30. Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Remi
W e ordered pizza and ate on the couch in the living room. I was in my boxers, and Echo was in a T-shirt, no underwear.
"You came for Thanksgiving dinner, and I came inside you." I bit into a slice of pepperoni.
"It wasn't bad at all." She wasn't the only one surprised by how well my mother behaved. Lani and I were as well. My father was not. He had had a long talk with Mama. She wasn't going to change personalities, but as long as she treated Echo with respect, that was more than enough.
"The dinner or the sex?" I joked.
She punched me on my shoulder. "Both. The sex was better."
"I live to serve."
She cleaned her hands on a napkin and drank some of the chianti she opened to go with the pizza.
"What now?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
She shrugged. "What happens now?"
I smiled. "What would you like to happen, Doll?"
"I'm not sure," she admitted. "I do know what I want after we're done eating."
"And what's that?"
"Another few orgasms."
I laughed. "I think I can deliver on that."
"But in the long term? I'm afraid to even think about it. I'm so scared to want, Remi."
She'd had a lifetime of not getting what she wanted, and she'd schooled herself to go without. I understood that about her now. I would work hard, I promised myself, to change that, so she'd expect things from me and life. That she wouldn't stop herself from desiring something because she was afraid of being disappointed.
"I want us to live together. I want us to get married and make a family." I was putting all my cards on the table, letting her see within me. She needed me to be this vulnerable.
I hated the suspicious look on her face as if she were trying to figure out what my angle was.
"I love you." I set my plate down on the floor and scooted closer to her. I kissed her mouth. "I love you."
"You already said that," she groused.
"I'll keep saying it until you believe me."
She cupped my cheek. "I do believe you."
"Then?"
"I love you too."
"Good."
It felt damn good to hear her say those words. After what I had done and how I treated her, I didn't think the universe would give me this chance, this amazing opportunity to be loved by the woman whom I loved with my whole heart.
"Can we go slow?"
"Yes."
"Really?"
No, not really. I fully intended for us to move in together as soon as possible. I'd pretend to go slow, just move a few things in, and then slowly, I'd be living here with her. I decided that was the best way to deal with Echo. And after that, I'd slowly get her comfortable with the idea of getting engaged and then getting married.
Or maybe I could knock her up and hurry the process. I had no qualms about doing that because Echo would be an amazing mother—and it was one of those things she was afraid to hope for. I'd give her a family. I'd give her everything she ever thought she couldn't have.
"Sure."
She threw her arms around me, straddling me. "I love you."
Two months later
"Remi, why is your mail coming here, honey?" Echo asked as she sorted the post into piles for her, me, and throwaways.
"I don't know." Because I live here?
"Weird. These are your credit card statements."
I took the envelopes and beat a quick retreat into her guest bedroom that I had converted into a study with all my stuff.
She followed me and looked around the office.
"Remi, I got a question, honey."
I put the envelopes down on the desk. "Yeah, Baby Doll."
"Have you moved in with me?"
I wasn't sure how she'd react, so I hugged her first. Kissed her, so she was distracted. And then, and only then said, "Yeah, Doll, I've moved in with you."
She smirked. "You moved in four weeks ago, and you're telling me now?"
"You've known for a month?"
"Yeah, Mr. Smooth Operator." She tapped the side of her head. "High IQ here. You think I didn't see how all your stuff is in my house. For God's sake, you moved your leather chair into my living room."
"Well, that's because you don't have an armchair and I wanted—"
"Remi, how long were you going to pretend you weren't living here?"
I shrugged. "Another few weeks, or," she arched an eyebrow and I sighed, " Fine , I wasn't plannin' on tellin' you."
"Seriously?"
"Doll, I knew you'd panic and go apeshit." Shit, she was going to freak out some more when she found out I paid off her mortgage, and starting next month, she didn't have house payments. Yeah, that would be a fight.
Echo just flung her hands up. "You know, I think one of these days, I'll be married to you, and I won't know when the hell it happened."
I smiled at her, and she groaned. "Is that your plan?"
"Yeah."
"God, Remi. We need to make decisions together, like a couple."
"Fine! Echo, will you marry me?"
"No. We've been together for five minutes," she retorted.
"See," I pointed out.
"You're a lunatic," she muttered as she walked out of my office.
"Yes, but I'm your lunatic, Doll," I reminded her.