Page 78 of Fight For Us
“I’ll have her write up a resume.” I let out a dry laugh. “In all seriousness, it wasn’t as bad as I expected. I don’t mind letting her do a background check on me. I have nothing to hide. Honestly, if Alex was going to be living with a stranger, I’d want to meet them and check up on them, too.”
“I still think it’s a bunch of bullshit. I’m Lilly’s father. She doesn’t need to sniff after me like a watchdog. Our life is our business.” I tossed the phone onto the bed behind me.
“If all she’s asking for is that and a poke around the house, then I say we give her what she wants. When should we set it up?”
Never.
I rubbed my hands against my thighs and groaned. “That depends.”
“On?” she asked, crossing her arms. Maybe it was my tone, but she was already reading between the lines.
“Us getting a bigger place.” She crossed her legs and started to vibrate them. “You’re shaking the bed, Tiger.”
“Sorry… anxious habit. I don’t know, I’m worried about something happening and not having a place to goand—”
My first instinct was to clam up. So much had changed in a short amount of time since we’d made our originaldealand we hadn’t talked about what it all meant for us. I was scared to admit I had feelings for her. And fuck, moving into a place that was ours seemed like such a big step for me, too. But looking into her eyes, I knew I was all in. Six months with her could never, ever be enough. I needed six lifetimes.
An idea popped into my head. She’d hate it, but maybe it would help her feel better about moving. “What about this? We said six months right?”
“Yeah?” Her face pinched in and I hurried to finish my thought.
“How about I pay the rent here until the six month mark is over?” She opened her mouth to argue but I put a hand on her thigh and said, “Hold on, hear me out. I pay the rent here and then we split a bigger place. That way you’ll have this house as a back up plan. And before you argue about money, it will be fine. I have a decent amount of savings from living with my parents for a while and some money I got after the accident.”
I watched the wheels in her head spin while I rubbed circles on her thigh. In reality, I wouldn’t take a dime from her, but I knew she’d object to that. Me getting a place has been a long time coming. I’d been at my parents since the accident and Sav leaving. In the beginning, I needed the help while I recovered and was too fucked up in every way to handle living alone, but then it became the norm. Yeah they bugged me, and sleeping on the couch when Lilly was over wasn’t ideal, but having theirhelp with her was a bonus. Being with Olivia was the push that I needed to get my shit together on so many levels, not only for her and the kids, but for myself, too.
“You’re right about the kids needing their own rooms,” she finally said. I smiled and planted a light kiss on her lips.
“And I know how much you love closets,” I teased.
“I hate to waste the money on keeping this place and I’m sorry if that hurts you. But I have to look out for Alex. I can’t go back to my parents for help again… Not in the way I used to.”
“I wouldn’t have offered to do it if I didn’t want to. I know this,” I gestured between us, “is new to both of us. And I want to protect the kids most of all. That’s the main reason I think we should do this. I could live in a cardboard box with you and be happy.” She narrowed her eyes. “You know what I’m saying. I don’t care about fancy houses or having a bunch of closets. This is about what’s best for the family.”
She gazed downwards, her knee still gyrating the bed. Fuck. I must have said something wrong. Turning to face her, I tipped her chin upward with my palm. Emotion clouded her eyes and her lip quivered.
My chest caved in as a single tear streamed down her cheek.
Chapter 31
Olivia
“I’m fine,” I said.“It’s nothing.”
Just the sweetest thing a person has ever said to me.
He pulled me onto his lap and cradled me against his broad chest. We stayed like that for what felt like hours, quietly holding each other. Why did I keep losing myself like this? He probably thought I had serious issues. Why else would I keep breaking into tears randomly? He kept saying all the right things and making these grand gestures and I didn’t know how to react. No one had ever cared for us this way and it was… a lot.
If my mother could see me now, she’d give me hell. Real ladies held it together and cried in private if we had to. She was a real “stuff it all down deep and make a cocktail” kind of woman. Funny how that turned out for her.
“I’m sorry. I feel like such a mess lately.” I got up to grab a tissue and dab at my damp eyes. “I promise I’m fine.”
I swore I saw his jaw clench before he covered it up by rubbing his palm over his chin. “What can I do to help?”
I straightened my posture and stepped between his knees. “Let’s do it.”
Wrapping his arms around my waist, he pulled me onto his lap again. “Doit?” He waggled his brows in the dumbest, cutest way.
“Not sex—although—hold that thought. I meant let’s move. You’ve convinced me. Reply to the Wicked Witch’s email and tell her we need a few weeks.”
