“Oh, I’m not going anywhere. Besides, Isla needs breakfast.” He sets her down and starts bustling around the kitchen while Vivian makes her coffee. She brings it over, takes a sip, and leans against the counter across from me.
“Okay. Ready.” She waves her hand. “Tell me everything.”
“I don’t have a lot of time, so here’s the condensed version. We went out last night, had a lot of fun. I went up to the condo with him to grab a package for Leo.” I glance his way. “Which is still in my car, by the way.” Then I turn back to Vivian. “Anyway, when I left, I was all conflicted. I wanted to stay but I was scared. And then I remembered the letter he gave me.”
“You still hadn’t read that?”
I shake my head. “So I did.” I pause, my voice going softer. “And then… I don’t know. Something shifted. It was like I could actually feel what he was feeling. How broken he’d been. And then how he just… wasn’t anymore.”
My eyes sting, but I keep going. “He’s really put in the work, you know? Changed. He’s like this even better version of who he was before. And,God,he just loves me so much. For a moment, I just saw everything clearly. I didn’t want one more minute wasted without him.”
I let out a breath, glancing between them. “Maybe that’s dumb. Because I know it could all be taken away at any moment. But that’s the only way I can explain it.”
“That’s not dumb at all,” Vivian says gently. “I get that.”
Yeah. I guess she would.
I let out a small laugh. “After that, I went back upstairs and basically jumped him.”
Leo chuckles with his back to us. “Sorry. I’m not listening. Carry on.”
“Anyway,” I say, narrowing my eyes at his back. “We did it. And it was maybe the best sex of my life.” My head tips back.“God, it was so good.Though, to be fair, it’s been averylong time.”
A grin spreads across Vivian’s face. “I’m so happy for you, Al. And it’s not the same, but… I remember when we”—she nods at Leo—“sort of took a break from each other.”
“Sort of?” Leo snorts. “You ran away for a whole month.” He looks at me. “Seems to be a theme with you women.”
“We just know how to make a man work for us, that’s all,” I tease. “Sometimes they need a good kick in the ass.”
His eyes sparkle with amusement, and it makes me want to throw a pillow at his face and laugh at the same time.
Vivian lifts a brow at Leo. “Did it work?”
He nods, crossing the kitchen. “It worked.” He stops in front of her, pressing a kiss to her lips. “Men are stupid creatures who need a woman to put us in our place. Thank God I have you.”
“I sense sarcasm.”
“Only a little.” He grins. “Without you, us men would probably be beating the shit out of each other and having a wank every five minutes.”
Vivian laughs. “Damn straight. Now go feed your daughter so I can drink my coffee in peace, otherwise a wank's all you'll be having later.”
We all crack up as Leo mutters something to Isla about not making Mommy mad.
Vivian turns back to me. “Anyway… when he finally came after me? Best sex ever.”
My phone dings with a text.
“Oh, just a minute. It’s him.”
Jensen
Hey, babe. Almost there. Meet you in the parking garage?
A smile pulls at my lips as I type a quick reply.
Cumming.
That’ll make him laugh. It’ll also help make up for the weirdness of this morning—bring us back to who we’ve always been.
