Chapter Thirty-One GRAHAM
Chapter Thirty-One
GRAHAM
Madison’s eyes were wide, and her mouth fell open in a pretty O. I sifted my fingers through her hair and waited. It felt beyond good to have her in my lap.
I didn’t even want to think about how terrifying it had been to realize she could have gotten hypothermia.
Hypothermia didn’t seem like a big deal, but people died from it, most often during the autumn and spring seasons when they weren’t as prepared for the cold. My brain slammed a door at the thought.
She was here, and she was safe. She was mine. She gave her head a tiny shake and then licked her lips. “You love me?”
I nodded slowly, certainty filling my heart and a sense of relief and joy settling inside me. “Yes. Is that so hard to believe?”
She blinked, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “Oh, don’t cry. I don’t handle tears well,” I muttered as I brushed the tears off her cheeks with my thumb.
Her lips curled in a wobbly smile. “You have a teenage daughter,” she pointed out. “Those hormones can make for some emotional times.” I laughed and dipped my head to kiss her. When I drew back, I said, “It’s okay if you’re not there with me yet.”
“I’m there. If you mean love, that is,” she added quickly.
I heard myself repeating her question. “Are you sure?”
She pursed her lips, and I saw a glimpse of that prissy girl I’d met on the side of the highway. “Of course I’m sure. I don’t say things like that lightly.”
“I wasn’t implying that.” Pausing, I took in a deep breath. “I missed you like crazy.”
“I thought I’d really upset you with that whole thing with Allie.”
“It wasn’t even that.”
Madison’s eyes searched mine. “What was it?”
She’d been honest with me, and now I had to be honest with her. Fuck. I took a breath. She reached for one of my hands, lacing her fingers through mine and resting it on her knee. That little point of contact was a touchstone for me.
“Allie got upset with me and said I was using her as an excuse.”
“She did?”
I chuckled. “Yeah. My mom basically accused me of the same thing.”
“Oh, I didn’t even think your mom liked me.”
“My mom can be protective. After what happened with Allie’s mom, she’s always been like that. But she liked you from the start. She was just trying to give me space to figure it out.”
“What happened with Allie’s mom?”
“I was young, and she was pretty.”
“Did you think I was like her?”
I shook my head quickly. “Let me explain. She got pregnant. We didn’t plan on it, obviously.
A month after Allie was born, she took off.
Since then, it’s been Allie and me. Honestly, I did not have time for romance when Allie was younger.
I don’t know how anybody does. I also wasn’t looking for it.
Maybe I was skeptical about most women. Then you came along. ”
My heart thudded hard, and I felt exposed in a way I never had before as I looked into Madison’s eyes. I took a steadying breath and forged ahead. “At first, I told myself it was just chemistry.”
“We do have some pretty good chemistry,” Madison offered, so earnestly I couldn’t help but chuckle. Her cheeks went pink, and she shrugged. “Since we’re being honest.”
I sifted my fingers through her hair. “Sweetheart, it’s more than pretty good.
It’s so good it freaked me out. When that thing happened with Allie, I really wasn’t all that upset with you.
I was upset with myself and not ready to face the fact that you had started to mean a lot to me. I also didn’t know what you wanted.”
Madison took a shaky breath before squaring her shoulders. Her lashes lifted, and her big green eyes met mine. “I didn’t know what I wanted at first. I was kind of out of my element, so to speak. But now, I like it here. I’m even making friends.”
“Of course you are. You’re a good friend.”
“You think?”
I nodded, my lips tugging into a grin. “You think you’re gonna stay in Willow Brook?”
Madison stared at me for just long enough until uncertainty tightened inside me.
Even if I was coming to terms with my feelings about her, Allie was my first priority.
If Madison wasn’t staying in Willow Brook.
I couldn’t even consider more with her. My life was way too busy to manage any kind of long-distance relationship.
Just when I was about to prompt again, she said, “Of course I am. For the first time in my life, I feel like I’m figuring out who I am, without all the props.”
“Props?” I pressed.
She gave me a sheepish smile. “My family’s business. My parents’ money parlaying those connections into friendships that turned out to mean nothing when it mattered. Here in Willow Brook, it’s just me.”
We stared at each other for a moment, and it felt as if sparks filled the air around us. “I suppose, if we’re not going to keep us a secret, I should ask about how you want to handle Allie.”
“Let’s talk about that later,” I murmured. “Seeing as she’s been on my case to date you, I don’t think we need to worry.”
“I know, but—”
I shook my head. “Enough talking. I missed you.”
I dipped my head and blazed a trail of hot, open-mouthed kisses along the side of her neck and nipped at her earlobe.
She shivered in my arms and let out a breathy whimper.
Palming her cheek when I lifted my head, I stared into her eyes.
I took a moment to simply absorb this woman.
She was so strong and vulnerable at once.
“Mine,” I whispered, my lips hovering above hers when I spoke.
Madison blinked, her lips moving against mine as she shifted incrementally closer. “No, you’re mine.”
We dived into a kiss, and I lost myself in her.