Page 24 of Alfie: Part Two

“God—me too.” He hummed and kissed the side of my head. “Do you think we can bribe Colby to watch the kids for an hour or two?”

“Oh, he’s hella bribable.”

He chuckled thickly and inched back enough so we could lock eyes.

He smiled and rested his forehead to mine. “I’ve missed you for too long.”

Goddammit. My eyes welled up all over again, and I couldn’t speak.

I couldn’t comprehend that this was happening either.Wasit happening? Were we back together? Had Shan succeeded?

“What, um…” Fuck, I couldn’t stop sniffling. “What happens now—are we really back together? Any, um—c-conditions? Whatever it is, I’ll agree.”

His brow furrowed with sympathy, and he brushed his thumbs under my eyes. “Baby, I don’t want you to agree to just anything?—”

“Well, tough shit,” I croaked. “It’s gotta be us—so whatever it takes.”

He sniffled too, and he took a few seconds to think of his response. “I can only think of two conditions and one negotiation. Firstly, our children will not be put in harm’s way.”

“Ofcoursenot?—”

“Shh.” He legit pinched my lips together, and it was accompanied by a narrowed-eyed look and a smirk he was trying to hide. “Secondly, you do not change who you are—because that’s the only Alfie I will accept. The true you.”

I nodded dutifully, lips still pinched.

“In return, I won’t put you in a position where a change in your behavior is necessary,” he went on. “I’m not on good terms with my parents at the moment, and even though something is permanently and fundamentally broken between us, I’m sure there will be family dinners in the future I have to attend. But I’ll only be there if you join me—and we don’t leave each other’s side. And if they disrespect us in any way, they’ll hear from both of us.”

I nodded again, and it was becoming impossible to hold back a smile.

He released my lips and kissed me on the nose. “Lastly, the negotiation… We’ll come to an agreement on how honest youcan be about what it is you do. I understand you won’t tell me everything?—”

“I’ll make sure you never have to worry because of the unknown.” I rushed out the words, needing them between us. I hated that I’d made him worry just because he didn’t know what was going on. “I promise to communicate openly about what I can share. Like, frequent updates and stuff when I’m out. We’ll come up with our own codes so you know everything’s good.”

His mouth twitched a little, as if he was withholding mirth. “Secret code. How scandalous.”

I grinned.

He liked that part, didn’t he? My big slum tourist. He wanted an ounce of the danger. He couldn’t help but be drawn to it—always within reason, but nevertheless. I was so gonna call him out on that.

“One more thing,” he murmured. He ghosted his thumb over my bottom lip. “Don’t you dare change your last name back to O’Dwyer.”

I wouldn’t fucking dream of it!

I threw my arms around his neck again and squeezed him tight, once more at a loss for words.

This was fucking happening.

West and I were back together.

Holy shite.

Colby was easy. He even declined payment, but we were having none of that. We bought ourselves two hours, and Colby took Trip and Ellie to a pastry shop a few minutes away, and later they were gonna watch a movie in Colby’s studio.

It would give us a nice start on our recovery.

Knowing that West tasted like sunscreen after golf—and I’d had the anxious sweats all morning—a shower was in order. And I could admit, I was clingy as fuck in there, but we got clean, and that was all that mattered.

“Let’s get you in bed.” West wrapped a towel around me and dipped down for a kiss. “I’ll set an alarm— Is that your phone?”

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