Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
Kinsley
“I should go,” I say, making no move to leave.
We got back to Shane’s house a couple of hours ago and have been lounging on his couch, watching reruns of trash TV ever since. He didn’t ask if I wanted to be dropped off at home, and I didn’t suggest it, not ready for our weekend to be over yet.
Despite the crappy weather, we had an amazing time at the cottage, creating memories that will last a lifetime.
“Or you can stay,” Shane says, lifting my chin and kissing me. “Taylor will be home soon, and she’ll be excited to see you and tell you all about her competition.”
Taylor called us last night to let us know they placed second and would be heading to Nationals, but because everyone was getting ready to go out and celebrate, the conversation was quick.
“Fine,” I say, snuggling into his side. “But I’m not spending the night.” I glance up and give him the stink eye, making him laugh.
“Whatever you say.” He presses a kiss to the top of my head.
His phone goes off, and a few seconds later, he sighs.
“Everything okay?” I ask since Taylor is due to be home anytime now.
“Jamie, Taylor’s mom, is coming into town next month to take Taylor on a girls’ trip.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” I turn slightly so I can look at him while we talk.
“Yeah, it is, as long as she sticks to it. The last time she took her away ended with her working and Taylor begging to come home because she was bored.”
“Well, hopefully, she sticks to it. And if she doesn’t, we’ll get Taylor and have our own fun.”
Shane grins, and butterflies erupt in my belly.
When he doesn’t say anything, I squirm in my spot.
“What?” I ask, wondering why he’s looking at me all funny.
“You said we .”
“Huh?”
“You said we’ll go get her and have our own fun. I love that.” He cups the back of my head and lifts my face toward his. “I love that you’re including yourself.”
Before I can say anything, the door swings open, Becky barrels toward the door, barking in excitement, and Taylor stumbles in, dropping her bags on the floor.
“Dad, I’m home!” She glances at us and grins. “Kinsley, you’re here!”
“I hope that’s okay,” I tell her. “I can’t wait to hear all about your competition.”
“Of course it is,” she scoffs. “And based on the cheesy-ass grin my dad’s sporting, I have a feeling if you leave, he’s going to try to tie you to the bed.”
Shane snorts out a laugh, but doesn’t deny it.
“Get over here,” he says. “Tell us about your weekend.”
Taylor scurries over and plops onto the couch with us. “It was so good!” She beams and then proceeds to tell us what seems like every detail from the past three days without taking a breath.
The entire time, Shane holds me, listening intently while rubbing circles on my arm, and I can’t help but feel like, for the first time in a long time, I’m right where I belong.
And when the guilt hits, I take a deep breath and push it away.
I can’t change the past, but I’m alive, and I deserve to have a future.
* * *
Soft kisses flutter against my flesh, forcing me awake. When I pry my eyes open, I find Shane staring at me, a soft smile spread across his handsome face.
“Morning,” I croak out, stretching my limbs.
I wasn’t planning on spending the night, but I once again fell asleep while we were watching a movie, and instead of insisting Shane take me home, I let him carry me to bed.
“It’s a damn good morning,” he says with a smirk. “Especially when I get to wake up with you in my bed.”
“Don’t make a habit of it,” I say, trying to give him the best stink eye I can muster up. “Where’s Taylor?”
“Already left for school. It’s just after ten. You slept in.”
Ten? Holy shit, that means I got, like, twelve hours of solid sleep. Maybe I should spend the night more often.
“I should probably get going …”
“Or you could spend the day with me.” Shane rolls us over so I’m underneath him. “We’re both off today.”
“Oh, yeah? And what do you propose we do all day?” I wrap my legs around his waist and dig my heels into his butt so his body is flush against mine.
“Not sure.” He shrugs. “But I think getting naked with you is the perfect thing to do while we figure it out.”
He captures my mouth with his, and I nod in agreement since I’m completely on board with starting our day with him inside of me.
And truth be told, I think I would be on board to start every day that way.
* * *
“I’m pretty sure days off are supposed to be spent away from the office,” Shane says with a chuckle as we walk through the door of Exposed Ink.
I type in the code when the alarm goes off and then lock the door since we’re closed.
“This is my sanctuary,” I tell him, flipping on the lights and texting my dad so he knows it was me who triggered the alarm. “It was my dream to open my own shop, but after Brandon died, I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to tattoo again.
“Thankfully, my dad dragged me out of my depression and insisted we open this place.” I glance around at the beautiful shop, proud of what we created.
“Wait, you own this shop?” Shane asks. “I figured you managed it, and I kind of thought your dad might own it …”
“Exposed Ink is all mine. My dad says he’s a silent partner, but he never takes a dime from the earnings, and my name is on all the business documents. He only did it because I didn’t want him handing me an entire business I hadn’t worked for.”
“Wow, Sour Patch.” He looks at me with awe. “That’s incredible.”
“Thanks. I always thought I’d open a place in the city, but I’ve grown to love it here, and I can’t imagine inking anywhere else.”
We step into my station, and I set my phone on the charger and turn on my playlist. “You ready?” I ask Shane, who looks at me, confused. “To get your tattoo. I canceled on you Friday, so I figured I could do it today.”
He groans, sitting in the chair, and I laugh.
“You know, if you don’t want to get any more, you don’t have to.” I step toward him, and he parts his legs, reaching out and gripping the curves of my hips. “You only did this in hope of getting the girl,” I taunt playfully.
Shane looks up at me and grins. “And I got the girl.”
I lean over and give him a chaste kiss. “You definitely did,” I agree. “So, if you don’t want to continue …”
“Nah,” he says, pulling back. “I do. I was just hoping when we came in here, it was to have some more pool-table sex.”
He waggles his brows, and I throw my head back with a laugh.
“Oh, we can still do that … after your tattoo.”
“Are you bribing me with pool-table sex?” he asks, lifting his sleeve up. “Because if you are, it’s totally working.”
* * *
“What are you doing this weekend?” Shane glances up from his phone as I turn the tattoo gun off and set it on the tray so I can clean it.
“Not sure yet. This guy promised to take me out on a real date, so maybe that will happen.”
I smirk, and he chuckles.
“I’m definitely taking you out on a real date,” he says. “But Sunday, the fire station is hosting a family barbecue. Naturally, I’ll be manning the grill. Any chance you want to go? Taylor will be there.”
I stumble back a bit. “You want me to go?”
“Of course I do.”
“But you said it’s for families,” I say dumbly.
Shane smiles and pulls me into him. “And one day, I hope we will be a family,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to my lips. “But it’s not just for families. Plenty of girlfriends and boyfriends will be there. The guys I work with are family. I’ve been working with some of them since before Taylor was born, and I would love to introduce you to them. They’ve heard a lot about you and?—”
“You talk about me?” I mumble against his mouth.
This has him chuckling. “Kins, I love you. I know you’re not on the same page yet, and I’m okay with waiting until you are. I meant what I said about taking it one day at a time. But do you really think guys who I consider family wouldn’t know about you? Besides the fact that they’ve watched me show up to work with new ink”—he smirks—“I talk about you constantly. And they can’t wait to meet you.”
My heart warms at his words. The truth is, aside from the family I grew up with, I’ve never been a part of anyone else’s family. Brandon’s parents sucked, and he was pretty much adopted into our family from the beginning.
The thought of meeting new people is scary, but it’s also kind of nice. If they’re anything like Shane, I know I’ll like them. And I want to be a part of his world.
“Okay,” I tell him, dragging my fingers through the back of his hair. “I’ll go to the family barbecue with you …”
His face lights up, and he’s about to pull back, but I keep him close for what I’m about to say next.
“And Shane …”
My heart pounds in my chest, not because I don’t mean the words I’m about to say, but because they haven’t been spoken in this context since my husband was alive.
“Yeah?” he asks.
“I love you too.”
A beautiful boyish grin spreads across his face. “Day fucking made, Sour Patch. Now, wrap my ink up, so I can eat your pussy on the pool table.”
I bark out a laugh. “Such a romantic.”
And that’s how we spend the rest of the day … with Shane and I showing each other how much we love each other, until we’re both sated, and we head home to meet Taylor for dinner.
And it doesn’t go over my head that, despite not living with Shane, I refer to his place as home. We agreed to one day at a time, and I thought that would mean taking things slow. But I’m falling for this man, and I have a feeling slow isn’t an option.