Page 79 of Forever Enough
Before I could stop it, my lower lip quivered. Bradly leaned in and kissed me softly, drawing my lip into his mouth and running his tongue over it before letting it go.
“I want to hurt the man who laid his hands on you. If I’m being honest, I want to kill him.”
“Well, hopefully I’ll never lay eyes on him again. Therefore, you’ll stay out of jail for murder.” A crease appeared between his brows, and I reached up with my finger to smooth it away. “I’m okay. He has no power over me, and I’m happy. So very, very happy.”
After another kiss, Bradly carried the washcloth into the bathroom, then crawled back into the bed. He put his arms around me and drew me against his body until we were spooning.
“I should check on Pickles,” I said sleepily.
Bradly’s chest rumbled as he said, “He ran out the door when you opened it.”
Glancing back at him, I asked, “He did? What a terrible mother I am! I didn’t even notice he got past me. Thank goodness my apartment opens to the barn.”
He kissed my shoulder and whispered, “Just let me hold you for a little bit, then we’ll go get some dinner.”
I tensed. “What about your talk with Crystal? Is she mad?”
“She,” he said on a huff, “can wait until tomorrow…or later.”
Standing in front of the mirror, I turned from one side to the other as I surveyed the dress I was wearing. It was a burgundy mock-neck knit midi-dress that hugged my curves to perfection. It wasn’t too sophisticated, but it was dressy enough to meet Bradly’s entire family tonight.
After looking at Mr. Whiskers and getting his approval, I took it off and hung it back up. “If you get a single cat hair on this dress, it’s a week in the barn for you.”
If I didn’t know better, I’d have sworn he rolled his eyes at me.
There was a knock at the door, and I quickly put on a T-shirt and sweats. One quick look at the clock told me there was no way it could be Bradly. He should be with Crystal right now, talking to her about whatever it was that had been so important for her to fly to Hamilton.
I couldn’t help but smile as I walked to the door and thought about how amazing it had been, waking up in Bradly’s arms this morning. We were both so exhausted that we slept until nearly seven-thirty. It was his phone ringing over and over that made us finally get up.
Peeking through the hole, I grinned and unlocked the door. Avery stood there with a bag over her shoulder and a garment bag in her hand.
“I’m here!”
Laughing, since I wasn’t expecting her at all, I opened the door and she swooped in like a tornado.
“Okay, I got the picture of the dress, it’s perfection. Although, you might want to bring a pair of jeans and a shirt for game night.”
I quirked a brow. “Are you being serious right now? I can’t tell.”
She laughed. “Oh, I’m being dead serious.”
My mouth opened but I quickly closed it.
“Now, your hair is so pretty, so I think we do a half-up, half-down look.”
Nodding, I replied, “You would know better than me.”
She beamed at the compliment. Motioning for me to follow her to the bathroom, she called out, “Let’s do this!”
Avery stood back and surveyed her work. “Here, hold this mirror and look at the back of it.”
I did as she said—and gasped. “How did you get it to look like it is weaved in there like that?”
“I paid attention during fashion shows when the hairstylists did the models’ hair. And when they did my own hair. Do you like the little strands on the side? I think it looks cute framing your face like that.”
“I love it, Avery!”
She bounced on her toes and clapped. “Great! Now let’s do your makeup.”