Chapter 32
Silence was their thing, Willa decided.
Even though they had a million things to talk about—even back when they barely knew each other—they could sit in comfortable silence for hours at a time.
But she needed to break it.
“Shawn?” she whispered.
He’d leaned back in his chair to lounge more comfortably, and he tipped his head toward her and grinned.
How could he be grinning at her when she’d caused a scene in the hospital and asked him to leave when her ex showed up?
“Thanks for being here,” he said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. “For showing up.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner.”
“S’okay,” he said, his voice going deeper, more sullen.
“I know this isn’t the best time to talk.”
“Or maybe it is the best time. What else are we gonna do?”
She pulled her legs up underneath her on the chair and squeezed Shawn’s hand. “I’m sorry I asked you to leave. Leo is…”
Shawn’s face hardened.
“I won’t bury the lead. He asked me to sign an NDA, and I threw him out on his ass.” Shawn’s lips tipped up in a small, exasperated smile as she told him this. “Leo is a powerful man. A prideful one, too. If you’d done something—anything—to make him feel threatened, his attorneys would’ve taken you for all you were worth. I couldn’t let that happen.”
Shawn ran his hands through his hair, lips pressed together in thought.
“Every second he was there, I was wishing it was just the two of us again,” Willa whispered. “We had the perfect night, and then he showed up and ruined it, and it was all my fault, and then when I got here and saw you?—”
“Willa,” Shawn said. “Slow down, baby. Nothing here is your fault.”
He blew out a deep breath.
“I won’t lie. It hurt when you asked me to leave. But now I understand why you did it.”
Willa wrung her hands together. “I could tell you were going to follow through on your plan to punch him in the face.”
Shawn smirked. “I hadn’t gotten that far yet.”
“He’s gone now. I wish I could promise he was gone for good, but I don’t know. He might show up again.”
“If he shows up again, please let me stay with you,” he said, leveling his eyes with hers. “I’ll control my temper. But you don’t have to deal with him alone.”
“You’re not… mad at me?”
“Of course not, Willa. He took us both by surprise. And I understand what was going through your head, now.”
“What about… earlier?” Willa asked. “I’m sorry I assumed you and Hanna?—”
“Consider it forgotten,” he cut her off. “I meant what I said when I told you I’m all in. I’ll do anything I can to earn your trust. And your trauma will show up sometimes. We have to work through it together.”
Willa’s heart melted.
Maybe that’s what compelled her to say what she said next.
“I love you,” she blurted out, then bit her lip and looked away.
She heard Shawn gasp and looked back at him. His mouth was agape. His eyes filled with wonder.
“I love you, too.”
Willa’s heart soared. “You love me?”
“Baby, I’ve loved you for weeks now. Just didn’t want to scare you away. You are… everything. All I’ve ever wanted. All I’ve ever searched for. You’re it for me.”
“You love me.” Willa said it again, as if she was trying to make it sink in.
She’d hoped, of course. Thought perhaps he shared her feelings. But she wasn’t sure.
“I love you so much, Willa. I’ll find you ten more jobs if you want. I’ll bring you bait every night for the rest of our lives. I’ll sneak Grams’ brownies for you every time she makes them. I’ll come to your yoga classes and take you on boat rides and carry you in from the car every time you get drunk and fall asleep on the drive home.”
She chuckled, her eyes misting.
“Shawn,” she breathed. “I’m still scared. But you make me less scared. You make me feel like everything is going to be okay. I love you. So much.”
He tugged her into his lap. “Say it again.”
“I love you,” she whispered against his lips.
He claimed her mouth, pulling her in closer. The kiss didn’t start off soft or uncertain—it was steady and sure. He pressed his lips against her, the feeling and power and gravity of the words they’d just exchanged behind every touch. His tongue tangled with hers, and she nipped at his lip. His hands wandered up her thigh, and she grabbed his cheeks with her hand, tugging his mouth, his face closer. She wove her fingers in his hair, taking the kiss deeper, and heat pooled in her core as she whimpered. She shifted in his lap, and he moaned, pressing into her.
Oh.
Oh.
He was fully erect against her, and they were barely 30 seconds into making out.
She needed him. Wanted to go find the nearest broom closet and drop to her knees, tug his pants down, and suck him so hard he still felt the force of her a week from now. Wanted to feel him press his fingers against her throbbing clit. Wanted to straddle him until she felt that growing bulge against her center.
His hand kept coming up higher, higher, higher…
Closer to where she needed him.
She whimpered.
“Shawn,” she whispered against his lips. “We shouldn’t… What if Grams wakes up?”
“I’m already awake.”
Willa scrambled off of Shawn’s lap and looked at Grams.
She was sitting alert in the bed, grinning from ear to ear, eyes ping-ponging between Willa and Shawn with deep satisfaction.
“You… how long—are you okay?” Willa spluttered.
“Damn it, Grams,” Shawn said, grabbing her hand. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“Watch your language, Scooby.”
“Well, she’s definitely alright,” Shawn muttered under his breath as he locked eyes with Willa.
“I heard that,” Grams said, then slid her eyes over to Willa. “So can I stop pretending I don’t know about this now?”
Willa felt her cheeks redden. “Um…”
“What are you talking about, Grams?” Shawn said with a grin, crossing his arms.
“You two lovebirds is what I’m talking about!”
Shawn lifted a hand to her forehead. “Did you hit your head in the fall, too? Maybe I should call Dr. Wetherington back in here.”
Willa covered her hand with her mouth and bit back a laugh as Grams swatted his hand away.
“Don’t treat me like a senile old lady,” she drawled. “I heard everything! You’re in love with her and it’s all thanks to me.”
“And how do you figure that?” Shawn asked.
“I sent you over with those brownies,” Grams said, crossing her arms. “I knew she’d never be able to say no to you after that.”
“We’re just friends, Grams. You know that. This fall really is making you see things.”
Willa knew she needed to intervene.
But it was just too entertaining.
And she was still reeling from Grams waking up while she and Shawn were tangled up in each other like a couple of horny teenagers.
In the middle of a hospital, no less.
She might never recover from the embarrassment.
“Friends, my ass!”
“Language, Grams,” Shawn said, looking stern but amused. “Can I get you some water?”
“I’ve been watching you two through my binoculars all summer. There’s been some funny business going on!”
“Whatever you say, Grams.”
“Now, listen here, Scoob?—”
“It’s true,” Willa said softly, her face going hot. “We’re together.”
“Aha!” Grams said, pointing her hand with the broken wrist toward Willa in triumph, then grunting in pain.
“Dammit, Grams,” Shawn said. “Are you okay?”
“That’s what you get for lying to an old lady,” she said between labored breaths. “I’ll be fine. Just got too excited is all.”
Willa slumped down in her chair and took a deep breath.
Grams knew.
Grams had known all along.
Because of course she had.
Willa wasn’t all that surprised, but she knew it was time for Grams to know. For real. After she and Shawn had talked through everything tonight, she knew he really was all in. And she was, too.
“I’ll take that water now, Scooby,” Grams said weakly.
Shawn nodded, then glanced at Willa before speed walking out of the room.
“You can trust him, you know,” Grams said softly to Willa after a moment.
Willa nodded with a sigh. “I know. Easier said than done. But I know.”
“I’ve never seen that boy look at anything the way he looks at you,” Grams said, and Willa’s lips tipped up in a shy smile. “Thank you, sweetie.”
Willa felt her brow furrow. “For what?”
“For giving this old lady the gift of watching her grandson fall in love.”
Willa grabbed Grams’ hand. “Thanks for being the mastermind behind the whole thing.”
Grams chuckled and sighed. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with all the time on my hands now.”
Like Wyatt promised,Grams was discharged the next morning with a prescription for some pain medication and the recommendation for her to get a walker.
She flat-out refused.
Shawn rolled his eyes as Grams refuted every one of Wyatt’s arguments.
But he stopped at a Walmart on the way home and bought her the nicest walker he could find after treating her to lunch. She balked when she saw it, but he put his foot down.
“I love you, Grams, and I’ll never regret moving in with you. It’s been one of the best parts of my life. But I’ll be damned if I come home and find you like that again. You don’t have to use it all the time, but at the very least, use it when I’m gone. Give me some peace of mind. Please.”
His voice broke at the tail-end of his practiced speech, and he could tell that’s what pushed her over the edge.
She was reluctantly pushing it around the kitchen, putting on a show for him—a promise that she would use it if she needed to.
“The girls will be here soon,” Willa said, and Shawn grinned.
Tucker offered to cook dinner for the family tonight. Grams was still recovering from her fall, but she insisted on inviting everyone over for what she called a “family dinner.”
“I’m not dead yet, and your friends keep me young,” she said, and that was that.
Willa invited Layla and Amanda, and Hanna and Tucker had showed up a half hour earlier with boxes of food Tucker had spent the day preparing. Willa was setting the table with Hanna, going back and forth about each other’s jobs and how they ended up in Alabama.
The doorbell rang, and Amanda bustled in before anyone had the chance to answer it, with Layla right on her tail.
“Willaaaaa,” she said as she walked in, dragging out the end of her name. “Where’s your sexy neighbor? I need to ask him about his intentions.”
Shawn chuckled to himself as he heard Willa mutter something about “nosy friends,” before she engulfed the two of them in a hug.
“Alright, now, I made lemon bars and brownies,” Grams said, wiping her hands on the apron. “They’ll be done in about 20 minutes, so let’s eat!”
Shawn led her to the table and pulled out her chair, everyone else following, conversations weaving throughout the group as everyone settled in. The table was set to perfection and littered with crab cakes, shrimp cocktail, fried grouper, a salad, and some of Tucker’s famous french fries, among other things. It was all meant to be served family style, and Shawn’s mouth watered at the thought of everything Tucker had carefully prepared.
As they started passing around plates, Shawn took in a deep breath and smiled to himself.
This.
This is the thing that had been missing for the past couple of years.
His community.
His friends.
His people.
His girl.
“You alright, baby?” Willa asked, resting a hand on his cheek.
He grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I’m perfect, love.”