“Please don’t go,” Stormi was saying over and over.
Lake pulled out of my embrace and I felt empty without her in my arms, but I took that moment to pick Stormi up and assure her I’d come back after work to see them.
She placed her small hands on the side of my face and squeezed until my lips were smushed together and I imagined I looked like a fish.
“Promise?” she asked as she giggled.
My reply was jumbled with my face distorted but I gave her my word that as long as nothing happened at work, I’d be there right after.
Giving her a quick squeeze, I put her on her feet and met Lake’s gaze. “You okay with that?”
A small smile stretched across her beautiful face. “Yeah, sounds good. I’ll make sure there’s food here for you.”
“You don’t have to do that, I can grab something.”
“Nonsense. Don’t argue and I’ll see you later.”
Chuckling, I opened the door to the warm summer’s day and wished once again I didn’t have to go to work. I found myself yearning to spend the day on the lake with the girls, which surprised me, because I was still struggling being so close to my childhood home.
“No more arguments from me,” I told her. “I’ll call and check on you.”
Lake rolled her eyes, but Stormi said, “Call me too.”
I grinned down at her. “You got it, kiddo.”
With one last glance at them, I gave Lake a wink and headed out the door. As I walked to my vehicle I prayed the day went off without any hitches, the girls stayed safe, and it went quickly.
Because I’d only made it to my car door, and I already missed them.
Chapter Seventeen
LAKE
Even after a month,my belly fluttered with anticipation.
As I walked toward the front room where I might find Bronson stretched out on the couch sleeping, maybe watching television as he waited for Stormi and me to rise or making breakfast in the kitchen, I wondered what it would be like to actually wake up next to him.
If I felt giddy just seeing him first thing in the morning, I could only imagine that waking up next to him in bed would knock my socks off. That’s if I wore socks to bed. Which I didn’t because just eww, sleeping with something on my feet would drive me batty.
When I didn’t see him and everything was quiet, my heart sank. Had he left? I shook my head at myself, knowing that was an idiotic question. Bronson would never go anywhere without telling me. He’d been spending any free time he had with us. Plus we had plans.
Besides, the man was uber protective.
If he didn’t have to work he probably wouldn’t just so he could control every waking moment making sure we were okay and no harm came to us. After being alone for so long, you’dthink it would annoy me, but I found it to be oddly opposite from that. It was endearing.
And there was also something sexy about his alpha ways.
I did find myself wondering if that was how he had been with all the women he had relationships with. I’d always known how mindful he could be when it came to watching over others, but somehow this felt different. Or was I just another female in a long list? Afraid of the answer I might receive, I didn’t have the nerve to ask.
His response could have my heart sinking deeper than the Titanic.
With my thoughts heavy, I checked the kitchen and didn’t find the man who seemed to be scrambling my brain lately. Our friendship had bloomed faster than the Blue Flag Iris I loved so much that lined the shore by the lake around my home.
Everything I knew growing up was present in my life again with Bronson around. The joking, the laughter, the ease at which I could tell him what I was feeling. But that was not all. There was something new between us.
The flirting, the gentle touches, the way he looked at me with not only desire in his eyes, but also a gentleness that made me melt, and I couldn’t forget the stolen kisses. God the kisses. They set my body on fire and calmed the loneliness inside me.
Being a mother was the most amazing thing that had ever happened to me in my life and Stormi made it richer than all the money in the world ever could. But losing Bronson, my parents, and being on my own before I was even twenty, left a gaping hole inside me. I didn’t think it would ever be filled, but Bronson returning was doing that little by little.
