Page 79 of Let Me Love You
I want him. I want us. I want something solid. Something steady. Despite the world turning to shit around us. I need him to know he can rely on me the same way I know I can rely on him.
Silence follows, and it kills me, burrowing under my skin and leaving me a bundle of nerves.
“Say something,” I plead.
Another wave of silence hits. It only lasts a second, then he murmurs, “Fuck, Ash. You have no idea how much I needed to hear all of this.” His relief is practically palpable as he releases another sigh. This one is more cleansing than the first. “I love you too.”
“I’ll see you at home?” I offer.
“Yeah. See you soon.”
29
KATE
My stomach rolls as we pull up to Mama Taylor’s house and Mack cuts the engine.
“You okay?” he asks.
I nod, refusing to acknowledge how sick I feel.
“You sure?” Mack prods.
“Can’t decide if it’s morning sickness or nerves.” I smooth out my hair, attempting to look presentable, and turn to Mack in the driver’s seat. “You really think this is a good idea?”
“My parents will be stoked, and so will Miley and Hazel,” Mack promises. “Don’t stress.”
Don’t stress.
Pretty sure those two words are the bane of my existence.
“Like I can turn it off,” I mutter under my breath.
His chuckle warms my insides as he grabs my hand, preventing me from climbing out of the car, and tugs me toward him. In an instant, his mouth is on mine, and I sigh against his lips.
Damn, I love this man.
He nibbles my bottom lip, and I part my mouth, savoring the moment as he slides his tongue into me. He tastes like toothpaste. I shift in my seat, anxious to move closer to him. To feel him against me. To let him ease my anxiety in a way only he’s ever been able to do.
He smiles against my lips, dives in for one more long kiss, and pulls away. “There.”
“Hmm?” My eyelids flutter open, and I meet his gaze. “What was that for?”
“Thought you could use something else to focus on.” His mouth lifts in the corner, and I shake my head.
“Think you can play me like a fiddle, do you?”
“Am I wrong?”
“Ew!” two distinct feminine voices screech from outside the car, and a pair of hands slap against the driver’s side window. Hazel and Miley make gagging noises as they pass Mack’s parked car. Hazel stops at the car’s hood, looks back at us, and calls out, “Get a room!”
“Good to see you too,” Macklin yells back at them. Then, he looks at me with a shit-eating grin.
It’s funny. How much happier he is now with his relationship with his girls on the mend. Like he can finally breathe again. And I’m grateful for it. The carefree Macklin I’ve come to know and love. I hope the bun in my oven doesn’t ruin it.
“Come on,” he urges. “Let’s go inside.”
With our fingers laced together, we walk inside Mack’s childhood home. A spread of breakfast foods takes up the dining room table, from blueberry muffins to fresh coffee, bacon, and eggs. Normally, my mouth would be watering at the smorgasbord of deliciousness, but today? Not so much.