“Reeves.”Seaton’s voice came sharp in his ear.
Matthew blinked, surprised to find his friend standing right next to him.“Sorry, what?”
Seaton shook his head.“I said your name three times.Val said he might as well have been talking about inventory to the wall for the past ten minutes.”
Matthew swiveled around to where Val stood behind him wiping down the bar.“Sorry.My mind was wandering, I guess.”
“S’aright, boss.If I had a lady as pretty as yours, I guess my mind would be wandering too.”He chuckled and walked down a bit to serve a customer.
Matthew frowned.He didn’t want the staff thinking about how pretty Lizzie was.Seaton took a puff of his cigarillo.He passed it over to Matthew.“So, she still here?”
“Yes.”He took a drag and grinned as he exhaled the smoke.He passed it back to Rhys.“I plan to convince her to stay permanently.”
“She’s a risk.She is not going to just quit her newspaper and be the little wife.”
Matthew turned his head and sent Rhys a sharp look.“What makes you think I want that shit?Naw, she’s brilliant and passionate.I love that about her.And that kid of hers, just like his mother, full of questions all the time.”
“Just checking.”Rhys slapped him on the back.“If you marry her, we’d be family in a way, with Robert being my nephew.”
Matthew shook his head.“You’ve been my family for a long time, brother.”
Rhys’s eyes flared with emotion.He nodded.Then he took a long drag of his smoke and stared out at the room.“You should go upstairs to your lady.I can handle things tonight.”
“You sure?”
“I’ve got nothing going on.Go.She will need lots of convincing.She’s got a bruised heart.”
As Matthew strode away, heading for the front stairs, he thought about Rhys’s comments about becoming family.It was absolutely true that Rhys was like a brother to him.Just like Ben and Val and so many others who worked at the Angel had become his family.He paused at the top of stairs and turned to survey the home that he had made for himself.His family might be a motley crew of misfits, but they were his.And maybe the ache in his chest wasn’t so much a longing to make a family but rather a longing for her and Robert to become part of this family.Lord knew Lizzie and Robert had been on their own for long enough.Rhys was right; he would have to be persistent.He would have to show her how good it could be if she would stay, if she would be his.
He entered his room and found Lizzie asleep on the bed, a book open on her chest.A single taper on the nightstand flickered soft shadows across her beautiful features, so much softer in sleep.It was so warm.He crossed to push open the window and a gentle breeze raced into the room.He undressed and then blew out the candle before climbing into bed beside her.Setting aside the book, he pulled her into his arms with her backside nestled against him and her hair in his face.
He sucked in a deep breath of her scent, rubbing his nose in her hair.“Lizzie, you are mine now,” he whispered.“I love you.Will you marry me?Be part of my family?Belong to me?”he practiced what he would say.“I want to take care of you and your son.Do you think you can take a risk on me?”
Yes, that was the real question.Would she take the gamble?He would get a ring, the biggest, gaudiest emerald he could get his hands on, to sweeten the pot.He gently squeezed her against him and then closed his eyes to go to sleep.This woman was meant to be his.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Sunday morning dawnedbright and sunny.Elizabeth slipped out of bed to cross to the window and stare up at the clear blue sky.She took a deep breath.Life was strange.If anyone had told her a month ago, she would be living in a gaming hell and sharing the bed of its owner, she would have gasped in horror.Likewise, if anyone had said she would have anything to do with the Perrin family, let alone falling in love with one of them.She wrapped her arms around herself as a breeze skimmed over her bare arms and ruffled the hem of her thin cotton chemise.
But she did not regret where she was standing.Far from it.
Strong arms enveloped her from behind.Matthew’s lips skimmed her ear.“Good morning, luv.”
“Good morning.I didn’t want to sleep in so late like yesterday.But you could have slept longer.I know you don’t get to bed until the wee hours.”She leaned back into his warmth.
“Told you before.I can sleep when I’m dead.”His voice sounded scratchy first thing in the morning.
She smiled and turned her head to rub her nose against his beard.“Robert will be up and ready for food.I swear he is growing.He has been eating so much lately.What do you have planned for today?”
“You mean besides fucking your sweet pussy?Nothing.The club is closed on Sundays.”
She slapped his arm.“You have such a filthy mouth.”
But he just turned her in his embrace so that they stood face-to-face.His eyebrows waggled up and down.“I think you secretly love it.I know you like how I use it.”Then he dipped his head and kissed her.
She sighed and opened for him to plunder with his talented tongue.She kissed him back with equal eagerness.Would she ever be able to live without his kisses?She doubted it.Pressed against his hard body, she wished she could stay within his embrace forever.She reluctantly pulled back.“I have to get ready for the day.”She extracted herself and crossed to grab her robe from the chaise.“I didn’t know the club closed at all.”
“Everyone deserves one day a week off.And because of church services, most people don’t come to gamble on Sundays.”He raised his arms in a languid stretch that had her breath quickening.“Suppose they think God is judging them.”
