I gesture to the house and the loud noises coming from inside. Rex, Gwen, Jolene, and Cash are busy running the place while Momma and Anna May are making cookies in the kitchen. She listens and then smiles knowingly. Patting the seat beside me, I wait as she climbs towards me and ache with every slow step she takes until she is seated right beside me.
“Hi,” I say.
“Hi,” she smiles.
“How was your day, darlin’?” I ask, coming in for a kiss, which she willingly gives. “I got to say, I don’t mind waiting for you to come home to me. It’s something I’m looking forward to getting used to.”
Smiling, she looks out across the field.
I still don’t know why I saw her going into the newspaper office yesterday, she has not been willing to offer up that information. Until she is, I figure it is best to let it be for now.
“My day was good,” she says. “I thought you said this was a private party once you got off shift. What is all of this about?”
I roll my eyes. “This is all Rex’s doing.”
She laughs. “I should have known, it smells like something Rex would fix up.”
Grabbing her hand, I lift it to my mouth and give it a kiss. Slowly, I turn it over and kiss her wrist. “We can take another drive?”
She laughs as she leans in closer. “Not a bad idea,” she whispers. Arousal takes over her as my mouth moves, sucking and kissing a path up to her lips. “But, I should at least say hi to your momma,” she pants. “I don’t want to be rude.”
I kiss her lips once, then pull back to meet her eyes. “Well of course, we can’t have that now, can we?” I tease. She swats at me playfully before I grab her arm and pull her in for another kiss.
Pulling away before I get the satisfaction, she pulls me to standing and drags me towards the front door. “Besides, I got a little gift for Anna May when I was out today, and I can’t wait to see the smile it puts on her face.”
Opening the screen door, we step inside and make our way toward the kitchen. Heading down the hallway, I swing her around and pull her close to me for one last kiss which she doesn’t fight this time.
She opens up for me, and my tongue slowly caresses hers in a seductive dance. Fisting my shirt, she pulls me closer and proceeds to take my breath away only the way she can. Running her fingers through my hair, I back her up against a wall and almost tip over a vase. The noise at the far end of the hall grows quiet and we stop what we’re doing, knowing we’ve been caught. Pulling away, she smiles.
“Don’t start something you can’t finish,” she whispers.
“Who says I wouldn’t finish?” Leaning closer, I murmur against her lips. “Say the word, and I’ll fuck you. Even if there is an audience.”
She sucks in a sharp breath.
“Though, I am a jealous man and prefer having you all to myself, darlin’,” I grin.
Pushing against my chest, she gives me a sly grin and then saunters off towards the kitchen. I smack her ass just as she walks into the room making her jump a little as she makes her way towards Gwen. Smiling, I wander off towards Rex who’s standing at the fridge. Opening it, he hands me a beer and takes one for himself. I lift one in Cash’s direction, who is sitting at the table with my sister. He shakes his head no, and motions he’s alright for now.
“Eva,” my mother says. “Can you come help me with this, baby?”
Eva hurries over to my mother’s side and helps her reach for a bag of flour for the cookies she’s making with Anna May. I lean back against the counter and smile. My world feels so fucking right, it’s almost scary. The only thing that would make me happier is if I was watching Eva in the kitchen with our own kids.
This is it for me. She’s the forever I have been waiting for.
I am brought back to reality when Jolene says, “So tell me, Gwen, what is the deal with you and Rex?”
Rex spews beer out of his mouth, and I pat him a few times on the back as he breaks into a coughing fit. When he has finally gathered himself, we all wait for an answer to the big elephant in the room.
Startled, Gwen stands motionless at the kitchen counter mid-scoop into a bag of sugar. Although the rest of us are rather amused by the situation, she stiffens and her defenses immediately rise.
“I don’t know what you’re getting at, Jolene,” she says, as she quickly returns to the task in front of her. “There is no deal, past or present.”
Rex rolls his eyes and mutters something as he walks out of the room
“Right,” my sister chuckles. “Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.”
The doorbell rings, and Rex hollers from the front room that he will get it. Eva eyes me from across the room, and quickly strides over with a look in her eyes that would melt any man’s heart. Setting my beer down, I wrap my arms around her tightly and kiss the top of her head.
