“Hey,” she whispers against my lips.
“Hey.” I almost don’t get the word out before her lips crush against mine. She takes my mouth in a rough kiss that shows me just how desperate she had been to get here. I answer every move she makes. Our tongues dance together, and it doesn’t take long before her kiss starts to turn more heated.
I pull back and give her a minute. Her eyes are still closed and her breath comes in quick bursts against my face. She takes a few beats before her lips curl into a beautiful smile. It feels like I’ve been handed the whole world in my hands when she gives me that smile. It’s the one I’ve been craving for so long. There’s nothing fake or forced about it. When she opens her eyes, the blinding joy that is like a blazing fire inside her, spills out. I give her a smile in return, and let the rest of the stress and worry from the day just pour off of me.
She lays her head against my shoulder and shifts so she’s more comfortable in my lap. I keep one arm around her back to support her body but take her small hands and wrap mine around them, rubbing her silky skin with my fingers.
“Things went well today.”
I nod my head and give her the space she needs to keep talking.
“He took it about as hard as I thought he would but in the end you’re right. He needed to know, and I feel so much . . . more free.” She laughs and the sound wraps around me. I close my eyes and savor this moment between us.
“He’s going to be okay. I know this isn’t something that he’ll just snap and be over, but he has Melissa and Cohen to help him get through it.” She leans up, pulls her hands free, and frames my face. Her thumbs rub the stubble of my day’s worth of beard a few times before she brings her mouth to mine, giving me a small kiss before pulling away. “And I have you.”
She smiles, and right there I can see it. She’s moved on and is finally letting every, single, last one of those things that has been hurting her go. Like a sea of balloons being released into the sky, you can almost physically see her letting it all go.
“Always.”
If possible, her smile gets even bigger before she lays her head back down and pushes her arms around my chest. With our hearts beating together, and a peace like I haven’t known in a long time settling around us, I just enjoy this moment.
Greg walks by my office door, and I turn my head to see what he needs. He nods his head and gives me a look that confirms what Dee just said. He’s okay, but he’s going to need a little while before he can move on from what he now knows isn’t what he thought. He stands there for a few minutes and keeps his eyes on Dee’s back. I can’t tell what’s running through his mind, but then he silently looks back up and offers me one hell of a look. He’s got his approval, acceptance, and happiness that Dee is in good hands. That right there is the look of the man who has accepted responsibility for Dee as if she were his own blood relation, letting go and allowing me to take over that honor.
CHAPTER 26
Dee
After lunch with Beck, I spend some time with Emmy while we wait on Chelcie to finish up with Sway. According to Maddox’s last grunt filled, one-word response, phone call, she is happily being ‘fluffed like a fucking bird.’ I start laughing so hard that I almost drop the phone when he tells me that Sway has already tried to sit on his lap twice. Those guys can play all they want, but they secretly love the attention that Sway is not shy about throwing at them.
“We need to get Sway a man. Not just any man, but we need someone that could stand up next to these C.S. boys and belong. Certified, grade-A, hunk material.”
Emmy looks up from where she’s entering some notes from an earlier meeting the guys had and drops her jaw.
“You aren’t seriously thinking about playing matchmaker, right?”
“Why not? It shouldn’t be that hard to find him someone. I bet if we checked Craig’s List right now, there would be a million men looking for companionship!”
Emmy snorts. “Yeah, maybe if you were in the market to start pimping. You can’t pick him a man off Craig’s List . . . That’s just dirty.”
“Okay then, Ms. I Know Everything, where would you like to find him a man?” I cross my arms and huff.