Chapter 43
TJ
MY HEART WALKS AWAY
One Month Later
“Relax. I will see you at Gloria’s tonight.” Grace straddles me in bed, while the sun, just creeping over the horizon to the east, rises behind her. She looks heavenly like this — my perfect fucking angel, sent here just for me.
My hands glide over the smooth skin of her lower back, playing with the hem of her cropped cami, and pulling her tighter to my lap. If it was up to me, I’d already have my boxer briefs and her flannel sleep shorts off. “You could let Kayleigh and Josie go out backcountry skiing on their own today.”
She quirks her brow. “Nope. Kayleigh's turned me down forever. I’m not going to miss making her hike up to Cody Peak. She’s so spoiled. She needs to earn some turns.”
“I could just take back your vacation day. Not let you have the day off and keep you here.”
She hums in amusement. “You could, except you’re not my boss anymore. We’re partners in this now, remember? And what happened to casual work environment?”
My heart wells with pride. For the past month, we’ve worked together, hand in hand, to start setting up the foundation she envisioned. It’s already been the most rewarding thing I’ve been involved in and it’s barely even gotten started.
“Fair enough.” My lips pull into a crooked grin, and I thrust my hips up in a way I know puts pressure on her clit piercing.
She shudders and her eyes roll back, letting me know we both felt that burst of pressure. “Fair? You know that’s not playing fair.”
I grin up at her. “I never said I played fair. Are you still sure you don’t want to stay?”
“You’re not the only one with tricks.” She gives me a playful smirk, sliding forward on my shaft, eliciting a groan from deep in my chest. “But you could just join us today.”
I shake my head. “I think I will pass on the full day of hiking and skiing. Dinner tonight is already going to be exhausting.”
Her eyes soften and she runs the back of her fingers over my cheek. I grab her wrist, pressing a kiss to her palm.
“It’s going to be fine. Seriously, all of them love you already. Even Tanner is warming back up to you. He liked you before we were together, and I think he’s finally realizing you’re still the same genuine person.”
I take a deep breath before letting out a long exhale. “OK.”
She’s right. I know how much this means to her.
Her dad is in town from Park City along with Clay, Lizzy, and Kayleigh. Her grandparents, Tanner, and V are all coming to dinner too. It’s the first time we’ll all have been together with us as a couple, and I want nothing more than for it to be perfect for her.
She gives me a questioning smile and I nod again, grinning up at her. “Yeah, I’m good. Can’t wait to see everyone.”
Her smile widens and she leans down, kissing me, her teeth tugging on my bottom lip when she pulls away. “Good. So, I’ll see you at the restaurant tonight when I come with the girls.”
Normally, having someone else’s approval of anything I do never matters to me. When it comes to my girl, I know how important her family is and I want their approval for her sake. The surprise dinner with her dad back in Utah went shockingly well.
It’s gone well with the rest of her family too, minus Tanner. Even that’s been better though. He’s stopped being a little bitch and if I can finish patching things up with him, everything will be perfect.
She climbs off my lap and I hold her hand until her fingers slip through mine. I lay there watching while my heart walks away, knowing that nothing has ever felt so right in my life.