Chapter 34
THIRTY-FOUR
The following day, I woke up slowly, letting my eyes drift open to take in the light. As much as I loved our apartment, there was something about staring at the lake when you first opened your eyes. I let out a content sigh as I shifted, feeling someone else’s weight on my back. I reached down, running my fingers along Adam’s forearm.
Adam nuzzled into me, leaving a soft kiss on the back of my neck. “I could get used to this.”
I chuckled as I turned to face him, running my fingers through the soft stubble that had formed on his cheeks and chin. “It’s been a long time since I woke up to someone besides Emilia in my bed.”
“Been even longer for me,” Adam sighed as he kissed my forehead. “You’re my first.”
I stared at him for a moment as his words clicked in my sleep-addled mind. When they did, I sat up, turning to face him fully. “You’ve never had someone stay the night before?”
Adam chuckled, reaching up to take my elbow so I settled into the crook of his arm again. “Nope,” he admitted, kissing the top of my head. “For a while, that felt like a serious step, one I wasn’t willing to take. Even if I did fall asleep, I’d always be gone before the morning. And then, it became about protecting myself. I wasn’t willing to let someone come into my world and ruin what I’d built for myself.”
I shifted to face him. “And that’s different with me?”
“Baby, everything is different with you.”
We were silent as his words filled the air, giving life to this new yet profound connection. Because as scary as it was, I knew what he meant. Even though I’d been in a relationship before, everything felt different with Adam. Being around him made me feel confident, secure, and, most of all, safe. For so long, I’d been on my own, doing everything possible to ensure Emilia was happy. But now, I realized my happiness mattered too. Growing up, I learned a lot from my parents, but more than anything, they gave me an example of unconditional love. It wasn’t perfect, wasn’t glamorous. There were days that they fought like hell. But no matter what happened, they were a team and weathered life’s storms together. I never felt that with Cam, not even during our good days.
But with Adam, it was innate, as natural as breathing.
And if I could give my daughter an example like that, I’d consider my job well done.
“Same here,” I chuckled as he pulled me closer, his erection digging into my hip. It was hard not to shift against it, wanting to feel him inside me again. But as I moved closer to him, I winced, the ache between my legs evidence of the many rounds we went last night.
Adam frowned at the sight. “Did I hurt you?”
“No,” I chuckled, pressing a kiss to his chest. “Just a little spent after last night. ”
He shook his head, hiding his face in my neck. “I would say I’m sorry, but last night was everything and more, so I can’t bring myself to apologize.”
“I don’t want you to,” I laughed. “It was amazing for me too.”
He smiled so brightly back at me, my heart almost burst out of my chest. This moment, this man—this was that life-affirming joy people always talked about. It felt like the start of something big, like the kind of love people always aspired to find.
I gently pushed back on his chest to climb out of bed, grabbing his spare shirt from the end of the mattress. He leaned on his elbow, smirking as I walked with a little limp. “Where are you going?” he called as I walked into the bathroom.
“To pick up Emilia,” I responded. “It’s almost eight. Cole has to head out to get some stuff for Fall Fest, so I promised I’d grab her early.”
I heard some shuffling in the bedroom as I finished cleaning up. Looking into the mirror, I found Adam standing at the bathroom door in a clean shirt and a pair of jeans. He looked too good, too presentable after our all-night marathon. Meanwhile, I looked like I had just crawled out of a hole, my eyes circled in dark rings, my hair a tangled mess.
“What are you doing?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Going with you.” Adam shrugged, stepping around me to grab his toothbrush.
I shook my head, leaning against the doorframe. “You don’t have to. It’s really early, and you should get more sleep.”
Adam chuckled as he rinsed his mouth, stepping forward to press a kiss to my lips. “I already told you, trouble. Last night meant something to me. I’m yours, and I don’t want to wait any longer.” He frowned, taking a step back to look at me. “Unless you’ve changed your mind about wanting to tell Cole.”
“No,” I insisted, placing my hands on his broad chest. “I do. Today. But I just thought you’d want to wait until later.”
“Not a chance.” Adam winked as he walked past me. “I want to get this over with so I can kiss you anytime, anywhere.”
I chewed on my lower lip. “About that…” I sighed as I stepped out of the bathroom into his bedroom. Sitting on his bed, all I wanted was to crawl back inside and ignore the rest of the world for a little longer. Adam stepped forward, watching me with an uneasy frown on his face. I exhaled slowly. “With Emilia, I want to wait a little bit longer, let her get to know you a little bit more as my friend before I explain that you’re my boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?” Adam smirked. “Is that what I am?”
“Oh!” I said, dropping my gaze down to my hands and twisting my fingers together. Insecurity filled my lungs as I stared at them, hoping I didn’t shatter our newfound bond by speaking out of turn. “I just thought… Well, you said I was yours?—"
“Hey, hey,” Adam said as he dropped to his knees in front of me. He pulled my hands apart, holding them tightly in his. “I was just kidding. I’d love to be your boyfriend, at least for now.”
“For now?”
Adam leaned forward and kissed me, consuming me with one touch of his lips. “I want a lot more than that, trouble. But a boyfriend is a good start.”
My cheeks reddened as he gave me one last kiss before heading into the bathroom. I grabbed my phone from his nightstand, cursing that I’d forgotten my charger in my haste to come over last night. I looked around his home, finally finding a charger in the kitchen. As I plugged in my phone, I started to pick up my clothes, frowning as I looked at them. There was no way I could show up at Cole’s house wearing the same outfit as yesterday. I wanted to talk to Cole, not give him a heart attack.
“Hey,” I called to Adam as he walked into the room. “Do you mind if I borrow some clothes to head over to my place? I’ve got to change before we pick up Emilia.”
“Course,” Adam said as he grabbed something from his drawers and passed it to me. I pulled his shirt over my head, and he watched me with a reverent look.
“What?” I asked, toying with the hem.
“Nothing,” he chuckled. “Just really enjoying the look of you in my clothes. It might be my second favorite, after nothing at all. In fact, you should just wear them all the time…” He ducked as I chucked a pair of socks at his head. “No? Not feeling it?”
“Not going to happen,” I chuckled as I walked over to him, lifting onto my toes to kiss him deeply. “But the naked part, I could definitely agree to.” I toyed with his hem. “Maybe tonight?”
“You inviting me over, trouble?”
“Maybe.” I shrugged. “Probably should see how today goes first, make sure Cole doesn’t try to drive me out of town when he finds out what we’ve done.”
I tried to keep my tone light, but my real insecurities came barreling through. As much as I tried to say my brother’s opinion wouldn’t matter, it was everything to me. We were just getting back onto solid ground, and I didn’t want to destroy our tentative foundation.
As if he could pick up on my growing anxieties, Adam pulled me into his arms. “You don’t have anything to worry about, trouble. I’ll be with you every step of the way. He’s not going to be mad at you. Me, that might be a different story.” He kissed the top of my head. “But he’s not going to try and tear us apart. Even if he does, anywhere you go, I’m going with you.”
I shook my head. “Don’t say that, Adam.”
As I tried to pull away, he held my arms, keeping me close. “I mean it, Tori.”
I studied his expression, not wanting to believe the swell of hope in my chest. This moment, this man, was everything I wanted and more. But I couldn’t focus on it, not when we still had a huge hurdle to overcome.
“Thank you,” I whispered, placing my hand over his heart. “For last night, for the past month, just for…” I looked up into his adoring eyes. “For being you.”
“Anything for you, trouble.” He kissed me one last time before taking my hand and leading me toward the front door. After he pulled me outside, he took my hand and kissed my knuckles. “We’ll get through this. Together.”
And as much as I believed him, my stomach dropped at the sound of a grumble coming from the bottom of the steps. When I pulled away from Adam, I met my brother’s stormy expression, his eyes narrowing at where our hands were intertwined.
Cole’s face turned downright lethal as he looked between Adam and me. “Why the fuck are you holding my sister’s hand?”