And last, he walked me all the way down to my car and stood in the spot I’d backed out of as he watched me drive away.
I texted him that I was safe and sound after I’d walked Tilly home and I was behind closed, locked doors, sitting on my bed, ready to get in my pajamas, brush my teeth, and go to sleep.
Good, he texted back.
I put my phone to the nightstand, got in my pajamas, and went to the bathroom to take off my makeup and brush my teeth.
I was in bed and tossing my earrings to the nightstand when my hand hit my phone, the screen illuminated, and I saw I’d missed a text when I was in the bathroom.
I grabbed the phone and read it.
You mean the world to me too.
Moist hit my eyes again.
Good, I texted back.
I’d just turned the light out when I got more from Merry.
Don’t forget that. But more, baby, don’t let me forget it.
I closed my eyes tight.
Then I texted, I won’t.
Now get some sleep, he ordered.
I would if my guy would stop texting me.
He took that to heart, obviously, because I didn’t get a return text.
For some reason, this bummed me out.
I lay in the dark thinking that, which meant sleep eluded me.
Ten minutes later, I heard my phone sound.
I snatched it up.
The world, baby.
I closed my eyes tight again, sucking in a deep breath.
I opened them, reminding myself I was not that woman. She was not me. That shit just wasn’t the way it was.
Then again, I had also not been the kind of woman who felt warm and squishy.
But I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t stop it.
I had to do it.
So I did it.
I typed fucking xoxoxoxoxoxo and ended that shit with a kissy-face emoji.
I hit send.
Merry didn’t respond.
Regardless, he’d said what he’d said.
So I fell straight to sleep.
* * * * *
It wasn’t until the next morning when I was home from taking Ethan to school that I got the texts.
The first, Ethan get to school okay?
That came from Merry every day.
If he checked in about my kid that he wasn’t around to make sure got to school okay every day, he was so going to make babies.
I just hoped like crazy he’d make them with me.
Merry’s babies: awesomeness.
Giving Ethan brothers and/or sisters: nirvana.
Yep. All good, I replied.
Right, Cherie. And just saying
That stopped right there and I thought he’d hit send early.
I’d find he didn’t when he finished in his next text.
You give me any of that softass xo shit and smiley crap again, I’ll know I lost my bad girl and this won’t make me happy.
I stood there staring at his text, torn between giving in to a shiver and busting a gut laughing.
I picked door number two.
Then I texted, Message received. Have a good day! and I finished that filling his screen with smiley faces, hearts, and a few rainbows.
My phone rang seconds later, and I answered it because it was Merry.
When I did, I found he was a lot more generous than me.
Because when I put my phone to my ear, what poured into it was Merry laughing.
Therefore, happy.
A happy I gave him.
Which made me happy.
And even more determined not ever to let go.
Chapter Sixteen
Already There
Garrett
“You alive in there?”
At Mike’s question, Garrett started and turned his gaze from the computer screen he was staring at across the expanse of their desks to his partner.
“What?”
“Haven’t moved in ten minutes, man,” Mike told him, studying him closely. His head tipped slightly to the side. “You okay?”
Garrett shifted in his chair to fully face his friend.
“Nearly fucked things up with Cher last night,” he told Mike bluntly. “Family dinner at her mom’s, I closed down. Serious. Blanked Cher almost entirely, mostly blanked Grace. Only gave attention to Ethan.”
“Shit,” Mike muttered, continuing to study him.
“Cher came over to my place after, snapped me out of it.”
“Well, that’s good,” Mike said carefully.
Garrett shook his head. “Been seein’ her a week, shit’s already happening.”
“It working?” Mike asked.
“Cher snapping me out of it?”
“No, you and her.”
“Spectacularly.”
He said it. He meant it. It still scared the fucking shit out of him.
Mike nodded, a small smile curving his mouth. “Then hold on to that, man.”
“Mia and me worked spectacularly too, Mike,” Garrett pointed out. “And Rocky and Tanner worked spectacularly.”
“I hear you, but everyone’s young and stupid during their lifetime, Garrett,” Mike returned. “Part of life is figuring out how to grow up and not still be stupid.”
His words were wise. They were also funny, so Garrett let out a chuckle.
While he was doing that, his phone rang. He looked to his desk and was surprised to see it was a call from Cher.
She texted; she rarely called.
Concerned it was something urgent, he nabbed his phone and took the call.
“Baby, all good?” he asked.
“In the world at large, as far as I know, yes. Outside continued war and famine. The men who rule can’t seem to sort their shit out enough to sort that shit out, of course,” she responded and she didn’t shut up. “A woman had that job, shit would be smooth. But we bitches are too busy tearing each other down to worry about war and famine.”