“I still don’t know how to drive,” I admitted, feeling my cheeks heat.
His brows rose in surprise. “Seriously?”
I looked down at the fraying seam of the sofa. “Seriously. Will you teach me?” Though I liked the scenery, I had no desire to be stranded in the mountains or beholden to Axel to get me around all the time.
A look of possession passed over his features before he nodded. “You bet,” he agreed.
*****
Maddox fussed all night. It was 2 a.m. and I was ducking into the office for the fifth time.
Axel was already there. I stopped short, watching as his shirtless form held our boy, murmuring to him in his deep baritone voice.
There was something about that moment; such tenderness pooling from this formidable man. A man who hadn’t known he had a son a week ago yet accepted him, seemed to have fallen in love with him as instantly as I had.
“He’s never slept anywhere else,” I explained with a whisper, moving to stroke my hand over his soft head of hair. “I think I’ll just see if he’ll sleep with me,” I added.
“Come on, my bed’s bigger,” he murmured.
“But—” I tried to protest.
He cut me off. “He’ll feel better if we’re both there.”
Part of me wanted to argue further but mostly I wanted to give him this – the confidence to feel he could comfort our baby. I was touched he wanted to try.
So it ended up that we shared Axel’s huge king-sized bed with Maddox stretched out and sleeping peacefully between us.
Axel and I shared a look, gazing at each other from opposite sides of the bed as his large hand lay sprawled gently over our son’s belly.
I smiled at him, the first true smile I’d had in as long as I could remember. The kind that started from the inside and shone outward like a beacon.
“There it is,” he rasped, his eyes shining with joy.
“What?” I asked quietly.
“My light,” he replied simply.
We spent the next few days settling in. Maddox started sleeping more peacefully in his new room, which meant I was back to the guest room much to Axel’s very clear displeasure. I got to work on his home that, though more organized than I would have expected, was lacking in essentials. He needed everything from new towels to pots and pans.
“You ever miss it?” he asked as we meandered through Target with Mad noisily chewing a teething cracker in the cart. Axel had been determined to come with us and I was still trying to get used to seeing this intimidating looking man casually draped over the bright red cart as we strolled the aisles.
“What?” I asked absently.
“The money.” He shrugged, surprising me with his line of thinking.
“Not really,” I replied and he cocked a brow at my response as though he didn’t believe me. “It wasn’t like I could do anything with it that I really wanted to anyway,” I explained. “I couldn’t even buy the clothes I wanted, listen to the music I would have, or experiment with well…anything. In the end, it was all just another way for them to try to control me. So now I shop here instead of Nieman Marcus.” I shrugged as I ran my hands over some throw pillows absently. “At least I get to pick what I like without someone else defining that for me.”
“So you don’t miss any of it?” he pressed.
I sighed. “I mean, sure, if I really think about it, I miss having someone cook for me since I’m crap at it.” I smiled though I really shouldn’t be. My cooking was deadly as I’d discovered over the last year. Thank God I’d just been cooking for myself and once for Jill. After that attempt, she always just had me over. “I miss my bathtub; it was killer. But I guess as far as possessions go, I still regret leaving my grandmother’s necklace. She gave it to me when I turned fifteen. It was beautiful and one of the few sentimental things I owned. But I couldn’t find it in my rush to leave.” I bit my lip and looked away from his penetrating gaze. “Other than that it’s all just stuff.” I shrugged. “Do you need dish cloths?” I asked, ready to change the subject.
He looked at me for a moment longer before he nodded. “Yeah, babe, we probably do.” He made sure to emphasize the ‘we’ as I threw a few into the cart.
Chapter 6
“I’ve got somewhere to take you two,” he stated after loading everything into the back of the truck.
I turned to him in surprise. I assumed we’d be headed back to his place. Maddox was going to need a nap soon.
