Page 107 of Love Notes & Lifelines
“She can’t get those girls, Beck. She can’t.”
“She won’t,” I promise and hope I can keep it. “We’ll do whatever we have to in order to make them ours, permanently.”
“Ours,” she repeats. Things are moving at warp speed, but that’s the way things work in my world. They always have. When something’s right, failure isn’t an option—I don’t allow it. And nothing has ever been more right than this. Than us.
“It’s a lot, but we can do this,” I say.
She’s back to nodding.
“Are you hungry?” I ask. We grabbed burgers in the car, but I’m not sure what else she’s eaten today.
When she opens her mouth to answer, she’s overtaken with a yawn she can’t fight.
I stand before she’s even finished and pull down the covers.
“I’m not hungry,” she says with watery eyes.
She’s dressed for bed in one of my undershirts. Does it smell like her or me?
“I love you in my clothes, Stella Jane.” Because fuck me. She’s gorgeous, and seeing her in nothing but my T-shirt makes something primal roar to life. I feel it in every blood vessel.
She’s mine.
“I don’t think the same can be said for you,” she says while slipping beneath the covers. My shirt rides up her thighs with the movement, and I climb in next to her.
“No, your clothes would not be a good look for me, but you’re welcome to borrow mine anytime. Seeing you wear them—it does something to me, Stella. You do something to me. It’s how I know this thing between us isn’t something we can ignore.”
“I’m nervous, Beck.” Those three words give life to the dread that’s been trying to find life in my heart.
With my nose buried in her hair, I inhale deeply, enjoying the scent of my cedar shampoo on her, and close my eyes. “I know you are, sweetheart. We’re at an impasse with a fight in either direction. Things have moved too fast for us to build a stable foundation, so no matter what happens, no matter how hard things get, we have to trust each other. Always and about everything. Without trust, we’ll have nothing.”
“What if I mess up?”
God, this girl. I hug her more tightly in my arms and silently vow to piece her back together again—and to ruin fuckwad Silas in the process.
“We’ll both mess up, but we keep a united front and do our best to fix our mistakes together.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been part of a team before.”
A smile that fills my body with warmth spreads across my face tooth by tooth. “Someone told me recently that I haven’t either. But we’re not golf or tennis, Stella. We’re the reward that comes from a lifetime of fighting for happiness. We’re the Super Bowl of life.”
Her shoulders shake against my chest. “I said I’ve never been on a team, but I know sports. You need to work on your sports analogies.”
I smack her ass lightly, and she jerks back, pressing her ass into me, and I swallow a groan.
“Sleep, Stella. We both need it, and we should get an early start home tomorrow.”
She’s quiet while her breathing evens out. I’m about to doze off when she turns in my arms. “Can I ask you something?”
I open one eye. “Always.”
“Are the girls okay? I overheard you talking to Tabby, but…I don’t know. They’ve been through so much. I’m just?—”
“You’re worried,” I finish for her. “Damn it, Stella, I should have told you, or let you talk to them yourself. My brain isn’t processing all the complexities of these relationships yet. It never occurred to me that you’d be worried, but of course you are. You’re you.”
“I care about them, Beck, and I get attached easily, I know that, but those little girls have given me a purpose I haven’t had in a long time.”
“I’m sorry. We’re very lucky to have you. The girls are fine. They went right to bed and Tabby has everything under control. Leo grilled hotdogs for dinner, and everyone ate without complaining.”
