Chapter 22
Clare
More Than Roommates
I laid on my side with my head propped up on my hand as I watched Wes sleep peacefully. I would give anything to have this moment frozen in time. I was so tempted to reach over and brush a stand of hair away from his forehead, but I kept my hands to myself. After the two amazing rounds of lovemaking last night, I knew he had to be exhausted.
Deciding to let him sleep, I quietly slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the bathroom, then headed out of the bedroom to the living room. I opened the shades to see everything covered in snow with a good amount of snow still falling. I smiled as I looked out over the harbor. I would never get tired of this view.
I had officially moved in with Wes right after the new year, and we’d been living together for a month now. The only thing I missed about my old place was that I could walk to work. But Wes and I commuted into the city together every morning, and it was one of my favorite times of the day. We’d stop for coffee and tea, then Wes would drop me off, then he’d head to his office on the days he went in. There was no work today, though, with the snowstorm that had blown in.
“Thank goodness we stocked up on food,” I softly said as I turned away from the large sliding glass doors.
Opening the refrigerator, I decided on French toast and fruit for breakfast. I’d let Wes sleep until it was time to eat. I was soon lost in my own thoughts as I busied myself with making the French toast my mother used to make, and didn’t hear Wes come up behind me. I felt him, though, moments before he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck, causing a rush of goosebumps to appear across my entire body.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he whispered against my ear.
Leaning my head back, he pulled my ear lobe into his mouth and gently tugged on it. “Morning. Did you see how much snow fell?”
“Not yet. I smelled something amazing, and when I walked out here and saw you in nothing but my shirt, I got distracted.”
I laughed and turned in his arms. “I didn’t want to wake you up; you looked so peaceful sleeping.”
“You wore me out last night.”
“I wore you out? Excuse me, you were the one who kept bringing me to the edge of an orgasm only to stop. That was mean.”
He winked. “But tell me that orgasm wasn’t amazing once you finally came.”
“I won’t lie, it was amazing. I have coffee ready for you.”
Closing his eyes, he said, “This is why I love you.”
As he made his way over to get his coffee, I chuckled. “You love me because I have your coffee ready for you?”
“That’s one of the reasons I love you. Another reason I love you is that thing you do with your tongue around the head of my–”
Before he could finish his sentence, his phone rang. Wes usually charged his phone in the kitchen, so it wasn’t a distraction for him being next to his bed. Once he unplugged, the man really unplugged. I needed to do the same.
“This better be good!” he said, answering his phone.
I laughed and shook my head. It had to be Finn or Preston.
“Mandy?”
My heart fell to the floor, and I turned to see Wes standing there with a confused look on his face. I drew in a deep breath and pushed those old insecurities away. Wes loved me, and I knew that with my whole heart. Whatever she wanted, Wes would handle it.
“Why are you calling me? I thought I made it clear where we stood.”
I focused on getting the French toast onto each plate. I put a small amount of butter on each piece before I sprinkled powdered sugar on them. I set them both down on the kitchen island, then the bottle of juice, as well as cut-up fresh fruit.
Wes started to pour us each a glass of orange juice. His eyes met mine and he rolled them.
Sighing, he said, “I can’t help you, I’m sorry. My advice would be to find a good accountant and no, I don’t know any.”
What in the hell is she up to?
I sat down at one of the stools and started to pour the syrup over my food. Wes was beginning to lose his patience, I could tell.
“I’m going to say this one more time. I don’t care what happens in your life, Mandy. We don’t have a friendship; I don’t care what happens in your world. I would really appreciate it if you would lose my number.”
He pulled the phone away from his ear and hit End. “I’m blocking her number.”
Frowning, I asked, “Has she called you before?”
“No, I haven’t heard from her since the day I asked her to leave. There, I blocked her.”
“It’s okay, I’m not worried about Mandy. I mean, I was at one point, but I trust you.”
Wes looked up at me, a surprised look on his face.
Laughing, I asked, “Why does me trusting you surprise you?”
“It doesn’t. It’s just…sometimes I can’t help but think I don’t deserve you. The shit I put you through with Mandy and everything. I knew deep down inside it was you I wanted all along, I just was too stubborn to admit it.”
I reached for his hand and squeezed it. “We’re together now and that is all that matters. We have a beautiful life to look forward to, and I cannot wait to see what the future brings for us.”
He smiled, and the sight of him, so handsome with his green eyes sparkling back at me, nearly stole the breath from my lungs.
“I love your eyes,” I softly said.
“I love yours. I hope our kids have your blue eyes.”
I felt my insides melt at him mentioning kids.
Clearing my throat before I dragged him back into the bedroom, I said, “Let’s eat.”
Wes nodded and took a bite of his breakfast, groaning in pure pleasure. “Damn, this is good.”
“It is,” I replied before taking another bite. “What do you want to do today? It looks like we’re going to be snowed in.”
He waggled his brows, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “What else do you want to do besides sex?”
Shrugging, he said, “I don’t know. Why don’t we have a lazy day. Movies, junk food, sex, more movies.”
“Mmmm, that does sound like a rather nice day.”
We finished eating our breakfast, and Wes told me he’d clean up since I cooked.
“Have you heard anything from Angie about when she’s going to tell your parents?” I asked.
Wes glanced at me from over his shoulder. “No. I told her she’s going to have to tell them sooner or later. At some point she’s going to start showing. It’s already been over a month since she told us.”
“Rory told me she and Harmony took her shopping for some things to start getting for the baby’s room. They met Reece and really liked him.”
“He is a good guy. I really enjoyed getting to know him. Gotta tell ya, I’m kind of bummed they’re not into each other. He’d make a great brother-in-law.”
I laughed. “You’re right, though, she’s going to have to do it sooner rather than later. Your mom was trying to set her up on a blind date last week.”
Wes laughed. “I’m so glad those days are over.”
He wiped his hands on a towel and started to walk into the living room.
“Look at how beautiful everything looks with the fresh snow on the ground.”
I nodded. “Have you ever seen such big snowflakes?”
He turned me. “Do you have snow clothes?”
“Snow clothes? Like ski clothes?”
“Yeah.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Yes, why?”
“Do you want to go build a snowman?” he asked, a gleeful look in his eyes.
“Okay, Anna,” I said laughing. “Let’s go build a snowman!”
? ? ?
After Wes and I put on our snow gear, we headed outside to see other people out and enjoying all the snow. At one point Wes had somehow talked the other crazy people who were out playing in the snow to have a snowball fight. I have never laughed so hard in my life. Even when Wes pelted me in the face with a snowball.
Now we were lying on the ground making snow angels as snow continued to fall from the sky. It looked beautiful, and to see the city slow down was another amazing sight. It was quiet and still, which was crazy considering we were right in downtown Boston.
Wes stood, then helped me up. We both looked at our snow angels and declared they were the best ever made.
“My balls are freezing. I say playtime is over. How about a nice hot bath?”
“That sounds amazing,” I agreed as we made our way back into the building. “I had so much fun this morning. And the other people out playing in the snow was such a fun surprise. Oh, and the way you helped that little boy and girl build their snowman was so sweet.”
We both started to remove our gloves, hats and scarves, as we got into the elevator.
“That was fun helping them with that. I enjoyed it.”
Once we were back in our place, we both stripped out of the rest of our snow gear.
“As much as a warm bath with you sounds heavenly, I’m starving!” I said as I made my way to the kitchen.
“If my girl wants food, then food is what she shall get. Since you made breakfast, I’ll make lunch. How does Mediterranean wraps sound?”
“Oh…the ones with the veggies in it with the feta cheese and hummus?” I asked, my stomach growling as I placed my hand over it.
“Yeah,” Wes said with a wink. “Sound good?”
“Yes! Can you add olives to mine?”
He scrunched up his nose. “Gross, but okay. Your appetite has been crazy lately.”
“I know, I don’t know why I’m always so hungry. Maybe it’s all the sex!”
Wes slowly turned around and faced me. He had a zucchini in one hand and an onion in the other. He also had a look of utter shock on his face.
“Why are you looking at me that way?”
He swallowed hard. “You’re eating more.”
“Not that much more!” I said as I followed my arms over my chest. “I’ll have you know my weight hasn’t budged.”
“No, that’s not what I mean, Clare. You’re eating…more. Weird stuff. Like the olives.”
“That is not weird. Olives are very Mediterranean and…”
My voice trailed off when his meaning sank in. “Oh. Ohhhh. I’m eating more.”
He nodded.
“That’s impossible. I’m on the pill.”
“And Reece wore a condom.”
My hand went to my stomach. “I don’t feel different.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. When are you supposed to start?”
Closing my eyes, I thought about it. Snapping them open, I took a few steps back until I ran into the sofa. “Three days ago.”
Wes dropped everything onto the counter. “Put your coat on. The pharmacy down the street is open. I saw people going in and out.”
Following his lead, I grabbed my coat, gloves, and hat and practically ran to the elevator.