Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
I HAVEN’T GOTTEN ENOUGH OF YOU
H olden
What a wild start to the day.
I toss my iPhone on my bed, trying to process what I was just told.
My landlord, the owner of the house I’ve been living in for the past four years, has decided to put the place up for sale. She’s giving me four months before I need to either move out or make her an offer—an offer I’m dying to make but one I’m not sure I’ll be able to afford.
Living anywhere in Reed Point is expensive, let alone an oceanfront property on a secluded street in Haven Harbor. Home values have increased significantly over the last few years which is probably why my landlord is looking to cash in.
This couldn’t have happened at a worse time. Briar and I should be living here together getting ready for the arrival of Slugger. I’ve pictured us bringing our baby home here in a few months. As far as I’m concerned, Briar never needs to even see her restored apartment, but what if I can’t afford the mortgage? Then what? Briar has also made no mention of staying with me. Now, with my looming eviction, I’m not sure how I can even ask her to stay when everything feels like it’s up in the air. I’m not even sure where I’ll be living at this point. I hate that everything is so out of my control. My landlord could sell, Briar could choose to move into her new apartment, and I would have to watch her walk out the door.
If I keep thinking about it, I’ll just end up spiralling, so I resolve to wipe the thought from my mind. I’ll have more time to think about it tomorrow. Today is Amy’s wedding day.
Briar is in her room getting dressed for the wedding. The ceremony starts in an hour, so I do my hair, change into my suit and spray myself with Briar’s favorite cologne. I grab my cell phone from the bed and walk to her room, trying to shake the negative thoughts from my head.
On the bright side, at least Briar and I don’t have to follow through with our plan to fake a relationship. We’re together now. There’s no need to pretend.
I gently push open the bedroom door and find Briar standing in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom putting on a pair of earrings. I stop in my tracks at the sight of her in a long, emerald-green dress that dusts the floor. Her blonde hair is pinned back in a mess of curls at the nape of her neck. The dress is fitted around her tits, which have grown larger throughout the pregnancy, and the swell of her belly is on display. My pulse bolts as I take in her delicious curves. She is breathtaking.
When she sees my reflection in the mirror, the look of concentration on her face shifts to a smile; a full-on beaming smile that is meant just for me.
I stand behind her, gripping her hips before sliding my hands around her body to rest on her bump. She arches her neck to the side, giving me access. She knows it’s one of my favorite parts of her body.
“I’m going to be walking around the damn reception trying to hide an erection thanks to you in that dress.”
I run my nose along her jaw, inhaling her scent. The smell of Briar is like a fucking addiction to me, and so is her body. I constantly crave her. My eyes meet hers in the mirror. We look good together. Her golden blonde hair in contrast to my light brown. Her sea-green eyes are a few shades lighter than my own. My hand drifts up the olive skin of her arm until it reaches her shoulder. My mouth sucks on her neck.
“Holden, you’re going to leave a mark.”
I watch in the mirror as her lips part, enjoying the feel of my mouth on her skin. She mewls the sweetest sound that goes straight to my cock.
“Good. Then you’ll remember how badly I want you every time you look at yourself in the mirror. Everyone at the wedding will know just how much I want to take you home and get you out of this dress.” I gently nip at her neck with my teeth.
“Is that so?” She turns in my arms, hands tightening around my biceps.
“You’re beautiful. You know that, right?”
“You’re not too bad yourself, Mr. Banks.”
Her ankle-length gown swishes against her legs as we stride out to the car, the high slit up one leg making me weak in the knees. I take her hand in my own and kiss her knuckles, knowing if I kiss her mouth, I’ll ruin the crimson color she’s wearing on her lips. I imagine it will look equally good on my cock.
“You’re gorgeous, Briar.”
She grins. “You’ve told me already. ”
“I’m going to tell you every hour,” I say. “I don’t know how I got so lucky to be yours.”
“Mine.”
I kiss her knuckles one more time. I might not want to be going to my ex’s wedding tonight, but at least I’m doing it with the most beautiful girl in the world on my arm.
Later, after we met my parents and Barb at the church, after we watched Amy marry Preston in a nice enough but also boring ceremony where Briar sniffled softly next to me and blamed it on the hormones, after I snuck kisses and my hand up her dress in a quiet hallway while we waited for Amy and Preston to take photos, after we took our seats in the ballroom of a golf course, after toasts and dinner and avoiding talking to anyone who wasn’t sitting at our table, it’s finally time for speeches and dessert and then I can finally whisk Briar out of here and have my way with her.
All eyes are on Preston as he steps up to the microphone in his tux, a glass of champagne in his hand. He begins his speech, sharing how he met Amy on a blind date and knew instantly that she was the one. He tells his guests of their ups and downs, how she nursed him back to health when he broke his ankle and how they’ve compromised on three kids; Amy wanted 4 and he wanted 2. His gaze shifts to Amy, who is crying into a napkin when Preston promises to love her all of her life. Sickness and health, richer or poorer. As the words roll off his tongue, I look at Briar next to me, her hand tangled in mine under the table, her damp eyes locked on me .
She leans in and kisses my cheek then rests her head against my shoulder .
The speeches end with a toast to Preston and Amy. The music starts and soon the dance floor is full. I manage to sneak in one dance with Briar before my mom and Barb sweep her away to introduce her to a table full of their friends.
I slip out of the ballroom, needing some fresh air and a few minutes to clear my mind. I was a bit nervous about today—going to an ex’s wedding seems potentially awkward. But it turns out I didn’t need to be. Everything has been fine, and it’s actually been fun to have an excuse to get dressed up and spend the evening with Briar and my family. I haven’t been able to enjoy it entirely, though, because as much as I’ve tried not to think about it, the call with my landlord hasn’t been far from my mind.
My life is changing soon, for the better. But I need to figure out where I’m going to live, where Briar is going to live, and I need to do it soon before the baby is here. She hasn’t made any mention of wanting to stay with me. In fact, just the other day she was beaming about moving into her apartment. But there’s no way that is happening. I won’t let it. I want her and the baby with me, which means I need to find a way to buy the house.
“Are you hiding out here? Had enough of your ex’s wedding?”
I look up to see Briar walking towards me, a sexy sway to her hips. Hot as fuck with her contagious smile. And I can breathe again.
“I have, but I haven’t gotten enough of you.”
“I will never get enough of you.”
I lean back against the bench, offering her my lap, and she sits down, the fabric of her green dress billowing around us.
“What’s made this line right here?” She softly traces the line between my brows before intertwining her fingers with mine.
“I have something on my mind, I guess.”
“Something you’d like to share?”
I cup both sides of her jaw in my hands. “I love you, Briar Moore.”
She nods. “I love you too.”
I exhale a deep breath before I kiss her. A careful, lingering kiss. “I’ve loved you for weeks.”
“I’ve loved you for weeks too.” She smiles back at me. “I was too afraid to tell you.”
“I was too afraid too. I should have told you.”
“I wish we said it sooner, but I’m glad we said it now, because I want you to know how I feel about you.”
“I wasn’t ready when you moved in. I had made promises to myself that I wanted to keep. I was tired of pushing relationships away.” I seal my eyes closed for a second. “But then you happened, Bee, and I didn’t stand a chance. I think I fell in love with you the day you redecorated my house and there wasn’t a chance that I wasn’t able to stop falling. You’ve owned my heart since then. It’s yours, pretty girl. Please don’t break it.”
She collapses into my neck, her palm firmly on my jaw. My hand strokes the back of her hair, holding her close to me. We sit this way, hugging, holding each other, being together in the most vulnerable way.
“Please say it again, Bee,” I whisper into her hair. “I need to hear you say it.”
Her pretty lips press a kiss to my Adam’s apple before she raises her head. “I love you, Holden Banks.”
I run my thumb over the apple of her cheek. “I love you, pretty girl. And I don’t just say that to anyone.”
“I know. I know it’s a big deal for you. ”
“Briar, just so we’re clear. The way I feel about you is bone deep. I love the little life we are creating together. I love coming home to you. I love your chaos and spontaneity, your smile and all the vulnerable moments you save just for me,” I tell her, watching her smile spread across her mouth and her cheeks flush. She’s gorgeous. My beautiful girl. “I want this family we’ve created. I want to be the reason you smile. I want you and I forever. I have never loved anyone as much as I love you. You are the only woman I want, the only woman I will ever want, and I will marry you one day, baby. I want the three of us to have the same last name.”
“I want that too,” she whispers. “He’s ours.”
“Ours. I love my little Slugger and his mom. You’re mine. Both of you, understand?”
“We are.” She slips her hand through the sides of my hair to my nape, pulling me into her.
She rises to her feet then reaches out her hands to pull me up with her. My arms close around her, holding her tight against my chest. I press my lips into her hair, inhaling her sweet, intoxicating scent, and exhale my relief.
I have everything I’ll ever need right here in my arms. Now I just want this wedding to end so I can take her home and show her just how much I love her.