Chapter 23
Bridget
My eyes fluttered open to the morning sunlight streaming through the windows. It wasn’t as bright as I always knew it to be, so I looked over at my clock and realized it was only eight in the morning. What the hell? I was never up this early in the mornings, and when I settled back down onto the bed, I felt something tighten around my waist.
I looked over at me and saw Thomas sleeping soundly against my body. He had stayed here last night?
Holy shit, he had stayed after last night. This was the first time any man had actually stayed with me after having sex, and I smiled while I settled back down and watched him sleep. The saltiness of his sweat was clinging to his face while our sexual scents still permeated the room. I could feel the wet spot still damp underneath me, which gave me an excuse to press close to his body.
And the only thing he did was tighten his grip around my waist.
I pressed a small kiss to the tip of his nose before he groaned and opened his eyes. They were beautiful, even when hazy with sleep. His grip released my waist, and his fingertips began to dance up and down my arms, shivering me to my core before I pressed a kiss to his lips.
“Good morning,” I said.
“Mornin,” he said with a croak.
“You know you didn’t have to stay, right?” I asked.
“I wanted to. It felt good to have a woman fall asleep in my arms.”
“What about Lacey?” I asked. “Won’t she be worried?”
“She’s with Nannie and Papa, and they know my job requires overnights sometimes. I promise that girl is just fine with my parents pumping her full of sugar and letting her stay up late.”
“Sounds exactly like what grandparents should do,” I said.
He pulled me back to him for a deeper, more passionate kiss. Our morning tongues danced in time with one another’s, reminiscing over the sounds, smells, and sensations of last night. I shivered at the thought of how many times I came, and that’s when I felt a slow ache descend into the depths of my joints.
“You made me sore,” I murmured into his lips.
“Then I did my job right,” he said, grinning.
I pulled back from him while I slipped my leg between his and just allowed myself to get lost in the moment. His body was so strong, and his rippling muscles were wrapped tightly around my body. His skin was soft, and his hands were rough with callouses, but they held a delicate touch when they brushed against my skin. I closed my eyes while he ran his hand up and down my back, losing myself in his touch. He pressed small kisses to my forehead and cheeks.
“You look so beautiful in the mornings, Bridget,” he said.
“You’re the only person who’s ever said that to me,” I said.
“Well, you are.”
I nuzzled into his kiss before I opened my eyes again. His hand left my body and came up to wipe my hair from my eyes, and it was then I saw the look he was giving me.
It was fear.
“You know I would never let anything bad happen to you, right?” he asked.
“I’d hope so,” I said, grinning. “I’m paying you a lot of money to make sure of that.”
“No,” he said. “That’s not what I meant. When you called last night…”
I watched him swallow hard before he closed his eyes. Suddenly, my body trembled with the memory against his body. I turned around, and his grip pulled my back into his body. He raised his lips to settle onto my ear, and I drew in a deep breath and closed my eyes.
“You’re special to me, Bridget. Last night, when you called crying, every worst-case scenario I could imagine raced through my head while I was trying to get to you. I knew the moment I walked into that club that if I came across that dickhead bastard, I would’ve beat him to a bloody pulp.”
“I was petrified, Thomas,” I said breathlessly.
“I won’t let anything bad happen to you, Bridget, and not because it’s my job. I will keep you safe because I want to. Because I care about you. Because…”
“Because what, Thomas?” I asked.
“Because I want to be with you, Bridget.”
I turned myself around in his arms to look into his eyes. I had to make sure he wasn’t lying and make sure this wasn’t some nasty practical joke. I had to make sure he wasn’t getting back at me for keeping my secret from him or pissing him off or coming around his daughter with it. I had to look into his eyes just to make sure I was grounded in the reality that was true instead of the reality I dreamed about every single night since I first felt his body against mine in that club.
“I want to be with you, Bridget,” he said. “Or Kimberly. Or whoever you are. Your secret will never leave my lips, and should you ever broadcast it to the world, I want to stand by you while you do it. I want to protect you from whatever you feel will come your way if people find out, but I want you to realize that they will never find it out from me. Ever.”
I felt tears rise to my eyes, and I thrust my lips upon his. I wrapped my arms around him and rolled him over onto his back, straddling his hips and hugging him tightly.
“I have been thinking about the same thing,” I said.
“What part?” he asked.
“All of it. Being with you and standing by your side. Having you here in bed with me in the morning and wondering if you’d keep my secret. All of it, Thomas. And yes, I want to be with you, too. So very much.”
His hand raised to cup my cheek, and he brought my lips back to his. The kiss was soft and sensual, with no hasty tongue. We didn’t try to devour one another, and we didn’t get desperate. His lips were soft, and I could feel his grin. My body shook on top of his. I loved his kisses and the way they warmed me to my bones. I broke the kiss and sank my face down into the crook of his neck and relished in the feeling of him holding me close to his body.
To his strong chest. To his thick waist with his strong, chiseled muscles.
“What time will you need to leave?” I asked, buried into his neck.
“Probably within the next hour. I was thinking about taking Lacey to breakfast.”
“All right.”
“Would you like to come with us?”
I lifted my head and looked into his eyes. A massive smile spread across my face.
“You want me to come out with you and Lacey?” I asked.
“Honestly? She misses the hell out of you, and she’d be ecstatic to see you. I figured I’d take her out to breakfast, and then maybe we could make a trip somewhere.”
“Like where?” I asked.
“I don’t know. She likes shopping. And we’re also close to a couple of lakes and—”
“The ocean!” I exclaimed.
“What?”
“We’re close to the ocean,” I said. “Why don’t we go get breakfast, and then we can take a day trip to the ocean?”
“That’s actually not a bad idea,” he said.
“Perfect.”
I slid off his body and began throwing clothes around while I tried to get dressed. I could feel Thomas watching every single move I made while shirts and shorts began piling onto the floor. I found the bathing suit I wanted to wear and began to put it on, clasping the clasps and tying the ties before I put on a summer dress that brushed past my knees.
I turned around and saw his eyes, hot and locked onto my body, with a smirk playing at the sides of his lips.
“Well, you gonna get dressed?” I asked.
He rolled out of bed and got dressed. The two of us hopped into his car to go get Lacey. When she came bounding out of the house, she ran to my side of the car and opened my door, only to crawl into my lap. She wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezing me tight and telling me she missed me. The only thing I could think about was how wonderful it was to see this beautiful little girl again.
“I missed you, Bridget,” she said. “Are you gonna come with us today? Daddy says we’re going swimming!”
“Did he tell you where we were going swimming?” I asked.
“No.”
“We’re going to the beach,” I said.
“The beach! The beach! Can we build a sand castle?”
“Of course, we can! And I missed you, too, Lacey.”
Thomas got her buckled in, and we went in search of pancakes. Lacey was chanting it in the backseat, and I joined her in her hunger-fueled song. Soon, the three of us were chanting “pancakes and orange juice” while Lacey wiggled her feet and clapped her hands.
We headed toward the beach and found a pancake house along the way. Lacey devoured her breakfast while I watched in awe. This little girl had a massive appetite, and I could hear Thomas chuckling at my reaction, but I didn’t care. This girl could put away some food, and I had to say I was a bit inspired by her tenacity. Syrup dripped down her chin while she shoveled pancakes between her teeth, her body crouched down onto her knees so she could lean over her plate.
“That’s impressive,” I said. “Does she always eat like that?”
“Only pancakes,” Thomas said. “They’re Lacey’s favorite food group.”
“You excited for the beach?” I asked.
“I am,” he said.
“Something I didn’t think about with this trip,” I said. “People are probably gonna take pictures. Of you and your daughter with me. Are you all right with that?”
“I weighed the pros and cons before I invited you, I promise,” he said.
“And you’re sure you’re all right with it?”
“I promise,” he said. He reached over and took my hand for comfort, just as I heard a camera go off somewhere, and I couldn’t help but groan. His thumb traced light circles on the tops of my skin, trying to settle me down. People slowly pulled out their camera phones, but even with the commotion going on, I felt myself relax underneath his ministrations.
“It’s gonna be all right,” he said. “I promise.”
“Daddy, people are taking pictures of us,” Lacey said.
“You ready to go, sweetheart?” he asked.
“Could I take my juice with me?”
“Of course, you can,” I said, smiling.
We got a to-go cup for her, and Thomas paid the bill. I got Lacey back out to the car, with Thomas following closely behind both of us. We buckled her in quickly, and we left the pancake house. We traveled twenty more minutes to the shoreline of the ocean, but by the time we got there, the paparazzi were following us.
“Hang on, girls,” Thomas said. He began swerving in and out of traffic as we tried to lose them with all the cars staying on our tail. He ducked down alleyways while Lacey squealed with delight, and her sounds of joy were the only thing keeping me from panicking. They wouldn’t be in this situation if it weren’t for me, and I could feel the guilt wafting up my throat before Thomas started taking turns I didn’t recognize.
One by one, the cars got lost in our path. We took side roads and ducked into wooded areas I didn’t know existed, and when we sped out onto a thin paved road, there wasn’t a car in sight behind us. We traveled a couple more miles before we hit sand, and he parked the car and got out.
“We’re here,” he said.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“The beach!” Lacey exclaimed.
“You’re not the only one with secrets, you know,” Thomas said, winking.
I got out of the car and crawled up the sand dune. The sight was absolutely beautiful. The ocean was crisp, and the sand was fine. Waves crashed over rocks to our right with a beautiful, sun-kissed beach to our left. We were surrounded by trees and foliage, completely untouched by civilization, it seemed.
“I found this a couple years ago when I first took Lacey to the beach,” Thomas said. “She was terrified of being around crowds of people, so I drove for two hours, looking for a secluded beach.”
“It’s beautiful,” I said.
“Come on!” Lacey said. “Let’s go swimming.”
She grabbed my hand, and we ran down to the beach. We shed our clothes, and she pulled me into the water. We swam and rode the waves in while she splashed around in the puddles the ocean was making. All the while, Thomas watched us from the shore. Lacey jumped into my arms and rode around on my back. We swam for hours, bathed our skin in the sun, and swallowed down saltwater trying to body surf the waves in.
The day was absolutely perfect. Lacey was smiling, and Thomas was relaxed. For the first time in my career, I was doing something that wasn’t under the scrutiny of cameras and the media. I felt relaxed and whole on this secluded beach with Thomas and his daughter. He came out into the water and wrapped his arms around me while Lacey went back to the beach to rest. He enveloped my lips in a kiss while the waves crashed all around our bodies.
“I think it’s time we head back,” he said.
“I think so, too,” I said. “Lacey’s lying down on the beach.”
We looked back at Lacey, whose body was still and unmoving. Thomas took my hand and helped me out of the water. We made our way over to Lacey, and he picked up her sleeping body while I gathered up our towels and clothes. She was whipped, and I felt the same exhaustion settle deep within my bones.
This day had been perfect, and now, it was time to rest.
We got Lacey back into her car seat before we got back into our clothes and headed home. I figured Thomas would take me back to my house before he took Lacey and laid her down, and I was completely prepared to offer the idea of them staying with me for the night.
But Lacey’s tired voice wafted from the backseat, just as we turned down the same road I’d taken to get to their house the first time I met her.
“Will you stay the night with us, Bridget?” Lacey asked.
“Yeah, Bridget,” Thomas said. “You want to?”
I looked over at Thomas. A broad smile crept across my cheeks. His eyes glistened with happiness while we pulled up into his driveway, and I turned my body to look back at Lacey while I answered her question.
“I’d love to stay with you guys for the night,” I said. “But we all need showers first.”
“Will you stay with me in my room?” she asked.
I looked over at Thomas, who gave me a smirk before he shrugged his shoulders. Lacey’s eyes were tired with sleep, but they were hanging onto every word dripping from my lips. This beautiful little girl, whose father had completely stolen my heart, was asking me to stay with her for the night, and something deep inside of me didn’t want to say “no” to her.
Something deep inside of me never wanted to say “no” to her.
“Of course, I will,” I said. “I’d love to stay the night in your room with you.”