“Trust me, Oliver. I get it.”
I’m not sure he does.
Like most fathers, I’m certain Scott still sees Frankie as his little girl. He may not be happy about her getting fucked by her boss, a man nearly ten years her senior. “Don’t piss Scott off. He’s a good warehouse manager. I’d hate to have to replace him because he goes to jail for killing you.”
“I’m not a dumb fucker.”
“You are a dumb fucker because that’s what pussy does to men. It turns them into dumb fuckers. And that’s even truer when the pussy is attached to a woman you love.”
“You really have a lot of room to be lecturing me on the topic. Adelyn has you so pussy-whipped you can’t see straight.”
“I’m not denying it. I am a slave to her pussy and it doesn’t stop there. I’m falling so hard for her.”
Porter’s head jerks upward from its lowered position, his eyes wide. His lips part, but no words come from them.
“I fucking love that woman.”
Porter rubs his hand over his chin. “Damn, Oliver. I wasn’t expecting you to say that.”
It’s true so why deny it?
A soft rap on my door prevents me from completely owning up to just how fucking deep I am with Adelyn. “Yeah, come in.”
Lawry pokes her head through the doorway and sees Porter. “Busy? Need me to come back?”
I can tell that he has already decided. He’s giving Frankie the full-time job and has every intention of continuing to fuck her. His decision.
“Your mind is made up about Frankie?”
“Yep.”
“Then I think we’re done here.”
I fully trust Porter’s decision. He wouldn’t jeopardize Iron City for a piece of ass. But I’m not certain he’s considered the business side of hiring her full-time and where his responsibilities will lie as her direct superior. “Don’t forget to stop by and tell Molly to change Frankie’s status to full-time so her benefits will kick in first of the month.”
“On it.”
Lawry waits until Porter is gone to say anything. “Frankie’s being given the full-time designer job?”
I totally forgot that position is also responsible for BCC’s design and marketing. “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about discussing that with you. My bad.”
“I’m not mad. I love her work.”
“Have you seen her label for the Winter Lager?”
“No.”
I take out Frankie’s design and push it in Lawry’s direction. “It reminds me of Lucas but with a full beard.”
“Wow. This is really good. And it totally looks like an illustration of Lucas. He’ll think this is hilarious.”
“The position is in his department. She’ll be under him so I thought he had the right to choose who got the job.”
“I think we both know what he wants under him, and her daddy will shit when he finds out.”
“Then Scott should probably get ready to shit.”
Lawry lifts her brow. “They’re already sleeping together?”
“He never came out and admitted it but I’m pretty sure they are.”
“You know what, Ollie? It’s not our concern. Porter’s a grown man and is very aware of what he’s doing.”
“It turns out I was pretty wrong the last time I tried to judge someone else’s relationship, so I should probably do myself a favor and back off.”
“Exactly. And who knows? Frankie might be the one for Porter.”
“Maybe.” Twenty-fucking-one. She’s legal, but shit, I still see her as a kid. And Porter should, too.
What happens if things go badly? What happens when Scott finds out? Because he will find out. It’s inevitable. Fuck. Porter is his employer. Iron City would go to shit without a good warehouse manager. We need him and he needs his job. He has a family to support. Other kids besides Frankie.
“Okay. What kind of plans are we making for Adelyn?”
“I’m taking her to Savannah for a long weekend. I need you to help me organize a romantic getaway.”
“Oh, fun. You have to stay at the Bohemian. Great place for hotel sex.”
I’m not sure I needed to know that from my sister. “And you have to do the candlelight dinner in the vault at The Olde Pink House. I can take care of getting that lined up for you.” Lawry’s eyes grow large. “Are you thinking of asking her to marry you? Is that what this trip is about?”
“No. I just told her I loved her for the first time last week.”
“Aww. My baby brother is in love.” She sighs and puts her hands over her heart.
“Shut up, Lawry.”
“Don’t be that way, Ollie. I think it’s wonderful. I adore Adelyn. So do Mom and Dad. I think she would make a great wife for you.”
I once thought I was ready to be married, but it turned out that the one woman I thought I could trust with all of my heart betrayed me. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to allow myself to be that kind of vulnerable again.”
“You said you’d never love again but look at you. We’re sitting here planning a romantic getaway because you love Adelyn.”
“I do love her but marriage is a huge deal.”
Lawry smirks. “You’re telling me marriage is a huge deal? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Okay. That was dumb to say.”
“Being married is wonderful. Lucas and I are so happy. It would have been such a shame for us to miss out on this life together because he was burned by his first marriage and didn’t allow himself to be vulnerable again.”
Lawry and Lucas are so perfect together that it slipped my mind he was once married to someone else.
He flat-out refused to ever marry again or have children and Lawry left his ass. Both were a fucking mess until they got their shit together. It was a long six months.
“Does Adelyn want to be married one day?”
“I don’t know; we’ve not discussed it.”
“If you’re saying ‘I love you’ to each other, then the marriage conversation is going to come up soon. You might want to have an idea about how you’ll respond.”
“If I’m smart, I will.”
“You feel the way you feel. You can’t help that. But I’m doubting Adelyn is going to want to hear that you can’t move forward with her because of the pain another woman caused you.”
“I doubt she’d like hearing that at all.”
I loved Eden. It wouldn’t be true to say I didn’t just because I despise her today. But what I had with her doesn’t compare to the love I have for Adelyn Maxwell. It’s in a whole other league of its own. I will do anything for her. Be her alpha. Be her protector. Maybe even her husband if she wants that from me.
“Lucas thought he couldn’t move forward with me because of the past, and it almost ruined us. Eden destroyed the relationship you had with her. Don’t let it wreck what you have with Adelyn. She isn’t the one who betrayed you, so don’t punish her by withholding your trust.”
Eden loved the attention of men. It should have been a red flag but I ignored it because I thought she was hot. And I thought the sex was even hotter. She was talented in bed. I’ll give her that. But there was always a disconnect, like I was fucking an empty body.
It’s the complete opposite with Adelyn. We connect, intertwine, weave until we become one. She gives me every part of herself. Wholly. Willingly. Happily. I feel her in my bones.
In. My. Fucking. Bones.
“Don’t worry, sis. I won’t let the past dictate my future. I love Adelyn too much to let that happen.”
I’m lying on my side behind Adelyn, my cock still inside her. She’s slick with my semen as it oozes out of her around my dick. Our morning routine. “Is it weird I love filling you with my cum? Especially in the morning so I know there’s a little part of me inside you all day when we can’t be together.”
“Maybe a little weird but I like it. It makes me feel like I’m really yours.” She twists and looks at me over her shoulder. “Is
it weird I like feeling owned by you?”
“I want you to feel like you’re mine. Because you are.” I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her against me as I kiss her shoulder. “And I love you.”
She laces her fingers through mine and squeezes. “I love you too.”
It’s been a few days since my marriage conversation with Lawry. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head for a second. And I’m glad. What I want out of life has come full circle.
Bringing up the marriage topic feels like I’m turning the crank on a jack-in-the-box. Any second the motherfucker could jump out of the top and make me shit my pants.
I should ease into the conversation, turn the crank slowly. “There’s something I want to talk about, but I’m afraid you’ll freak out.”
“Why would I freak out?”
“Because it’s hard core.”
“Oh. I’ve been wondering when you were going to bring it up. I’m sort of surprised you waited this long.”
Why would I have brought it up before now? She’s not given me any indication she wanted to talk about marriage. “What are your thoughts about it?”
“I would do it if it’s what you wanted.”
Really? That’s a very blasé answer about something as serious as becoming husband and wife.
“You would do it just like that? You wouldn’t even take time to think it over?”
I would expect someone like Adelyn, a daughter of a preacher, would need to put much more thought into the decision.
“Well, to me it’s just one more way of making me yours.”
“Well, yeah. It’s the biggest possible way to make you mine. You’d take my name. That would definitely mean you’re mine forever.”
“Huh?” She twists so she can see my face. “I don’t think we’re talking about the same thing.”
I’m confused. “What are you talking about?”
“I thought you were asking me for anal sex.”
Fuck. “No. I was talking about marriage, but now that I know you’ll let me fuck you in the ass, I may go for it.”
Adelyn’s breath hitches.
“Oh wow. We really got our lines crossed on that one.”
She straightens, not allowing me to see her face. And I think I’ve fucked up. I shouldn’t have mentioned the “m” word. “I’m sorry. We don’t have to discuss this right now. Or ever if you don’t want to.”
“I’m a little caught off guard but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to talk about it.”
She doesn’t move and her breathing has changed. Louder. Quicker. And her chest is rising and falling faster.
“I don’t want to have a conversation this important while I stare at your back.”
“Sorry.” She pulls away and rolls to lie on her side so we’re face-to-face.
I reach for her hand and intertwine our fingers. “What are your thoughts about it? Marriage, not anal sex.”
She giggles and it lightens the mood of the conversation. “It doesn’t work like that. You brought it up. That means you have to talk about it first.”
I was afraid she would say that but I guess it’s only fair I lay my heart on the line first.
A smile tugs at her lips and she fights to keep it suppressed. My girl’s trying to camouflage her excitement, which is adorable, but her hazels give her away.
“My life has been one big party. I’ve had a helluva time boozing it up and going through women, especially the last three years. I’m tired of flings and empty relationships. I’m ready to start preparing for a life with a woman who wants to be mine. Only mine. One who wants to eventually take my name and one day have children with me. I don’t mean I have to have these things tomorrow or the next day. But that’s the life I want when the time is right for her and me.”
Adelyn is unblinking as she watches me speak.
“I want a faithful wife who loves me and our children.”
Adelyn looks dazed by my admission. I may even be a little stunned by it myself. That wasn’t where I intended to go. I didn’t want to scare the shit out of Adelyn, but my heart stole the driver’s seat from my head.
“What do you want?”
I’m tense. Every second feels like hours. If she says she wants the complete opposite, this could end right here and now.
We’ve only known each other three months, and I am not ready to walk away from her.
I didn’t think that over completely, and the realization makes me wish I’d kept my fucking mouth shut.
But what if the chance I’m taking pays off? What if she wants the same things in life? What if she wants me too?
Her eyes betray her again when they pool with tears. Happy tears. I know because that smile she’s been fighting is winning the tug of war. “This woman you’re talking about. The one who is only yours. The one to eventually take your name and give you children. This faithful wife who loves you and your children.” A tear rolls down Adelyn’s cheek as she places her hand on my face. “I want to be her.”
I want to be her. There is nothing more precious than hearing the woman you love say she wants to be your wife and mother of your children.
“Fuck, Max, I love you. And I want you to be that woman.”
“I can be that woman for you.”
Adelyn has given me so much more than she knows. Her trust. Her care. Her body. Her soul. Her heart. And now her future.
I pull Adelyn close and wrap my arms around her. Every nerve ending in my body is firing. I’ve never felt more alive than in this moment.
Adelyn is my heart. My home. Right here. Everything I’ve ever wanted is within my reach and I’m never letting her go. “You already are. You have been since we met. It’s just taken us until now to figure it out.”
20
Adelyn Maxwell
“Happy Birthday, Jillie.”
“Thank you, love.”
I place her pink-and-lime-green-wrapped gift on the table, the Jimmy Choos she’s been lusting after for months. “I’m so sorry we have to squeeze your birthday celebration into an hour over lunch.”
“It’s okay. I’m only turning thirty. And it only happens once in a lifetime. No big deal.”
I know she’s kidding but I still feel like shit. Turning thirty is a big deal.
Jill, Kristin, and I always go out on the town for our birthdays. Jill’s completely slipped my mind when I agreed to go to Savannah with Oliver.
“I’ll make it up to you. We’ll do dinner and dancing next weekend. Everything’s on me.”
I pass Jill’s gift to her. And yes, out of guilt, I splurged. “If an all-expenses-paid birthday night doesn’t do it then I bet these will.”
Pink and green paper flies as she rips into her gift. “Oh, Addie. These are fabulous.”
The shoes are beautiful. A work of art covered in crystal, gold, and bronze studs. “Like them?”
Jill leans over and squeezes me. “I love them. Thank you so much. And now I have no choice but to forgive you for ditching me on my birthday.”
Kristin leans closer to me. “Feel free to forget my birthday and ditch me next month if it means I’ll get Jimmys like those. Size seven medium by the way.”
“Deal.”
Jill slips out of her shoes and into her new Jimmys. They look dynamite.
“Oh, so gorgeous and a perfect fit. I wish I had a mirror to see how they look.” Jill holds out her leg and points her toe. “Take a pic so I can see how they look on me.”
I snap a quick photo and hold out my phone for her to see. A huge smile spreads on her face. “Oh, man. I’m not even going to wear these into a public bathroom. They’re too good for that.”
Kristin picks up the scattered pieces of wrapping paper from the floor. “So when we go out you’re going to have drinks and then hold your pee while you wear four-inch spiked heels? Should be entertaining to see you walk.”
Jill is a counselor and makes decent money, but she’d never splurge on anything like this. “They’re just shoes, Jill
ie.”
She sits in her chair and slips off the heels, returning them to their box. “I know but I’ve never had any this nice. I don’t want piss on them. Not even the bottoms.”
Kris rolls her eyes. “So what kind of trip is this with Oliver? Business or pleasure?”
“Both. He has a business meeting in Macon, then he’s taking me to Savannah afterwards.”
“Hometown visit. Sounds like things might be getting serious,” Jill says.
I’d say so, according to this morning’s conversation. “Things could be getting very serious. I think I could be pre-engaged.”
Kris is bringing her water up for a drink but stops mid motion. “What exactly does pre-engaged mean?”
“Oliver brought up marriage this morning.”
“What did he say about it?”
“He told me he’s done with empty relationships and flings. He’s ready to pursue a relationship with a woman who wants the same things he wants—marriage and a family.” I can’t stop my smile as I recall my response. “I told him I wanted those things too. With him.”
Kristin covers her mouth with both hands and squeals. “Oh my God, Addie. That is like super serious.”
Jill takes my left hand and points to my ring finger. “You are totally pre-engaged. There’s going to be a diamond on this hand very soon.”
Kristin gasps. “What if this Savannah trip is about more than you think? Shit. I bet he’s going to propose to you.”
My girls are jumping the gun. “I don’t think so.”
Kristin’s expression says otherwise. “Why not? You talked about marriage and now he’s taking you out of town a few days later. The timing is perfect.”
I know Jill and Kris are excited and want this for me but they’ve got it all wrong. “We planned the trip before we had the marriage discussion.”
“Maybe it was a setup. He did it in that order to throw you off. His way of being sure you’ll say yes when he asks. Think about it. This trip is the perfect opportunity; Savannah is so romantic.”
Jill is such a dreamer.
“We both said we’d wait until the time is right, and I don’t see this weekend being it.”