I just had to work not to fuck it up and never let go.
“Gotta catch up,” he muttered.
“Catch up?” I asked.
“Givin’ you the things you deserve that you already shoulda had.”
Fuck, but I loved that he thought that about me.
I let that settle deep inside as I looked forward. “Need to take Ethan there. Maybe when he turns thirteen. Show him what life could be like if you’re smart and work for it.”
I was aiming for thirteen because I’d seen the prices on the menu, though it may take until Ethan was fifteen before I could afford it.
And I was still having difficulty processing the fact that Merry had blown that kind of cake on me.
“You’re a good mom.”
I loved that he thought that about me too.
“I’m a cool mom,” I contradicted. “If I was a good mom, Ethan would eat broccoli.”
Merry chuckled.
I smiled.
He flipped on his blinker.
I started paying attention to where we were going and I was surprised as Merry slowed to pull into an apartment complex that I’d driven by hundreds of times since moving to the ’burg but never really noticed simply because it wasn’t the kind of place you noticed.
It wasn’t a disaster, but it wasn’t very nice either. There were far worse places to live, and I knew this because I’d lived in them.
It just didn’t seem like a place Merry would live.
He had a nice truck. He wore nice suits. He had a Harley. I also heard he had a boat. And it wasn’t only when he’d heard his ex-wife was marrying someone else that he ordered a shot of expensive whisky (though, he didn’t normally order several of them).
So he had good stuff and he liked good stuff.
Then again, he was a cop and everyone knew they didn’t get paid millions to put their asses on the line to solve crime.
Maybe to get his suits, his Harley, and his whisky, he needed to sacrifice other things.
This I could absolutely see.
He drove through the complex and I noticed his truck was by far the best vehicle of any.
And as he drove us through the complex, I was thinking that I didn’t like this for Merry. I preferred to think of him in a home with a yard and a deck where he could barbeque, with decent cars in the drives of the houses around him, no one coming close to even thinking they could have a wild party that got loud and stayed loud.
I figured in this place, wild parties happened every weekend, even if a cop lived amongst them.
He parked. He got out. I opened the door and was almost out before he got to me, took my hand, and helped me the rest of the way.
He cleared me from the truck and slammed my door, beeping the locks, then guiding me to some stairs.
He was quiet. He seemed mellow.
I was mellow and that all had to do with good food, champagne, and Merry.
But as we walked, it started to wear off.
I was a sure thing. He knew I was a sure thing.
That didn’t bother me.
But the last time we went at each other, I’d been out of my head drunk.
I’d liked it.
He’d liked it.
But still, we’d both been slaughtered.
I was not a girl who had too many hang-ups about sex. I went for it. I let the spirit move me. Sometimes I got good back. Sometimes who I was with didn’t work for me.
Right then, the only sex I’d had in years was a shitfaced session with Merry and, before that, fucked-up sex with Denny Lowe. But never, not ever had I been with someone who’d meant something (except Merry).
Sure, I thought Lowe did. And I thought Trent did.
But now I knew.
So yes, fuck yes, I was beginning to feel panicky.
All this filled my head on the way up the stairs and it kept filling my head as Merry walked me down the landing. It continued to fill my head as he let my hand go and let us in his place, throwing the door open for me.
Hold On
Kristen Ashley's books
- Holding the Dream
- Dance Upon the Air
- High Noon
- Moon Island(Vampire Destiny Book 7)
- Illusion(The Vampire Destiny Book 2)
- Upon A Midnight Clear
- Son Of The Morning
- MacKenzie's mission(MacKenzie Family Saga #2)
- Loving Evangeline(Patterson-Cannon Family series #1)
- A Billionaire's Redemption
- A Convenient Proposal
- A Dishonorable Knight
- A Headstrong Woman
- A Passion for Pleasure
- Atonement
- Beyond a Doubt
- Beyond Control
- Cavanaugh on Duty
- Colton's Dilemma (Shadow Breeds)
- Conceal, Protect
- Conflict of Interest
- Confessing to the Cowboy
- Dreams Don't Wait
- Explosive Attraction
- Find Wonder in All Things
- Forbidden Fires (Bondage & Breakfast)
- Galveston Between Wind and Water
- Game On
- Gone with the Wolf
- Honor's Players
- Illusions of Love
- Intaglio Dragons All The Way Down
- Just One Song
- Living London
- Lone Wolf (Shifters Unbound)
- Love Resolution
- Lyon's Crew
- Mountain Moonlight
- Need A Want Companion Novel
- Of One Heart
- Once a Bad Girl
- Once a Thief
- Once Again a Bride
- Once and Again
- Once Touched, Never Forgotten
- Once Upon a Kiss
- Once Upon a Prince
- One Desert Night
- One More Kiss
- One More Sleepless Night
- One Night of Misbehavior
- One Night Standoff
- One Texas Night
- Only Love (The Atonement Series)
- Operation Endurance
- Primal Bonds
- Questions of Trust A Medical Romance
- Reflection Point
- Retribution
- Savage Redemption
- Second Chance
- Secure Location
- Someone I Used to Know
- Son of a Preacher Man
- Soul Bonded
- Sunset Seduction
- Sweet as Honey (The Seven Sisters)
- Sweet On You
- Tempting Cameron
- That Carrington Magic
- The Bridgertons Happily Ever After
- The Demon's Song
- The Dragon and the Pearl
- The Lone Rancher
- The Millionaire Cowboy's Secret
- Translation of Love
- Twisted Perfection
- Vision In White
- When Love's Gone Country
- The Lost Tycoon
- Down on Her Knees
- Love, Your Concierge
- A Demon Made Me Do It
- Campbell_Book One
- The Lady of Bolton Hill
- Born to Ride_A Clubhouse Collection
- A Question of Honor
- Blood on Copperhead Trail
- Passion and the Prince
- Top Secret Twenty-One
- Dungeon Royale
- Make Me Bad(Private Lessons)
- My Fair Billionaire
- Writing Our Song:A Billionaire Romance
- Kissed by Moonlight
- Redemption in Love
- The Masterful Mr. Montague
- Diamonds are Forever
- Every Second with You
- If You Only Knew