Chapter 27
Rhys
“I never thought you were going to tell her.” My mother’s voice spoke softly from where she stood next to me, the top of her head barely coming to my shoulder.
My stomach was a mess of tangled knots.
Technically, I hadn’t. Though I suspected she knew how I felt about her after her mother spilled the secret we’d all agreed to keep.
I shrugged, avoiding the swat to my hand when I grabbed a strawberry off her cutting board and popped it into my mouth.
“How did it happen?” she asked, bumping her hip against mine with a small smile playing on her lips.
I shrugged again, earning an eyeroll from my mother.
“Was it the drugs?”
It was my turn to roll my eyes. “Alright, Ma. Enough about the drugs. The drug test was negative. I get enough shit from Sloane.”
“Good,” she replied, her voice laced with amusement.
I wasn’t really sure how to answer. Because yes… It happened because of “the drugs,” but also, there was only so much I could say before I risked exposing the whole secret of our fake-turned-very-real relationship.
“It just… happened. I don’t know, Ma.”
She hummed quietly in response, clearly taking the hint that I didn’t want or know how to talk about it. “Well, don’t fuck it up.”
I snorted, my eyes shifting over to Sloane when her laugh rang out from the dining room. Everyone was still seated around the table with full bellies and empty wine glasses. It’d been a while since everyone had gathered like this. I missed it.
I missed the cozy feeling of sitting on my mom’s couch after dinner with some stupid movie playing on the screen or Reagan and Lani bickering for whatever reason. They were close in age, just like Sloane and I were.
“I wasn’t planning on it,” I responded, smiling softly when her eyes landed on me. She grinned in response, and I wanted nothing more than to walk over and pull her into my body.
I’d been holding back all these feelings and desires for years, and now that we had each other, it was hard to keep my distance. We were so damn close to being on the same page, and all I wanted to do was show her just how happy I could make her.
As if reading my mind, she pushed her chair away from the table and made her way over to where we stood in the kitchen. I could practically feel the warmth of my mother’s grin as Sloane approached us.
“Hey, baby.” I smiled, savoring the way her body felt against mine as she melted into my side, her arms winding around my middle. I dropped a kiss on the top of her head.
“Hey,” she replied, her words muffled by my shirt. “Lees, go sit. I’ll finish up,” she offered, pulling away from me and reaching out to accept the knife in her hand.
Mom was ready to argue, to tell her to go sit down instead, but she also knew just how persistent my girl could be. She sighed and let Sloane untie her apron before safely snagging the knife from my mother’s hand.
Sloane jerked her chin towards the dining room table. “Go sit. Take a load off. Whatever you wanna call it.” She winked, and my mother rolled her eyes but eventually conceded. After hanging her apron on a hook by the fridge, she made her way over to where my father sat.
I watched as she resumed what my mom had been doing, grabbing a large strawberry from the colander in the sink and plucking the leaves off the top, then quartering it, just as my mom preferred.
Every little thing had me falling deeper in love with her.
I stepped up behind her, resting my hands on the counter beside her, and caging her in. I leaned down, burying my face in the crook of her neck. She giggled when I pressed my lips to her soft skin.
“Don’t do this to me here,” she scolded in a quiet voice. But instead of pushing me away, her body leaned into me.
I rested a hand on her hip, slowly sliding it around to her belly before pulling her a little closer. “Do what?”
I felt her shiver under my touch, my mouth ghosting over her shoulder while I spoke.
Sloane arched into me the best she could without alerting everyone to her movements, the strawberries long forgotten as she set the knife down. Her eyes fluttered shut as her breath quickened.
She exhaled a shaky breath. “You know exactly what you’re doing.” I smiled against her skin, inhaling the sweet summer scent I knew so well.
“Everyone’s watching,” she whispered.
“No one’s watching.” I chuckled.
A throat cleared from behind us.
I dropped my forehead against her shoulder, resisting the urge to laugh. Sloane was probably mortified; my laughter would only make it worse.
Zoey walked over, turning on her heels and resting against the counter next to us. Her eyes narrowed. “This is real? Because it really doesn’t look fake.”
I stood up straight, backing away and praying my jeans would conceal the semi beginning to show in my pants.
There were several things I knew without a doubt to do or not do around Sloane. Speaking on her behalf was something I had learned not to do a very long time ago.
But I knew this was real. I felt the way she reacted to me, and I saw the way she looked at me. “Yes,” I answered, not even sparing a look in her direction.
This was very real. Zoey knew it, too. She didn’t even need to ask.
Her sister did her best to conceal her grin, but ultimately caved. Her mouth spread into a wide smile as she laughed and smacked Sloane’s shoulder. “I fucking told you.”
I watched her roll her eyes before she responded, Sloane’s gaze jumping to mine briefly as she spoke. “You did.”
I hated the way my cheeks warmed at the adoration in her eyes.
She smiled softly and leaned into my side.
“I thought you were supposed to call me before that happened?”
Sloane’s smile spread when she looked back over at her sister. “Only if it was a bad thing. This is… the complete opposite of a bad thing.”
I probably would’ve swooned a little at her words had Zoey’s next move not been to stick her index finger in her mouth and gag.
Sloane snorted and rolled her eyes, swatting at her sister's arm with her hand while I laughed.
“You leaving?” she asked, her eyes doing a quick sweep of Zoey in her jeans and t-shirt instead of the swimsuit and cover-up she had on just minutes ago.
“Yeah, I gotta run to work. Something went missing; everyone’s freaking out. I’m going to put out some fires,” she explained, shaking her head. “I work for a bunch of old white men with God complexes. You’d think they’d be able to keep track of something locked and guarded.”
“Was it a person?”
She shook her head. “No. No people, thankfully.”
I excused myself to the dining room while she and Zoey said their goodbyes, giving them a second to talk about me if they needed to. Things were moving fast, and I wouldn’t blame her in the slightest if she wanted to or needed to talk something out with someone other than Cami or me.
I sat at the table next to my mom, joking with the family and laying out my schedule for the next few minutes, until she joined us. Sloane took me by surprise and plopped down on my lap.
Her back fell into my chest, my arms securing around her middle.
I could see the exhaustion in her eyes. Not that I could blame her; I’d coaxed out every single orgasm I could last night, and this morning.
Her body was sore and spent in all the best ways.
She probably couldn’t wait to get some sleep.
I tuned out the conversation around us, turning my focus to her. Sloane’s fingers toyed with mine, tracing the veins on my hand and drawing circles on my skin. I could feel her body relax more and more by the second until her hands went limp over mine.
“Why don’t you get her home?” Her dad whispered, smiling softly and clapping me gently on the shoulder.
She inhaled a deep breath, sitting up a little straighter. “No, I’m okay! It’s just warm in here. I’m cozy.”
I chuckled, standing up from the chair and lifting her with me. I waited until she was steady on her feet before pulling away. “It’s been a long couple of days. We should get home.”
She shook her head subtly, rolling her eyes at the implication behind my words.
We said our goodbyes, and for the first time in a long time, I couldn’t wait to come back. I couldn’t wait to see the way her eyes lit up when she laughed at something Lani said or the way she should scream and laugh when I launched her into the pool just like I did when we were teens.
Before today, coming here was just a constant reminder of her. Something completely and utterly unattainable. It wasn’t healthy in the slightest, I knew that. But it was too painful. Being here with Sloane brought a peacefulness to my soul that I genuinely never thought was possible.
She followed me outside, her fingers laced through mine as we walked through the front yard and toward my Audi.
I pulled the passenger side door open for her, then pulled her to a stop before she climbed in. “Pip?”
She turned and looked up at me with sleepy eyes, my hand reaching up to cup her chin. My thumb slowly traced along her bottom lip.
“Are you happy?”
I could’ve melted at the tender smile that tilted her lips.
“I have never been happier, Rhys. I mean that from the absolute bottom of my heart. I feel safe and relaxed, and so happy. You have no idea.”
My shoulders relaxed a little at her confession. “I think I have a little bit of an idea,” I chuckled.
She took my hand in hers, gently moving to press a kiss to my palm. “Are you happy?” She mumbled against my skin before guiding my hand to her cheek.
“So fucking happy, Pip.” As dramatic as it sounded, this felt like the first time in a long time I actually meant what I was saying.
Her hands slip up to my chest, her fingers interlocking behind my neck. “Good.”
I moved my left hand down to the small of her back, pulling her closer. I dipped down, pressing my lips against hers. Something gentle. Tender. Something I hoped showed her just how much I meant everything I said.
She pulled away, the street lamp casting shadows over her sleepy face. “We waited so long to be so freaking happy. It’s almost annoying.”
I laughed and offered a shrug. Part of me always knew she was meant to be mine, and I think deep down, she knew that, too. But the timing was never right.
Despite how tortured I’d felt over the years, pining for someone I thought I would never have… I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Fate works in mysterious ways,” I replied, kissing her cheek before helping her into the car.
That much was true. We fell together when we needed each other the most. Maybe it wasn’t the most ideal way for everything to fall into place, but it made the most sense.