Page 8 of Emergence: Prequel
I couldn’t help the small twinge of sadness that flitted through me at her words, but as I was forty-four and Stacey was a few years younger at forty-two, I guess we were past having babies. Didn’t mean I didn’t wish it weren’t so, though.
“Come on, let’s grab a shower and then we’ll see about getting you all dirty again,” I said, slipping my hands under her and picking her up. Grinning as she gave a small gasp of surprise, shelaughed, wrapping an arm around my neck as I took us to the bathroom, stepping into the shower and switching it on.
Wrapping my arms around her as we waited for the water to warm up, and once it had, I gently shifted her under the stream to get wet. Pouring shampoo into my hands, I rubbed them together before gently massaging it into her hair.
Her eyes flashed open, and her nose flared as her entire body stiffened when the scent of the shampoo hit her. I knew it was her brand; I’d got Lizzie to do some checking, and I’d bought it along with the conditioner and body lotion over a month ago.
“Whose shampoo is that?” Stacey demanded suspiciously, turning towards me.
Chuckling softly, I turned her back to the water and rinsed her hair, “Relax, baby. I bought it for you. I told you there’s been no one in my life since you got rid of your anchor. I’d never cheat on you, not in a million years. Especially now that I’ve finally got you in my home and in my bed.”
Once the shampoo was rinsed out of her hair, I massaged the conditioner in and waited. I could see the wheels turning in her head as she thought about my words. Deciding that I wasn’t going to wait for her to make up her mind, I pressed my point home. “I’ve waited a long time for you, Stace. I’m not going to fuck it up by shoving my dick in strange. I get you’re going to have trust issues, baby, but I promise you’re safe with me.”
Stacey gave me a tremulous smile, then bit her lip before nodding, “Okay. I’m sorry I’ve spoilt this.”
Snorting, I chuckled, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her wet, warm body tight into mine, “What have you spoilt, baby? As far as I can tell, I’ve got my woman with me and she’s naked. There’s nothing better than that.”
Laughing, she fell forward against me, forehead to my chest, “Thank you, honey.”
Wrapping my hands around her neck, I tilted her head up, “Nothing to thank me for, baby. You’ll eventually see that I’ve got your back in every way. Now how about you rinse that conditioner off, and we get finished and end this back in bed. Yeah?”
“Yeah, honey,” she agreed with a soft smile, doing just that. Hours later, we settled back in bed. And for the first time in forever, I fell asleep with ease, enjoying the feel of my woman tucked up snug and warm next to me, breathing easy.
STACEY
That night was the turning point in our lives. At first, it was slow, as if he knew that I didn’t want to be rushed. Until it wasn’t.
Roman still came to the diner every time I was on shift. Sometimes, he’d bring Cash or one of the other brothers; other times, he’d come by himself. Slowly, over the next month or so, Rosie and I started spending more and more time at his house.
I understood why we didn’t stay at the house I’d lived in for most of my life, the same house I’d brought my babies home from the hospital to.
Roman didn’t want to spend time as a couple in the house I’d bought and lived in with another man. Especially as it was a man he had no respect or liking for.
I’d known from the start that I’d fall in love with him because I’d been halfway there even before our first date. But what cemented it was the way he treated my girl. Grudge had basically ignored her; he hadn’t been much better with Kyle, but as he was a boy, he’d at least tried with him.
As I was thinking about my girl, there she was along with Opal, Tin’s daughter, and Cash and Lizzie’s eldest daughter, Maura, named after Cash’s mother. Looking at my watch, I noted that school was out already. We’d been pretty quiet this afternoon, and with all my tables seen to, I decided to treat the girls to a milkshake.
Walking behind the counter, I got the ingredients out of the fridge and freezers. Setting them up, I waited as they came in through the door, chatting seriously about something. Well, Opal and Maura were talking while my girl was listening. I could see straight away that something was bothering her.
“Hi, girls,” I called out with a smile of welcome as they came up to the counter. “Grab that table over there,” I pointed to the table reserved for the club. “I’ll bring some milkshakes over. Any particular flavour or just your usual?”
“My usual, please,” Opal replied, and as the other girls nodded, I guessed they were good with their usual flavours. Rosie lingered, though, as the other girls went and sat down at the table I’d pointed at.
Walking back around the counter, I pushed her hair back from her face, tilting her head to look at me. “Are you okay, baby girl?”
Leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around me, sinking into me. I frowned in concern; it had been a long time since she’d sought comfort like this. Not since Grudge and I split. Still, I knew my girl; she’d tell me eventually. All I could do for her now was hug her back and let her know she was loved.
Pressing a kiss to her head, I whispered, “Love you so much, baby girl.”
With a last squeeze to my waist, she lifted her head from my shoulder, kissing my cheek, “Love you too, Momma. Thank you for making us milkshakes.”
Lifting her bag from the floor where she’d dropped it to hug me, I watched as she walked over to the table where the girls were sitting. Shifting my gaze from my girl, who was obviously upset about something, to the windows, I found Maestro looking into the diner, a frown on his face, but his gaze wasn’t on me, no, it was on Rosie.
He'd come in when he was ready. Going back around the counter, I made the girls their shakes and poured Roman a cup of coffee.
The door went again. Looking up, I smiled at my man. He wasted no time in coming to the counter and kissing me. “Hi, honey, you’re early today,” I greeted him, handing him his cup of coffee and picking up the tray holding the milkshakes. Stopping me, he added his cup of coffee to the tray, “I’ll take this, baby. Go see if Jenny will come out and cover for you so we can find out what’s going on with our girl.”
Blinking back the tears that suddenly pricked at my eyes at his words, I said, “You noticed then.”