Page 61 of Perfect Imperfections

“Go to sleep, Angel.”

He bent down, placing a soft kiss on her forehead as he tucked the wayward covers around her. She was asleep again in moments. He quietly made his way out of her room and into his own. As he started his own bedtime preparations, his phone buzzed with an incoming text. Grabbing his cell, a smile tilted his lips as he read. The dark cloud that had settled over him lifting with each word.

Ellie: Tonight was wonderful. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun. Thank you.

He sat on the bed, reading the text over, allowing the warmth and happiness from earlier to soak back into him.

Sullivan: I should be the one thanking you. Tonight was incredible. You’re incredible.

She signed off with a kissing winky face emoji. Sullivan stared at the phone, mind whirling with all the events of the night. He knew he was in dangerous territory, that things could go south quickly with all the obstacles in front of them, but right now, in this moment all he could do was look back over the night and take delight in every minute of the imperfect perfection.

CHAPTER 22

The harsh ring of the phone interrupted the lovely, very naughty dream Ellie had been enjoying. The only thing to drag her out of her perfect slumber where she was currently licking her favorite ice cream—mint chocolate chip—off Sullivan’s lean and deliciously sexy body was the knowledge that the person on the other end of the line would be Mr. Sexy Ice Cream Cone man himself.

With a smile on her lips, she slapped her hand on top of the nightstand until she encountered her cell. Without glancing at the caller, she brought the phone to her ear.

“Good morning, sexy.”

“My gracious, no one has called me that since your father tried to butter me up when he wanted to buy the fifth wheel.”

Horror washed over her like a bucket of polar ice melt. She jackknifed up in bed, pulling the covers up even though her mother was on the phone and not in the room. “Mom?”

“Well, of course. Who else were you expecting to call you so early on a Saturday morning?”

The man who’d given her multiple orgasms last night, who promised he’d call tomorrow.

Yeah, but he didn’t promise to call at—she glanced at the clock, red lights blinking six-thirty in the morning. Ugh! He probably wasn’t even up yet. She shouldn’t even be up yet. Ellie should still be snuggled under the covers, licking the delicious dairy confection off dream Sullivan. Instead, she’d answered a call from her mother in the most embarrassing way possible.

“I, um…” She had no idea what to tell her mother. Anything but the truth, that was for sure. If her mother found out she’d gone out with Sullivan, the woman would have their entire wedding planned by noon. “What’s up, mom?”

“What’s up? I know avoidance when I hear it, Eleanor Clark, but for the moment I’ll allow it because I have some important news.”

Immediately, her mind filled with the worst news. The dark voice whispered every tragedy imaginable. Her father died. Her brother killed his ex and was now on the run. Her parents’ house burned down and now her parents would have to come live in her tiny one-bedroom apartment with her.

Somehow, every single scenario could be traced back to her. She wasn’t careful enough the last time she put the Christmas decorations away, and they all came crashing down on her father’s head, cracking his skull. She hadn’t been there enough for Oliver, and he’d come undone, flying into a murderous rage. The air freshener she’d bought when her mother asked her to pick one up from the store last dinner night had been a faulty brand and burst into flames, consuming everything in its path.

To anyone else, thoughts like this would be irrational. And they were, she knew that, but she couldn’t stop them from filling her mind. Logically, she could tell herself it wasn’t her, it was the OCD, the mix-up in her brain caused by her neurodivergence. She knew that, but logically knowing something didn’t help it go away. Instead, she practiced the exercises Dr. Mitchell taught her. Addressing each fear and acknowledging it wasn’t true, the dark voice lied. Her hand came up to tug her earlobe, the familiar sensation soothing her jagged nerves until she could open her mouth and speak without having a panic attack.

“What news?”

“Your brother is moving back home.”

“Oliver’s moving back in with you and dad?”

Her mother laughed. “Oh heavens no. But he is moving back to Sunlight.”

Oh.

See, nothing horrible. In fact, having her brother move back from Denver sounded pretty great. Even though he had only been a forty-five-minute drive away since he married his now ex-wife, they hadn’t seen each other much in the past few years. Honestly, she kind of missed the big lug.

“That’s great!”

“It is. After the horrible mess with Janice and the condo, he’s decided a change of scenery is in order, and your father and I agree.”

From her mother’s updates, she knew her brother had given the condo to his ex in the settlement. She could understand him not wanting to live there after he came in one evening and found her in their bed with her boss. She’d never been overly fond of Janice, but after that incident, she hated the woman simply for breaking her brother’s heart. The guy might be a big, badass firefighter, but he was a cinnamon roll on the inside, all gooey and soft. Discovering his wife cheating on him had crushed her brother.

I should call him more often. I’m a terrible sister.

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