“I’m pretty sure that’s how it’s meant to work, Rett.”
My breath catches. “You called me Rett again.”
“Don’t you like it?” she asks, although when she glances over, I’m pretty sure she can read the exact opposite on my face.
“No, I love it. I l?—”
“I’ll always be a safe space for you, Rett. No matter what it is, I’m here, and I’m willing to listen to it all.”
“It’s weird, isn’t it?”
“What is?” she asks as we close in on our apartment building.
“I had no idea how much I needed you in my life until suddenly you were in it.”
69
BEATRICE
“Are you nearly ready?” Everett asks as he pokes his head into the bathroom attached to his—our—bedroom.
After we got home from lunch with his parents, he marched straight into the guest room and started moving all my stuff. I had little choice but to stand there in shock as he walked back and forth between the rooms, before finding homes for all my things amongst his.
It was…surreal.
I tried to argue that it wasn’t necessary. I’m achingly aware just how much I’ve already derailed life as he knew it, but he wouldn’t hear a word of it. He asked me if I were serious about him, about us, and of course, I said yes. And that was it—from that moment on, we weren’t just roommates; we were officially living together.
I still get butterflies now thinking about it.
And moving my things wasn’t the only trick Everett had up his sleeve, because without me knowing, he’d paid the balance on the rental agreement on my awful flat and organized to have my few pieces of furniture put into storage. He also wentsnooping and found my outstanding loans and credit cards and paid them all off, too.
To say I broke down the day I discovered that he’d taken all my stress away without batting an eye would be putting it mildly.
He told me it was nothing, that after everything I’ve done for him, it was the least he could do. I still find that hard to believe. I haven’t done anything. I just…turned his world upside down and changed everything about his life.
I see the difference in him, though. I may have barely met Everett Donnelly before I came into his life, but even compared to those first few weeks, he smiles more, his laughter is loud and booming, and his shoulders are relaxed. Sure, he still has his moments when he questions his ability to be a parent, but he’s not the only one.
As the weeks pass, my belly only grows.
Baby Donnelly is doing well. He’s measuring exactly as he should be, and we’re both healthy and hoping for a smooth delivery in the new year.
My eyes lift and meet his in the mirror. He’s wearing a Vipers T-shirt and a pair of sweats, a backward baseball cap on his head. It's an outfit I've seen on him a million times now, but it never fails to set my heart on fire and my blood singing.
“You know we’re only going to Handsy and Freya’s, right?”
When my eyes find his face again, it’s impossible not to notice that he’s checking me out, just like I was him.
“Yeah,” I say, smoothing a hand over my growing belly. “I just haven’t worn this yet, and it’s pretty.”
“It’s more than just pretty,” he mutters. “Have you seen your tits?”
I can’t help but chuckle; it would be impossible to miss them. They seem to be growing right alongside my belly, something Everett isn’t sad about. Not only that, but they’re so fucking sensitive. His favorite hobby right now is getting me off withouteven having to get between my legs. Of course, he always goes there after giving me the full Everett Donnelly experience.
It’s safe to say that my vibrator has been well forgotten over the last few weeks, and that frustration I was feeling over my lackluster orgasms disappeared as if it never existed. Everett makes sure that he gives me multiple mind-blowing releases every single time, and I couldn’t be happier.
“It’s a good thing most of the guys are already taken. I’d hate to punch my friends for looking at what’s mine.”
“Killer isn’t, and isn’t Hayden meant to be back tonight?” I point out with a smirk.
