Chapter 23
Willow
Brett is expected to come home tonight, after a week of being away. It’s crazy but I missed him so much. He kept on calling to check in with us, and there was that night with the FaceTime sex. That was unexpected, but hearing how he left a restaurant because he actually cared what I would think was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. It showed me he considered my feelings and that essentially led to stripping away any apprehension I had about sleeping with him again. I’ve never been so attracted to someone in my life. Having self-restraint back in Sugar Meadow was draining, especially with him leaving the shower in only a towel. To say his physique is mouthwatering is an understatement. Brett has also been so adorable all week. He sent flowers to the condo the morning after our FaceTime sex. He also arranged for fresh pastries to be delivered to the apartment every day, along with fresh meals from a farm-to-table restaurant because he was worried about me eating balanced meals since he read that if I don’t eat properly when nursing it will deplete calcium from my bones. That’s why I want to do something special for him to show him he is important to me too.
After work, Maddie came by with her adorable son and we cooked dinner together. It was her suggestion because I mentioned that I wanted to make Brett a delicious home-cooked meal after having to eat out all week. I also went to pick up a little lingerie since I am hoping our little reunion will include sexy times. Actually, I am banking on it.
I’ve already bathed and breastfed Maylee and she was in her crib asleep by seven. I just hope she gives me a nice stretch of sleep so Brett and I can have alone time. I’ve showered and shaved and blown out my hair. Now I am working on some finishing touches that includes smoothing some red lipstick on my lips and dressing in a bustier with a matching thong and garters. I’ve never worked this hard to look so sexy before, but I think it is something Brett will appreciate. I want to show him I am into trying this relationship with him since he is working so hard to show me he wants to be with me.
I hear the key in the lock and I quickly adjust my breasts, pressing them together to give me extra cleavage. I dash for the door and spread my arms wide as he flings the door open. Only he isn’t alone, and I shriek as Brett steps forward and throws his coat over my body. I don’t even know what is happening as he lifts me up and walks me to his bedroom.
“Brett, OMG, I thought you would be alone,” I mutter.
“I thought so too, but Mom and Henry were hounding me all week about meeting you and Maylee. She wanted to come to town while I was away, and I told her that she’d need to wait until I got back. I didn’t think she was going to book a flight for the moment I got home. I unexpectedly ran into her and Henry in the airport. I’m so sorry. I should’ve texted you again when I got into the Uber to warn you,” he says quickly and then he pauses and removes his jacket from covering my body. He places his fist in his mouth. “Geez, Willow, you look sexy as hell. This is quite the welcome.”
I laugh impishly. “I just gave your brother and mother an eyeful.”
“Damn, if I’d known you were waiting for me dressed like this, I would’ve dropped them at Maddie’s before coming home,” he says and then adjusts his crotch. “I’m hard as a rock now. Look at you, beautiful.” He lifts his finger and runs it from my neck down my shoulder. That small touch causes goosebumps to erupt on my skin.
“I’m so embarrassed. I don’t know what I was thinking. I made you dinner and I wanted to have sex with you,” I say.
“Shh,” Brett hushes. “I don’t want them to hear you and, damn, I would love this kind of welcome every time. Come here.” He wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me flush with his body. My hands come up and run over his muscled shoulders. He leans forward and presses his lips to mine, seeking out my tongue in a hungry way. There is nothing slow about the way sparks immediately erupt inside me. My arms wrap around his neck as I get on my tiptoes. Our tongues lash out at each other hungrily as my heart picks up pace. I want to jump this man’s bones.
I moan into his mouth. “Shit.” He breaks the kiss panting. “I want you so bad right now. Like I don’t think you understand how I want to take you seven ways to Sunday, but I can’t do that with Mom and Henry at the door.”
I begin to scramble around the room as I use my hands to unhook the bustier I’m wearing. I’m having some trouble when Brett says, “If I watch that thing come off you, I’m not leaving this room.”
I pause. “Right. Sorry. Please go out to them and apologize. I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Yes, right, okay.” He pinches his eyes closed and squeezes his balls, then he takes deep breaths and says grandma three times. When he opens his eyes, he stretches his neck from side to side. “See you out there.”
I quickly scramble to get this sexy contraption off me. Once I do, I slip into a pair of jogging pants and I pair it with Brett’s Rangers hoodie I’ve been wearing around the house because it smells like him, and I love having his scent on me.
When I leave the bedroom, my cheeks feel warm. I reach the main room and take a breath. Brett has his mom and Henry sitting on the couch, each of them with a glass of water in hand.
“Hi, I’m so sorry. That was quite an introduction. I’m so embarrassed,” I say, palming my cheeks.
Brett’s brother mutters, “I didn’t see anything.” Brett gives him a pointed glare.
“Don’t be sorry. It’s nice my son is getting such a nice welcome home.” She winks with a playful laugh. I know she is trying to ease the tension, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget that moment.
“Thanks for understanding,” I reply.
Brett’s mom stands. “I am just so excited to meet you, Willow.” She hugs me and when she pulls back, she looks at Brett. “She is so gorgeous. My goodness. You two must have made the most beautiful child.”
“She is something special,” Brett chimes in with hearts in his eyes.
I don’t even know what is happening right now.
“I shouldn’t have surprised you the way I did. I’ve been dying to meet Maylee since Brett told me about her weeks ago. I’ve been waiting patiently and then I just couldn’t wait anymore. I told Henry to grab a flight out of Connecticut and he met me at the airport.”
“Sorry.” Henry winces. “I didn’t want to just drop in, but Mom forced me to.”
“It’s totally fine. You all must be so hungry after traveling. Maddie came over earlier and we cooked dinner together.”
“Oh damn, you lucky bastard,” Henry says standing and smacking Brett in the stomach.
“You didn’t have to cook, Willow. You had your hands full enough with Maylee.”
“I wanted to do something nice for you,” I say. He gives me a smile that is absolutely golden. It shines like a ray of sunshine hitting me straight in the chest because not only is he handsome, but I can see he really appreciates the gesture.
“Okay, come on over to the kitchen. I’ll get the food heated in a jiff,” I invite everyone. They all follow me to the kitchen. Brett sets up the table and they all joke and laugh. I’m not used to this kind of togetherness. My family is all very independent.
We finally sit down.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Willow. Brett hasn’t stopped talking about you,” Ms. Noble says, looking at Brett with so much love in her eyes.
“It is definitely nice to meet the woman who has swept my brother off his feet,” Henry confirms.
“Okay, that’s enough you two,” Brett chides them.
We start the meal with an organic salad mix that has roasted pine nuts, roasted peppers and goat cheese in a balsamic vinaigrette.
“This is delicious,” Ms. Noble says.
“Thank you.” I smile.
“Brett tells me you’re a physical therapist,” Ms. Noble continues.
I nod. “I work at a gym not too far from here.”
“That’s lovely,” she says. “And how is my little granddaughter?” Her grin is so wide. “I can’t believe we have a little girl in the family. I’m sorry for surprising you today, but I am just so excited. I was all stressed out when my kids were young. I didn’t get to enjoy them, but I want to spend more time with my grandchildren. I told Will we should move to New York.”
“Mom. . .that’s. . . amazing,” Brett mutters. I can’t tell if he is surprised or if this is bad news to him.
Henry looks at Brett conspiratorially and laughs at him. I’m beginning to think Brett’s mom would want to be here all the time if she could, and Brett isn’t digging the idea.
“I’ll grab the main course,” I announce, standing from the table.
“I’ll help you,” Brett offers, standing too. I think it’s just an excuse to get away from his family.
I walk over to the oven and place oven mitts on my hands before removing the chicken cacciatore. “That smells so good,” Brett compliments, wrapping his arms around my middle. “Thanks for being a good sport with my family.”
“They’re great.”
“Mom is going to move to the city and never give us a moment of privacy,” he whispers in my ear.
“It won’t be all that bad. We’d probably have a babysitter whenever we needed,” I murmur back, looking on the bright side because this is the new me. I’ve taken risks coming to the city with Brett and moving in with him. Now I am risking my heart to see if we can have something real between us.
“Good point, but seriously, we have to set boundaries for sexy times. I’m still half-mast from seeing you in that getup at the door.” Brett chuckles.
I turn and pat his chest. “Anticipation will make things so much better.”
“Willow, I haven’t had sex in like a year and a half,” he deadpans.
I wince. “Yeah, we definitely need to take care of you.”
“Just don’t drag on conversation at dinner. Let them eat and I’ll call an Uber to take them to the hotel,” he urges. The fact he wants me so bad boosts my ego.
“You can’t do that. They came to town to see you. You need to take them to the hotel.”
“Is this a Southern hospitality thing?” he asks.
“Damn straight it is,” I reply.
“You’re trying to kill me,” he grumbles. He swats my ass as I take the rice out of the rice cooker.
I think he is trying to kill me because even that slap has me feeling heated, and thinking of Brett hard as a rock during dinner is just going to make me want to get on my knees and relieve him of that situation.
We serve dinner and Ms. Noble tells me all kinds of stories about Brett. I want to engage but Brett keeps eyeing me. It’s also awkward because I am pretty sure his brother has caught on that he wants them gone so he can have sexy times. Henry keeps laughing at Brett behind his fist, which he holds to his mouth.
“What’s so funny?” Ms. Noble suddenly asks Henry.
Henry removes his hand from his mouth and his laughter dies.
“Nothing, Mom,” he says like he’s back to being a little boy and his mom just caught him doing something wrong.
“These boys, they were always getting into trouble together. Along with our neighbor, Kaleb, they were The Three Musketeers. Kaleb is going to be my son-in-law soon. I’m just so excited about how this family is growing.”
“It is nice,” I agree. Brett places his hand on my thigh under the table and gives me a little squeeze and when I side glance at him, he’s giving me a look that says don’t engage the conversation. He can’t be serious. I need to answer the woman when she is speaking to me. What kind of impression would I make if I didn’t answer when she’s talking to me? But then his hand moves up my thigh, and his finger rubs my clit over my jogging pants. His plan seems to be working because I nod and smile to Ms. Noble without saying a word as my body heats up.
“This is absolutely delicious, Willow. I’ll have to get the recipe,” Ms. Noble says.
“I have it written down in the kitchen. It’s Maddie’s recipe,” I reply.
“I’m just so proud of her,” Ms. Noble says beaming. “And Asher must love little Maylee to pieces. Is there any chance she’ll wake up before dinner is over?”
“I hope not,” Brett mutters from beside me.
Henry laughs some more.
“Oh, Brett,” Ms. Noble says, shaking her head and rolling her eyes playfully.
“Well, thank you for a delicious meal,” Ms. Noble says.
“Yes, thank you,” Henry adds too.
“Oh, there’s still dessert,” I say as Brett groans beside me.
“We’ll pass on dessert,” Ms. Noble declines. “I see my son is a little eager to. . .go to sleep.” She winks.
My cheeks heat. “OMG.” I spin and look at Brett. “I am so embarrassed.”
“Oh, don’t be, darling. It’s all good. I remember what it is like to be young and want sexy times,” Ms. Noble says waggling her brows.
“Mom,” Brett chides. “That’s gross.”
“What? Me and Will were quite hot for each other at the beginning. We still are,” she shares.
“My ears are hurting, please stop,” Brett whines.
“I need to go clean my ears out now,” Henry complains.
“I’m telling you; these boys don’t see me as a woman. It’s like they think I’m some alien who brought them into the world,” Ms. Noble says. “Please don’t be embarrassed, dear. I know we intruded on your special evening. We will have lots of time to spend together. Is it okay if we come back tomorrow to meet my granddaughter?”
“That would be lovely,” I say. “And it wasn’t an intrusion, it was really nice to meet you.”
“Aw.” She palms her heart. “It was really nice to meet you too.” She pulls me into her for a tight hug.
I hug her back.
“I’ll drive you guys to the hotel,” Brett says, grabbing his keys.
“Don’t worry, Bro. I already called an Uber.” Henry winks at him.
I try hard not to blush at the fact these people know we are waiting for them to leave so we can jump each other’s bones.
We walk Henry and Ms. Noble to the door.
“Thank you for a lovely evening,” she says.
“It was my pleasure,” I reply. She reaches over and hugs me again. She gives really good hugs too. Holding me tight like I matter to her, even though she just met me.
“Okay, okay,” Brett interrupts. “You’re all coming to my game tomorrow, and I’m sure they’ll be back in the morning to see Maylee.”
“My son must really like you. I can already tell you’re a keeper,” she says.
Her words make me feel too good inside. They make me feel like I may belong with Brett, with his family.
“I like him too,” I admit to her and when my gaze drifts to Brett, I see a warmth in his eyes and I like the way he looks at me. I’ve never felt this before. Liking how someone watches me.
“Have a good night, you two,” Henry says. “Mom, the Uber is going to leave if we don’t get down now.”
Ms. Noble winks at me. “Have a good night, kids.”
“Thanks,” Brett says, and I chime in after him.
They leave and Brett closes the door.
My palms come up to my cheeks. “I’m so embarrassed. They know we wanted them out.”
“They showed up uninvited,” he argues.
“What time is the game tomorrow?” I ask as Brett walks toward me slowly like I’m his prey. I remember him saying something about the game while he was away, but we never really spoke about the details.
“Puck drop is at seven but I’d love for you and Maylee to come for warm-up too.”
“I’d love that.” I look at this man who has stolen my breath from the first time I saw him.
“Good. Now I think we have some unfinished business to take care of.”
“Really? What would that be?” I ask, playing dumb.
“For starters, it involves you putting that little getup you had on before back on,” he urges.
“That could be negotiated, but only if you agree to fuck me like you did that night.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” he asks, looking confused.
“You’ve been amazing ever since you came back to Sugar Meadow with me, but you’ve been treating me like I am a porcelain doll who is going to break. I’m not going to break, Brett. I’m tough. I’m the same woman you had a one-night stand with.”
He hisses, “I’ve just felt so guilty about missing out on so much. But the kid gloves are coming off.”
“Good.” I nod.
“Now get your ass back in the room and spread your legs for me on the bed,” he demands, and he smacks my ass hard enough I feel a sting. A rush of lust spikes through my belly, landing between my thighs.
I shake my head, causing him to look confused. “I’ll go get my lingerie on, but it’s you who I want on that couch with your cock ready for me to suck.”
“Fuck, Willow. You just made me so damn hard,” he growls.
I push him back onto the couch and then I walk away.