Page 34 of When We Break

This feels so right.

He could have run away, thinking that I came with too much baggage. Yet he kissed me and promised me a night of comfort and friendship. And even though I’m feeling a little raw from speaking abouthim, I also feel content. At peace somehow.

I know some things about the Blackwell family because of Bee and Dani, but I want to know more from Beck’s perspective. Now feels like the time to ask him.

“Where are your parents?”

“Florida,” he replies and kisses the top of my head. “They moved down there when they retired, but they come up often. They don’t want to miss too much of Birdie’s life. They just hate the snow.”

“I love the snow.” I also love the sound of Beckett’s heartbeat against my ear. “Are you the eldest sibling?”

“No, that’s Brooks.”

“That’s right, he told me that when I met you all at the pub. Where do you fall in line?”

“I’m actually the second youngest, just before Billie. But there’s a bit of a gap between us. She’s twenty-seven, and I’m thirty-one. Billie was a happy surprise.”

“I like that. A happy surprise. Connor is almost forty, and I’m nearly twenty-eight. I was also a surprise. Ma and Da didn’t think they could have more children.”

“You are absolutely a happy surprise, sweetheart.” He kisses the top of my head, and I melt further into him.

So are you, Beckett Blackwell. So are you.

ChapterNine

BECKETT

Something wet pressing against my face pulls me out of a dead sleep, and when I crack open an eye, I find Riley staring back at me.

I’m lying flat on my back on the couch, and Skyla, the woman I can’t get enough of, is draped over me, her head on my chest and arms wrapped around me, sleeping sweetly.

Riley lets out a little whine, telling me that he needs to go outside, so I gently roll the beauty in my arms to the side and prop a throw pillow against her chest. She immediately wraps herself around the pillow, and I stand and head for the kitchen.

Opening the back door, I let Riley slip outside, then I get to work making coffee. I can tell it’s still early since the sky is just starting to lighten, but the sun isn’t up yet.

It’s probably not quite six, and I’ve usually been up and working for an hour by now.

Does Riley always get his human up this early?

Just as I get the water in the coffee maker, Riley’s back at the door, so I let him in and stand at the sink, staring out the window to the backyard with my arms crossed as I wait for the coffee to brew.

“He’s always on duty. If I have a nightmare, he knows to turn the lights on for me. It’s one of the things he was trained for.”

Fuck. She has a dog trained to respond to her nightmares, and she somehow thought that would detract from her attractiveness.She’s so fucking wrong.Skyla Gallagher is one of the strongest people I know. To have to pivot her life’s trajectory so significantly …It’s so wrong.She lost her dream.

Now I understand more about why her brother, Connor, was a hard-ass. He isn’t just an overbearing older brother. He has good reason to be wary.

This thing—whatever it is—between Skyla and me has progressed a shit ton in the past twenty-four hours. We went fromI hope she’ll give me her numbertosnuggle and talk the night awayin the blink of an eye.

I’m so fucking grateful that my feelings aren’t one-sided. The way she touched me and smiled at me and confided in me last night tells me that she’s as into me as I am her.

Thank fuck.

It pisses me off that some deranged asshole almost ruined what could be the best thing in my life because she was scared to trust her own instincts where I’m concerned. She didn’t say that out loud, but it doesn’t take a psychologist to see that.

No matter what happens between us, he’ll never get near her again. I’ll fucking make sure of it.

The coffee’s finished brewing, and when I check the fridge, I find some coffee creamer and doctor up a mug for both of us. I assume she takes the creamer since it was in her fridge.

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