Bridget
Spending the day with Elias has been nothing short of spectacular.
We spent most of our afternoon walking around the farmers’ market, and then we went into one of my favourite bistros for lunch.
After hours of talking and getting to know one another, we walked back to his car and he drove me home, where he came in and helped me put away the groceries and put my flowers into the crystal vase that sits on my dining room table.
The rest of the afternoon has been spent curled up on my couch, watching reruns of Grey’s Anatomy and drinking endless mugs of tea.
His large hand rests just above my knee and covers the expanse of my upper leg, his thumb stroking soft, lazy circles on my inner thigh. I rest my head against the arm of the couch and stretch out, my legs thrown over his lap.
Elias’s other hand moves up and down my calves, his strong fingers massaging them slightly, and I let a satisfied moan slip through my lips as he works the muscles.
I let myself soak in the way being with him makes me feel.
Everything is just so easy and stress free with him, and I know he really would enhance my life.
He is everything I’ve looked for in a man and I can’t help but wish this was real.
Elias’s phone rings, and he gives my calf a squeeze before removing it to reach for his phone. “Hey,” he says as he looks over at me with a small smile, but that vanishes as quickly as it came. “Shit, are you all right? What do you need me to do?”
I find myself leaning up and mirroring Elias’s facial expressions as he listens to whoever it is on the phone.
My hand reaches across and lands on his forearm, and suddenly I feel sick.
Fuck, what if something has happened to Helen?
My skin turns clammy at the thought, but when he reaches over, placing his hand over mine and giving it a squeeze, I know he knows what I’m thinking.
He shakes his head softly, and I let out a sigh of relief.
He hangs up pretty swiftly and turns to look at me. “Isobel’s water broke,” he says, and I gasp. “They need someone to look after Olivia for the night, so I’m going to head over to their place.”
Elias leans forward and presses a whisper of a kiss against my lips and stands.
I watch as he walks toward the apartment door and pulls his shoes on.
He makes his way back over to me and pulls me up from the couch and wraps his arms around my waist as he buries his face into the crook of my neck.
His lips brush against the soft spot in between my neck and collarbone and my skin prickles under his touch.
I loop my arms around his neck and pull him against me.
The two of us stand there for a while, softly swaying side to side.
He breathes me in, and I feel secure in his embrace, enjoying the way he engulfs me completely.
He gives me one last squeeze before pulling back, his arms still wrapped loosely around me.
“I don’t suppose you want to come babysit an overly energetic three-year-old with me?”
I look up at him and say, “I thought you’d never ask.”
Isobel is sitting on the edge of the couch when we arrive, her bangs stuck to her damp forehead.
She’s clutching both sides of her belly as she pants loudly, her face scrunched up in discomfort.
Oscar crouches down in front of her and helps slide her feet into a pair of shoes and then moves his hands to cover hers as she breathes through another contraction.
Olivia is sprawled out next to her mom, her thumb in her mouth as she watches a cartoon, not paying attention to anything or anyone around her.
Elias kicks off his shoes and hangs his jacket on the rack before moving to help me out of mine. He puts my things next to his, and I revel in the domestication and how much I enjoy seeing our things next to each other.
Oscar and Isobel have a huge house and I can’t help but gawk at it’s gorgeous interior.
While the front door leads right to the living room, it’s still spacious enough to feel like a separate room altogether.
The walls are a dark blue and complement the dark wooden floors—they’ve done an amazing job at making it look modern but still homey.
There are picture frames meticulously placed on the walls, ranging from family pictures to drawings that look to have been drawn by Olivia.
It’s perfect.
As we near the couch, Isobel looks up from where Oscar kneels before her and sends us both an exhausted grimace.
“I was hoping to see you,” she breaks out, her voice cracking slightly. “Holy fuck…”
Oscar rises to his feet and pulls Elias into a hug before repeating the action with me, and I smile at their welcoming nature. When he steps back, he tucks his hands into the pockets of his sweats and looks down at Olivia.
“We haven’t had a chance to feed her yet, but there’s plenty of food in the fridge. She’ll need a bath and she will demand a bedtime story before she even thinks about falling asleep.”
Oscar looks up at Elias and clasps his shoulder in his hand. The two of them are eerily similar and I hadn’t noticed it until now. The way they hold themselves, the way they talk, their personas, everything about them is cohesive.
Olivia’s ears must be burning, because as soon as Oscar stops speaking, she drags her attention away from the TV and her gaze zeroes in on Elias. She bounces off the couch, running toward him, before propelling into his arms. He laughs as he hoists her up and she giggles wildly.
I saw Elias interact with Olivia at lunch at his parents’ place, but watching him place kisses over her face does something to my ovaries, and I have to look away before I do something unhinged.
Like mount him like a horse or something.
Isobel starts to laugh but then winces as another contraction hits her. “We need to leave,” she groans. “Like, right now.”
Oscar sits beside her and helps her focus on her breathing. I take it upon myself to move next to her and rub small, comforting circles on her lower back. She lets out a moan as soon as I apply some pressure, and I beam, feeling useful.
When the contraction passes, Oscar and Isobel stand.
Isobel grabs my arm to steady herself as Oscar walks over to the front door and picks up her hospital bag.
He turns to look back at his Isobel, and I can see the concern that laces through his irises.
His dark hair is longer than it was the last time I saw him and is sticking up in all directions as he runs his hands through it roughly.
The bags under his eyes are puffy, and I wonder how long Isobel has been in labour for and how long he’s been trying to give her some comfort.
Oscar runs outside and is back in under a minute, taking Isobel’s hands from me and walks her toward the door.
The two of them share excited yet nervous smiles as they disappear outside.
Elias is holding Olivia to his chest, his gaze locked on the door, watching his brother and Isobel make their way down the front steps.
Olivia wiggles in his arms until he puts her down, and when her feet hit the ground, she makes her way toward me and tugs on my hand. She lifts her arms up and waits until I lift her. She loops her small arms around my neck and rests her head on my shoulder.
Elias close the distance between us and gently holds my elbow, pressing a kiss against my temple. “I’m going to help Oscar get Isobel in the car. Are you going to be okay with Ols?”
I nod and bounce her ever so slightly. “I’ve got her.”
He nods at my words before jogging outside, and I take Olivia over to the couch and sit down with her in my arms. She clings to me as I sit, waiting before she crawls into my lap and rest her back against my chest. She lifts my hand and places it on her lap, wrapping her small fingers around mine.
There’s a pale pink blanket on the arm of the couch, and I reach across and pull it over us.
The front door closes, but I don’t bother looking over my shoulder as I keep my attention on the screen in front of me. Elias falls down onto the couch next to me and reaches over and gives Olivia’s belly and gentle poke.
“What do you want to eat, smelly?”
Olivia giggles at her uncle’s choice of a nickname. “I’m not smelly!” I laugh quietly as Elias tickles her sides. “St-stop!”
He looks down at her with the warmest of smiles and I feel my chest grow tight at the amount of love that shines in his eyes.
He’s going to make an amazing father one day.
“Do you want noodles?”
“With red sauce,” Olivia says as she pushes his hand away from her.
Elias rubs his hands on his thighs before pushing himself up from the couch. He looks down at me and holds his hand out. I place Olivia onto the cushion and tuck the blanket around her, making sure she’s cozy before I slip my hand in his.
We head into the kitchen hand in hand, and as soon as we’re in there, he takes me over and lifts me onto the counter top. Elias pulls a pack of penne pasta from the top shelf in the cabinet above the sink and sets it down next to the stove.
A dark yellow radio sits on the window and Elias turns it on, twisting the dial on the front until it lands on a station. The smooth voice of Etta James fills the room, and I find myself entranced as Elias starts to hum along.
I watch from where I’m seated at the small breakfast bar while he prepares onions and garlic for the pasta sauce. Once everything is done, he reaches into another cabinet and pulls out two wineglasses. There is a small wine rack by the stove and he grabs a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Elias rolls the sleeves up of his shirt and my eyes lock onto the corded muscles in his forearms. As he pulls the cork out, I notice the way his muscles move as he twists and twists until the cork releases with a subdued pop and I squeeze my thighs together at the movement.
He’s so fucking hot.
He pours us each a glass and slides one toward me. I lift it to my lips and take a small sip, the fruity yet spiced taste of wine hitting my tongue almost instantly. Black currant, tobacco, and vanilla invade my taste buds as I swallow the liquid.
Elias watches me with an intense gaze, but the look vanishes so quickly I wonder if I actually saw it at all. He takes a sip of his wine just as “I Wanna Be Yours” begins to play through the radio.
“This is one of my favourite songs,” I say, to no one in particular.
Elias sets his glass down and makes his way to me. Holding out his hand, he looks at me with a smile and says, “Dance with me.”
Without hesitation, I slip my hand in his and get down from the counter, his hand finding the small of my back immediately as he leads us over to the open space in the middle of the room.
With my hand still in his, I step into him and slide my other hand up and over his shoulder, enjoying the way he relaxes under my touch.
Elias wraps his arm around my waist and rests his hand on my backside, giving it a squeeze. Our noses are touching and I can feel his steady breathing as his chest moves against my own, his warm brown eyes are trained on my face and I feel myself leaning into him.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispers, his breath fanning across my lips. “So fucking beautiful.”
A shy smile blooms on my face and I feel heat prickling on the apples of my cheeks as I drop my gaze to where our chests are touching. “You’re too good to me.”
“I’m not too good to you for noticing how incredible you are. That’s the bare minimum. I’m never going to be too good for you, Bridget, I’m going to be as good for you as you are for me.” He leans forward and presses a kiss against the corner of my mouth. “We’re good for each other.”
His words sink in just as Olivia squeals and clings on to our legs. Elias breaks his gaze from mine as he laughs, bending down to scoop her up. He settles her between the two of us, and she laughs louder as we squeeze her between us, the three of us slow dancing in the kitchen.
It feels as though time slows as I look at him and the adoring gleam in his eyes as he looks at the two of us. I feel so seen under his gaze, and the thought of something I’ve wanted for my whole life, being provided to me from someone that barely knows me, makes me tingle from head to toe.
Elias is consistent in everything he does.
He’s a sure thing—and I think I’m falling in love with him.