Page 79 of Take My Hand

He exhaled and tilted his head on one side and looking at me, he smiled. “Yeah, I do.” He put his cigarette behind his ear and then leaned in to place his lips on mine.

This boy made me feel alive. He made me smile. He made my heart race. Gave me butterflies. Made me nervous yet confident. Made me shy yet bold.

“I really like you,” I whispered as his mouth went to my neck.

I felt his lips smile against my skin. “I really like you, too.”

My chest felt full. My life felt full. I was happy.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Will

Louise chewed on her bottom lip and narrowed her eyes on me. She and Sam had been questioning and scrutinising me for over half an hour, wanting to know everything about Maya and the dates that we’d had. Since she’d stayed over two weeks before, we’d met up in Manchester for dinner one night and then I’d gone to Leeds just to spend her lunch hour with her, but otherwise we’d only spoken on the phone, seeing as the weekend in between she’d been on her future sister-in-law’s hen weekend. When we had spoken, though, it had been every night for at least two hours, but it wasn’t the same as seeing her in person. The coming weekend was changing that, though—she was coming to stay for the whole weekend, through to Monday. I hoped that we were going to take the next step, because I had to be honest, my balls were fucking blue. I was sick of throwing one out every night, it didn’t replace the real thing, and I’d dreamed about what she was going to feel like beneath me.

“You hardly ever introduce anyone to Maddy,” Louise said, sitting back in her chair at their dining room table.

“I know.” I grinned. It was the same one that I’d had for the last two weeks.

“And he left you all night?” she asked her husband.

“Almost all night. Think he stayed with us for about an hour. Until he spotted her. Then that was it.” Sam rolled his eyes and reached for a biscuit from the plate in the middle of the table, earning a raised eyebrow from Louise. “It’s one flipping biscuit, Lou.”

“One to add to the other three.” She then turned sharply back to me. “And does Maddy like her?”

Louise and Sam loved my daughter as if she was their actual niece and had always been protective of her. I loved that they were, that they always wanted the best for her. To be honest, I doubted I’d be a half decent parent without their help, particularly Lou’s. Her advice about female issues had been invaluable, and it meant I was prepared for every eventuality as Maddy grew up.

“Yes,” I replied. “Maddy likes her. At least she told me she did.”

“She told Liam the same,” Sam added. “He told me that Maddy told him that she thought Maya was lovely.”

“When did he tell you that?” Louise asked, pulling her shoulders back. “He normally tells me everything and he hasn’t told me anything.”

“It was on the way to football practice. I asked him if Maddy liked Will’s new girlfriend.”

“Well, I’d have asked him if I’d known about her.” Louise pouted and stole Sam’s half eaten biscuit from his fingers. “It would have been nice if you’d told me so I could have asked Liam.”

“I didn’t know if it was just one of his usual one night shags or not. What would be the point of telling you about that?”

“Please don’t call women ‘one night shags,’” she complained, throwing him a look of disappointment.

Looking suitably reprimanded, Sam sighed. “Sorry. I just thought it was aladywho he’d never be seeing again.”

I hid a snort of laughter knowing that he probably hadn’t learned a damn thing. “The point is she wasn’t a one night thing. I like her, a lot. Enough to want to introduce her to Mads. You know I wouldn’t do that if I wasn’t sure about her.”

Louise patted my hand. “We know that love. But, even though Maddy is seventeen, it could still affect her if this doesn’t work out.”

I had a feeling in my chest, in my heart, in my bones. “It’s going to be fine. Nothing is going to go wrong.”

“You sound pretty sure,” Sam said, looking surprised. I wasn’t, seeing as he knew about every single one of my one night stands, most of them in graphic detail. He knew that someone permanent had never been my plan—until I met Maya. Maddy had always been my priority, still was, but if I could also have Maya in my life then I’d go for it. I’d try as hard as I could to make sure both sides of my life, both women, worked alongside the other.

“Maddy will always come first, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be with Maya as well.” I sat up straighter. “However, if at any time I think my relationship is affecting my daughter adversely, well, then I’ll have to reconsider whether it’s the right thing.”

“Christ, Will,” Louise cried, “Liam and Darcy both think Sam is a knob head, but I wouldn’t swap him for the world.”

“Oi.” Sam’s eyes went as wide as saucers. “That’s my kids you’re talking about.”

She narrowed her eyes on him. “But are they?”

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