Page 50 of Unbreak Me
“Yeah, we are together.” Ryder smiles down at me, and my heart soars in my chest.
“Thank God,” Miles laughs. “If I had to live through one more day of his mopey ass, I was going to lose it.”
Jake and Miles dodge the pillow Ryder throws at them. “You can go now so we can get dressed. Tell Travis and Sophia we’ll be right there.”
“Okay, okay,” Jake laughs. “We’re going.” They leave, and I grin up at Ryder. I’m barely able to contain my happiness as I scoot up and straddle him.
Laughing, he traces my lips with this thumb. “I love seeing you so happy.”
“I love being so happy. I’m especially happy right now because I have you.”
“I’ve always been yours.”
“I’ve always been yours.” I lean in and kiss him. He moans when I run my fingers up into his hair to deepen the kiss.
When we break away, we are both grinning like giddy teenagers.
“As tempting as it is to slide back into you, our daughter is probably missing her daddy, so we better go check on her.” He lifts me up and sets me back down on the bed so he can get dressed.
“She probably is missing you over me,” I laugh. “I don’t exist anymore when you are in the room.” I get up in search of some clothes. He catches me around the waist and pulls me back to him.
“We both know that’s not true. I can tell you, though, that when I’m in a room with you, nothing else exists for meexceptyou. Now, go get dressed while I check on our little girl.” He slaps my butt and lets me go. I can’t help the happy dance that comes out as I make my way to the bathroom. The past is finally behind us, and I have my Ryder back…I have my family back.
CHAPTER TWENTY
RYDER
Ihold our daughter as I watch Eve load up some paperwork from the office to take home. I love how excited she is to be a part of the business. Jimmy would love what I have done here and would be smiling to know that his business made an impression on Eve. I got to admit it’s hot as fuck whenever she got excited about a car we would work on. I remember how it felt to have her watch me while I worked. If Jimmy hadn’t been there, my hands would have been on her instead of the car. We did a lot of making up for it later, though, when we were alone.
I see her go through the invoices with her glasses perched on her head. She’s got a glow to her cheeks that wasn’t there when she first arrived. The love I have for this girl makes up my very existence. I feel like I’m here for the sole purpose of loving her. Maybe I was sent here for that. She sure as hell hasn’t gotten it from her family, which is unfathomable to me since she’s the easiest person to love that I’ve ever met. I’ve always felt my parents had a hand in bringing her to me. It’s a nice thought that maybe they sent her to love me because they couldn’t be here to do it—a gift they gave us both.
She stops what she’s doing and looks over at me. Tilting her head to the side, a small smile plays on her lips. “What are you thinking of right now?”
“How I’m going to spend the rest of my life loving you and our family.” Her cheeks turn pink, and a beautiful smile appears on her face, making my heart thud loudly against my chest.
“I love the sound of that because I am for sure going to love you for the rest of mine.”
“What are your thoughts on buying a house once the summer is over? We need a bigger place, especially when our family grows, and Ryland needs a yard to play in. We could get her one of those swingsets with the princess castle on top…” I laugh when she runs over and throws her arms around both of us.
“I take it you love the idea?” I grin down at her.
“I love it so much.” Her eyes dance with joy, and I love that I’m the one to bring it there.
I reach down and bring my lips to hers. “Kiss!” Ryland giggles and claps her hands.
Laughing, we break apart, and I smother my baby girl’s cheeks with kisses as she squeals with laughter.
I set her down and let her wander over to the sofa. She drinks from her sippy cup while still clutching the toy car in her hand that I gave her.
“It’s nice having someone to help with Ryland,” she says, looking at our daughter. “I was so scared when I first had her that I would somehow not know how to take care of her. I didn’t have the best role model,” she laughs nervously. “As soon as they placed her in my arms and she looked up at me with your eyes, all the fear was replaced with love. I saw so much of you in her, and without you realizing it, you gave me the strength I needed that day to get through it alone.”
The hurt is different this time that simmers under the surface when I think about all I missed. It’s not rimmed with angertowards Eve anymore. We both got handed a shitty situation because of her parents and did the best we could to survive.
“You won’t ever have to be alone again,” I say, taking the sides of her face in my hands. “You are an amazing mom, Eve. Our daughter never went a day without feeling love, and even though I wasn’t there physically, she felt me through you. You took on both our roles and shielded her from your parents. I’m so proud of you. It took a lot of strength to do what you did.”
She nods her head, and I catch her tear with my thumb before bringing her lips to mine. She sighs against me and runs her hands up my back. I turn us slightly to shield her body with mine to give us some privacy as I deepen the kiss. She’s always had the ability to make everything around us cease to exist when I have my lips on hers.
I reluctantly break apart, both of us breathing hard and trying to reign in our emotions.
