HAYES PULLED HIS truck into my driveway and my shoulders sagged in sadness at the fact that our mini-vacation was over.
It was dark out and in the backseat Mia was passed out asleep, drool dripping from her chin onto her pajama shirt.
“The new key should be around here somewhere.” Hayes muttered more to himself than me as he got out of the truck and began searching.
I climbed out of the truck—which meant I basically fell onto my driveway. Why his truck needed to be so high I’d never know or understand.
Hayes had procured the new key from somewhere and the door to my house now stood open.
I went to get Mia out of the car but Hayes jogged over and gently pushed me out of the way. “I’ve got her.”
Since it would be easier for him to grab her I let him.
“Don’t even think about grabbing your bags either.” He warned when he noticed me moving to the other side of the truck.
“You’re so bossy.” I stuck my tongue out at him in jest.
He pulled a sleeping Mia higher into his arms and started for the house. “I want to take care of my girls.”
I followed behind him and directed him to Mia’s room. She was still sound asleep as he laid her in her bed and I turned on her butterfly nightlight so she wasn’t in the dark.
“She looks so peaceful and happy.” Hayes whispered, pushing a piece of red hair away from her face.
“She’s probably dreaming about floating on cotton candy clouds again.”
He chuckled and quickly put a hand over his mouth to stifle the sound. We both eased from her bedroom and I closed her door halfway.
“Cotton candy clouds?” He asked now that we were safely outside her room.
I shrugged. “That’s what she told me one time. Apparently they were delicious…but then she ate a hole into the cloud she was floating on, and she fell in her dream, which means she woke up and ended up in my bed,” I rambled.
Hayes snorted. “She’s so fucking adorable.”
“No cussing in my house.” I jested, poking his side.
He mock-winced and said, “Sorry.”
We strolled out into the living room and he told me to wait there while he carried Mia’s and my stuff inside.
When the last of the bags sat on the floor we stood across from each other, me leaning against the wall and him with his hands shoved awkwardly into the pockets of his jeans. He stared at me with this unfiltered innocence that I’d never seen before.
He swallowed thickly, his lips parting as if he wanted to speak but then thought better of it.
“Say it,” I pleaded.
“I don’t want to leave,” he confessed. He shook his head, laughing under his breath. “It’s crazy, really, what you’ve done to me. Before you I thought the way I was living my life was great. I thought I was happy, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I haven’t been in a committed relationship…ever—because two months in high school doesn’t count. Then I met you and suddenly I couldn’t stop thinking about you, or wanting to be around you. I wanted to see you smile and hear you laugh and for the first time in my life it wasn’t about sex. Although, I have to admit with you it’s better than it’s ever been before. But what I’m trying to say,” he rambled, his hands waving through the air, “is that you’re all I want and what I feel for you is never going to go away. And maybe it’s too soon to say I love you, but I know I do. I love you. I love you so damn much that it scares me more than anything else ever has.” He spoke passionately, the fierceness in his eyes rooting me to the spot. “It scares me more than when we signed our record deal or the first time I was on stage in front of thousands of people. But just like those things, it doesn’t scare me enough that I want to walk away, it only makes me want to fight that much harder. I love you,” he said it again, like he never wanted to stop saying it, “and I love your daughter too. She’s the most brilliant little girl I’ve ever met.”
I stood staring at him, at a loss for words. I hadn’t been expecting that. Not at all. And my brain couldn’t seem to function to form even a single sentence.
Hayes swayed awkwardly where he stood. “Uh…this is kinda the part where I thought you would say something. Either tell me you loved me too, or that I’m a major weirdo and to get out of your house, so…”
“Shut up.” I closed the distance between us and jumped into his arms.
He caught me easily and I wrapped my legs around his waist, taking his face between my hands as I lowered my mouth to his. I kissed him slowly at first, but the fire that always seemed to burn between us sparked into a raging inferno.
I found my back pressed into the wall as he angled his mouth over mine completely devouring me. His unique scent—a mix of the woodsy soap he used and something else that was inherently Hayes—swam around me. His large body completely covered mine and in his arms I felt safe and protected. That was a miracle considering everything Todd had done to me. When he first left I’d believed I’d never feel comfortable in the presence of another man, but that was before Hayes came along and completely shattered my world in the best way possible.
His lips left mine but he still held me in his arms. His breath fanned across my lips as he fought for air. I was equally as breathless and with each inhale of breath my breasts brushed against his chest.
Somehow, I managed to find the words to whisper, “I love you too.”
He closed his eyes as several different emotions rippled across his face. “Say it again,” he pleaded, placing a tender kiss to my chin, “please say it again.”
“I love you.”
He let out a low growl that made my entire body clench with desire. “I never knew it would feel so good to love and be loved.” He admitted, sadness glimmering in his eyes. Brightening, he cracked a small smile, “But I’m really fucking glad I waited for you.”
I grinned too as he lowered my legs to the ground. I grabbed ahold of the sides of his open plaid shirt and held on so he couldn’t move away. “I am too.” I leaned my head against his chest, my ear pressed against the spot where his heart thumped loudly. His arms wound around my body and he simply held me, resting his head on top of mine. It was such a sweet, simple gesture but it filled my whole body with a fluttery happiness I hadn’t felt in so long.
“Stay here tonight,” I begged. “I don’t want you to leave.”
Confessing that I wanted him to stay was a vulnerable moment for me. I’d been on my own so long now, refusing to accept help or comfort from anyone, but Hayes was different. He didn’t make me feel like a charity case, instead he made me feel…well, loved.
“Are you sure?” He asked, holding my face between his large hands so I was forced to look at him.
“Yes. I-I mean I know this can’t be an every day thing, but for tonight…please stay.”
He grinned—my favorite smile of his, the one that made him look like a goofy little boy.
“I’d do anything for you, you know that, right?” He asked and waited for me to nod. “Then trust me when I say that staying the night with you is hardly a burden.”
I stood on my tiptoes to kiss him. “I love you,” I whispered again.
“I love you too, Little Bird.”
Taking his hand I locked up the house and led him back to my room.
“Nice room.” He commented, taking in his surroundings.
I laughed, turning the bed back. “It’s pretty boring,” I admitted. “The room was already painted this color when I moved in,” I motioned to the lavender walls, “so I decorated the room around it. And it seems a stretch to even call it decorating. One vase doesn’t really count.” I shrugged and headed over to my dresser to grab a pair of pajama bottoms and a tank top. “I’ll be right back.” I pointed in the general direction of the hall bathroom. “Make yourself at home.”
Before he could respond I hurried down the hall and into the bathroom. I closed the door, leaning my back against it as I struggled to gain control of my breaths.
I didn’t know why I was freaking out so much. I’d just told the guy I loved him, and yet the sight of him standing in my bedroom was making me nervous. Maybe it was because he was so tall and imposing and seeing him in my super girly bedroom had been strange. Or maybe it was because he’d looked so right there.
“Get it together, Arden.” I whispered to myself with a shake of my head.
I turned on the shower and stripped myself of my travel clothes. I’d showered this morning, but after the flight and drive I knew my stiff and tired muscles needed it. I squirted my body wash into the palm of my hand and lathered my body until I smelled like peaches.
When I returned to my room I had to put a hand over my mouth to suppress a laugh.
Hayes was sprawled on the bed, his arms and legs spread wide like a starfish, with his mouth hanging open. He snored lightly, completely sacked out.
I climbed into bed beside him, lifting one of his heavy arms and moving it over to his side so I’d have more room. He mumbled something in his sleep and I giggled as I turned out the light.
I drew my legs up and rolled closer to him.
As if he sensed me even in his sleep he turned on his side and wrapped an arm around me.
I burrowed my head against his neck and closed my eyes, falling asleep instantly.
I awoke with a start.
There was too much light in my room. Normally when I woke up it was still dark out, but not this morning.
Nope.
The sun filtered in through the open blinds, bathing the whole room in a golden shimmer.
Hayes wasn’t in bed and I wondered if he’d left at some point in the night—the thought making me sadder than it should have.
My eyes finally landed on the alarm clock on the bedside table and I blanched when I saw it was nearly nine in the morning.
I normally woke up on my own around six so I would have some free time before Mia, invariably, woke up at seven on the dot.
In a panic I shoved the blankets off my body and ran out of my bedroom.
The amount of trouble a three-year-old could get into without supervision was endless. Already I was imagining Sharpie scrawled across the walls.
Instead I was met with her light musical giggles coming from the kitchen.
I rounded the corner and stopped in my tracks.
The kitchen was a disaster, but I couldn’t bring myself to care, because Mia sat on the counter helping Hayes make breakfast.
From the looks of it he was making pancakes.
They hadn’t noticed me yet and I took a moment to watch them together.
“Do you know who the most beautiful girl in all the land is?” Hayes asked her while he dumped ingredients in a bowl.
“Who? Who?” Mia asked eagerly. I noticed her hair was neatly braided down her back. Since Mia couldn’t braid, and her hair had been loose last night, I knew Hayes had taken the time to do it.
“You.” He tapped her nose, leaving behind a streak of flour.
“Me?” She beamed, pointing at herself. “What about momma?”
Hayes grinned, stirring whatever he’d put in the bowl. “She’s the prettiest woman in all the land.”
Mia nodded with a grin lifting her lips, clearly pleased with his answer.
She tilted her head, inspecting his exposed arm. “Why dids you draws on yosef?”
Hayes chuckled, scooping some of the mixture onto the hot griddle. “I didn’t draw on myself. They’re tattoos.”
“Wat are tat-tat-tatoooos?” She squished her nose, clearly confused by the new word.
“I guess you could say they’re permanent drawings.” He shrugged and his thin t-shirt pulled taut across his chest and shoulders.
He looked up then and spotted me in the doorway. “Morning.” He tipped his head in my direction, a grin splitting his face.
“Morning,” I whispered, leaning against the archway, content to continue watching him and Mia.
“We’re matking pantakes, momma!” Mia chimed, clapping her hands together in her excitement. “Ooh! Ooh!” She exclaimed suddenly. “Will you matke me Mickey Mouse ones?” She addressed Hayes, looking up at him like he was some sort of God.
“Sure thing, sweetheart.” He flipped the pancakes and a few minutes later removed that batch. “Wanna watch me make it?” He asked her.
She nodded and he picked her up, settling her onto his hip. With his free hand he poured the batter into the shape of Mickey Mouse and Mia squealed in delight. It obviously didn’t take much to make her happy.
While Hayes finished making the pancakes I finally got my feet working and grabbed the plates from the cabinet. I set them on the table along with forks, napkins, syrup, and drinks.
Hayes turned the griddle off and carried Mia and the plate piled with pancakes over to the table.
We all sat down together at the table, digging into our food, and I marveled at how normal it felt to sit around a table together and eat breakfast.
Yeah, we’d eaten meals together in New York, but for some reason I thought it’d be different here in my house.
And…I guess it was, but not in the way I expected.
It felt like—
“Are we a famalee?” Mia asked, looking from Hayes to me.
I smiled at her and my gaze rose to Hayes to find him smiling too. It had happened so fast, but Mia was right. The three of us were a family. An unconventional one, that was for sure, but what family was perfect?
Hayes had busted into my life this past summer, festering beneath my skin where I couldn’t rid myself of him, and now I didn’t want to.
“Yeah baby girl.” I kissed her sticky cheek. “We’re a family.”