Chapter 37
CHAPTER 37
T rust Oakley to foil her plans to apologize. He had Clementine Tattoos . She’d stopped breathing a long time ago—somewhere between his first admission of love and confessing it was love at first sight—and seeing the colorful tattoos had prompted her to suck in a sharp breath. Because he’d permanently altered his skin to include her.
“I didn’t get you anything,” she said softly, eyes still fixed on his arm.
“You are the only thing I need.”
“Still so cheesy.”
He chuckled and she touched the tip of her finger to each tattoo. She had no intention of counting, but was certain there were close to fifty small ones inked into his arm. Donuts, cupcakes, cake slices, wedding cakes, cookies, pastries she accounted for, then there were the baking utensils of whisks, spatulas, measuring cups, a rolling pin, bowls and icing bags. Her breath caught when she saw the tumbler and davara included with everything else.
Even if Oakley hadn’t said the words, based on these tattoos alone, she would know that he loved her.
“For the record,” he said softly, drawing her eyes to his. “You’ve been feeding and taking care of me every single day of the last five months. That’s a bigger gift than this.”
Clementine rolled her eyes even though she was touched by his words.
“That eye roll is what really sealed the deal for me.”
She huffed and slipped her hand into his, fingers linking as they held onto each other. Then gave herself a minute to admire him—hair and beard were neat and tidy, eyes sparkled behind his glasses and his soft lips tugged to the side in a small smile.
“I think I loved you from the first time you smiled at me,” she admitted, squeezing his fingers between hers. “And I am sorry. Don’t,” she added when he opened his mouth to protest.
“I shouldn’t have assumed anything that day. I shouldn’t have shut you down or out. I should have listened and let you explain yourself. I shouldn’t have behaved like I was right and you were wrong. Yes, you hurt me, but I hurt you too. We deserved to talk about this as soon as it happened, but I’m glad that we had time to sort through our own shit before we did acknowledge where we went wrong.”
He sighed, shaking his head as he broke eye contact. The difference between them was that she could show her love while Oakley could say the words. But he deserved to hear it too, so as they stood there, she gathered all her feelings and hoped they came out in the right way.
“You’re nothing like the other people I have crushed on, because none of them ever made me feel safe. None of them made me feel loved . I know that crushes are often one-sided and it’s not their fault that I latched on, but it was always different with you. I was afraid, terrified , of what it meant to give myself to you. But you never made me regret anything or question what we were doing. I’ve only ever really loved and been loved by family and I assumed that romantic love would hurt me, but it didn’t. I mean, it did…gah, fuck,” she muttered under her breath and he laughed, closing the gap between them.
“I know, sweetheart, you don’t have to say it.”
“But I want to. I need to.” Looking up at him, she searched his eyes and smiled. “I love you so much, Oakley. Every day with you has been incredible and not because of the sex or what you’ve taught me, but because you saw me. You helped me see myself too, which is honestly the most amazing thing. But you also showed me what love, romance, pleasure and joy could feel like. I wasn’t lacking in joy, but the kind that you brought into my life? I’ve never felt that before. I caught myself smiling every day, I felt lighter and ready for whatever the world threw my way. I’ve always been a confident person, sure of myself. Being with you made me feel even more powerful.”
“Clem, you’re the most powerful, badass person I know.”
“Stop interrupting,” she said with a huff and he mimed zipping his mouth shut. “What I was saying…is that I could be completely myself with you. I never had to hide who I am. You never forced me to smile or commented on my expressions. You drove me crazy in all the ways every single time, but you never once expected anything but me . And you know this, I don’t trust or let just anyone into my life, my kitchen or my house. I invited you in because even when I was building walls between us, I wanted you to sneak past them. And I have never been more grateful for that kind of persistence.
“You make me so happy and I’m sorry I didn’t say that or show it every day. I hate how long we waited to say this to each other, because we could have totally avoided this mess. But I do like this, not the crying that came before, but this . A quiet moment with you in this space where we discussed the future.”
It hadn’t been their future that day, but every time he said we , that’s how it felt to Clementine. She released a shaky breath and added quietly, “I never want to know what life without you is, because you made mine so much better. I want us to always support, care, cherish and love each other like this.”
“I promise,” he whispered, green eyes watery as they fixed on hers.
“Kiss me, Oakley.”
There was zero hesitation as his mouth crashed into hers. She moaned into the kiss, pressing against him as she wound her arms around his neck. His fingers threaded through her hair, cupping the back of her head as he angled her the way he wanted. He licked into her mouth and she sucked on his tongue, soothing it with her own. Oakley shuddered and she held on tighter as the kiss deepened. She felt it everywhere, her body responding to the pleasure and love that pumped through her veins. His other hand traced her side, sliding down to cup and squeeze her ass. She groaned into the kiss and pulled back slowly, biting on his bottom lip before she released him.
Their noses brushed as he stole another kiss, pressing her to him a moment longer. She whimpered at the feel of him hard and warm against her, fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.
“Good thing we don’t have an audience, or that would get us arrested.”
He smirked and she felt the curl of his lips against hers. “Especially considering all the other things I wanted to do to you.”
“Oh I know, I could feel it in the way you kissed me.”
“Wanna tell me what that feels like?”
She licked along his bottom lip and whispered, “Some would call it a tongue fucking.”
“You’ve been fucked by my tongue, I’m pretty sure it’s not that polite.”
“You can be, when you want to be.”
He laughed softly and pressed another kiss to her mouth, then loosened his grip on her. “Everyone’s waiting for us.”
“Who is everyone?” she asked, straightening his glasses.
He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Mack, Ginny and Daisy helped put all of this together. I was threatened with bodily harm if I hurt you any further or didn’t bring you back in one piece.”
“They’re so dramatic.” Shaking her head, she said, “Then we better show them proof of life.”
Smiling, he kissed her forehead and held up a finger. Clementine frowned as he rushed back to the kitchen, then returned with a squirming golden fluff. “She’s been missing you too.”
Taking Gracie from him, she hugged the dog and kissed the top of her head. Gracie stopped moving and a rumble vibrated through her. Sighing happily, she snuggled the furry baby as Oakley retrieved their things, including her flowers and the coffee. She made sure to lock up as they stepped outside and piled into her truck because it was right there. With Gracie in her arms and Oakley beside her, Clementine finally felt like everything was right in the world.
When they walked up to the Pretty Baked stall, she saw her friends standing around and eating cookies. Oakley was beside her, leash in hand as Gracie trotted ahead of them. She took one more sip of her filter coffee as everyone turned to face them.
Pointing at the food in Ginny and Daisy’s hands, she said, “I hope you paid for that.”
“I think I’m owed all the cookies I want for the rest of my life,” Ginny countered, reaching for another one and licking it.
“As long as you don’t lick all of them.” Clementine went around the stall and realized that Oakley wasn’t with her. Looking over her shoulder, she found him smiling nervously at everyone. “Oak?”
“I…uh…want to apologize. And thank you all for being patient with me, with us, as we navigated everything.” His expression turned awkward and she was ready to step in when he clapped his hands together. “All right, how can I help?”
Suddenly they were all talking at once and she stood back to watch as her friends hugged him, as her staff shook his hand and brought him into the stall to work. Her heart had been expanding over the last few months to make room for Oakley, and seeing everyone accept him as well meant the world to her. Ginny and Daisy stayed for a bit before they went to get food, Indigo offered to take Gracie, and Mack mumbled something about Jesse before vanishing out of sight. Then she pulled her hair back and joined everyone at the counters, taking orders and handing out food for the next few hours.
When the mayor announced that the food festival was officially closed, her crew started packing everything up. Once the boxes of leftovers were piled into the back of her truck, she turned to her staff with a proud smile. “We did it. Technically you did it and I’m so proud of you. Now that we know what this looks like, maybe we can do it again?” Everyone agreed with claps and cheers. “I’m also so grateful to all of you for holding down the fort while I was busy this week. If I haven’t said it in a while, this bakery would be nothing without you.
“Speaking of busy, we’re making really good progress on the new shop. I can’t wait for you to see the new space. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to talk about responsibilities and how things will change. I’m also looking to hire floor staff, so if anyone is looking for a job in your circle of friends, send them my way!” Everyone clapped again and she felt happy and light. “All right, get out of here. Thank you for an amazing weekend. Enjoy your day off and I’ll see everyone bright and early on Tuesday.”
After a round of hugs, she watched her staff head off to their respective vehicles. Oakley appeared beside her with a gentle nudge.
“That was a damn good speech, chef.”
“They’re a damn good team.”
“Helps that they’ve got a good leader,” he added and she waved him off. She might own the bakery, but if it wasn’t for her staff, it wouldn’t matter.
“You busy now?”
“For you? Never.” She rolled her eyes and he made a noise in the back of his throat. At her arched eyebrow, he said, “I really did fall in love with you because of your eye rolling.”
“Jesus, you need to meet more people.”
“No, I don’t. I found my person, I don’t need anyone else.”
She swooned, despite how cheesy that sounded. “Good, because I’m scrappy and I’ll take them down if I have to.”
“ That I would pay good money to see.”
Poking him in the chest, she laughed and gestured to her truck. “Get in.”
He rounded to the passenger side and slid in. He didn’t ask where they were going, and instead turned on the radio and hummed along with the song neither of them knew. When she pulled up at Wildes Haven, he smiled.
“Been meaning to come back here since that night, but someone’s kept me pretty busy,” he told her and then got out, opening the back to pick up boxes on his side of the truck.
“We’re not staying though. Just dropping this off tonight.” She pulled the boxes out from her side as well as Jim and Toby stepped out through the back door.
“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” Jim crowed, grinning at both of them.
“I would have come sooner, old man. But my girl here didn’t invite me.”
Jim pretended to look affronted on Oakley’s behalf and she sighed at the dramatics. “Both of you can be butt hurt all you want. Please let Eloise know that we’ll come around another day.”
The men nodded and walked back inside. She tossed the keys to Oakley and climbed into the passenger seat. They drove in silence, Gracie snoozing between them. There was no discussion necessary, because fifteen minutes later he parked in her driveway. He carried Gracie and the flowers, while she retrieved the box she’d saved for him and let them into the house. They’d never done this before, but with the way they moved around each other, it would seem like they had. Once he’d put Gracie in her dog bed—Clementine had bought one a few weeks ago—Oakley followed her to the kitchen.
“I realized I didn’t get to eat a single thing at the Fling,” he said, pouting.
She opened the extra box and slid it over to him. With two bottles of water in hand, she pulled the jar of buttercream from the freezer to the fridge.
“You saved a lot.”
She stepped up beside him as he looked at the mismatched items of donuts, cupcakes, cookies and a few brownies. She’d also managed to snag some fudge. “The cake tasters sold out pretty quickly, but we can make some tomorrow.”
“Honestly, this is enough. You are the only dessert I need.”
“Ridiculous,” she muttered, kissing his shoulder.
He kissed her forehead, one arm sliding around her waist. “By the way, I do have a notebook with all of this written down.”
“Can I see it?”
“It’s in the Jeep. I’ll get it tomorrow.”
Nodding, Clementine stayed leaning against him, letting peace wash over her as she inhaled his ocean and fresh laundry scent. It had only been a few days apart, but it felt like so much more.
“Shower?” she asked, leaning away and he nodded. “Put that in the fridge.”
She walked to the bathroom, adjusted the taps to get the right temperature and stripped out of her clothes, leaving everything in a pile outside the bathroom. Clementine tossed her hair into a bun and stepped under the water as he walked into the bathroom. His eyes did a slow sweep of her body, from head to toe, and got naked as well.
“I missed you,” he mumbled, hands brushing along her sides once he was in the shower with her.
His eyes were dark and hooded as his fingers danced across her bare skin. As she adjusted their position so water fell over both of them, his gaze never left her. If anything, his fingers were more insistent on her skin, digging into her sides. She reached for her shower gel and squirted some into her hands, and only then did his attention move to her face.
“There you are,” she teased.
“My sheets still smell like you. I’m pretty sure there’s a Clementine shaped indent on my couch too.”
“You should probably wash those sheets. Way too many bodily fluids.”
He snorted, then hissed as her soapy hands landed on his stomach. He kept his eyes on her as she lathered his torso, flicking at his nipples playfully, before moving to his shoulders and arms. His gaze burned against her skin and she loved every minute of it. She spent a few minutes touching and tracing his new tattoos. Then she slid her arms around his waist, hands running up and down his back. He leaned in slightly, lips brushing against the top of her cheek as she grabbed his ass in both hands and squeezed.
“Is it my turn yet?” he rasped.
She nodded and turned in his arms, smiling as his hands landed on her back, sliding down to her ass. He didn’t spend too much time there, his hands moving up her back and over her shoulders. She sighed softly as he trailed soap down her arms and slipped his fingers between hers. She was ready to turn when he dropped his mouth to her neck.
“Don’t move,” he whispered, releasing her hands to lather the soap around her hips. She swayed slightly, eyes slipping shut as his nose nudged the spot behind her ear. His hands moved to her stomach and further up, gently cupping her breasts in both hands. A shiver wracked her body and she arched into his touch. His thumbs toyed with her nipples and she pushed her ass against him, feeling him hard against her.
Suddenly he stopped touching her and she huffed in irritation, glaring at him over her shoulder.
“I don’t want make-up sex to be in the shower.”
“Maybe we’re not making up with sex anymore,” she countered.
He leaned in, lips inches away from hers. “Might want to tell your nipples that, melor. Because they’re itching to be touched right now.”
She reached between them and rubbed her thumb over his crown, smirking when he shuddered. “You might want to tell your downstairs brain to calm down first.”
Oakley grunted as they rinsed off, hands brushing against each other. Once she was done, she wrapped the towel around her body and walked out, already thinking of ways to drive him absolutely wild.
Because we’re having make up sex all right.