Chapter 17
seventeen
GEORGIE
I love waking beside Drew.
And it has everything to do with the position we’re in when I wake up.
My back pressed against his hard chest, his thick arms wrapped around me, and that part of his anatomy that delivers mind-blowing pleasure poking my butt.
He’s the first man I’ve spent the night with.
The first man I’ve wanted to spend the whole night with.
The first man I don’t have the urge to flee from the second sex is over.
We’ve slept late. I don’t need a clock to tell me. The sun is shining though the blinds as if they’re not there.
When I stayed the first time, I asked him why he didn’t have blackout blinds in his bedroom when he sometimes has to sleep during the day. He said he had to be able to sleep whatever time of day it was and if he used blackouts he’d never be able to sleep in the middle of the day without them.
It made so much sense.
“What are you thinking about so hard?”
His voice rumbles in his chest, the sound vibrating along my spine, and his breath rushes over my neck, drawing goosebumps from my skin. I can’t help grinning.
Another thing I love about staying over. Drew’s deep sleep soaked voice first thing in the morning.
“Just contemplating the time.”
“Eleven.”
“That’s awfully specific.”
“It’s the shadow on the ceiling.” My gaze darts up. “At this time of year when the sun hits the crack in the paint it’s eleven.”
He’s right, the window frame forms a straight line of sunlight on the ceiling. “It’s an indoor sundial.”
“Yeah.” His arms tighten around me. “Now. Do you want to eat in or go out for brunch? I need to get ready for work at three.”
Disappointment pulls the smile from my face. “Are you working tomorrow too?”
“Yes. I’ve got a ten ’til eight tomorrow.”
I wiggle to loosen his hold and turn when he gives me room. Facing him I say, “But you’re on until, what, midnight?”
“Two. I’ve got an eight-hour break between shifts.”
“That doesn’t seem like enough time to sleep and eat and…whatever.”
“It is. But these short breaks are only for this month. With all the extra tourists in town, our shifts are closer together and a little less structured. Plus we’re covering Stan Wolensky as much as we can because his wife is due to give birth any day.”
I forgot Ina was pregnant again. Although, honestly, she seems to be pregnant every year, it’s like her permanent state at this point and I’ve lost count. I think this is baby number six.
“That’s nice of you all to cover Deputy Wolensky.”
“Sheriff Roberts decided it was better than having him rush off while on shift and leaving us down a man. The shorter breaks between shifts mean we’re overstaffed when he’s on. It’s been working well. I’m not sure if Sheriff Whitworth will continue to run the roster this way or revert to how it was.”
“I hope not. It seems like it would be hard to live your life with only an eight-hour break.”
“Oh, they’re not all eight-hour breaks. Some are eighteen or more.”
I shake my head. “How does that work? No. Never mind. I don’t need to know. As long as I get to spend time with you, I’ll be happy.”
“If you let me, I’ll spend every second I’m not at work with you.”
My smile is back. “I think that’s what we’re doing.”
“Not quite.” His hand comes to my face and he brushes his fingertips along my jaw. “So, eating here or going out?”
“We have to get dressed if we got out.”
“We do.”
“Eat here. Then we’re not wasting time getting dressed and driving to town.”
“Good reasoning. Next question. Pancakes, or breakfast burritos?”
“Are you cooking?” I love that Drew knows his way around a kitchen.
“Yes. In fact, I’ll get up and make brunch while you stay in bed. I’ll bring it in when it’s ready.”
“And miss watching you cook for me? Nope. That’s as delicious as I’m sure whatever you put on my plate will be.”
“You planning to ogle the chef?”
“Hell yes.” We’re grinning at each other, and I can’t remember the last time I felt this happy, this…light. “Is that a problem for you?”
“No. You can ogle me whenever you want.”
“Can I pick your outfit?” I recall a hot scene in a romance I read years ago where the hero cooked for the heroine in his boxers and an apron.
Drew’s eyebrow arches in question.
“So obviously I like to read and I’m partial to romance and well…”
“You have a fantasy you want us to make reality?”
“Not a fantasy…okay, maybe it is. Do you own an apron?”
“I think so.”
“Great. Let’s find it.” I toss the covers back and hunt around the floor for the t-shirt I tore off Drew last night. “Just put your briefs on.”
After pulling on his shirt, I turn to find he hasn’t even gotten out of bed and the look he’s giving me has my temperature rising. My heart beating faster.
“Are you getting up?” Even I can hear the breathlessness in my voice.
With a flick of his hand he uncovers his lower half, and I can’t help focusing on his erection. It’s long and thick and the plump head is a deep purple, almost like a bruise. I wonder if it hurts. I lick my lips and swallow through a dry, constricted throat.
“Hey! Eyes up here,” he says with a chuckle. When my gaze moves up his torso, I find him wagging a finger at me. “None of that. I need to feed you first. And no. I’m not feeding you dick for brunch.”
Having dick from breakfast or lunch or whatever we’re having never crossed my mind but now it’s there…
He bends over the side of the bed and picks up his briefs. “Save those thoughts for after we eat. I’m sure we’ll end up back here before I leave for work.”
“How quickly can you cook?”
Laughing, he grabs his pillow and tosses it across the bed at me. “Come on. Let’s see if we can find an apron.”
I follow him out into the combination living, dining, and kitchen space. The house his apartment is in has three levels. Basement, ground, and first floors. It’s been divided into a number of different combinations but Drew’s place is a one bedroom on the first floor.
“Do you like living here?” I was surprised when I first saw it. He’s got similar taste in furnishings as me and the fact he has pictures of his family on the walls as well as a few of the local area give the place a lived in, comfortable vibe.
“I do. Although I’d like a house.” He glances over his shoulder as he rummages in a drawer. “I nearly bought one last year but I got out bid and I wasn’t getting into a war over it when there were more than a couple of things I wanted to change.”
“Oh, where was the house?”
“One street over from you.”
“The Wrestlers’ old place?” I remember it going on the market. And the family that bought it has since renovated it extensively. It doesn’t even look like the same house anymore.
“Yes.”
He doesn’t seem upset to have lost the chance and the fact that he was prepared to buy a house alleviates some of my fear that he isn’t here to stay.
“Serious thoughts?”
“Um, maybe. Yeah.” I blow out a breath. “I’m glad you were looking to buy a house here. I know that doesn’t mean you won’t leave?—”
“Hey!” He straightens and heads in my direction. When he gets close, he palms my face and tips it up so he can look into my eyes. “I’m not going anywhere. I love this town. More so now for reasons we’ve decided we aren’t ready to vocalize.”
“I’m sorry. It’s a fear I can’t seem to control.”
“Is that why you don’t have any close friends?”
“Um…”
“Don’t get me wrong, you have friends. You know pretty much everyone in town, but you don’t seem to have anyone close. No best friend. And I don’t recall a boyfriend in the years I’ve known you.”
“I...” His words have me thinking. Examining my life in a way I never have before. He’s not telling me anything I don’t know but now I’m looking at the why of those things.
The no boyfriend issue is easy enough to work out. I haven’t found a guy I want to get serious with. Dating in a small town is hard. And even if a tourist caught my attention, there is little chance of more than a short fling.
“Evergreen Lake isn’t exactly overrun with eligible bachelors.”
“And thank god for that or I’d have had my hands full running them all off.”
I smile. “And dating tourists is never anything more than casual, short term, and I guess I wasn’t interested in anyone enough to put in the effort.”
“And the best friend?”
“I had one once.” My brother’s face flashes into my mind. “He died.”
Drew’s eyes widen and swim with sympathy. “ Georgie. ”
“It’s okay. I’m okay. But Geoffrey wasn’t just my best friend. He was my brother, my twin, and I guess I never learned to make a best friend because I was born with one.”
“Fuck!”
He yanks me forward, wraps his arms around me and holds me tight against his chest. I know I have emotional scars from losing my brother but I don’t need to be comforted like this anymore. I’ve accepted his death and the hole his absence has left inside me.
But Drew is only now learning about my sorrow, and he’s the type who needs to take care of people. Whether it be residents of the town he patrols as a deputy or the woman he’s seeing. This embrace is giving him more comfort than me and I’m okay with that.
It’s what a good relationship requires.
“I’m so sorry.” He speaks into the top of my head. “I didn’t know.”
“Thank you. It was a long time ago. Over fifteen years.” Gosh, has it really been that long? Have I really lived more of my life without Geoffrey than with?
“You were teenagers?”
“Yes. Fourteen. He got sick. No one knew what was wrong at first. It took a few weeks to diagnose him. By then it was too late to do anything.”
“What did he have?”
“A rare blood disorder. I can’t remember the name of it. All I know is even though I was a match for a bone-marrow transplant, he was too sick for the procedure to be done.”
“Oh, Georgie.” My name is more groan than word.
“We aren’t sure if it would have helped him anyway. At first the chemo worked.” I lean back, my gaze meeting Drew’s. “It gave us some extra months together but we knew, Geoffrey and I, it wasn’t going to last. He made me promise to take care of Mom and Dad, Granny.”
“Can I ask when your parents died?”
“The summer after my final year of high school. I was staying here with Granny and they took a trip to visit my mother’s sister. They were in a car accident. All three of them died at the scene and my aunt never got married or had kids so it was just me and Granny after that.”
“And now it’s just you.”
I offer him a small smile. I’ve made peace with being the last of my family. So many people don’t get to have one at all. At least I had mine for most of my childhood.
“And me. You have me. And I have parents and a brother and a sister-in-law, and I’ll gladly share them with you. You’re not alone anymore.” His face lowers, his lips pressing on mine. “You’ll never be alone again if I can help it.”
I don’t get a chance to reply because he kisses me slow and sweet and I melt against him.
Drew’s kisses are drugging. It’s like my brain switches off and my body knows only one thing. Get closer.
My feet leave the floor and my bare butt hits the cold countertop. Air rushes from my mouth into his and he bites at my bottom lip.
“I want to love you so hard right now. But you have to be hungry, it’s over twelve hours since we ate and I want to take care of all your needs.”
I nod. Although my brain is screaming, no, keep kissing me .
“Sit here and watch the show.”
I’m confused by his words until he whips a bundle of cloth into the air. It unfolds and I see it’s an apron. One with a picture of bikini covered boobs and crotch on it.
I can’t help laughing when he puts it on. I’m laughing so hard I almost fall off the counter. “Oh gosh.”
“You like?” Drew cocks an eyebrow. “It was a present from my brother.”
I shake my head. “He’s a joker, I take it.”
“Yeah. He got a double dose of the happy gene and I got a double of the serious one.”
“I can see that. Although maybe you just went that way because he’s the way he is.”
“Maybe.” He shrugs. “He’s two years older than me and still the class clown. I have no idea how his wife puts up with him but then they’ve only been married a couple of years. She may wise up and leave his ass yet.”
“You don’t think they’ll last?”
“Oh, no. I was joking.” He frowns. “Guess I should leave the jokes to Liam.”
“Is Liam your brother?” At his nod I say, “I don’t think you should leave the joking to him. Our conversation has been so serious that I wasn’t expecting a joke.”
“Don’t try to mollify me.”
“I’m not. Honestly.” I slip off the counter and step into him, place my hands on his chest and look up. “I think maybe your tone needs some work and it also might have something to do with the fact I don’t know your brother.”
“Do you want to know him?”
“Yes.”
“And my parents?”
“Of course. But maybe we should wait a couple of months before we go there.”
“I’m not going to change my mind about you.”
His tone is sharp—adamant—and I smile. “Okay. Then I’m ready to meet them whenever you want to introduce me.”
“How about the third week in January?”
“The…what?”
“I’m meeting them over in Eagle Ridge. We’re doing our Christmas together then because Mom and Dad are traveling down south.”
“For a day?”
“No. They’re coming in for a week. We’ve booked a house on the mountain.”
“I could drive over after work?—”
“You can’t take the week off?”
“You want me to come away with you?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I didn’t.”
“Oh. Well. Yes. Okay. Yes.” I grin. “I’ll change the roster first thing Monday.”
“Good.” He drops a kiss on my forehead. “Now let me cook us something to eat.”
I don’t know what’s more exciting. Going on holiday with Drew or being introduced to his family. Either is a sign of how serious he is and I can’t wipe the smile from my face.