Griff turned his head. “I saw him about ten minutes ago, out in the kitchen. Try there, otherwise ask Wilder.”
My impatience was kicking in.
I need to do this now.
“Okay, thanks. Oh, and your house warming is next weekend, right?” They’d recently built a new home and had finally moved in.
Sophia beamed. “Yes, you guys are coming, aren’t you? For the love of God, please tell me you are. I’ve got so many people coming who I don’t even really know, partners of work mates and friends of my sisters, and you just know I’m going to spend all day rambling about shit if I get nervous. I need you to be there, Harlow, to help centre me and tell me to calm down.” Her eyes bulged with desperation and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. Sophia was uniquely her own woman and it was one of the many things I loved about her. The way words just fell out of her mouth always made me smile. Especially that. There should be more women like her – we could all do with the honesty.
I reached out and placed my hand on her arm. “I promise I’ll be there.”
She exhaled her relief. “Oh, thank goodness.”
“I’ll be back soon, but I really need to find Scott.”
She waved me away. “Go.”
A couple of moments later, I pushed through the door that led to the kitchen. It was a hive of activity, but Scott was not out there.
Damn.
Where is he?
I pulled out my phone and sent him another text, my third so far.
Me: Where are you???? Stop ignoring me or else I will withdraw husband privileges for at least a week.
His reply came through swiftly. Funny how threats like that always worked with men.
Scott: I could go a week, but you couldn’t.
Me: Ha! You wanna test that theory?
Scott: Sure. I give you two days at the most before you come begging for my cock.
Me: Tell me where you are and I will come begging for it now.
Scott: I’m in the car park.
Me: Are you hiding from me?
Scott: Fuck no.
Me: Lucky.
When I finally caught sight of him, my heart swelled with love. My hand absently moved to my stomach as I stilled and watched him.
He was with Lisa and they both had their heads under the hood of his Charger. She was listening to him intently while he pointed at various parts of the engine and explained something to her. Memories of my own father doing the same thing slammed into me, and tears pricked my eyes.
I walked the short distance to them, and they both turned their heads when they heard me approaching.
“Hey, Harlow,” Lisa said with an easy smile.
“Hi, Honey,” I returned her smile before looking at Scott. “Hey.” God, I love this man. Hard.
He leant over and kissed me. “Sorry, sweetheart, Lisa’s assignment is due at school tomorrow and she was struggling with one part, so I wanted to explain it to her before I got carried away with the party.”
Lisa loved everything to do with cars and had chosen to do one of her assignments on car engines. Scott had been helping her with it for weeks and I’d decided there wasn’t much on this planet better than watching a man helping their child. Although Lisa was not our child, we both treated her as if she was. Her mother had come a long way, and I was confident in her recovery from drug addiction, but we would never stop thinking of Lisa as part of our family.
“I’ve got it now, so I’m going to go back inside and hang out if that’s okay,” Lisa said.
“Sure, darlin’,” Scott agreed. Jerking his chin towards the restaurant, he added, “Don’t let that boy treat you like shit, or I’ll be having words with him.”
Lisa blushed. “I won’t.”
I smacked him as we watched her run inside. “Did you have to say that?”
His laughing eyes came to mine, and I sucked in a breath at the crinkles that decorated them. Those damn crinkles. They get me every time. “It’s her first boyfriend, Harlow, and I’m going to make damn sure she learns straight off the bat that she’s entitled to have expectations of being treated a certain way. No boy will ever walk all over her if I have my way.”
“Do you know how much I love you, Scott Cole?” I asked as I pressed my body against his.
He took hold of my face and angled my mouth to his. “Almost as much as I love you,” he murmured before kissing me again, this time slower and deeper.
My tummy fluttered, just like it always did when he kissed me. I moaned into his mouth. “Baby, I have something to tell you.”
He pulled his face away from mine and said, “That you’re glad you married me one year ago? That this is the best first anniversary you’ve ever had?”
“You are playful today, aren’t you?”
He shrugged. “Life’s good, Harlow. Storm’s had a year of no huge problems, I’ve got a beautiful baby daughter, a happy family and a sexy-as-fuck wife whose favourite thing to do is wrap her lips around my dick…I’ve got all the reasons in the world to smile.”