Chapter 28 Emily
“You really do love him?” Daniel asks, wonder in his voice.
I nod surprising myself by admitting aloud the one thing I’ve been too frightened to give much thought to. “I love Andrew.”
Daniel sighs. “No one to blame but myself. I shouldn’t have—”
“Don’t,” I say cutting him off. “We would never have worked. We’re too different. Andrew and I understand each other and well…we’re good for each other.”
Daniel throws a glance at his brother before swinging his gaze back to me. “Lucky bastard. Let me know if he ever hurts you. I'll make sure he regrets it,” he says in a fierce tone that makes me laugh.
“Andrew wouldn’t hurt a fly.” I’m the one likely to hurt him.
His words in the car, play back in my mind. No more secrets.
My stomach churns and I feel like I’m going to be sick. I can’t keep lying to Andrew and his family about my father.
He watches me for a beat longer, like he’s trying to see past the mask I’m wearing, but then he nods. “Alright. But if you need anything, you know where to find me.”
I offer him another smile, and we start walking back, but inside, I’m a mess. I can’t keep pretending everything is fine, not with Andrew’s words still lingering in my mind.
With that, we head back to the table. Andrew looks up, his eyes flicking between us, and I can tell he’s been watching, waiting, trying to read the situation.
I offer him a reassuring smile, and the tension in his shoulders eases slightly.
“Everything okay?” he asks, his hand finding mine under the table.
“Perfect,” I say, squeezing his hand. “Let’s finish this lunch so we can go home.”
Lunch wraps up with the usual light chatter, and I find myself playing the part of the attentive daughter-in-law, answering Barbara’s questions and laughing at Daniel’s jokes .
But all I can think about is getting out of here, back to the quiet and privacy of our own space.
Finally, after what feels like an eternity, we say our goodbyes. Barbara hugs me tightly, and Andrew shakes hands with his dad, but I can feel the impatience radiating off him. He wants to leave just as much as I do.
The car ride home is quiet, but it’s a comfortable silence. Andrew rests one hand on the steering wheel and the other on my knee, occasionally giving it a gentle squeeze.
Every touch sends a warm, tingling sensation through me, and I find myself leaning closer, letting my head rest against his shoulder. Being with Andrew makes me forget my worries. I’ll deal with it soon.
I’ll tell him everything soon and when my father wakes up, he’ll just have to understand why I had to tell Andrew. He’s my husband. There should be no secrets between two people who are married.
As soon as we pull into the driveway, Andrew turns off the engine and looks at me, his blue eyes dark with something intense. “I don’t want to talk,” he says, his voice low and rough. “I just want to be with you.”
I nod, my heart pounding. “Me too.”
We barely make it through the front door before Andrew pulls me into his arms, his mouth finding mine in a desperate, heated kiss.
I respond just as eagerly, my fingers threading through his hair as I press myself against him. God, I’ve missed this . His arms around me, his lips on me, his scent surrounding me.
“Upstairs,” I murmur against his lips, and he nods, lifting me off my feet. I gasp, wrapping my arms around his neck as he carries me up the stairs, his steps quick and purposeful.
When we reach the bedroom, he sets me down gently and steps back, his eyes raking over me. “I love you,” he says, and there’s no hesitation, no doubt, just pure, raw emotion. “I don’t know when it happened, but I do. I love you, Emily.”
Tears sting my eyes, but I blink them back, smiling. “I love you too, Andrew. So much. ”
He closes the distance between us, kissing me again, and this time there’s no rush, just a slow, tender exploration that leaves me breathless.
I’m not sure how long we stand there, wrapped up in each other, but it feels like hours, like days, like forever.
His hands are gentle yet firm as they roam over my skin, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. Every touch, every caress is a silent declaration of his affection for me, a reassurance that this is real, that we are real.
His lips leave mine and travel down my neck, planting soft kisses along the way. I close my eyes and let out a contented sigh, reveling in the sensation of his warm breath against my skin.
As he undresses me with a tenderness that takes my breath away, I feel a deep connection forming between us, one that transcends mere physical desire.
I return the favor, unbuttoning his shirt slowly, savoring the sight of his chiseled chest. His eyes never leave mine, filled with so much love and longing that it steals the air from my lungs.
I arch into Andrew’s arms as he teases my nipples, while trailing my fingers along the lines of his muscular back.
His mouth follows a path of fire down my abdomen, leaving a trail of open-mouthed kisses that leave me breathless and wanting. Our intimacy feels different tonight, like a new beginning.
Andrew's hands are sure as he navigates my body, as if he knows every curve, every dip, every hollow.
I shiver with arousal as his tongue traces the sensitive skin of my inner thigh.
I cry out his name, my fingers gripping the sheets tightly as he takes me into his mouth, sucking gently on my clit.
I arch my back, moaning desperately as waves of pleasure crash over me. His skillful hands and mouth bring me to the edge, and then push me over with a single, deft motion.
Andrew looks up at me, his face flushed and his eyes dark with emotion. “I've missed you,” he whispers, his voice rough with desire .
I nod, unable to speak as I ride out the aftershocks of my orgasm. When I finally regain my composure, I pull him up to kiss him, tasting myself on his lips.
He kisses me back hungrily, his body—now hard and ready—pressed against mine. Feeling the evidence of his arousal, I kiss him harder, needing to feel closer to him.
It's been too long since we've been this intimate and my body aches with a need to be filled.
I reach down, grasping his erection firmly in my hand. Andrew moans softly into my mouth as I stroke him, relishing the feel of him against my palm.
I guide him to me, positioning the head of his cock at the entrance of my core. As he pushes inside me, I gasp, my body stretching to accommodate him.
Slowly, he begins to move, each thrust sending waves of pleasure through me, building up an arousal that threatens to swallow me whole.
“Andrew,” I cry out, wrapping my legs tightly around him.
“Yes baby,” he murmurs, his voice low and gruff. “I’m right here, I’ve got you.”
As we move faster and harder, the room fills with the sound of our bodies slapping together, our ragged breathing, and our desperate moans.
My nails dig into his back, urging him on as the intensity builds within me.
“I’m close,” I gasp, writhing beneath him.
Andrew groans, his pace becoming more frantic as my body tightens around him. “Me too,” he says, his voice ragged with desire. “I need to you to come with me.”
The words send me over the edge, and I cry out as pleasure washes over me.
“Fuck!” Andrew roars, his body tensing above me .
We collapse together after we've finished, our bodies still intertwined. I rest my head on Andrew's chest, listening to the rhythm of his heart as it slows.
He strokes my hair gently, his fingers massaging my scalp. The room is filled with a contented silence as we catch our breath.
Finally, Andrew pulls back slightly to look into my eyes.
“I don't think I've ever felt this way before. It feels like I've found a missing part of myself in you.”
I swallow hard at the emotions in his voice. I want to say the same thing back. I feel it. But I’m holding back. There are things that he doesn’t know about me. I can’t keep it from him any longer, but this is not the time. Our love is still too fragile.
I feel like a fraud, except my feelings for him are real. More real than anything I’ve ever experienced before.
“I know what you mean,” I say, cupping his face in my hands. “Being with you feels like coming home after a long journey. Like finding the missing piece of a puzzle that I didn't even realize was missing.”
He smiles, gently brushing my hair away from my face. “That's a beautiful way to put it.”