Tori takes her place beside my hip and bats her eyelashes at me as she licks her palm, then wraps it around the base of my cock. “All in the name of book research.”
I fucking love book research.
A few nights later, we drop Cooper off at a friend’s house for a sleepover on our way to Hastings to meet up with my siblings. Personally, I was all for skipping it. A night with Cooper out of the house means Tori doesn’t have to hold back her reactions when we make love. And I loveloud Torisex. But she insisted we go and spend some time with my family, not taking no for an answer, even when I pointed out we see them all the damn time.
When we get to Hastings, everyone is already there, but there’s two empty chairs at the long table waiting for us.
“Hey!” Kat says, leaning in to give Tori a side hug when we sit down. “Glad you guys could make it.”
“Same,” Tori says with a sound of contentment as she accepts a glass of beer from Max. “Perfect timing with Coop having a sleepover tonight.”
“I’m surprised you left the house,” Lily teases from across the table and I point at her.
“See? We shoulda stayed home, angel.”
Tori shoves at my shoulder, rolling her eyes. “No, I wanted to see everyone. We’ve got all night to ourselves; we can spend a couple of hours being social.”
I let out a huff as those around us laugh at our expense. But the truth is, I fucking love it. I love not being the odd man out anymore, being able to wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her in for a kiss. I love seeing her with my family, laughing and talking with so much joy on her face. And I love that when we leave here, we’re going back to her house and I get to fuck her all night long.
There’s a lull in conversation when Kat winces.
“You okay, Kat?” Max asks, a slight frown furrowing his brow.
She waves him off. “Yeah, just Braxton-Hicks. They’re annoying, but it’s nothing to worry about. Our midwife says we’re all good.”
I lean in front of Tori and point at Kat’s stomach. “Kid, it’s your favourite uncle talking. Give your mom a break, okay? You’ve got a lifetime to annoy her, no need to start early.”
Kat bats away my hand with a laugh. “Thanks, Sawyer. If only they would listen.”
Jude crosses his arms and props them on the table, a rare grin underneath his beard. “So. How are you gonna manage to be favourite uncle now that you’re with Tori?”
My brothers all jeer as I look at him calmly. “If you really think my relationship is going to impact my position as favourite uncle, you’re a fool, Beatle. I’m clearly the front-runner. I’m the most fun, I have access to fire trucks, and Tori has a kid and a puppy for them to play with when they’re old enough.”
“Yeah? Well, I have access to hockey,” Jude fires back. “Maybe they won’t care about silly fire trucks, and they’ll be into sports instead.”
I open my mouth to retaliate but Tori beats me to it. “We have access to pro baseball players, thanks to my best friend.”
“Yeah.” I smirk, holding my hand out to Tori for a high five. She doesn’t leave me hanging, slapping her hand on mine.
Damn, it feels good to have a partner in crime. I get it now —relationships are awesome.
Chapter thirty-one
Tori
Two weeks go by in a blur. A happy, laughter-filled blur.
It hasn’t all been perfect. I finally discovered that Claire wasn’t exaggerating after all when she said Sawyer was a difficult patient. The number of times I had to use my mom voice to get him to take his painkillers, elevate his leg, or use his damn crutches instead of hopping on one foot, is starting to border on ridiculous.
But even with those moments of frustration, there’s no denying the positive energy Sawyer has infused into my house.
Sawyer’s tucking Cooper into bed tonight, and once I finish tidying the kitchen, I head down the hall to say goodnight. When I overhear Cooper asking Sawyer if he could just stay here forever, even after his leg is healed, I hold my breath, waiting for Sawyer’s reply.
“You know, bud, that would be super cool. But me and your mom, we’re still finding our way together, and I want to do it right. My priority is making sure everyone is happy, and that includes you, but your mom’s job is to put you first, which makes it my job to putherfirst. And that means letting her take the lead on those kinds of decisions. The last thing I want is for you and your mom to get sick of me.”
I peek around the corner to see Cooper squeezing Sawyer around the neck tightly, and my hand comes up to my chest.
“She loves you. Like, really loves you, the way she loves me. And you don’t get sick of people you love like that. It’s not possible.”
