Page 120 of Shortcake
She looked like a modern-day hippie. The green and blue patterned dress contrasted her hair while bringing out the bright green of her eyes.
My cock went immediately hard at the sight of her.
Keeping my distance this week had been the hardest thing ever.
As her eyes snapped to mine, I saw something I’d never really seen in them before: insecurity.
“Addy,” I sputtered, certain that I sounded like a total moron.
Nibbling her bottom lip, she shifted her weight and gave me an awkward little wave.
“What are you doing here?” I was immediately on my feet, crossing around my desk to meet her. “Is Harper okay?”
“Harper’s fine,” she said, smiling. “I’m just… well, arewefine?”
The question hits me like a cannonball to the heart. Where the hell was I supposed to even begin? I dropped my head and exhaled. “I tried to talk to Harper about us again,” I confessed.
“Oh?” Her voice was tight with curiosity, but she didn’t push me to go on.
“She… she laughed.”
When I peered up at Addy, her head was tilted in thought. “Laughed? When you told her about us?”
“I didn’t even get to us. I started to say how I liked you… and then she started laughing. And saying how ridiculous it would be if we ever dated. How young you are. I just… I don’t know if she’d ever be okay with it.”
Addy sighed and crossed closer to me, sliding her hands around the back of my neck. “Is that why you’ve been so distant this week?”
I nodded. “That’s part of it.”
“Conrad,” she said, gently. “It’s going to take her a while to get used to us. And she may not be okay with it for a while.” Addy shrugged. “That’s the reality. And if you can’t handle that and want us to take a break, I understand.”
“What?” My gaze jerked to hers and it took every ounce of control I had to keep my voice quiet and controlled. “You want to take a break?”
“No. I’m just saying that I understand your daughter comes first. And I was thinking… now that the guys are there working on the garage, maybe you should wait to tell her until I’ve moved back in there? That way, she feels like she has her house back. Her room back. And in some ways, she’ll feel like she hasyouback.”
God, this woman. This fucking woman. She was too good to be true. “That’s… that might be a good idea. Thank you.”
Her chuckle rocked through my body. “For what?”
With a sigh, I lowered my forehead to hers. “For beingyou.”
I already felt so much better. Reaching up, I ran my palm up the exposed skin on her neck and shoulder, relishing in the trail of goosebumps I left behind. A low growl vibrated in my throat as the faint scent of strawberries hit me. “Have you been baking?”
“Earlier today,” she whispered, her head dropping back, exposing the long, svelte line of her throat to me.
Cock twitching, I pressed a kiss to the base of her throat, my voice catching as I palmed her breast through the flimsy fabric of her dress. “I’ve been craving you all week,” I admitted.
This wasn’t how I pictured my night ending. But fuck if I wasn’t thrilled for the change.
“Do me a favor?” she whispered, her head falling to my chest.
“Anything.”
“Next time something’s going on?Talkto me. Don’t just pull away from me.”
Guilt slammed into me once more. Meghan. I needed to tell her about Meghan coming.
I swiped my palm down my face. “Yeah, about that, I need—”
