Chapter 22 Happy
HAPPY
Lucky has been asleep since the third page.
But I haven’t had the heart to tell Hannah.
Honestly, I just like watching her read, seeing her facial expressions change as she switches characters, listening to the inflection in her voice adapt to each emotion in every scene.
Who knew a book about a girl and her duck could be so goddamn riveting.
Hannah’s a natural, and I know if Lucky had been able to stay awake through the story, she’d be pleading for another, and then another, and then just a couple pages of one more before I’d have had to put my foot down.
Watching Hannah with Lucky tonight, seeing Lucky open up to a new person the way she did so easily, I’ve never witnessed that before, and it did something to me that I can’t even begin to comprehend.
I’ve never felt it before. I’m pretty sure I know what it is.
And it’s new to me. And it’s scary and exciting and everything in between, but I’m so fucking ready for it.
“Oh, she’s asleep,” Hannah whispers, pulling me from my thoughts.
I act surprised, looking down at Lucky, at her long lashes fanning over her chubby cheeks, at the soft rise and fall of her chest. My baby.
And it’s these moments, when I see her at her most vulnerable, so damn innocent, that I realize if it ever came down to it, I would burn down the whole fucking world, destroy everything in it without a second thought, if it meant keeping this little girl safe.
“I hope it wasn’t my storytelling,” Hannah whispers, looking genuinely concerned.
“Don’t take it personally.” I smile down at my girl, gently trailing my thumb over the curve of her cheek. “Mom gave her some medication before we got here.”
I glance up to find Hannah looking at Lucky, a soft smile ghosting her lips. “She looks like you.”
I sniff a laugh. “She’s my mini me, with her mama’s attitude.”
Hannah’s smile falters and she meets my eyes, sadness in her gaze. “Does Lucky remember her mom? Does she talk about her?”
I nod, shrugging a shoulder. “Only when I bring her up. But it’s something her therapists are working on with her. Talking about her mama and what she remembers, the good memories. We want to make sure she holds onto those as long as she can.”
Hannah’s smile returns, and she looks back down to Lucky, carefully reaching out and grabbing the Bluey plushy, placing the dog right up against Lucky’s cheek.
And I grin, because this is exactly what I’ve always wanted for my girl.
I’ve never admitted it. For so long it’s just been Lucky and me, and I’ve played it off like that’s all we need, just the two of us.
Because I never thought it would be possible to find someone who would love me, let alone love me and my daughter.
But I think I might have found her. And she’s here, right in front of me.
And right now, all I’m thinking is how best not to fuck it up.
Hannah moves carefully off the bed like she’s trying not to make too much mattress movement, placing the book back on the shelf with the myriad of other story books Lucky has read so many times she’s practically memorized all the words.
And I tuck Lucky in, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to her cheek with a whispered, “Sweet dreams, Lucky Duck.”
Dimming the lights a little more, I press the button for the white noise machine that plays soft ocean sounds, leading Hannah out of the room and pulling the door almost closed behind us.
When Hannah starts to head toward the stairs, I intercept, snagging her hand and tugging her across the landing to my bedroom door.
I turn to face her, my back to my door, taking her other hand in mine and grinning mischievously as I use my ass to push the door open, waggling my eyebrows suggestively. “Never had a girl in my bedroom before.”
Hannah’s eyebrows knit together, and she glances from me to the stairs and back again. “Happy… y-your mom?”
“She’s gone.” I walk backwards into my room, pulling her with me.
“She left?”
I nod. “Yeah. She texted me. She usually leaves when I’m putting Lucky to sleep.”
Hannah gazes up at me, and I tug her even closer, our fronts touching as I stare down into her eyes.
“Thank you for doing that,” I say, nodding my head back in the direction of Lucky’s room. “She likes you.”
As she averts her gaze, Hannah’s cheeks turn pink at the compliment, and she smiles down at the floor. “I like her, too.”
I release one of her hands, tucking my finger beneath her chin and gently forcing her face back up, meeting those sparkling ocean eyes that have my heart in a fucking chokehold.
She rests her hands against my chest, and my gaze dips to her mouth.
I lick my lips, ready to claim her with the kiss we missed out on earlier, the pull she has on me so strong, like a goddamn magnet.
“You’re so different from the person I thought you were,” Hannah says, surprising me.
I chuckle, inching my lips closer to hers. “I play a good part.”
She smiles, her breath soft against my lips, right there. “Oscar-worthy.”
“Do you like the real me?” I ask, grazing my lips with hers.
She nods, her eyes fluttering closed.
“I like the real you, too,” I whisper.
Hannah pulls back a touch, narrowing one eye. “The real me?”
I nod, sniffing a laugh. “You can’t fool me Baby Draper. You’re not the hard ass you make yourself out to be.”
Hannah considers my words, looking almost slighted at the realization that I know her truth. Leaning in, she lowers her voice to a stage whisper. “Don’t tell anyone.”
I press my lips to her forehead, allowing them to linger in a kiss as I breathe her in. “Your secret’s safe with me,” I whisper back. “We can pretend you’re still a hard ass.”
She giggles softly, looking up at me. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she urges my lips back to hers, only this time she claims me, owns me with the kind of kiss that feels like it might leave a permanent mark. One that I can show off for the rest of my life.
My tongue slides against hers, tasting her sweetness and earning a breathy, whimpering moan, and my dick swells, pressing painfully against the zip in my jeans.
I allow my hands to follow the dip of her lower back, the curve of her ass, stopping at the short hem of her skirt that has been driving me fucking crazy all night, palming her perfectly plump cheeks as I deepen the kiss.
“Happy,” she warns into my mouth, pulling back enough to flash me a chastising look.
“What?” I ask innocently, nipping at her swollen bottom lip.
“We can’t…” She looks up at me through her lashes. “Lucky is literally asleep across the hall.”
“It’s cute that you think that’d stop me, Baby Draper,” I gruff, palming her ass again and making her gasp at the feel of my hard cock pressing into stomach.
“We can, and we absolutely fucking will. You just need to learn to be quiet.” I kiss the tip of her nose, and she spears me with a playful glower that I ease away by trailing my knuckles over her cheek.
“Not tonight, because I can see how exhausted you are. But for the record, Baby Draper, I have every intention of getting you into that there bed and making you come every fucking way that I can.”
Hannah’s eyes dart to my huge California King, gazing at it almost longingly, like she’s imagining all the things we could do in it, her teeth clamping down on her bottom lip.
“You want that?” I ask, and when her eyes slide to mine again, I quirk a brow. “You wanna be the only woman who’s ever been in that bed?”
With a shy smile that lights a fire in my gut, she nods just once and closes her eyes like she’s embarrassed by the admission, and I can’t stop myself. I claim her lips once more, kissing her with all that I have, with so much more meaning than I’ve ever kissed another person before.