Page 77 of The Secret

I peeled them away so she could see the sincerity in my eyes. “No, you aren’t. But if you are, then I am too, and there’s no-one I’d rather be a cliché with.”

The magic broke when she quickly jumped off my lap as though it would make us less of a cliché if we weren’t touching. I immediately missed the curve of her taut ass resting on my thighs, even if it did give my dick minimal reprieve.

“Kit,” I took hold of her hand, “it’ll be fine. No one knows, but I cannot emphasize enough how happy they’d be if they did.”

“Why?”

“Because my sisters like a project and they’ve decided trying to marry me off is their next mission.”

“Marriage..?!” Her eyes bugged wide.

Fuck. She looked more freaked out than I’d been when I’d found Bell. Although considering every other woman I’d been with had tried in some capacity to trap me into committing, that I was now in front of someone who seemed actively horrified by the idea, was novel. What was more novel was that the idea of marriage to her wasn’t freakingmeout.

“No, no, it’s just an expression. It’s my sisters, and you and I would both do our best to ignore them.” I ran my fingers over her creased brow, smoothing it out and hopefully removing her panic. “It’s not ideal we have to leave for a weekend away when all I want is to keep you to myself, but we’ll figure it out. I know it might seem complicated, but it won’t be. I promise.”

She took a breath, reading the earnestness in my voice, and gave me a soft smile which pulled tight in my chest.

“Okay.” She glanced over at the kitchen clock. “I should probably go and wake Bell. What time do we need to get there?”

“We’ll be there in time for lunch. Are you all packed?”

She nodded. “Yes, and Bell’s is done as well. We just need the bouncer and a couple more bottles.”

“Perfect. If you can sort Bell and get her dressed, I’ll sort out Barclay, get the bags to the door, and call Graham to collect everything and stick it all in the car. Then we’re off.” I brushed my knuckles across her cheek. “Reckon we can do it in under thirty minutes?”

She grinned. “I’d say so.”

She went to move away from my grasp, but instead, I used the opportunity to pull her in, taking her mouth once more for a quick sweep of her tongue against mine, the novelty that I could zipping through my veins.

“Might not be under thirty now.” She moved away with a wink, leaving me sitting there, and five minutes later, I was still wondering how the fuck I’d managed to get her, and what legitimate excuse I could come up with to skip lunch if it meant I’d get a few more uninterrupted hours of her lips.

14

Murray

We pulled off Route-27 at the ‘Welcome to Bridgehampton’ sign, taking a left at the long line of maple trees which signaled the entrance to the town. The house we were staying in belonged to a friend of Freddie and Cooper’s, Freddie having spent almost a year renovating it for them.

An uncomfortable churning started up out of nowhere, deep in the pit of my stomach, and it suddenly dawned on me that the house was right up the beach from Rafe’s family home, where I’d been the night Bell was conceived. Over the last two months, I’d tried so hard to remember what had happened, remember that woman who’d leftmydaughter onmydoorstep, but I couldn’t. Even Rory hadn’t been able to shed any light on her, and he’d brought her along. I’d also tried so hard to let go of the anger I felt toward her too, and I vowed to ensure Bell never went a second without knowing how much she was loved by me and my family, even if the woman who gave birth to her couldn’t have given a shit.

As if she could sense my imminent spiral, Bell let out a loud gurgle. I glanced in the rear view mirror to see her blowing bubbles, the sight immediately pushing out any worries, reminding me I now had something infinitely more precious than anything else in my world. And that’s all that mattered.

“So, how’s this weekend going to go?”

I took my eyes off the road momentarily, turning to Kit with a raised eyebrow. “Come on, you’ve met my family. You must know.”

“Yes, but there’ll be more of them now! Tell me about the ones I haven’t met yet.”

I lifted her hand and kissed it. I’d spent the entirety of the journey with my hand firmly on her thigh like it was something I’d always done, and this wasn’t our first time in a car together, and we weren’t twelve hours into a new stage of our relationship.

“Jamie and Alex?”

“Yes, what’s your brother like?”

“Not as good looking as me for one, so don’t get any ideas.”

She laughed. “Nothing wrong with a girl keeping her options open, and I’m not about to make your ego any bigger than it needs to be. I see you turning every single head, women and men looking at you.”

“No one’s ever looked at me the way you did last night, or again this morning, so I’d say we’re safe.” I bit the tips of her fingers making her squeal, stopping the air from getting too heavy with anything else I shouldn’t be admitting quite yet. “And if you think I’m going to give you up after that, you’ve got another thing coming.”

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