Page 86 of Until Bax

It could just be a coincidence that the same day she told me to be careful when I’m driving is the same day I’d have an incident with some lunatic driver on the road.

But what if it’s not?

CHAPTER25

Bax

Lying on my back with my eyes open and Olivia’s soft body curled around mine, I listen to the steady sound of her breathing while her heartbeats soak into my skin. I woke up probably an hour ago, and since then, neither of our alarms has gone off yet.

Not that I’m in any hurry to get out of bed and leave her.

When she’s close, I feel a little more at ease. Or I did until the situation last night, when I watched someone cut me off and ride the bumper of her car like they planned on ramming into her, and there was nothing I could do without possibly causing a wreck.

When I called the police, the officer my call was forwarded to let me know that they have had numerous calls like mine, and every time they’ve tracked down the driver, it’s just some teenager being stupid. I want to believe he’s right, but I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t been there if she was alone on that dark road. Or why the fuck that car didn’t have a license plate on the back.

Feeling her fingers twitch against my skin, I realize my hand wrapped around her wrist has gotten tight, so I loosen my fingers and pull her hand up higher on my chest. The first time I woke up with her in this exact position, I thought I started doing it because she was moving in her sleep. But over the past week, I’ve come to realize she tends to stay in one position all night. So unconsciously, I’ve held her like this since the first night we spent together, like I’m afraid even in my sleep that she might disappear.

When the alarm suddenly starts blaring, she groans, pressing her forehead into my ribs.

“No, not yet,” she mumbles sleepily, and I let her wrist go to reach over and shut off the alarm. “Was that your alarm or mine?”

“Mine, you can go back to sleep.” I roll toward her and rest my chin on the top of her head.

“What time is it?”

“Six thirty.”

“We should go on a vacation,” she mumbles, cuddling deeper into me.

“Where do you want to go?” I ask softly.

“I don’t know. Someplace warm, where alarm clocks and work don’t exist.”

I smile at that. “We could go down to Florida for a few days if you can get some time off.”

Tipping her head back to look up at me, I pull back my chin so I can see her face and grin when I notice she’s got her bottom lip out. “It will probably be a while before I can take a vacation like that since I just started working at the spa.”

“All right.” I smooth my hand over the back of her head. “We could go up to the Smoky Mountains for a couple of days, maybe leave on a Friday and come home Sunday. It’s not warm, but it’d be nice to get away.”

“That sounds like fun. Let's plan it.” She smiles, and I lean in to kiss her gently on the lips.

“Harlen and Harmony go there pretty often. I’ll ask them where they stay.”

“Okay, but we’ll have to figure out the timing since Thanksgiving is right around the corner.”

Shit, she’s right. I don’t even know how I didn’t think about that coming up. “We should probably talk about what we are doing that day so I can give my family a heads-up.”

“Are we spending Thanksgiving together?” she asks, sounding surprised.

“Yes.” I don’t even leave room for it to be a discussion. This will likely be our life going forward, so we might as well start figuring out how to navigate holidays now.

“Okay,” she whispers. “But when I’m in town for Thanksgiving, I always help my mom cook, and I like doing that with her.”

“That’s fine. My parents normally host, and people show up when they can. We can spend the day with your parents, then go to my parents’ in the evening for dessert.”

“Your mom won't be upset?”

“First, I see my mom more than just one day out of the year, and second, she has girls. She loves having my sisters in the kitchen with her, so she’ll understand that your mom wants that time with you.”

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