth be told, he had been beyond amazing. Every night he came back to her hotel and slept beside her. No funny business. He just held her, occasionally pressing kisses into her hair. He’d hold her hand every now and again, too. And whenever she felt close to falling, he would wrap his arms around her.
On top of the much appreciated emotional support, he’d taken care of things she had no idea he’d even known about. He’d settled up all the outstanding payments for the funeral and gone with Jack to clear out her father’s room at the home.
He’d even started helping her mum pack up the house, as two days ago, her mother had announced she was moving. She was going to live with her sister for a while, claiming she needed a change of scenery.
Her aunt lived in Eastbourne, less than an hour away. Cody had already hired movers. Jack and him had also taken over all the logistics of the move which included putting her family home on the market, leaving Cat to literally do nothing. Everything was being handled. It was a strange feeling to be rendered useless. But at the same time, it had given her space to think.
Now that her mum was moving and Jack was in London, there was nothing left for her in Brighton. Her mother had not-so-subtly announced that she didn’t need looking after several times. And only yesterday she’d pulled Cat aside and all but demanded she go back to Woodvalley.
That wasn’t fair on Cody, though. All her guilt had been redirected his way over the past couple of days. She couldn’t stop thinking about how she’d broken up with him. With a note . She’d written him a letter and left in the middle of the night, for God’s sake. And when he’d shown up at her father’s funeral, having flown halfway across the world for her, she’d practically shouted in his face that they were over, and she was never going back.
She didn’t even understand what he was still doing here. It was clearer than ever that she didn’t deserve him or what he was doing for her.
Currently, she was alone in Cody’s hotel room, the one that he’d kept despite spending every night with her. They’d stopped by to pick up some of his clothes, but he’d had a call from Jack and had disappeared ten minutes ago, promising to be back within the hour. Turns out the negativity creeped in much easier when he wasn’t around.
I need a drink.
Good idea. The mini bar would be her friend today. She hadn’t had a drop of alcohol since she’d been home, but she couldn’t think of a better time to start drinking.
“Hello, Jack Daniels, my old friend. Or should I say friends .” Pulling three mini whiskey bottles out of the fridge she went back to the bed and sunk back into the cushions.
Whiskey warmed her insides as she took swig after swig until all the bottles were empty. Waiting for the melancholy to wash over her, she closed her eyes. But all she saw was Cody. The perfect man who she loved with every fibre of her being. If only she hadn’t fucked up what they had so royally.
Her head was spinning by the time the door creaked open. Cody appeared beside the bed, his serious eyes turning her insides out and at the same time making her want to bang her head against the wall.
“Are you drunk, kitten?”
How did you know? I didn’t even say anything yet.
“No, you didn’t. But the three empty whiskey bottles next to you speak volumes.”
Damnit, she was drunker than she thought. Her thoughts couldn’t be trusted anymore. Her mouth and her brain were not cooperating.
“I’m sorry I fucked up.” She crawled up onto her knees, stumbling slightly as she moved toward the edge of the bed.
Why is the bed moving?
“You should be with someone like Libby or Rachel or—I know! Daisy, the girl from the diner? Someone like her who’s pretty and sweet and kind. Who doesn’t make sex jokes. Or swears all the time. Someone who’ll be a good mum to Dylan but will look after you, too. Like make you dinner every night. Wash your clothes. Clean the house. Someone who’s got her shit together.”
Her hands reached out and grabbed his hard chest as she fell forward.
Seriously, why is the bed moving?
When she felt the hard ridges of muscle, she actually moaned. Out loud and everything. Her fingers were on the move. Exploring. Well up for a ridge-finding mission. But they didn’t get very far. Cody snagged her wrists, forcing her to look up. When she did, she proceeded to give him her best pout.
“Kitten,” he warned. “Goddamn, I wish you were sober. But fuck it, you’re gonna hear it anyway. I don’t want some weird-ass Stepford wife who cooks and cleans and babysits my kid. I want you . Dylan wants you . You hear me? All of you. The sex jokes. The sweetness. The swearing. All of it. You’re fucking perfect.”
Her head was shaking, the spinning growing more intense. “You’re the perfect one.” She pushed at his hard stomach. “You are!”
She felt his body shake as he chuckled, grasping her wrists once again. “I’m not perfect, sweetheart. Maybe neither of us are. But that’s okay. You’re perfect for me. That’s all that matters.”
Her head dropped into him. Even in her frazzled state, his words were flipping switches in her brain. He still wanted her. He’d never given up on them. She had to make this right... when she woke up.
***
When Cat woke up she wasn’t in her bed at the Beach Bum B&B. She was in a bigger, comfier bed. With much better sheets.
Cody’s bed.
Turning over, it took only a second to realize that Cody wasn’t next to her. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she scanned the room. The bathroom door was shut, the faint sound of a shower stream seeping through the wood.
I need to make this right.
Her slightly hungover brain hadn’t forgotten the conversation they’d had before she passed out. Those switches his words had flicked back on might as well be flashing neon. But the real question was, how on earth was she going to make this right?
Sex? Men love sex. Sex in the shower? Genius.
Before she changed her mind, she was flinging her clothes off as she scrambled out of bed, leaving a trail of cotton on her way through the bathroom door.
Not wanting to alert him just yet, her movements were quiet. Peeking into the shower cubicle, she couldn’t help but smile as she got an up close and personal view of Cody’s arse. God, it was a good arse.
Focus.
Being less quiet now, she pulled open the glass door. After all, the goal wasn’t to give him a heart attack.
“Cat?”
To her delight, the look of surprise on his dripping face quickly transformed into unbridled lust as his gaze dipped below her neck, taking in the view of her very naked and now wet body.
“Hi,” she cooed, already feeling her nipples tighten under the molten heat of his stare.
“What’s going on, kitten?” His voice was thick. She could tell by the razor-sharp edge to it that he was fighting to keep control.
“Why did you really fly out here?”
His eyebrow raised. “Don’t you get it yet?”
She did. But she needed to hear him say it.
“Goddamn, woman. I say it and you don’t listen. So, I try and show it and it flies right on over your head. I can’t win, can I?”
“Maybe say it slower and louder...with pictures? Or maybe some puppets?”
Oh dear, that sigh told her everything she needed to know. Time for plan B. Or just plan A with less jokes.
Her hands were on him now, grabbing each side of his torso as she drifted closer, letting her body brush up against his. Soft against hard.
“Kitten.” Another warning. One she didn’t need. “You need to tell me what you want right now.”
As soon as her wet body slid against him again, he let out a groan. A guttural one, sounding like it was pulled fresh from his soul.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Her tongue went to his throat, where she began licking up droplets of water.
Another rumble and Cody was clasping her biceps and peeling her off him. “Not until I know you’re mine. Not until you come back to me.”
She thought that was exactly what she was doing. So much for actions speaking louder than words.
He needs to hear it. Say it.
She hesitated, her throat closing up, suddenly nervous.
Just do it. Tell him.
“I-I never stopped being yours,” she rushed out. “Never. Not for one second. I told you I loved you, Cody, and I meant it.” Her heart beat almost as hard as the water splashing against her back. “You not giving up on us, coming here, looking after me...you don’t know how much that means to me. How much I needed it. How much I needed you. I know I don’t deserve you, but if you give me a second chance, I promise to spend the rest of my life trying to make you feel as loved and as special as you make me feel.”
Cody’s eyes darkened and his nostrils flared. One step was all it took, and she was stumbling backward, until they were both under the steady stream. She felt her chest heave as she watched the water splash around them, dripping off everything it clung to. His eyelashes, his nose, the dark strands of hair sticking to his head.
Then there was his mouth. The closer it came to hers, the more parted her lips became. She could taste him even before they collided. And collide they did, eager droplets crashing over them as they each fought to take the kiss deeper, consuming each other with an urgency she felt all the way down to her toes.
Her hands crept up and went around his neck, clinging on to him like her life depended on it. His fingers were digging into her hips, manoeuvring her until they’d switched places and he was backing her against the porcelain tiles. Pressing his thigh between her legs, she whimpered into his mouth, revelling in his own groan.
Removing his lips, he drew back just enough so he could look into her eyes again. Both their breaths were now louder than the water beating down on them.
“I don’t want to hear you say that you don’t deserve me ever again.” He was using his thigh to control her, thrusting it higher and making her want to scream. “Is that understood?”
All she could do was moan and throw her head back against the tiles.
She’d agree to anything right now. A fact he was quick to pick up on.
“I want you to move in with me.”
“Yes,” she whispered, her eyes fluttering shut as he pushed into her again.
“And in the not-so-distant future, I’m going to ask you to marry me.” His mouth was over her ear, nipping her lobe and tugging it down. “And you’re gonna say yes, aren’t you, kitten?”
She was nodding now. He needed to hurry up and put her out of her misery.
That seemed to satisfy him enough to move. A moment later, she was being lifted and opened up. Her ankles tightly crossed around Cody’s back as she arched into him, his own head bowing down until his heavy breaths were on her mouth again.
“I love you, sweetheart.”
A flick of his hips and she felt more than his love inside of her.
“I love you too, honey.”