Chapter 33
It’s five o’clock on the dot when I’m knocking on Maevyn’s front door. A few seconds pass before I’m greeted by the sight of Aurora’s smiling face.
“Hey, West!” She opens the door, waving me inside. “Mum’s almost ready. Between you and me, she’s kinda freaking out.”
“I heard that! And, no I’m not,” Maevyn’s voice calls as footsteps follow from the stairs.
“She is,” Aurora whispers to me, making me chuckle.
“That’s okay, we’re actually not leaving just yet.”
“We’re not?” I turn, following Maevyn’s voice and have my breath stolen from my lungs.
She looks absolutely gorgeous in tight black jeans that highlight her curvy hips and thighs.
A velvet, burgundy corset top is tucked into the high waistband, and she’s wearing her fancy nose ring again, the dainty gold one with all the sparkling diamonds.
“You look beautiful,” I say, stepping towards her to plant a kiss on her cheek, and I’m instantly wrapped in her perfume.
“Thank you.” She smiles, looking down at the bouquet of roses in my hands. “I thought you said five?”
I nod my head. “That’s when you needed to be ready. First, I wanted to give you ladies these.” I hand the bigger bouquet of red roses to Maevyn, then turn to hand the smaller bouquet of pink roses to Aurora.
“I get flowers too?” She beams.
“More than that, little lady. I’m going to need you to get changed. I’ve got reservations for three. I’m hoping half an hour is enough?”
Aurora gasps, looking past me to her mum.
“All of us?” Maevyn asks, and I love that flicker of awe in her question.
“Of course.” I rest a hand on her hip as I lean in to pop a kiss just under her jaw. “I’m trying to woo two girls here.”
“What the flip!” Aurora shrieks before heading for the stairs. “Mother, I need your help.” She pauses with a foot on the first stair, then races back over to me. Reaching up on her tiptoes, I bend down and she presses. “Thank you for my flowers.”
“You’re welcome.” I smile, and she runs off. When I turn back to Maevyn, her blushing cheeks are hidden in her flowers.
“You’re very sweet, you know that?”
“This is the bare minimum.” I slide my arm further around her back, pulling her into me. “Just wait until you see all the tricks up my sleeve.”
She fiddles with the top button on my shirt. “I thought I was the trickster?”
I bury my nose in her soft hair, closing my eyes in the comfort of her. “Sometimes, you’re the thief.” I kiss her hair, then head for the front door. “I’ll be back in half an hour.”
***
TRICKSTER:
She’s so excited. Thank you <3
I smile down at the photo Maevyn sends me of her and Aurora smiling at the mirror. Aurora’s hair has been softly curled, her eyelashes look a little darker, and she’s holding a lip gloss to her lips.
ME:
I’m heading over now x
“I’ll see you later,” I call to Callie, who’s curled up on the couch with Patch.
She smiles at me over the top of the pregnancy book she’s reading. “Have fun.”
“I’ll bring you back a cookie.”
“Best. Brother. Ever. Don’t tell Cas.”
“I’m already dialling his number.” I chuckle and give her a wave as I open my front door, flicking the lock before I close it behind me.
I already pulled my car out of the garage and turned it around so the passenger doors faced Maevyn’s place. Within seconds of knocking on their front door, Aurora’s pulling it open with a beaming grin on her face.
“Hi!” Her casual clothes from before have been replaced with a long-sleeved white top underneath a black dress with tiny polka dots and thin straps, paired with black combat boots.
She is every bit her mother’s daughter, and it makes my heart soar, realising just how much these two already mean to me. They already feel like mine.
I hold a hand to my chest. “Aren’t I the luckiest guy, going out with two pretty girls tonight?”
Aurora’s cheeks turn pink as she giggles. “I have something for you.”
“Me?” I ask, as she steps back, grabbing something from the small table behind her.
She holds out a little crocheted shark, similar to the zoo of animals she has displayed in her room.
“It’s a hammerhead shark. You know, cos you work with hammers.”
I laugh as I accept the gift. “You made this for me?”
She nods, and I can’t help but wrap an arm behind her shoulders, bringing her in for a hug. “Thanks, sweetie. I love it.”
Her little arms wrap around my middle, and I can’t deny it. I’m not just getting big feelings for Maevyn, but for her daughter too.
Maevyn walks up to us, smiling as she runs a hand over Aurora’s head. “We ready? I, for one, am very excited for our date.”
I nod, waiting for Aurora to pull back before I do, then we step through the doorway so Maevyn can lock up. I press a kiss to the back of Maevyn’s shoulder, brushing my nose along her soft skin, making a little shiver ripple through her.
“Can’t concentrate when you do that, Thief.”
I press another kiss to her shoulder, then turn around, seeing Aurora almost at my car.
“Hold on, kiddo,” I shout.
She spins around, confused. I rush over to my ute, pulling the door open and offering my hand out for Aurora.
“A gentleman always get your door.” I wink.
The sweetest blush fills her cheeks as she grips my hand and jumps up into my car. As I close the door, Maevyn walks over to me with heat in her eyes.
“You looking to get lucky tonight?”
I’m about to tease her back when I’m interrupted by a muffled voice from behind. “Eww. I can hear you.”
I hide my red-hot face in a palm as Maevyn snorts at her daughter catching our exchange, then I blindly reach for the passenger side door handle to pull it open for her.
I see her hips swinging, and when she places one foot up on the side step, highlighting her heart-shaped arse, I can’t help but sneak a hand over it, giving it a little squeeze.
She looks over her shoulder at me with a wink and pulls herself up into the car.
A few minutes into the drive, Maevyn leans over, resting a hand on my thigh in a move of affection, rather than temptation, since her daughter’s in the back seat.
But it still makes my heart kick up a notch.
It reassures me that I’m starting to mean something to her, like she does to me.
That what we’re doing goes beyond our sexual attraction.
I rest my hand on top of hers, letting my thumb rub over her knuckles.
We’re headed to the boat harbour, only a twenty-minute drive from home. It’s a great spot for families and date nights, with restaurants set up over the water that range from fancy fine dining to takeaway fish and chips you can eat from the paper wrapping, with your feet buried in the sand.
I’m taking them to Shore Thing, a trendy bowling alley on the top floor of one of the restaurants that has one-eighty views of the ocean. It’s got a vintage arcade theme and plays a cool mix of music that’s at least two decades old.
Connors Construction just finished renovating one of the other restaurants along the harbour, and this place caught my eye.
It looked perfect for my girls, lively and casual.
They like making memories in the way they laugh and connect; it’s the person they’re with rather than the thing they’re doing or where they are.
When we arrive, both of them let me open their doors. I can’t wipe the grin off my face when each of them wind an arm through mine.
Aurora is practically jumping on the spot when I give the hostess our name for the reservation and she takes in the alley. Neon pink and bright turquoise strip lights line the laneways, with orange vinyl booths at each end.
We all swap out our shoes for bowling ones and make our way over to our reserved aisle.
Not once did I feel nervous about tonight. Every time I’m with Maevyn, it feels right. It feels like she was always meant to be in my life. Her and Aurora.
I’m certain they are the key to everything I always searched for.
It feels like peace. Belonging. Home. They make everyday things feel special and fun.
They constantly bring a smile to my face, and now, all I want to do is give it back to them.
I want to give them a place where they feel peace and constant joy.
As we play our first round, with Maevyn coming last and Aurora only ten points behind me, I feel even more embedded in what a future with them could be.
When we finish the second round, with Aurora beating me by one point and Maevyn slightly improving, I realise how easily I could spend every day with them.
And when we yell and laugh through the final round, and Maevyn flukes a win, resulting in her jumping into my arms, I feel myself fall completely in love with the girl next door.