Chapter 27

chapter twenty-seven

Grant

Sunlight streams through the window, bathing the bedroom in a warm, golden glow. The sun is rising higher, so it must be almost seven.

I've been up for hours, since the sky was still dark and moonlight painted Addie's naked body as she slept, draped across my chest. My arm fell asleep a while ago, but I wasn't moving, not when I finally had her in my arms.

Not when I spent the entire night memorizing every inch of her body, committing every freckle, every curve, every whimper to memory. She was exhausted, and she needed to rest.

And I'd rather watch her sleep. It might just have become my new favorite way to pass the time. My eyes rove over her face, drinking in the thick, dark fan of her eyelashes that flutter as she dreams. Her rosy, pink lips are pursed, and I wonder if she's dreaming of me.

I feel like I've spent the last year dreaming of her, and I'm scared that if I blink, she'll slip through my fingers. That the past twenty-four hours have been one of those dreams, and once I wake up, it'll all be over.

If it wasn't for the fact that she's sleeping contentedly in my arms, then I would believe that it was all just a fever dream. It's the only thing that reassures me that she's finally fucking mine.

And not just because we signed papers to legally get married.

No, Addie is mine in every sense of the word, and I'm not letting her go. Not now, not when the probate process is finished, not when the bakery's finally transferred into her name. Not ever.

She's it for me, and after what she gave me last night… a piece of herself that she held so close, I know that there's no walking away.

Those warm rays of morning light move over her face, and she stirs slightly, the sweetest moan cascading from her lips at the intrusion.

I trail my fingers lightly down her spine and then back in a path that somehow feels as if I've done it a hundred times. As if somehow my soul knows hers, even in the dark, even when distance separated us.

"Mmmm," she hums sleepily, her eyes still closed as she burrows further into my chest. "Good morning."

"Good morning, beautiful."

Her pouty lips curve into a smile, and I brush my thumb along her bottom lip, suddenly thinking about how I spent the entire night kissing them until they were swollen and red.

And how I desperately need to kiss her again, or I might lose my mind.

I don't think there's anything that could surpass waking up with the girl I love in my arms and feeling her naked, sleepy body pressed into my side. I'd really fucking love to do it for the rest of my life.

"How are you feeling?" I ask. I'm worried that she'll be sore this morning, but I'm hoping that the pain relievers helped before she went to sleep last night.

She lifts her head from my chest, and a shy smile pulls at her lips as a slight flush works its way down her cheeks and to her neck. "I'm okay. A little… achy, but I feel fine."

I keep the steady swipe of my fingers along her skin as I wince. "I'm sorry, baby. I fucking hate that it hurt you. I wish that I could've taken it all away."

Her piercing blue eyes hold mine, and she shakes her head adamantly, "No, it was… It was perfect , Grant. It was everything I imagined it would be, and I don't regret anything. Do… Do you?"

Something in my chest constricts as her words wash over me, and I tighten my arms around her, wishing that I could somehow pull her even closer.

"Fuck no, never, Addie. The fact that you trusted me with something that special… It was everything to me. You're everything to me."

Rising on her elbows, she props her chin in her hands and smiles. The freckles that are scattered along her nose and cheeks are more prominent in the morning light, and I fucking love them.

Then, her sleepy smile shifts to a curious look. "So… what do we do now?"

My eyebrow arches as my lip twitches in amusement.

She quickly backtracks, her eyes widening. "I mean… now that, you know…"

I laugh. "Whatever you want, baby. I think you should let me run you a warm bath and make you breakfast, for starters."

At the mention of food, her eyes light up.

"You hungry?" I ask.

She nods. "Starving. My stomach is growling."

"I know," I tease. "I've been listening to it for the last hour while I watched you sleep."

Her lips part, and she stutters adorably, "Y-you were watching me sleep? Oh god, was I drooling?"

"No, buuuuut you do snore. Auggie poked his head in twice because I think he was worried the roof was about to come down on top of him while he napped."

Addie's face morphs into panic, and I chuckle, bringing my hand to her face to brush her messy blonde hair out of her eyes. "I'm just kidding. You're perfect, baby. Fuck, I had to recite the last twenty years of World Series winners just so I wouldn't get hard again from watching you."

She tosses her head back and laughs so loudly that Auggie pads back into the room, his head cocked to the side as if to ask what's so funny, and that only makes her laugh harder.

"Stop laughing at me, woman. I can't help it—you make me crazy. Now, let your husband take care of you. I know you're sore from last night, so I'll run you a bubble bath, and then I can make you… pancakes?"

"That sounds amazing." She smiles shyly as she starts to sit up, but before she can, I slide my fingers into the hair at her nape and tug her mouth to mine, capturing her lips.

She protests, pulling away before I can really kiss her. "I haven't brushed my teeth yet…"

I pull her back and chuckle against her mouth. "I don't care. I want to give you a good-morning kiss." I kiss her once, then again, before tasting her lips as I part them.

When I pull back, she's breathless and her pupils darkened.

"Come on before we never make it out of here," I say with a grin.

If it was up to me and I knew she wasn't sore, we'd never leave this bed. I'd lock us in here for a week and make up for all the time I wasted by not telling her how I felt.

But since I know that she needs sustenance for energy and the warm water will soothe her, I get out of the bed and then bend and scoop her into my arms, lifting her from the mattress. She yelps, collapsing against my chest in a fit of giggles as I carry her to the bathroom and turn the faucet on.

I add in some of the girly, smelly shit that she loves, and after making sure that it's not too hot, I help her in.

The sound she makes as she slips beneath the bubbles makes my dick twitch, and that's my cue. It's impossible not to want to touch her, but I won't until I know that she's not feeling too sore from last night.

After I pull on a pair of briefs, I walk into the kitchen and make sure Auggie has food and fresh water, not that he would let anyone in this house go long without putting him first, and then I start on breakfast.

I grab some fresh strawberries from the fridge and then cut several to go with the pancakes because I know Addie loves them. Then, I get to work on heating the stove and preparing the pancakes.

Twenty minutes later, Addie walks into the kitchen with her hair still wet from her bath, wearing one of my baseball T-shirts that hangs down to the middle of her thighs.

Fuck, she looks so good in my shirt.

She looks like mine.

"Do me a favor and throw away every single dress you own. And the skirts. Everything. All of it. Gonna need you to wear nothing but my clothes from here on out, baby," I tell her, my voice hoarse and raspy, a mixture of sleep and desire. Her nipples are hard against the front of the shirt, and it nearly makes me groan.

I've always wanted Addie. Since the first day I met her, but now that I've had her… It feels like I'll never get enough. I've had a taste, and now I'm consumed by this overwhelming need for her. I only want her more.

"You're still delusional, I see," she says with a sassy smirk.

Laughing, I shake my head as I put two pancakes and two generous spoonfuls of strawberries onto her plate. "And this is still my favorite way of flirting with you, ArtGirl."

She grins widely before rolling her pouty lips together. I shoot her a wink and walk over to the kitchen table to set her plate down next to mine.

"Thank you for breakfast."

"I love making you breakfast. Not as much as I love you making me breakfast since you're inherently better at it than I am, but still, I like taking care of you."

Addie giggles as she drags the chair out beside me and sits before immediately diving into the strawberries. Of course, I was right. I knew she'd want them.

I've paid attention to everything about her, and I know exactly what she loves. Not just for breakfast but in general. In… everything. It's hard not to notice everything about your favorite person. To want to memorize every detail about them.

"You could always have some of the four dozen cupcakes that we still have left over from yesterday." She laughs.

"You know, that's an excellent idea."

My chair scrapes against the floor as I stand and walk over to the counter and grab the box full of the leftover cupcakes.

I still can't believe she spent all day on these or that she planned dinner and made that incredible painting for my birthday. No one has ever done anything like that for me before. God, I love her.

I walk back to my chair and sink into it. Fuck the pancakes—my wife made me cupcakes, so I'm going to have them for breakfast instead.

Her giggle floats through the air as I shove pretty much the entire cupcake into my mouth and chew it.

"Did you have a good birthday?" she finally asks, peering over at me with a curious expression.

I nod. "The best birthday I've ever had. It's going to be pretty impossible to top it. Thank you for everything you did yesterday."

Her icy-blue eyes sparkle. "I just… I really wanted you to have the best day, a day for just you. You do so much for me, Grant. You've been so selfless and generous with me. And I know that you always say it's nothing and that you want to do it, but I also want to do things for you too. I want to make you as happy as you make me."

Unable to stop myself, I reach for her, taking her hand in mine and lacing my fingers through hers. "You do, Addie. You have no fucking idea how happy you make me."

"Things have just been so much lately… with the marriage and the bakery and with all of this with Brent and Dixon. I hate that you have to deal with any of this," she continues, chewing the corner of her lip nervously. "And I don't know what will happen next… Does last night make us a real couple now? We're already married, and I just… I've never done this before, and I keep thinking that I'm going to mess everything up."

Fuck, I can't wait to get rid of those assholes once and for all. I don't care if I have to spend every goddamn cent of my brand money to hire the best attorney in the country. I'll do it.

Or I'll handle them myself if that's what it takes.

"I haven't done this either, Addie. You're the only person I have ever told ‘I love you.' They aren't just words to me. They're a promise. A promise that I will never let you face anything alone again. That I will always take care of you and put you first. Protect you. Cherish you," I say with fierce sincerity. I need her to know that I'm not just saying this shit; I want to prove it to her with my actions. I'm going to prove it to her with every day that passes. "We started our marriage as an arrangement, but we've both said that it's no longer fake for us. I don't know what the future holds, but what I do know is that you're mine. No matter what happens, you're the one I want. I know that I don't want this marriage to be over, regardless of what it was in the beginning, because that's not the way I feel now. I want to be with you. I want this to be our life. I'd marry you again tomorrow if I could. Is that what you want?"

Her face crumples slightly, a look of worry flickering in her eyes as her fingers squeeze mine. "Yes. I-I don't want to be without you. I want you to be my future too, Grant. I'm just worried that… you're going to the MLB, and I'll be here an?—"

"Baby," I stop her. "Nothing is going to change, even if I get drafted. Even if I have to go on the road for a bit, I'll fly you to wherever I am, or I'll come home every single weekend if that's what it takes. We'll make it work, no matter what life throws at us. We can figure it out as we go. As long as we're together, then that's all that matters. I just want to be with you, Addie. You."

I lift my thumb to her cheek and brush away the stray tear that's fallen. I fucking hate her tears.

I hate seeing her cry, regardless of the reason. It makes my chest feel tight.

"I want this life with you more than anything. You're the only place I feel safe anymore. Especially now… after the bakery," she whispers.

"Then, baby, that's all that matters. Me and you. And tomorrow, we're going to check in with the detective and see if they've made any progress on the break-in. I promise you that we're going to figure it out. All of it. So, you don't have to be worried or feel unsafe. I hate that these assholes make you feel that way," I tell her.

"Okay," she whispers. "I've just been thinking… Don't you think it's weird that we haven't heard anything else from Brent or Dixon lately? There's been nothing since the break-in, and I feel like I'm waiting on bated breath for the other shoe to drop. It feels entirely too quiet. It scares me."

Yeah, tell me about it , I think to myself but don't voice out loud. I don't want to make her feel any more anxious about the situation than she already is.

Either way, they're not coming near Addie ever again because I'll follow her around like a fucking shadow if that's what it takes to protect her.

That's my job as her husband.

"The police being involved probably scared them, as it fucking should. They fucked up, and now they'll pay for it." Reaching up, I slide my hands along her jaw, cradling her face as my eyes rove over the delicate slope of her nose and the constellation of freckles along her pale skin. I sweep my thumb along her jaw steadily.

"I promise you that I will never let anyone hurt you, Addie," I murmur.

And there's nothing in the world I wouldn't do to keep that promise.