Scared of Beautiful (Scared #1)(36)
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My eyes open slowly, my head throbbing, and see the sun rising. I’m in the front seat of Emmanuel’s Range, and for once the music is off. Thank f-uck for that! He’s rolling another joint and as I turn my head, I see a very exposed Amber sprawled across the back seat, makeup smeared down her face.
“Oh, the man of the night finally turns up!” Emmanuel cheers. Turning my head away from the private parts of stripper Amber, I see that we’re parked in front of my house, and all I can think is, shit, Maia! I need to get him and that bitch out of here. I scramble to do up my belt, which I have no recollection of undoing, and speed out of the car. Emmanuel takes that as his cue to leave, probably planning on having Amber for breakfast.
Thankfully the house is quiet, and I creep slowly to my bedroom avoiding the creaks in the wooden floor. Opening the door carefully, I audibly sigh in relief when I see that Maia is still asleep in my bed. She looks angelic. So trusting. Now, if only I knew what the f-uck I did last night. Guilt and remorse flood through me. I never should have left in the first place. f-ucking Emmanuel. The clock on the bedside reads 6:15, so I pull off my jeans and climb into bed with Maia, wrapping my arms around her waist and breathing in her scent. She turns slightly in response and curls her arms around mine. This right here, this is heaven.
Chapter 19
Maia
Pretending to be asleep this morning when Jackson came in seemed like my easiest option. I don’t want to know what he did last night. I don’t want him to know that I spent most of the night awake, staring at the clock, and wondering when he was getting back. I know that I’m insecure, but there’s no reason he should know that. Opting out of comfortable PJ’s, I had chosen to sleep in my bra and panties, just in case. It wasn’t until 9:30 that he finally stirred.
I turned to face him, in time to see his face break into a sweet smile as he opens his eyes. “Morning, beautiful,” I whisper.
“Isn’t that my line?” he asks teasingly. Jackson’s hands wrap tenderly around my waist as he pulls me into him and kisses me deeply, with passion. My hips navigate towards him in response. I want to say ‘how was your night’; want to ask if he had a good time, but at the same time I don’t want to hear it. Don’t want to look at Jackson and wonder whether he’s telling me the truth or not. Just as he moves his hand to my breast we hear a small knock at the door and both scramble to cover ourselves.
As Jackson opens it, Daniella comes bounding into the room and jumps straight onto the bed, wrapping her arms around my neck. “Morning, she chides in her sweet little voice. “Morning, daddy,” she says with glee before jumping into his arms. A more loving child in the world, you couldn’t find. “Time for ice cream and the park, remember?” she continues, looking between us.
“I remember,” Jackson says softly. I smile to myself because I can picture us like this years from now. The little girl won’t be Daniella, but the moment will be just as perfect as this one.
After telling Daniella we’ll be right out after a shower, she goes happily skipping down the corridor to make pancakes with her newly found grandmother. I shower first and walk into the kitchen where Jade and Shana are sitting. A twinge of envy gnaws at me. I miss Jade, and I miss having someone to do everything with. Hell, for a split second I even missed Morgan.
“Morning,” I say cheerfully as pour a cup of coffee, which I need seeing as my pretend eight hours of sleep last night was actually only about three.
While Shana and Daniella swiftly beat pancake batter, Jade and I walk out to the front porch. “So,” she says as we plant ourselves on the love seat, “things look like they’re going well.”
“I think so” I reply softly.
“Are you okay, I mean with all of this, with Shana and Daniella, this whole situation?” Jade looks at me, her green eyes brimming with concern.
I want to tell her everything, about how scared I am of falling in love with Jackson, how I wish it were just us we needed to worry about. But I don’t. “I’m happy for him, happy for us. I’m glad Daniella can be in his life,” I reply, less information means less of an opportunity for Jade to seek out my lies.
“He loves you. I mean, I’ve known Jackson a long time, and I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you,” she says tenderly. “Not even Shana.”
Jade knows me well, and the last part was for effect, to reassure me that a happy reunion is not something I should be concerned with. “I know, I just…”
Before I can reply I see Emmanuel’s Range pull up out the front. Emmanuel comes strolling up the path with what appears to be a much more elevated level of cockiness than his usual, or at least what I’ve seen so far. He greets us both before reaching into his pocket and pulling out Jackson’s phone. “Your man left this in my car, make sure he gets it. I put the pics from last night in there, a reminder of his last night in the hood.” With a wink, Emmanuel hands me the phone and walks back down the path.
“What was that about?” Jade asks.
“Not sure,” I reply absently. “They went out last night and Jackson must have dropped his phone in the car, that’s all.” I’m trying, while reassuring Jade, to convince myself that that is all.
“I don’t trust him,” Jade says staring down the path to where the offending Range Rover and its driver stood.