Page 104 of Connected By Stars
“That was over a month before the wedding! You guys have been going behind my back for two months? What the fuck, Mav?”
“It wasn’t like that, I swear. I had a lot of shit to figure out because I wasn’t about to jump in and mess it all up without being completely sure that I wouldn’t fuck it up. I didn’t do anything more than kiss her because I couldn’t stand beside you at the wedding, knowing I took things further with your sister without being honest with you.”
“You should have just told me from the beginning.”
“I didn’t want to ruin your wedding. I wasn’t sure how you would react, and we both wanted the focus to be on you and Emma. We needed time to figure things out before we told you.”
I hear him sigh again. He looks out over the water, deep in thought. Moments later, he turns to look at me. “So what now?”
“Now? Well, I continue to show your sister how much I love her every day that I’m breathing. I didn’t think I was capable of ever feeling this way about someone. I envied you for it. When I let my guard down and told Bell how I felt about her, wordscan’t describe how relieved I was to know she felt the same. I won’t do her wrong, Noah. She’s my end game and will be my wife someday.” I feel my throat get tight as emotions overcome me. I’ve never talked about marriage before to Bell, but she’s my forever if she’ll take me.
“Jesus. It’s like I came back to an alternative reality, and my best friend has done a complete life change.”
“Tell me about it. I’ve had a lot of firsts lately that I never thought I wanted, but now I can’t imagine my life without the simple things like hand-holding and waking up next to someone you love.”
“It’s the best feeling, isn’t it?” He smiles at me, and I breathe a little bit easier.
“The best.”
“Everything okay out here?” Bell walks over and looks hesitantly between the two of us before walking over to me and taking my hand.
Noah glances at our laced hands. It’s going to take some time for him to get used to seeing us together, but I won’t go back to not touching her. Not even for him. He looks at me, and I raise my eyebrow in question before he looks at Bell.
“Are you happy? This is what you truly want?”
“I couldn’t be happier. I love him, Noah, with everything in me. He’s what I want.” I squeeze her hand and pull her closer to me before kissing the side of her hair.
“Then Mav and I are good.” He looks me straight in the eye, so I know he’s serious. “You know how much you mean to me and how much I love you, but she’s my sister. If you ever hurt her or do her wrong, Iwillchoose her.”
“I would expect nothing less from you, but I won’t ever put you in that situation. You have my word that I would never hurt her.”
“Okay, then. Let’s get back inside and get this game night started.” He grins at us and walks back to the house.
And just like that, the last barrier to truly being together is gone, and nothing is holding us back.
Bell endedup leaving Monday afternoon when she got a call from a potential client that she has been communicating with. It’s a local smoothie place further up north. They saw the work she did for my mom’s place and wanted to meet with her. They ended up signing a contract, so she decided to stay a couple of nights so she could stack up some video footage since it was a four-hour drive.
I glance at the clock again and see it’s almost nine. She should be pulling up any minute now for our Wednesday meeting. My apartment has felt ten times lonelier without her in it. It’s like it was brought to life with her being there, and now it feels emptier than it ever has. It’s crazy how easy it was for me to slide into a routine of being together. It feels like we’ve been like this our whole lives. It feels...right.
I look up from the paperwork that I had been doing to occupy my mind when I hear the front door open. Smiling, I lean back in my chair as Bell walks in. She has white flowy pants on and a black crop tee. Her belly button ring is on full display as my eyes roam hungrily over her body like a man who has been thirsty for the past two days and just now seeing his first drink of water.
“Hi.” Setting her laptop and camera bag down, she smiles at me. God, I’ve missed that smile.
“Hi. How was the drive back?”
“Long. The trip was worth it, though. They’re paying megood money to advertise for them.” She pulls out her laptop and sets it on my desk before giving me a quick kiss hello. I hide a smile. It’s actually cute that she thinks I’m just going to sit here and have an actual business meeting when I haven’t touched her in over forty-eight hours. For the past two days, I’ve had images running through my head of what I want to do to her on this desk.
I decide to amuse her for the time being and see how long it takes her before our business turns to pleasure. I stand up and let her have my chair while she opens her laptop and finds her edits of my store. I lean over her like I’ve always done for the past couple of years, breathing in her scent, but this time, I can allow myself to touch.
I pull her hair to the side and kiss the side of her neck. “Maverick, don’t you need to see these before I post? We only have an hour until the store opens, and I need to finalize these with you.”
“I trust you. Post whatever the hell you want.” I say into her neck as I continue to lick and suck my way down to her collarbone.
“I’m trying to be professional here. I don’t want you to think that I’m going to take advantage of the situation and not take my work seriously with you anymore.”
“I would never think that, but you can definitely take advantage of me anytime you want.” I grin against her neck. My thumb grazes her nipple, and I see them harden through her thin t-shirt. I pinch it slightly, and she arches her back and moans. “Did you lock the front door behind you?”
“Yes,” she breathes.
