NEVER SEEN A HAIRCUT BEFORE
PATRICK
“W hat were you and my dad talking about?” Addi asked as soon as I got in the truck.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it,” I teased, and she forced a frown.
“I might slip and buzz your hair clean off.” She grimaced, but I couldn’t have cared less. It would grow back if she did that anyway. “I wouldn’t do that,” she said, taking back her threat. “I’m excited to cut your hair.”
“I thought you liked it long?” I tossed her a look.
“I do, but I always used to cut your hair.”
A laugh escaped from somewhere deep in me. “Yeah. Ever since you watched me get harassed by a pair of boobs in high school at the salon.”
She made an annoyed sound. “She was shoving them all over your face. In your cheek when she cut the sides. In your freaking nose when she stood in front of you for no reason at all, I might add.”
“You were jealous,” I declared, actually loving that particular memory. It was one of my favorites.
“Hell yes, I was jealous. She was, like, twenty-two and trying to steal my man with her perfect boobs,” Addi shouted, and Jasper whined. “I barely even had boobs then. I couldn’t compete with that.”
I reached my hand across Jasper’s body to grab on to any part of Addi I could. “There was never any competition, love.”
“I still didn’t like it. No more haircuts for you,” she huffed, acting like it had just happened a minute ago instead of years.
“Why do you think I haven’t gotten one?”
She whipped her head to look at me so fast; I saw it in my peripheral vision. “That’s the real reason?”
I shrugged. “I wasn’t allowed.” I gave her a lopsided grin as she swatted my shoulder. “My personal stylist moved to New York. I’ve been lost without her.”
“Well, I’m back now!” she declared by throwing a hand in the air. “Only boobs in your face during a haircut will be mine. They finally grew in, by the way, in case you didn’t notice.”
Another laugh bubbled up. “Oh, believe me, I noticed. They’re the only boobs I want anyway.”
She let out a dreamy-sounding sigh. “We have so much history together. It feels like everything has some kind of nostalgia tied to it.”
“I know. I couldn’t get rid of the things that made me think of you.”
It was a simple statement, but it was true. She’d touched so many parts in my life that I’d become a hoarder of sorts. A collector of memories. An Addi connoisseur.
“Like this truck?” she said, but it came out as a question.
“Especially this truck.”
I pulled to a stop in front of the house and cut the engine, and Jasper started whining to get out. I opened the door, and he hopped across my lap and onto the ground, taking off running to who knew where. Reaching for Addi’s things in the bed of the truck, I carried the majority of her luggage and belongings inside. I set everything in our bedroom floor and smiled at the mess. I’d take this kind of chaos every day if it meant that my woman was home, with me.
“Your closet is over there.” I pointed as she followed behind me and surveyed the room once more.
“What if I want to share a closet with you? I like being all up in your space.”
She made her way to where I stood and pressed her body against mine. I swallowed deep, trying to keep myself calm.
“My closet won’t fit even half your luggage. But if you want it, I’ll share.”
She giggled like a schoolgirl. God, I’d missed her.
“I’ll unpack and invade your space later. Hair first,” she directed.
“I’ll go find the clippers.” I headed into the bathroom in search of a pair that I knew I’d bought. They were still in the box, unwrapped and untouched. “Found ’em,” I shouted, but Addi didn’t respond.
And when I poked my head out in search of her, I realized that she wasn’t even in the bedroom anymore.
Instinctively, I knew exactly where she’d be, and I hustled out to find her staring at the kitchen with wide eyes, her fingers running across the tops of all the appliances, like they were magic somehow.
Didn’t she realize that she was the magic one?
“This is the most beautiful kitchen I’ve ever seen,” she breathed out.
“I really fucking hope so, love. It cost a fortune.”
She spun on her heel and pursed her lips together. “Oh, yeah? Well, I’m going to make the best food you’ve ever tasted in your life, Patrick O’Grady. And it will be worth every penny.”
“It already is, baby.” I pulled her against me and took her mouth. Pressing my tongue inside, I felt her body relax and mold into mine.
“If you don’t stop, we’ll never get anything done,” she said while my mouth was still on hers.
Reluctantly, I moved my lips away from hers. “Fine. Let’s get your boobs in my face. ’Cause that won’t be distracting at all.”
She laughed loud before reaching out to tug on my long locks and gave it a nice pull. “Maybe I’ll leave it. I’ve never been able to lead you around by your hair before.”
She winked, and I turned on her, grabbed her by the waist, and lifted her into the air before nuzzling my face into her neck and licking.
“Stop! Patrick!” She squirmed in my arms, and Jasper started barking from behind us. He always reappeared out of nowhere.
I grabbed a chair and moved it onto the balcony that faced the land. It was my favorite outdoor space. It had white bulbs strung across the ceiling, and there were multiple outlets out here for decorating or for a future television, but right now, it was perfect to plug in the electric clippers.
“I love this view,” Addi said as she walked to the edge and leaned her elbows on it. “And this balcony is huge. I bet we could fit fifty people on it.”
Shrugging, I started calculating the number in my head. “Probably,” I agreed because I had made it a little oversize. But I loved it.
“Sit.” She pointed at the chair, and I did as I had been told.
And for the next forty minutes, I oscillated between letting Addi cut my hair and lifting her shirt to kiss her stomach and her breasts. She straddled me, my dick hard as a rock as she wiggled in my lap while she pretended to cut the front. Or maybe she really did cut it. I was too fucking distracted to notice.
By the time it was all done, Addi was topless, her perfect tits smacking me in the face every chance she got. And I had a raging hard-on that wasn’t going anywhere except buried inside of my stylist.
“Enough. I’m done sitting still,” I growled, and Addi laughed.
“You haven’t been still at all. Why do you think this took so long?” she complained as she unplugged the clippers and wrapped the cord all perfectly.
“Gonna fuck you on this balcony. You can look at the view while I look at you,” I said, and she gasped at my words.
“Don’t you even want to see my handiwork?” She held up a small mirror. I had no idea where it’d even come from.
“No. Do you like it?” I asked, and she smiled, running her fingers through my much shorter hair, her nails scraping against my scalp.
“Very, very handsome.”
“That’s all that matters.”
I pulled at her leggings, forcing them down her legs and off her body before lifting her up onto the balcony railing. It was wide and sturdy, but once I dropped to my knees and started eating her pussy like a man starved, I got nervous that she might lose her balance and fall clean off.
“Hold on, love,” I demanded, and she pulled at my head, her body shaking.
“I don’t think I can,” she said, and I stopped instantly and gripped her tight.
I removed her from the railing, and she wrapped her legs around my middle as I walked with her toward the kitchen and placed her on top of the granite countertop.
“That’s cold.” She shivered, and I put my finger against her lips, quieting her. “You have something against our bedroom?”
I stopped right as I was dropping to my knees and stared at her. “Say that again.”
She was about to ask me which part, but I watched the wheels turn in her head. Then, a small smile ghosted across her lips.
“Do you have something against our bedroom?” She emphasized the word.
I shook my head in response before grabbing her once more, my hands firmly on her ass.
Walking into our bedroom, I deposited her on the edge of the bed before final-fucking-ly dropping to my knees and burying my face between her thighs.
“I’ve missed the way you taste,” I breathed against her before my tongue moved inside of her.
She sat upright, moaning as she tried to pull at my hair, but there wasn’t enough there to tug at anymore. Her hands cupped the sides of my head and squeezed. When her fingers brushed against the back of my ears, I knew she was as into this as I was.
“So fucking good. You’ve always been my favorite meal.” I meant it as a compliment, but her laugh told me she was a little uncomfortable, hearing it.
I fucked her with my tongue, licking and sucking at her until I felt her body start to seize.
“Patrick.” She tried to say my name, but it was breathy, laborious. “I’m going to…”
“I know, love. I feel it.”
I continued eating the woman I loved, making sure she knew just how much I adored the way she tasted and felt. And when she came, the sounds she made and the way her body shuddered let me know that she was completely satiated.
“My God, Patrick.” Her body fell back onto the bed, her chest heaving with every breath. “That was life-altering,” she said with a smile.
“Been missing that,” I said as I forced myself to stand, my dick still at very upright attention.
“My turn,” she said with wide eyes, and I shook my head.
“Need to be inside you. Not inside your mouth.”
And that was exactly where I went.
After showering together and putting to use the double showerheads that I’d installed for us, I was pretty damn hungry. Thankfully, my girlfriend was a chef. We were each wrapped in a towel as she moved to one side of the bed.
“Is this my side?” she asked, and I gave her a small shrug.
“If that’s the side you want, sure,” I said, being downright agreeable.
“Patrick, what side have you been sleeping on?” She pushed, and I gave her a nod.
“The other one. It is your side.”
“Yay!” she said, clapping her hands together before she pulled open the drawer of the nightstand.
My heart started racing as I moved to stop her, but it was too late. I could tell by the look on her face that she’d found the box I’d been hiding in there.
“What is this?” she asked as she pulled the ring box out.
I stared at her, and before I could even respond, she opened the box! She’d opened the damn thing, her jaw agape.
“Patrick?”
“Addison?” I said, using her full name.
“Is this”—she finally averted her eyes from the ring in the box and locked on mine—“an engagement ring?” Her voice was soft and timid, even though she knew the answer already.
“Why would you open the box?” I changed the subject.
“’Cause I’m nosy.”
“I can see that.”
“Whose is it?”
“Don’t play coy now, love.” I walked over to where she sat on the bed, reached for the box from her hands, and dropped to one knee. “Wasn’t going to do it this way, but I really don’t want to wait another minute. Gotta give you a reason to stay.”
“I’m never leaving again, Patrick. I promise you that. You’re stuck with me.”
“Might make it official just in case.” I winked. “I bought this ring years ago. After you saw it at Mountain Jewels that one day.”
“And you kept it all this time.”
It wasn’t a question.
“Thought about throwing it in a fire once or twice.” I laughed, but it was true. Just like everything else in my life, I’d considered burning it to the ground and watching it turn to ash.
“I’m real glad you didn’t,” she said. “Ask me already. Please.”
I stayed on one knee, my dick still at attention, which was either the most romantic thing ever or the least. “Marry me, Addison Whitman. Raise babies with me and be my partner in this life. And the next one too.”
She threw her arms around my neck and breathed into it. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you and give you everything we’ve ever dreamed of. I love you, Patrick. Thank you for waiting for me.”
“I love you,” I said before slipping the two-carat ring on her finger. “I’d wait for you forever. You’re worth the wait.” Tears spilled from her eyes, and I wiped them away. “Do you still like this ring?”
Holding her hand in front of her face, she looked all sorts of wistful. “It’s perfect. Even prettier than I remember.”
“I asked your dad for permission, but didn’t tell him I was going to ask you so soon. Might want to let him know.”
“Okay!” she shouted as she went in search of her phone.
We rolled over to Jeremiah’s to pick him up and drag his cast ass over to my dad’s farm with us. He was beyond annoyed with his crutches by now, refusing to use them half the time, no matter how much Addi chastised him.
He whistled when he first caught sight of me. “Look at that mug.”
I ignored the comment about my haircut completely.
“Come on, Hop Along,” I teased.
Jeremiah narrowed his dark eyes at me. “I’m almost out of this cast, son, and I will kick your ass for that.”
I threw my hands up in surrender because he was tougher than all of us combined. “Please don’t hurt me.”
“No promises,” he joked… I hoped. “Let me see that ring.” He reached for his daughter’s hand and smiled at us both. “It’s beautiful. You did good.”
“She picked it out. All I did was buy it,” I said, downplaying my role in the whole thing.
We were quiet on the drive over to my dad’s farm. I hadn’t even told him that Addi was back in town, so bringing her and Jeremiah to Sunday dinner was part of a surprise that had me coming out of my skin. I knew that my brothers most likely wouldn’t have spilled the beans, thinking that Addi being here was my story to tell and all that. At least, I hoped that was the case. My old man loved her. All of us O’Gradys did. This was going to be fun.
I pulled into the drive, and the three of us walked slowly toward my dad’s door. Jasper had been in the bed of the truck, but he’d jumped out the second I put it in park, already wagging his tail, begging to be let inside.
“Holy shit, Patrick, is that you?” Thomas shouted as he looked at me, holding the door open with one hand. “I barely recognize you, brother.”
“Acting like you’ve never seen a haircut before,” I grumbled.
Everyone was going to be annoying about this.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen your whole face. Didn’t really realize that until now.” He reached for my chin, and I smacked his hand away.
“Stop.”
The door closed hard behind us, and the sound of cheerful voices filled the air.
“Patrick, is that you? Jeremiah?” my dad’s voice boomed before it changed pitch completely. “Addison?”
“Hi, Dad,” I said, but he ignored me and walked right over to Addi like I wasn’t even there.
His arms wide, he scooped her into a hug and didn’t let go for what felt like forever. They were having a moment, but I’d had enough.
“Get off my woman, old man.”
“I was thinking about stealing her from you,” he teased, and Addison giggled, the way she always did.
“Stop being gross,” I said before reaching for my woman, but he spun her out of my grasp.
I’d just gotten her back. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be letting her go anytime soon.
“Back for good?” my dad asked, and she grinned sweetly.
“As long as he’ll have me.” She shot me a look before finally stepping away from my dad and heading straight for my arms.
Dad and Jeremiah reached out their hands and shook.
“Nice to see you, Jeremiah.”
“Good to see you too. Thanks for having me.”
“You’re always welcome—you know that. Sorry about the foot.” He nodded toward the cast, and Jeremiah ground his teeth.
“Got a hacksaw around? Let’s cut it off,” he suggested, and my dad started laughing. “I’m not joking.”
“You will leave that cast right where it is,” Addi demanded, one hand on her hip.
My dad leaned over to Jeremiah and whispered loud enough for us to hear, “She’ll be distracted at some point. Won’t even miss us.”
They high-fived, and I realized that I needed to keep my eye on them because cutting off that cast was absolutely something they would do if they thought they could get away with it.
“Please tell me this means we never have to hear Nick Jonas ever again,” Thomas said out of nowhere, and I gave Addi a look.
Her brow furrowed, and confusion spread across her face. “I love Nick Jonas,” she said, totally clueless.
“Well, we hate him. He’s hereby banned from this moment on,” Thomas announced, and Matthew walked in from somewhere and wholeheartedly agreed.
“Please tell me we’re talking about Nick Jonas and how he’s dead to us?”
“Wait. What’s going on? Why do we hate Nick? Is it the soulful voice? The haunting lyrics?” She spun to look at me, hoping I’d explain. “His talented little five-foot-something frame?”
“I’ll fill you in later,” I said, trying to buy some time before I told her that the song “Chainsaw” was my personal hell and my brothers came running whenever it was on, scared to death that I was about to either spontaneously combust or burn something right to the ground.
“Banned!” Thomas shouted for emphasis.
“Forget Nick who-is-now-dead-to-us Jonas. Can we talk about that handsome face?” Matthew pointed at my face as he tried to reach for my chin the way Thomas had done, and I swatted his meat paw away, groaning.
“You all can stop now. I cut my hair. Whoop-de-fucking-do. Acting like you’ve never seen a man with a haircut,” I groaned, wishing I’d brought a baseball hat so I could hide underneath it.
“Brother, I haven’t seen half your face in years,” Matthew teased.
Clara beamed from her seat at the table before pushing out of her chair.
“I love it, Uncle Patrick. Mac and Cheese Addi, did you do it?” She spun and spun while she waited for an answer.
Addi dropped to her knees and nodded. “I did a good job, right?”
Clara leaped into her arms. “The best job! Maybe next time, I can help too?”
“You can definitely help,” Addi said.
My heart was so damn full as I watched the interaction. I understood the way Thomas must have felt whenever Brooklyn was with Clara, and she wasn’t even my daughter.
“Wait,” Matthew announced.
I had an inkling of what was about to come. He was always more than a little observant whenever it came to everyone except him.
He reached for Addi’s arm and pulled her left hand up to his face. “What is this?”
“What is what?” She played coy.
“That ring. That’s a damn ring right there,” he added, and everyone rushed to gather around Addi like she was some sort of circus animal.
“Ooh,” Clara started making a loud girlie sound. “You have a ring like Mama does. Except it’s not red. It’s so sparkly.”
“Did you—” Brooklyn started to ask before stopping short. “Are you—” She stopped again, a giant smile on her face.
I put my hands in the air. “She found it, okay? Didn’t see the sense in not asking. It was hers anyway.”
“I’m so excited.” Brooklyn pulled Addi into a hug. “I know we don’t know each other very well yet, but we will. And I’ve always wanted a sister.”
Damn.
“Me too,” Addi said before she started laughing nervously. “I mean, I have one. But I always assumed that I’d have two more. I always hoped that I’d be part of this family someday.”
“I think it’s every woman in Sugar Mountain’s fantasy.” Brooklyn winked before sliding into Thomas’s waiting arms.
“We’re lucky,” Addi said, and, hell, I felt like the lucky one.
“Does this mean I can’t come over anymore?” Clara tugged on my T-shirt.
“Why would you think that? You have a room, sweet girl,” I reminded her.
“If you and Starfish Addi have babies, maybe you’ll have to give one of them my room?” Her little head was obviously spinning, and it hurt my heart.
“Nope. When we have kids, they’ll have their own room. That one will always be yours.” I leaned down to give her a hug and boop her on the nose.
“I love you, Uncle Patrick.” She squeezed me back before directing her attention to Addi. “I love you too, Miss Addi. I missed you a whole lot.”
“I missed you too.”
“I missed your starfish mac and cheese so much, but I missed you more than the food,” she said, and I swore there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
“I missed you more than the food too,” I whispered in my girl’s ear, and she blushed.