“Of course, she misses you. She’s never spent the night away from you,” I tell him, climbing out of bed.
He reaches for me. “What are you doing?”
Stopping, I look over my shoulder. “We need to go. She needs you.” I continue getting dressed.
I hear his feet hit the floor, and then he’s there, right behind me. “I wanted to make love to you again.”
“I want you too, trust me. However, Lexi comes first. Let’s go get your girl. Today is our last day here. You need to spend time with your family.”
He spins me around to face him, his hands holding my face, tilting up so he has my full attention. “You’re amazing,” he says before his lips find mine.
Although I want nothing more than to kiss him, and more, Lexi misses him. I push against his chest. “Get dressed.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He swats me on the ass.
It doesn’t take us long to pack up our bags. Our family thought of everything, as there was a garment bag for my dress to bring it home in. I know my family can read me like a book. They know this is more for me than just making sure Lexi stays with Evan. It’s also embarrassing as hell to know my parents, my brother, and my…in-laws set this up. They’ll have a pretty damn good idea about what went on in this room last night.
“I called downstairs. They are calling us a cab.”
“Great. I think I’ve got everything.”
“Not everything,” he says, snaking his arm around my waist.
“What did I forget?” I ask, my eyes roaming around the room.
“This,” he breathes as his lips meet mine.
“We have to go,” I laugh when he sighs in frustration, resting his forehead against mine.
“Thank you, for everything. For helping me prepare for Lex, helping with her, giving up who knows how much time of your life to make sure I can keep her with me.” He tightens his grip on my waist. “For last night. I won’t ever forget it. Every single fucking second is burned into my memory.”
I love you. “We better go,” falls from my lips. I have to remember to keep my feelings from him. When we walk away from this, neither of us needs to have feelings of guilt. I’m going to enjoy this time with him, with Lexi, and when it’s over, I pray I can keep my composure and go back to how we were before last night. Before all the foreplay. Before I gave him my heart.
The cab ride is quiet. Evan has his arm around me, my hands resting on his chest. He draws circles on my knee. “It’s going to be hard not touching you,” he says wistfully.
“What do you mean?”
“When we get back to our families. It’s going to be hard for me to keep my hands off you. I just…want you close.”
Wow. “Is there a reason you don’t…don’t want to? In front of them, I mean?”
The hand on my leg moves to lift my chin up to face him. “No. I don’t want to hide this connection we have. I know it’s our agreement to do this for Lexi, but I just…you’re my wife.”
“I am. There is no reason for you to hide anything, Evan. We’re not doing anything wrong.”
“I know that, but I wasn’t sure. I mean this…”
“This is between us. We know this is temporary, but we have a strong connection.” It kills me to say the words, but I know he needs reassurance I’m okay. “We’re consenting, married adults. It doesn’t matter what they think.”
“Not so worried about them, more about you. I wasn’t sure you would want this, want them to know this.”
“Evan, they put us up in a hotel room for the night with one bed. Yes, they said for appearances, but my brother bought us a box of condoms. They can see the chemistry between us. It’s natural with as much time as we have spent together. You said it before, we enjoy our time being married, enjoy the benefits of being married, and then, when we know Misty’s parents are gone, we go back to the way things were.” Without you knowing you hold my heart in the palm of your hands.
He leans in and kisses me. “So, you’re okay with me kissing you in front of them?” He kisses me softly. “You’re okay with me standing behind you with my arms wrapped tight around your waist?” Another kiss.
“Yes,” I say, breathless from his kisses.
“I’ll try to be as respectful as possible,” he says as the cab pulls up to his grandparents’ house. “Let’s go see our girl.” He opens the door and climbs out, offering me his hand.
Our girl. He doesn’t even realize he said it. Those two words cause my heart to swell and crack all at the same time. No matter how bad I want her to be, she’s not my girl. I know I will get to see her still when this is over, but I want that claim. I love her.
We find our parents and Lexi sitting around the kitchen table. Evan drops our bag and rushes to take her from his mom. “Hey, baby girl,” he whispers to her. She coos and grins at him, and he visibly relaxes. In two long strides, they’re next to me. “We missed you,” he tells her, including me again.
Reaching out, I offer her my finger. “Hey, Lexi girl,” I say, leaning in to kiss her cheek. She latches onto my hair and shrieks. Silly girl.
“Have you eaten?” Carol asks.
“No, we packed up and left right after I talked to you,” Evan tells her.
“Well, have a seat. We had biscuits and gravy. There’s plenty left over.”
Evan pulls out a chair and motions for me to sit. I take the seat and he hands Lex to me, dropping a kiss on top of my head as he pulls back. I don’t even think he realizes he did it. I see my mom grinning from the corner of my eye.
“Hey, you’re back,” Aaron says, joining us.
“Yeah, Mom said Lex was a little cranky, so we packed up.” Evan brings me a plate and sets it in front of me before going back to make his own. Once he’s done, he takes the seat next to me. “You want me to take her?” he offers.
“I just got her,” I complain. He grins and shakes his head.
Lexi settles in my arms, watching her surroundings, so I pick up my fork and begin to eat. Evan does the same, resting one hand on the back of my chair.
“So, our flight leaves at four,” Aaron speaks up. “Before we go, I was thinking you and I could hit that fishing hole you’re always yammering about.”
Evan’s eyes flash to mine, and he winks. “You okay with that?” he asks me.
I’m taken off guard by his question. “Uh…yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
He just shrugs and turns to look at Aaron. “Sounds like a plan.”
“You want me to keep Lexington?” his mom asks. Again, Evan turns to look at me.
“I’m sure you want as much snuggle time as possible before we leave tomorrow, but I’ll be here either way,” I tell her.
The rest of breakfast is small talk. Evan, Aaron, and our fathers talk about fishing while Mom and Carol talk about the cute outfits Carol bought for Lexi. When we’re done, Evan takes our plates and adds them to the dishwasher. Lexi is now sound asleep in my arms. He stops beside my chair and kneels at my side. “We won’t be gone long, a couple of hours.” He reaches over and pulls her sock up. I nod and smile, and before I know what’s happening, he leans in and kisses me. It’s a soft chaste kiss, but it’s in front of our families. Pulling back, he winks before standing and turning to Aaron. “Let’s head out, can’t have you missing your flight,” he says, heading toward the door.