“Emily left some girl shampoo here. It’s under the sink.”
“Can you find some clothes? Just some shorts or something will work.”
Sky disappears back into the bathroom. I get a pair of athletic shorts and a T-shirt that I don’t like. Hell, I think it’s one April bought. I knock gently on the door. Sky comes back out. “How’s it going in there?” I ask.
“It’s going,” she murmurs, rolling her eyes. “She’s had a hard day.”
Good. She should. She made her bed, and now she gets to lie in it. “Sorry to hear that,” I say instead.
She rolls her eyes and disappears back into the bathroom with the towels and clothes.
I pace for twenty minutes, until Paul barks at me. “You’re going to wear a hole in the carpet.”
“Who gives a shit?”
“What do you think they’re talking about?” Paul asks, grinning like an idiot.
“No idea.”
“I bet they’re discussing the length of your dick,” he taunts.
“Shut up.”
“Or all the ways you never learned to use your tongue.”
“Fuck you.” I have a lot of skill with my tongue.
“The way you shave your balls.”
“Asshole.” But a grin tugs at my lips.
He laughs out loud and shoves my shoulder. “Quit worrying.”
I look down at my thumbnail, which I have gnawed down to a nub.
The bathroom door opens, and I jump to my feet. Sky walks out first with April behind her. April looks a lot better. Her face is free of makeup, and her hair is damp but combed into a tidy mass. She’s wearing an old pair of my shorts and that shirt I hate. She crosses her arms in front of her chest. What happened to that monstrosity of a dress?
What happened to her marriage?
What happened to her baby? I look at her belly and realize that I can see a small swell there. What the wedding dress hid, these clothes do not. But it’s not mine so I couldn’t feel more removed from it. I force my eyes back up to her face.
“Thank you for letting me in,” April says quietly.
“Why are you here?” I ask finally. I do need to know.
“I didn’t know about Kenny and my maid of honor. Thanks for telling me. Apparently, I was the only one who didn’t know.” Her voice is quiet and a little hoarse, like she spent a lot of time crying.
“Where’s Kenny?” I ask.
She shrugs. “Probably at the hospital.”
Hospital? “What?”
“I sort of hit him over the head with a vase.” She holds out her hands to show me how big. “A big one.” She rotates her arm at her shoulder. “It was kind of heavy. My arm still hurts.”
Paul laughs from the couch. I shoot him a glare, and he shuts up.
“Hi, Paul,” she says.
“April,” he mumbles back. He turns the TV up.
“I should go,” April says. She turns to Sky and holds her arms out for a hug. “Thank you,” she says to her. “I appreciate it very much.”
I watch the two of them. Sky pulls her in and holds her close, rubbing her back softly for a second. What the fuck happened in the bathroom?
April steps back and wipes her eyes.
“I’m glad you hit him,” I tell April.
She smiles a watery smile. “Me, too.” She takes a breath. “Matt, I’m sorry for everything,” she whispers.
“I know.” What else can I say?
I pull Sky into my side and drop my arm around her shoulders. “It all turned out okay,” I say. “For me, anyway.”
April blows out a breath. “I got what I deserved.”
I nod. What the fuck else am I supposed to say?
Sky elbows me in the side.
“What?” I ask. I rub my ribs.
“I know I got what I deserved.” She lays a hand on her belly, and my heart clenches for her. “I picked passion over love and look where it got me. I could have been stable and happy.”
Yeah, but she wouldn’t have been pregnant right now. That part I don’t share with her because it’s none of her business.
April holds out her arms. “Can I hug you, Matt?” she asks tentatively.
Sky and I both say, “No,” at the very same time. April lets her arms drop, and she smiles.
“I don’t blame you,” April says. “For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t want to hug me, either.”
“I’m not mad at you, April. Not anymore.” I can tell her that much. And I don’t mind letting her know.
“Now you feel sorry for me?” she asks.
“I feel hopeful for you,” I say. I squeeze Sky to me. “Take care of that baby, okay?”
“I will,” she says with a nod. She walks to the door, and Sky opens it for her. “Thanks again, Sky.”
Sky nods, and April walks out of my life, hopefully for the very last time.
I draw Sky into a hug and whisper to her, “I’m so glad you got here when you did.”
Skylar
It feels really good in Matt’s arms. I let him hold me for a second and then I step back, shove him gently, and shake my finger at him. “What would you have done with her if I hadn’t shown up?”
He scratches his chin. “I have no idea.” He laughs.
Paul chuckles from the couch. “Damn,” Paul says. “Talk about looking like what the cat dragged in…”
I shoot Paul a look, and he rolls his shoulders in, trying to make himself smaller. But he’s not truly contrite. I know that much.
“I kind of feel sorry for her,” I admit. “You didn’t see her in the bathroom.”
“Thank God,” Paul mutters. “She had a lot of fucking nerve coming here.”
“She didn’t have anywhere else to go,” I tell him. “She lives with Kenny now, as of last week. And she just hit him over the head with a heavy object.” I laugh. That part makes me laugh.
“But she couldn’t possibly think that she would be welcome here,” Paul says.
“She’s made a lot of enemies. She’s not welcome in many places.” I point toward the bathroom. “Her dress is still in the tub. She said to burn it.”
“Can I just toss it out the window?” Paul asks.
I shrug. “She doesn’t care what you do with it.”
“You okay?” Matt asks, his gaze as soft as his fingertips, which drag across my forehead, pushing my hair from my face.
I jerk my thumb toward the door. “April and I had a long talk. Well, I talked, and she listened. I think she got it.”
His eyes narrow. “What did you tell her?”
I look toward his bedroom door. “Can we talk privately?”
He takes my elbow, much like I took April’s, and he leads me toward his room. Paul makes a coughing noise from the couch. He looks like he’s about to hock up a lung. He jerks his thumb toward the kitchen, and Matt rolls his eyes, goes to the kitchen, and comes back with a handful of condoms. They have a drawer full of condoms? In the kitchen? What?
Matt laughs as he closes the bedroom door behind us. He tosses the condoms onto the dresser. There are about twenty of them. “You were feeling kind of ambitious, huh?” I ask.
“A man can hope,” he says over a chuckle. “So what did you tell April?” he asks as he sits down on the edge of his bed.
“I told her that I appreciated her need for help this time, but that I’d appreciate it even more if she never sought you out again.”
He nods and makes a noise low in his throat. “Nice,” he says. “I like it.”
“I think she understood what I was talking about.”
“What else did you tell her?” He kicks his shoes off and reaches behind him to pull his shirt over his head the way men do. I look at the frog on his belly.
“I told her your frog prince has met his frog princess.”
He laughs. “You did not.”
“It was something like that.”
“I was just talking with Logan tonight about drawing a frog princess for me to put beside this o
ne. I want your name inked on my skin, too. Something permanent.”
“That’s sexy,” I say.
“So are you,” he says quietly. He shoves his pants down over his hips.
“Is there a reason you’re taking your clothes off?” I ask. My heart is tripping like mad, though.
“I like your jammies,” he says, eying me from head to toe in a slow sweep that makes my blood pound in my veins. “Did you wear those in the cab?”
“I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“I don’t. I’d like them more if you took them off, though.” He’s wearing nothing but his boxers now, and he shoves those down, too, and kicks them across the room. His dick bobs like it wants my attention. I grin. I can’t help it.
“Why are you here, Sky?” he asks.
I pull my shirt over my head. I’m not wearing a bra. “I guess I missed you.”
“Which part of me?” he asks. He lies down on his bed, his manhood arching toward his belly.
“The whole package,” I say.
He takes his dick in his hand and squeezes. “Me or my package?” He chuckles.
I roll my eyes. “You can be so silly.”
“Come sit on my face, and I’ll shut up.”
I laugh. But my panties are suddenly wet. “Don’t tempt me.”
“I’ve been trying to tempt you since the day I met you. I sat down beside you in that church, and you were trembling. I wanted to know you. Immediately. It hit me like a speeding train.”
I push my pants and my underwear down my legs and step out of them. I’m completely naked, but I don’t care.
“You took on all that responsibility without blinking an eye, just because those kids needed you. And I fell in love with you a little bit because of that. Because if you could love three kids you’d never met, you could maybe love me a little, too.” He beckons me forward. “You got room in your heart for me, Sky?” he asks. “I did warn you that I was going to make you fall in love with me.”
I crawl across the bed until my chest touches his. I straddle his hips and look down into his beautiful face. “You win. I can’t live without you.” I kiss him. His lips are warm and soft and feel so right under mine. “I hope you’re ready for a big family.”
“I’m ready for anything you give me.” He arches his hips under me, rocking into my naked heat.
Matt rolls us over, and he settles between my thighs. He bends his head and toys with my nipple, rolling it gently between his lips, tugging lightly and abrading it with his tongue. “You ready to marry me?” he asks when he lifts his head. He stares into my eyes, and I swear I can see the very depths of his soul. He’s good and kind, and he loves me with an intensity I never could have hoped for.
“Yeah,” I whisper to him. “I’ll marry you.”
“I’m going to ask you again when I can do it right.”
“It won’t be as wonderful as this time.” It won’t. There’s no way.
Matt reaches for a condom and rolls it down his length. He pushes inside me until he can’t push any further. Then he stills and brushes my hair back from my face. “I never thought I’d be so lucky,” he whispers.
His arms slide under my shoulders, and he holds me close to him as he begins to pump his hips. He slides in and out, in and out, in and out, each move punctuated by little grunts by my ear.
Suddenly he stops and pats my thigh. “Roll over,” he says.
I grin and comply. We’ve never done it this way, but I’m willing. I’m so willing. Matt slides one hand beneath me and dips into my curls, teasing my clit, and from behind me, he spreads my cheeks and sinks inside me. It’s fast and hard and so so perfect. I push my bottom back toward him, and he adjusts his angle until he makes me tremble. “Found it,” he gloats.
I cry out because I feel so full and so tight and Matt’s moving just right inside me. “Shh,” he whispers beside my ear.
Shit. Forgot. “Matt,” I whisper.
“I love how you say my name right before you come. Right before you get that little hitch in your breath and make that little gasping noise.” His fingers move against my clit, rubbing fast as he powers into me.
“Matt, Matt, Matt,” I chant. Then I suck in a breath as he pushes me over the edge.
“There it is,” he whispers, and then he grunts and comes inside me while my walls clamp down around him. My release flutters through me, and he works my clit until I’m spent. Then he drops onto my back, heavy and warm like a blanket, as his fingers thread through mine, holding me to the bed. He stills, and his breaths blow hot against my neck, where he buries his face. He hisses as he pulls out of me, and I can’t even move. I lie there naked and exposed and so well worked that I don’t care.
Matt shuffles around behind me, disposing of the condom. Then he crawls across the bed and kisses my shoulder. “So glad you’re here,” he says.
Matt’s the most sincere man I’ve ever met. He tells me how he feels. And what he doesn’t tell me, I can ask about and then he’ll tell me. He doesn’t hold back.
“I love you,” I tell him, and I climb up to lay on his chest. I turn my head so that my ear is directly over his heart. It’s steady and strong and…mine. “Will you love me forever?” I ask. I lift my head to look into his face.
“And a day,” he affirms.
“Matt,” I start. I don’t know how to say what I want to say. “You mentioned that it would take a miracle for you to get me pregnant.”
“Yeah,” he says quietly.
“What if I said that I believe in miracles?”
“I’d say you’re wishing for things you can’t have.” He doesn’t stop touching me, so he’s not mad or sad. He’s just resigned to it.
“But,” I start.
He puts a finger over my lips. “But nothing, Sky,” he says. “You’re my fucking miracle. Not a baby. I don’t need a baby to make me whole. I just need you.” He laughs. “And I get your kids as a bonus. What more could I ask for?”
“Matt, could you move in with me?” I ask. I hold my breath as I wait for the answer.
“What about Seth?” he asks.
“We could have a talk with Seth.”
“I’ll talk to him when we go home in the morning.” He yawns. “You can sleep here tonight.”
“You want to go to my house now?” I ask.
He looks at the pile of condoms on the dresser and shakes his head. “We still have about nineteen condoms to use.” He lifts me up and pulls the covers down, and then pulls them over us. I settle into his arms.
“I think we should do away with the condoms and see what happens,” I suggest.
He shakes his head. “Not necessary.”
I find that spot between his chin and his shoulder that’s all mine and snuggle into it. “We’ll talk about it again later.” I yawn and close my eyes. Nothing ever felt quite this right.
Matt
I wake up with Sky in my arms. I want to wake up like this every day for the rest of my life. She’s turned so that her bottom is in my lap, and we’re lying like two spoons in a drawer. I reach behind me and get a new condom. We used four more during the night. I might just have to take her suggestion and dispense with them entirely. See what happens. But not yet. Not until I marry her. I want her to have my name. I want it to be permanent.
She stirs and murmurs encouragement at me when I push into her from behind. “Matt,” she whispers. I reach around her, trying to get to her clit, but she shoves my hand away. “I can’t come anymore,” she protests. “You wore me out.”
I stroke inside her, my movements lazy and slow. She clenches around me, and while she might not be able to come again, with me touching her clit she can certainly take the warm wash of pleasure that I want to give her. She squeezes me tightly, so tight that I want to come already. Her breath hitches and she makes that noise, and my own completion hits me faster than I thought possible. I come holding on to her shoulder, pushing in lazy strokes, and she rides it out with me.
I stop moving a
nd hold her close, not even wanting to pull out yet. She’s so perfect and everything I’ve ever wanted.
“Good morning,” she whispers.
I chuckle. “I’m almost ashamed of myself,” I say. “I haven’t come that fast since I was a teenager.” I roll her onto her back so I can look into her face. “See what you do to me?”
“I’ll take it as a compliment,” she says over a giggle.
“Are you ready to go home?” I ask her.
She smiles and nods. “Can we?”
I smack her naked bottom and laugh. “Of course, we can. Get up. Let’s go take a shower.”
We shower quickly, and she protests that she’s sore. I wash her gently and wrap her in a towel, and then sneak her across the hallway back to my bedroom so she can get dressed. The sun is barely up, and we’re moving around like teenagers. Her hair is wet, and she’s still in her jammies. I pack some clothes this time because I won’t be coming back here. I’m going to sleep at her house, provided Seth doesn’t mind.
We stop for breakfast and take donuts back for the kids.
As we walk into her house, I realize that I’ve just come home. Her dad is puttering around the kitchen, and Mellie is helping him flip a pancake. He looks up and scowls. “Hi, you two,” he says. He glares at me. I laugh. Fuck, he’s her father. He’s supposed to glare at a man with lustful intentions. I also know I have his blessing, and that’s all I need.
“’Morning,” Sky chirps. Mellie scurries over and straight into Sky’s arms.
“I was afraid you weren’t coming back,” Mellie says. “Like my mom.”
Oh fuck. I never even thought of that. Emotion chokes me and have to swallow hard to push it back.
“I’m not going anywhere for long,” Sky explains. “Neither is Matt. We’re going to be here, kind of like a mom and dad for you.”
Mellie looks over at me like she’s curious. “A mom and a dad?”
Sky blinks her blue eyes. “Yes. A mom and a dad. Is that okay with you?”
Mellie takes Sky’s face in her little hands and looks into her eyes. “And you won’t go away?” she asks.
“Never,” Sky says.
“Matt, either?” Mellie asks. Her gaze is skeptical.