Well Suited (Red Lipstick Coalition #4)(56)

He tucked me under his chin and wrapped me in his arms. Twisted to lay us down. I burrowed into his chest, my tears coming steady, my breath coming deep, filling my lungs with the clean scent of him.

I was a stranger to myself. But I didn’t want to go back to who I had been.

I couldn’t if I tried.

His fingertips grazed the curve of my shoulder, sparking fire.

And magic, for a moment, was real.





19





A Wing and a Prayer





Theo

20 weeks, 3 days

Without a word, everything changed.

She told me in the way she kissed me, the truth of her heart alive in every teardrop, riding her shallow breath. And I basked in the knowledge that I’d found what I’d wanted for so long.

For her to lean in to us. For her to choose me.

For her to love me.

It was her trust in me, finally deep enough to unclench the fist around what she’d once believed was true.

I kissed her then, kissed her until her tears were dry and her body wound around mine, eager for more. So down I moved, taking her with my lips until I tasted another orgasm on my tongue. I sheathed myself in her, loved her like I loved her—with deliberate care, with calculated patience. With all of me, I loved her.

And we fell asleep wrapped in each other’s arms, heartbeats synced and breaths measured and evenly matched.

Just like us.

Morning came too soon, the day promising to be hectic. But in that quiet moment, before the clock began to tick, it was just her and me and the creeping sunlight.

A sigh dragged in and out of her lungs, one of her arms slung around my middle, her head resting on the curve of my shoulder and her hair spilling onto the bed. Her belly pressed into my side, lamentably keeping her hips from me.

“Good morning,” she said, her voice husky from disuse.

“Morning,” I echoed. My arm snaked around her waist, and my hand splayed across the curve of her stomach.

Her leg slipped between mine. “I’ve never called in sick, but I’m tempted to this morning.”

I chuckled. “I know. Tommy and Amelia are at a fundraiser for children’s literacy this morning, and afterward, we have a meeting with the USA Times. I’m not going to be back until after dinner.”

I couldn’t see her face, but I swore I heard her frown.

“Don’t worry. I’ll have dinner in a Crock downstairs for you and Ma.”

“Oh, I wasn’t worried about that. I’ve been successfully feeding myself for twenty-six years. I just dislike being apart from you.”

“I dislike it, too.” I kissed the top of her head.

Another sigh, this one forlorn. “I wish we could at least meet for lunch.”

“Why? Is Eagan not behaving himself?”

She made a derisive noise. “Yesterday, he checked a bunch of books in and changed the return dates so they wouldn’t have fees. Under my login. Stephanie was furious with me. And he had the nerve to tell me he’d done it. Stephanie didn’t believe me, and he lied to her and said he hadn’t. Stupid cretin.”

“I’ll kill him,” I said flatly.

“Not if I kill him first,” she countered.

“Well, tonight we’ll stay in. The finale of Love Cabana is on.”

“And I think I’ll finish Hope’s sweater.”

I leaned back, smirking as I looked down at her. “Hope, huh?”

She shrugged, but a smile curled the very corners of her lips. “I was trying it on to see if I liked it.”

“And what do you think?”

“I wish it had more syllables, but I think I like it very much. Plus, you love it, which makes me love it more.”

The word love from her lips set a hot stir in my chest. Love. Such a fanciful word with so many meanings. I loved the way she said our baby’s name. I loved the way she loved me. I loved the child we’d made, and I’d never even seen her.

I felt the word on my tongue, the shape of it round and open. I kissed her so I wouldn’t speak it.

Mindful of the time, I let her go. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

She smiled, and I slipped away from her, getting out of bed. When I turned, she hadn’t moved.

Her body was comprised of rolling curves—cheek and chin, shoulder and elbow. Waist and hip, breasts and belly. Her eyes were swimming shades of blues just then, picked up and reflected by the white sheets, her cheeks pink and lips rosy.

She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, swollen with my child, radiant and fresh and smiling up at me.

So I climbed back in bed and told her so.



An hour later, we were nearly late, the two of us rushing around each other in a dance of compatibility. We’d gotten Ma set for the day, and as I took a sip of my coffee, Katherine adjusted the knot of my tie. I fiddled with the shoulder of her cardigan where it was caught under her shirt collar while she took the last bite of her toast. And just when I kissed her nose, the doorbell rang.

I frowned, checking my watch. We had to go. In fact, I was surprised Tommy hadn’t already busted in with Amelia in tow. It crossed my mind that it was him, but the thought held no logic. He’d have just walked in.

I strode to the door, and what I found nearly knocked me over.