The Presence of Grace (Love and Loss #2)(54)

“I’ll admit, I hadn’t given much thought to how difficult it might be to date me, how hard it would be to be the woman to follow Olivia, but you have to know that’s not how it works. I’m not comparing anyone to anything. Does that make sense?” He was definitely asking me a question, but I didn’t know the answer. It didn’t make sense; I didn’t understand. And I’m not sure I was meant to. “I’m not thinking about how she’s gone, I’m thinking about how you’re here.”

“Devon” was all I could manage before his mouth was on mine. He kissed me with desperation, as though he was trying to persuade me with his mouth how much I meant to him, and I felt it, all the way down to my bones.

“Please don’t question what I feel for you,” he said against my lips between kisses. “I love you, Grace. I love what I see in our future. Death ends things in a way that is both final and also unfinished. My love for her never died, per se, but it changed after she was gone. But I love you now, and I want to love you forever. I don’t want you thinking that you’re not enough, because you’re everything.”

I had no words, so I just kissed him back. I twisted my body so that I was no longer lying back on him, but so that my chest was pressed against his, and he didn’t miss a beat. His hands moved down my body, gliding easily over my skin, making water slosh against the side of the tub. One of his hands went down over my backside and the other came up, palming my breast.

My lips abandoned his to release a moan as his hands found every part of me.

I’d given him my words, and he’d given me his own.

We spent the next few hours using our bodies to communicate what we couldn’t say with words.





Chapter Eighteen

Grace

The next two weeks passed without incident. We filed the restraining order and there were no more incidents at the bar. Summer vacation was coming to an end, and the kids were gearing up for their trip to California with Evie and Nate.

Things between Devon and I had improved, and even though I still struggled sometimes with insecurity, I knew it would only take time to overcome. Devon did nothing to make me feel unwanted; quite the opposite in fact.

Ever since our night in the tub, and the hours after in his bed, he’d done nothing but make me feel as though his relationship with me was at the top of his priority list. Besides his children, he was solely focused on me and making sure I was comfortable and happy.

I was. Blissfully so. And I worked hard to return the favor. I was at his house most nights, although I was still sneaking out before the kids woke up. There was a distinct joy that came with settling into a routine with him, Jax, and Ruby. I no longer felt as though I was visiting when I was at their house, but that there was a place carved out for me.

“Daddy.” Ruby’s angry voice carried down the hall.

“What?”

“My swimsuit is ruined.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look.”

Devon and I both turned our heads from the television and saw Ruby standing at the mouth of the hallway, holding up her one-piece swimming suit. It had holes cut in it, along with other wide strips of material missing.

“What in the world happened to it?” I asked.

“Jax?” Devon called, seeming to already know who was responsible. I tried to hide my smile as Jax emerged from his room, head bowed, guilt written all over his face. “Did you do this to your sister’s swimsuit?”

“I needed something to make a slingshot with! The material of her suit was stretchy and I had to use it since I couldn’t find a rubber band big enough.”

“You used my swimsuit to make a slingshot?” Ruby yelled, obviously not finding the humor in the situation I was. She lunged toward him, but he was faster than her and ran away before she could catch him.

“Ruby,” Devon called out, his voice sharp and swift. “I’ll handle your brother. Don’t lay a hand on him.”

She huffed out a frustrated breath and stomped back down the hallway. Once she was out of earshot I buried my face in Devon’s chest and let out the laughter I’d been holding in. His warm hand came to the back of my head, holding me to him, and I felt his chest rumbling with laughter too. I pulled back and looked him in the eye.

“Only Jax would cut up his sister’s swimsuit to make a slingshot. He’s crazy smart.” My smile was wide. I’d been smiling a lot in the past few weeks.

“I don’t know about that. Smart people usually consider the consequences before performing such obvious crimes. Did he not think he was going to be caught?” He let out another laugh, but when it died down it turned into a sigh. “A swimsuit trip was not on my agenda. Evie’s coming to get the kids tomorrow and I have to work all day.”

“I can take her to get a swimsuit,” I said, moving my hand up his chest to rest on his shoulder. “I’d love to, actually.”

“You have time tomorrow?”

“I’m free as a bird,” I responded with a smile.

“You’d really be helping me out. Ruby’s been a handful lately and I’m sure Jax doesn’t want to go swimsuit shopping with his sister.”

“It’ll be good. I’ve had plenty of one-on-one time with Jaxy at school and stuff. It’ll be nice to have a little girl time with Ruby. Maybe we can go get our nails done or something too.” A sweet smile spread across his face and he leaned in, kissing me deeply until I was out of breath. “What was that for?” I asked when he pulled away.