I just roll my eyes. He can have her and all the others. I got mine and nothing else compares.
“Watch yourself, Jeff. If Blaise hears you talking about his girl like that, you’ll not only find yourself unemployed, but knocked out on your ass,” Asher warns.
What the f*ck! I sit my gun down and tell my client I’ll be right back. I rip off my gloves and stalk to the front desk. I make it just in time to see Tatum walking through the front door. She spots me immediately and I huge smile graces her face. My girl.
I hold my arms open and she walks straight into them. “Hey you,” I say.
“I missed you today,” she replies.
“I’m in the middle of a chest piece, want to come watch?” I ask her.
She nods her head, still smiling. I lace our fingers together and lead her back to my room. As I walk by Jeff, I smack the back of his head with my other hand. No words are needed; he knows she’s mine and he f*cked up. I’ll give him a pass because she is beautiful, and he didn’t know she was mine; now he does. No more second chances, not that I think he’ll need any. Jeff’s a good guy, and if he does, well, I’m good with kicking his ass. It’s whatever.
I introduce Tate to my client and verify he’s all right with her watching. She sits quietly in the corner watching my every move. I see her cringe a few times as my client grits his teeth. We’ve talked about it before, and she’s not a fan of needles. That’s fine with me; I like her smooth, creamy skin just the way it is.
The rest of the night flies by. I know it’s because Tatum is here with me. I tell her she doesn’t have to stay, but she insists she was good with watching me do what I love.
After closing up shop, she follows me back to my place. She surprised me as I was walking her to her car, saying she packed a bag for work tomorrow. Asher is never here, so we have the place all to ourselves. We don’t have to worry about my sister overhearing us. Not that I care really, but I know it bothers Tate.
We shower together, which leads to me taking her hard and fast against the shower wall. I apologize for losing control, but she says she loved every minute of it. I swear this girl was made for me.
We’re lying in bed with me spooned in behind her when Tatum says, “I’ve been thinking a lot about my parents, and my life here.”
I hold my breath; I have no idea what she’s going to say next.
“When I came here with Leah and Brent, I closed up the house and put the neighbor kid on the payroll to keep the lawn mowed. Leah didn’t want me to make a rash decision and sell, then regret it. I put most everything in storage, except for what I brought with me,” she explains.
I still have no idea where she’s going with this. Is she trying to tell me she wants to move back to Ohio? If that’s what she really wants, we’ll make it work. I’m sure I can join a paid department or maybe even open another branch of Self Expressions. Or is she saying she’s changed her mind about us?
I roll over so I’m facing him. He’s beautiful. I know you’re not supposed to call guys beautiful, but that’s what he is. His dark hair is still damp from our shower; his defined jaw is covered with the day’s stubble. I reach up and trace his jawline with my finger. His silver eyes are boring into me. I can tell he’s confused and scared maybe?
“I know what I want to do with it, with the house.” I scoot closer and lay my head against his chest. His arms are immediately holding me tight against him. “I want to sell it.”
I feel the release of air from his lungs and his body relax.
“You’re where I want to be. Ohio has nothing for me, and Tennessee, well, it has you.”
“Thank God,” he says with relief. “What can I do to help?”
“I think I’m good. I’m going to call and make an appointment with a realtor and get it listed. Not much else to do really. I’ll eventually need to go through the storage unit and decide what I want to keep and what I don’t, but the apartment isn’t big enough for that,” I chuckle.
“Bring it here,” he says. “I have tons of space and Asher is moving into Grace’s condo. He’s moving his stuff out this weekend. I’ll pay to have it moved here and you can go through it as you want.”
“Thank you, that’s sweet, but I’m not sure I’m ready to go through it all just yet.”
“Well, when you are, the offer stands,” he tells me.
We lay there in silence holding each other, both at peace. I hear him say, “I love you, Tate, so f*cking much,” just as my eyes fall closed.
The next few weeks fly by. Work, Blaise, and conference calls with the realtor. Leah’s mom set me up with a friend of hers and she’s been amazing. She emailed me the contract so I didn’t have to drive back to Ohio just to list the house. It’s been three weeks since it’s been on the market, and there have been a lot of interested buyers. I’m sad, but at the same time, I could never live there. Not without them. So this is just the ending to another chapter.
Today is Saturday and Leah and I are going out for a girls’ day. I miss her so much. She and Brent got married last week in Hawaii, and we need to catch up. I pull into the lot and see Leah standing by the door; she waves.
I jump out of my car and rush to her, giving her a huge hug. “I missed you, Mrs. Wethington.” She holds up her ring finger to show her wedding band nestled against her engagement ring.
Leah laughs. I follow her into the salon where we are getting manicures and pedicures. Before we know it, we’re done at the salon and heading to lunch. Leah claims her appetite has doubled in the last week as she rubs her belly. My eyes follow her movement and I can see the start of a small baby bump.
“Leah, I am so happy for you. You’re going to be a mom,” I say, excited.
“I know. It’s scary and exciting all at the same time.”
“Just remember that Aunt Tate is always around when you need a break or a night out on the town,” I tell her.
She laughs, “I’m going to hold you to that. Wait, let me get my phone. Can you say that again so I can record it? You know, just in case you change your mind.”
I laugh at her antics. I’ve missed my best friend, my sister from another mister.
The entire day is so much fun. It’s been longer than I care to remember since just the two of us hung out like this. We part ways at the restaurant so we can each go home and get ready for tonight. The eight of us are meeting at Backwoods tonight to celebrate Leah and Brent’s nuptials.
Blaise is waiting for me at the apartment when I get there. This hinders the process of me getting ready. The man is tempting! Ember texts me and lets me know she and Jackson are riding over with Asher and Grace.
When I finally pull myself away from Blaise, I push him out of my room and lock the door. Otherwise, we would not be going anywhere.
I rush through my shower, careful not to get my hair wet. I don’t have time to dry it. I throw on a black sundress with a teal design and Ember’s teal cowboy boots. I pull my hair up into a ponytail and call it good.
As I open my bedroom door, I run into a wall of muscle. Blaise. He holds me at arms-length as he checks out my outfit.
“Uh um,” I clear my throat to get his attention. His silver eyes shining with mischief capture mine. “Stop undressing me with your eyes, Mr. Richards. We don’t have time for that,” I scold him.