Sway (Landry Family #1)(67)

“I took Hux for ice cream last night. I looked over my shoulder the entire time, Barrett.”

“Did anything happen?” I ask, holding my breath.

“No, it didn’t. We were fine.”

“It will be fine,” I assure her. “I won’t let it be anything but fine.”

“This could end so badly for me and Hux.”

“But it could be amazing too. If you would just trust me and just—”

“You’re right.”

A lump appears in my throat and I have to squeeze the words out around it. “I am? I mean, I know I am. But you think so?”

“When you left last night and things were so . . . broken, something felt broken inside of me. I feel like all the colors of the rainbow are there when we’re together. Does that make sense?”

“Absolutely.”

“When I agreed to get involved with you, I did it knowing all the ways it could go wrong. I did it knowing you’d never intentionally hurt me, and at the end of the day, that’s what Hayden did. He hurt me on purpose. He didn’t give a single fuck about how his actions were going to affect me.”

“I would never do—”

“Barrett,” she interrupts. “Let me finish.”

“Sorry.”

She laughs. “I know you’d never do that. And I know there are things you aren’t going to be able to control. But if I want to be with you, I have to realize that and not hold it against you.”

“Damn it, Ali—”

“Ali?” she giggles. “You’ve never called me that before.”

“If Linc is calling you Ali, so am I.”

She laughs full-on now and it’s music to my ears.

“So does this mean you forgive me?” I ask, hopeful.

“It means I don’t have anything to forgive you for. Do I like what happened? No. But as long as I know what’s real between us, I can’t care what everyone else thinks. I can’t let my fear hold me back. My insecurities are my problems to work through, not yours.”

“I’ll be right by your side holding your hand,” I promise.

She doesn’t respond, but she doesn’t have to.

“Hey,” I say, picking up my briefcase and heading to the car. “Does Hux know how to tie a tie?”

“No. What a weird question. Why are you asking?”

I laugh, shutting the door behind me and jogging toward the Rover. “No reason. Can I see you tonight?”

“You better.”



Alison

I pull my raggedy red robe around me and tie it snugly. It’s my favorite, and most beat-up, piece of clothing but I needed it last night when I felt like my life might be breaking apart. Now, after talking to Barrett a little while ago, my heart feels like it’s been glued back together, my hopes and dreams still intact. I’m not even sure what those dreams consist of, exactly, besides having Barrett in our lives.

I sing a little ditty from when I was a child softly until Huxley’s eyes flutter open. He stretches and yawns, his sweet, sleepy smell making me smile harder.

He follows me to the kitchen where I have a plate of sausage links and a scrambled egg waiting on him.

“Wow, what happened to cereal?” he asks.

“What? You’d rather have a box of marshmallows?”

“No,” he yawns, sitting down to dig in. “It’s just . . . weird. You aren’t a morning person, you know.”

“I know, buddy.” I hum a little tune and put the skillet in the sink when the doorbell rings. I look up at Hux who’s looking at me. “I’ll be right back. Grandma must’ve gotten her days mixed up.”

Hux stuffs an entire sausage link in his mouth as a reply.

I pad down the hallway and pull the door open. When I see Barrett on the other side, my hand flies to my mouth.

He looks divine in his crisp grey suit and tie. His watch sparkles in the early morning sunlight, but it’s outshone by his beautiful eyes which are looking at me.

The lips I love to kiss, love to hear form words in my ear, are pressed together in an undeniable smirk. He watches me for a minute before reaching for me and I fall into his arms.

Holding me with one hand, he steps inside and closes the door quietly behind him.

“I missed you,” he whispers in my ear.

“What are you doing here?” I can’t keep the amazement out of my voice, even though I don’t want to give him the wrong impression. Seeing him first thing, before the world has a chance to ruin our day, makes me happier than I could ever tell him.

“I needed to see you.”

“Don’t you have a million things to do?” I try to say as he kisses my lips, little taps in quick succession. I giggle as the last peck sinks deeper into my lips and I find my hands wrapping around his neck and pulling him into me.

“Mom, are you okay?” Hux shouts from the kitchen.

I pull back and laugh, resting my head on Barrett’s chest. “Yeah, I’m good. I’ll be right there.”

Barrett nuzzles me against him, brushing my hair back with one of his large hands. “God, I needed this.”

“You have no idea how much I needed it too.”

“You look adorable in this robe,” he grins.