Chapter 32
THIRTY-TWO
The sun floods my room the next morning, waking me up instead of a blaring alarm, and the first thing I register is Hallie’s naked body glued to mine, her cheek smooshed to my chest, a leg hitched up over mine as she holds me in her sleep.
I’m the luckiest asshole on earth, and the woman before me is undeniable proof of that.
I lift my hand and slide my fingers through her hair, pushing it back and away from her face so I can take in her beauty.
Her long eyelashes resting against her cheeks, the freckles that got a bit lighter with summer so long ago, her pink lips pouty and full.
After our first round, I managed to convince her to wash the makeup off her face, knowing she’d hate waking up with it on, so the flush on her cheeks is all hers.
She’s beautiful.
The most beautiful woman on earth and all mine.
Eventually, after another ten minutes or so of lying like this and watching her sleep, she starts to stir, eyes moving beneath her eyelids, her tongue coming out to wet her lips before she blinks, then looks up at me, groggy and sleepy.
“Morning,” I whisper. It’s my favorite part of every day, though there’s usually little to no light to see her with when my alarm goes off at the ass crack of dawn so that she can sneak out.
Then she grimaces.
“Why did you let me drink so much last night?” She puts a hand over her face and buries it further into my chest.
I let out a laugh and shake my head, moving and shifting her until she’s lying on top of me.
“I think you’re very aware that no one can ever tell you what to do, Hallie, much less let you do something.”
She groans, head falling into my neck and breathing there for a few moments.
“Well, maybe you should start.”
“Are you sick?” Worry trickles in because if she’s contemplating letting me tell her what to do outside of the bedroom, she must really not feel well, but she shakes her head.
“Just a headache.” Well, that’s fixable.
“Water, meds, breakfast. You’ll be good as new,” I say, hands going to her hips and moving us both so I’m sitting on the edge of the bed with her in my lap.
On instinct, her legs wrap around my hips, and I stand, walking us to the dresser, where I set her before digging through my drawers for a sweatshirt.
She has some clothes here, but I know she would rather steal another of my sweatshirts.
“Pancakes and bacon?” she mumbles as I pull one over her head.
“Only option,” I say with a smile, leaning in to press a kiss to her lips before sliding a pair of my boxer briefs up her legs and then helping her off the dresser. “Go use the bathroom, I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”
She nods, then shuffles off.
I get dressed in a T-shirt and sweatpants quickly before moving to the kitchen.
I start the coffee, then pull things out of the fridge.
When she shuffles in, I move to her, grab her one last time, and set her on the counter next to where I’ll be making breakfast before handing her a glass of water and two pills.
“Coffee?” she asks, and I’m glad to see her eyes have cleared. Most of her sluggishness seems to have been grogginess, not a terrible hangover.
I press a kiss to her lips, then make her a coffee and bring it over to her.
“I love you,” she mutters, then takes a long sip of the drink.
“Love you more,” I murmur, then stand between her legs, my hands moving to cup her jaw and press my lips to hers. She sets the coffee to the side before her hands move to the back of my head, playing with the hair there and kissing me softly and slowly when it happens.
The door opens.
Feet hit the floor.
And then a shriek fills the kitchen.
“Oh my god!”
Hallie is still in my arms, and I turn quickly to see my daughter, her jacket and boots over a pair of pajamas, her eyes wide as she takes in Hallie and me.
“Oh. My.GOD!” she yells again. “Ahh!”
“Emma, honey, what the fuck?” I ask, staring at her.
Panic fills me, not only because she just caught me kissing Hallie, who is wearing nothing but my sweater, which thankfully covers more than enough of her, but also because there’s no good reason for her to be here this early in the morning after Mom watched her. “Is everything okay? Why are you here?”
She stares at me for a moment, confused, before shaking her head.
“Oh, yeah, I just forgot my charger, so I ran over to grab it to show Grandma a video on my phone, but oh. MY. GOD.”
Well, that answers that. My phone on the counter blinks with a new text I can only assume is from Mom, warning me. I’ll have to talk to her about that, though, in her defense, Emma dropping in to grab something she forgot has never been an issue before.
“Emma,” Hallie starts, voice soft and nervous, but Emma doesn’t let her speak any further.
“You two are TOGETHER!” she shouts, then starts jumping up and down, and that’s when I realize it’s not horror she’s experiencing after catching Hallie and me together. It’s elation.
Relief floods me, and I reach back to put a hand on Hallie’s knee and give it a reassuring squeeze. Her hand covers mine, returning the gesture.
“Uncle Madden SO owes me money!” she shouts, then starts moving, running through the house with her arms up as if on a victory lap.
I don’t know what to do about my brother making bets with my daughter, even though it's a sure-fire loss for him, but I decide that’s something I can handle another day.
“Hey, hey,” I say, stopping her with an arm on her waist when she passes through the kitchen again.
When I look at Hallie, she’s grinning, clearly not as nervous about this conversation as I thought she might be.
I return her smile, then put my hands on my daughter’s shoulders, looking at her seriously. “Are you really okay with this?”
“Are you and Hallie dating?” she asks, getting right to the point.
“Yes.”
The answer comes from Hallie, all confidence and no hesitation, and the single word settles warm in my chest. Emma was the last barrier between us being everything, and she just tore it down in a moment.
Emma turns to her, nods, then returns her gaze to me.
“Are you going to marry her?” Emma asks as if she’s Hallie’s father instead of my kid. Hallie coughs, but I keep my eyes on my daughter.
“Yes,” I say, just as confident as Hallie just spoke. Emma grins.
“Then I am so totally okay with this.”
Emma turns to look at Hallie behind me, and I do the same. I expect to see a hint of the panic I’m used to on Hallie’s face when I move things too quickly, but surprisingly, I don’t. Instead, there’s simply happiness, and maybe a little surprise, on Hallie’s face.
That’s when I know I did it.
I made it past her walls, battled her fears, and while I didn’t slay them, they’re safely in cages now.
I have Hallie. All of her.
Forever.