She smiles back, stroking my leg tenderly.
“But how can I condemn Monica?” I ask. “I don’t know what she was going through. I don’t know her situation. All I know forsure is that she kept our daughter healthy. Ken was happy when I met her—all things considered. Monica kept Kennedy safe.” I blow out a tired breath. “I’ll never get answers about why she made her choices, so I choose to feel grateful for everything she did right.”
“That’s an amazing way to look at it.”
“Well, that’s really the only way to look at it, right? I mean, I want Kennedy to grow up and know that so many people love her. I want her to feel supported. To know her worth and value. If I have a chip on my shoulder about her mother—someone who I know Kennedy’s going to have questions about and be curious about—that defeats the purpose.”
“Does she ask about her?”
I move my shoulder and wince. “No, not a lot. But it’ll come. And when it does, I want to look at her and tell her how much her mother loved her, how she was the center of her world. But how can I do that if I’m secretly pissed at Monica? That doesn’t serve Kennedy, nor does it serve her mother’s memory. The stories I tell her about Monica are the only things Kennedy will ever know about her, and I’ll be damned if she thinks anything other than the best.”
Megan crawls across the bed and lays beside me once again. This time, she holds me tighter than ever before.
The peace that comes with having her in my arms is dangerous. But I can’t deny that if time were paused right now, I wouldn’t be upset about it. It feels pretty damn good with her by my side.
“You’re a good man, Chase Marshall. Even if you are a grumpy cat.”
The memory of her calling me that in front of my mother makes me chuckle.
“Now, enough of this sad shit,” she says. “How are we going to handle this now? I mean, we have to be respectful of Kennedy.”
I kiss her head again.I love that you consider my child.
“The ball is in your court,” she says.
“Well …” I contemplate my options. “I guess the only thing I want to avoid is Kennedy thinking that something is happening between us. You and I are adults, and we know what this is.”And that you’re leaving.
The thought is a punch in the gut, but I move on.
“So I guess if we can keep our distance in front of her,” I say, thinking quickly, “and make sure she stays our priority, then we can figure out how to get time together.”
Her hand slides down my stomach, resting on my cock. “I think that’s a good plan.”
“One more thing. I will have to go out of town overnight for a couple of nights this week. Probably Thursday or Friday. Just giving you a heads-up.”
“Okay. No problem.”
“Oh, there’s a problem,” I say, ripping the blankets off us. I take her hand in mine and wrap it around my hardening cock. “You touched it. Now it’s your problem.”
She looks up at me with a devilish grin. “That’s a problem I can solve.”
Thank God.
CHAPTER 21
Megan
“Where are your condoms?”I ask, then lick him from base to tip.
He hisses through his teeth. “Drawer to your right.”
I tease him, swirling my tongue around the head. He watches me with a heated gaze as I pull him out of my mouth with an audiblepop.
Leaning over the bed, I slide the drawer open. Chase’s hands cup my ass before his fingers slide down my slit and dip into my opening.
“Shit,” I gasp, looking desperately for a condom. I lift my hips and spread my knees to offer him better access.That feels so fucking good.
He plays in my wetness while I search in the darkness.
