“Are you in bed?”
“Mhmm. You’re on speaker.”
I sit on the edge of my bed. Alyssia says something that’s barely discernable since it’s evident she’s falling into dreamland fast and furiously. Soon enough, I hear her tiny snores.
I lean back against the pillows of my bed, wishing I was next to her, watching over her as she slept.
CHAPTER 27
Alyssia
“I cannot get over this view,” Uncle Theo says for probably the third time since he and Uncle Owen arrived late last night.
I agreed to move into Travis’ apartment a few days before my uncles arrived.
Uncle Owen comes up to stand beside us as we stare out at the marina.
My skin warms as I lift my face toward the streaming sunrays shining against the clear, blue skies. Perfect weather for our full day of touring.
“This is my favorite part of this apartment,” I tell them both.
“I bet.” Uncle Theo turns to me with a huge grin on his handsome face.
Looking at him, I see glimpses of my mother. A fleeting wonder of whether or not she would have begun greying in her early fifties like Uncle Theo passes through my mind.
My grandmother didn’t start greying until her early seventies. I remember my mom saying that meant she would have good health for a long time.
“She’ll probably live to see one hundred,”my mom used to say.
If only that were true.
“Who’s that?” Uncle Theo asks at the knocking on the front door.
“It’s Travis,” I answer while halfway to the door. “Good morning,” I greet.
Travis isn’t as quick to answer as he’s too busy giving me an entire head to toe perusal. I grow restless underneath his gaze. I usually don’t wear sleeveless clothing since, for the longest time, I struggled with insecurity of my scars. Getting the tattoo five years ago helped a little, but it still draws people’s attention to that part of my body.
Today, though, I chose to wear a sleeveless, yellow sundress to match my mood.
Travis’ perusal of me reaches the rose tattoo, his eyes softening and a memory of the way he kissed my shoulder through my clothes the other week blots out my insecurities.
“You look amazing,” he finally says, his tone taking on a slightly breathless quality. He steps closer, dipping his head to press a kiss to the corner of my mouth.
“How are you feeling?” His deep voice is a whisper in my ear, causing a humming sensation in between my legs.
“Great,” I tell him, staring at his mouth.
“Don’t let us interrupt anything.”
“Oh.” I spring out of Travis’ hold at the sound of Uncle Owen’s voice.
When I turn around, both Uncle Theo and Uncle Owen are standing there, arms folded, eyes squinted at Travis. Appearing every bit the Army officers that they used to be.
“You must be the young man who got my niece pregnant,” Uncle Theo says, glaring.
I cock my head to the side. Not even a minute ago he was smiling, joking. Right before that, he couldn’t get enough of rubbing my belly.
“I like to think of myself as slightly more than that,” Travis easily replies, the confident tone matching his easy-going smile.
