Page 53 of Liberating Love

“If she’ll let me, yeah.”

“Hold on.”

A moment later, my mother’s voice comes over the phone. “Noah?”

“Hey, Mom. It’s Aiden.”

“Oh, Aiden! How are you, sweetie? Have you seen your father anywhere? He was supposed to meet me at the park, but I can’t find him.”

I take a deep, calming breath, then say, “Is it okay if I meet you at the park, Mom?”

“Oh, that would be wonderful.” She sounds happy, so I’m going to take that as a good sign, even if she’s confused.

She only chats with me for a minute before she suddenly hands Jovany back the phone, and we hang up so he can focus on her. And Delaney holds my hand for the entire drive—my rock, keeping me sane.

As soon as Delaney parks his car, I’m jumping out of it and running across the park. I see the back of my mom’s head, along with Jovany’s, and a few police officers off to the side, giving them some space. Rounding the park bench, I slow down so I don’t scare my mom, and when she tilts her head up at me with a big smile, I kneel in front of her and pull her into a huge hug.

“You scared me, Mom,” I whisper.

“You came. I knew you’d come,” she mutters.

Looking over her shoulder, I catch Jovany’s eye and mouth“Thank you”to him. He smiles a little sadly and nods in return.

It takes a while to get everything situated with the officers—Jameson and Drix arrived, as well as two others—but eventually, Delaney drives us home and helps me escort my mom inside. My neighbor comes out and waves at me with a look of relief on her face when she sees my mom before she goes back inside, and I’m glad to know she was keeping an eye out for me.

After settling my mother on the couch, I head into the kitchen to figure out dinner—a late, late dinner—and see Delaney already heating something up in the microwave.

“What’s that?” I ask as I slide into his side and he automatically drapes an arm around me.

“Holds and Gav dropped off some food while we were finishing up at the park. You left your door unlocked.”

Instead of responding with words, I grasp onto Delaney, stuffing my face in his chest, and he hugs me to him. God, how did I ever think my friends didn’t care about me? They’ve got to be the best friends in the world. I can’t believe they did this.

Delaney kisses the top of my head and releases me before grabbing the plate out of the microwave and walking it in to my mom. He smiles at her and they exchange words I can’t hear as I watch him bend down to kiss her cheek before he hands her a fork and walks back to me.

My heart is so full as I watch him, and I can admit to myself that I’m falling for this man. I’ve been falling for him, even when I didn’t want to. He has such a kind heart and caring soul that I know that I’ll do anything to keep him in my life, and I’m starting to believe him when he says that he’ll do anything to keep me in his. It’s like my heart melts for him more and more with every second we spend together.

He presses a kiss to my forehead and says, “Go sit down, Freckles. I’ll bring your plate out in a minute.”

Instead of listening to him, I wrap my arms around him from behind, resting my cheek on his back and hug him while he puts our plates together. Every few seconds, he squeezes my hand or rubs my arm, and once the next plate is in the microwave, he leans back into me.

Placing a kiss to the back of his neck, I whisper, “Thank you for being here… again.”

He peels one of my hands off his chest and lifts it to press a kiss to my knuckles, whispering, “Always, Freckles.”

I sigh, close my eyes, and lean into him further. I really am starting to believe him. I mutter back, “Always.”

19

Delaney

As I wait for Aiden to put his mom to bed, I run back into the living room to one of the cabinets under the small hutch they have. Everly had sent me on the hunt for a picture album she wanted to show me one day, and in my search, I’d found one whole shelf of various size candles. After the night my Freckles had, I know he needs to relax and unwind. The shelf is a hodgepodge of scented candles in jars and tea lights, as well as little glass holders to burn them in. Deciding the tea lights will work perfectly, I pull out several bases and a bag of the little candles when I notice a three-tier candle set on a plate in the very back. A smile spreads across my face as a whole idea forms.

Not surprisingly, Aiden takes extra time with Everly tonight. It wouldn’t even surprise me if he stays with her until she’s sound asleep. He’s exhausted after the ordeal today, but that’s his mama, and my man is a good son. I know he needs the reassurance of their nighttime routine to settle and know she’s really home, safe and sound, where she belongs. It gives me enough time to set up so I can pamper him a little tonight.

He walks out of his mom’s room and startles back, hand rising to his chest. Scaring him makes me chuckle softly to myself, but before he can say anything, I press one finger to his lips to silence him. Without a word, I grab his hand and tug him behind me into the bathroom where the lights are off, but the plug-in nightlight is on and tea lights are burning on the back of the toilet, the rim of the tub, and the counter of the sink.

As he crosses the threshold into the room, I shut the door with a firm click and lean against it. He never took the time to change out of his police uniform tonight, which is probably uncomfortable for him, but a bonus for me. His uniform fits like a glove, displaying the breadth of his shoulders, how his pecs and biceps have bulked up from the time he’s spent in the gym with the guys. Watching him walk around tonight with his uniform pants hugging his tight ass was definitely not a hardship. In a word, Aiden is delicious.

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