Page 76 of Worth the Fall

She chuckles, grabbing her purse. "I should head out. But tonight was… nice. Better than I expected, actually."

Mia smiles. "I’m glad. It was a lot of fun."

The three of us stand there for a moment, reflecting on the evening.

Celine finally breaks the silence. "Let’s do it again soon."

"Definitely," I say.

She glances at me, her expression softening. "Good night, Miguel. And thank you—for everything."

Mia and I walk her to the door, and as she steps outside, I linger behind for a moment while Mia goes back inside.

"Celine," I say, stopping her.

She turns, raising an eyebrow.

"I just want you to know that I appreciate you," I say. "You’re an amazing mom, and Felicity’s lucky to have you. I know you and I couldn’t get everything right and god knows we screwed up enough but Felicity,” I choke back a tear, suddenly feeling emotional, “we got that right.”

Her eyes glisten slightly, and she nods. "Thank you, Miguel. That means a lot." She hesitates, then adds, "I’m sorry. For everything."

I shake my head, looking down. "You can’t take all the blame. I know I wasn’t there for you the way I should’ve been—especially after Felicity was born. I buried myself in work, and I’m sorry for that."

Her lips tremble, and she nods. "We’ve both made mistakes. But we’re here now, right? For her."

"For her," I agree.

We promise to keep things strong for Felicity before she heads out.

When I step back into the apartment, Mia is waiting, leaning against the couch with a knowing smile. "How’d it go?" she asks.

I grin, pulling her into my arms. "It went great." I lean down, brushing my lips against hers. "Now, let’s get you ready for bed."

“Now, let’s get you all clean and ready for bed, so that I can get you nice and filthy.”

Her eyes widen, and she smacks my arm. “You’re impossible.”

I laugh as she runs down the hall, and I chase after her, landing a playful smack on her butt.

“How about I give you the Miguel special tonight,” I wriggle my eyebrows at her.

“And what does that entail?” She says warily.

My hands slide around and down her body, settling against her ass as I pull her closest to me, her hands resting against my chest.

“It entails my lips,” I drag them up her neck, “and my tongue,” I flick her earlobe, her head falling to the side to give me better access, “having complete, unfettered access to your delicious body.”

“Oh,” she half moans, “I like the sound of that counselor.”

“Mmm,” I chuckle, low and throaty, “you know what that does to me.”

“I know.” She steps back from me, her hands lingering against my chest as she walks backward till she reaches the edge of my bed, her eyes still on mine.

“What are you doing?”

She reaches for the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head and tossing it to the floor. When I reach my hand out to touch her she slowly nods.

“Not yet.”

---