Four Letter Word

“Getting impatient myself,” I told him, then reached up, scratched behind his ear, and turned back to look at the sliding doors.

Syd got the job she’d interviewed for. Her schedule at the hospital ended up being four ten-hour days, and even though I thought that was plenty of time for her to be working every week, she didn’t agree and told Nate she’d stay on a day at Whitecaps.

She was dead set on helping him out any way she could.

I thought that was sweet. I also thought it was unnecessary and knew Nate could figure shit out without her, but I kept that opinion to myself.

I figured as long as the day Syd helped out didn’t end up being a Sunday, I could agree to it. I wanted my day off to coincide with hers, and I wasn’t shy about telling her that.

She didn’t argue and kept that day clear. She wanted Sundays with me, too.

Life was fucking good.

Had my girl, who was holding true to her word and healing me just by being who she was, giving me so much good I didn’t have the space to feel anything besides what she was putting out.

Her light and her sweet and that fire that burned inside her when she loved. I’d never felt anything like that.

Never felt anything like her.

Syd handed me her heart and pressed her lips to my chest, whispering promises to mine.

She made sure I woke up hearing that accident wasn’t my fault and I went to bed believing it a little bit more.

She said she would love me loudly, and she did. Every second.

Sydney Whittaker was my fucking dream. Soft and Wild and mine.

Life wasn’t just good.

It was perfect.

Waking up to her sexy little body sprawled across my chest and feeling her press back against me at night, ass to cock, my arm over her waist holding her there and hers keeping pressure on top of mine, locking us together.

Fucking heaven.

We’d talk for hours. We’d fuck for hours.

I fell in love with Wild’s voice in my ear. Now I had her in my arms while she was giving it to me, and I was out of my fucking mind lost for this girl. There was no turning back.

I’d be anything she needed. I’d be everything she needed.

And I’d spend the rest of my fucking life making her happy.

She said it was her turn to heal me but I wasn’t done healing her.

Not even close. Not until she had it all.

And after tonight, hopefully she’d be one step closer to getting it.

I pushed off the Jeep as the emergency room doors slid open and Syd walked out, wearing light blue hospital scrubs that hid her curves more than the outfits she normally strutted her softness around in, plain white sneakers, and her ID badge clipped to her front pocket. Her hair was pulled back out of her face and she had a black and pink Adidas backpack slung over her shoulder.

She looked tired but perked up when she spotted us, a look of surprise washing over her, holding for a second then slowly morphing into the dimpled smile she was always giving me as she quickly made her way down the sidewalk.

“Trouble, what in the world?” She paused to stand on her toes and gave me a brief kiss. “What are you doing here?”

A chunk of red had fallen out of her ponytail. I tucked it behind her ear and rubbed her cheek with my thumb.

She wasn’t wearing any makeup. I could see every freckle and mole and the natural flush of her cheeks she’d claimed was an unfortunate side effect of being a redhead.

Assholes paid money to stare at beauty like this and I had it in my hands.

“Wanted to show you something. Thought we could go for a drive, then come back here and get your car.” I slid her book bag off her shoulder and tipped my head at the Jeep. “Sir’s been going fuckin’ nuts waiting for you.”

Syd smiled bigger. She gave me another quick kiss before moving in front of the window, where she started petting and kissing Sir.

“Sweet boy, did you have fun today at work?” She scratched behind his ears and let him sniff her face.

Syd was referring to Wax.

I’d been taking Sir to work with me so he wouldn’t have to stay crated all day and hadn’t run into any issues so far. In fact, kids got a kick out of him when they came into the shop. Happy kids meant happy parents.

And happy parents bought a lot of shit.

Sir turned out to be a smart business investment.

“Good day?” I asked.

She shrugged, replying, “Busy day. I barely got to sit down. Made the time go by fast, though.” She turned to look at me. “So, what did you want to show me?”

I nudged her hip gently with my hand.

“It’s a surprise. Get in so we can get going. I want you to see it before dark.”

With wide eyes full of interest, she walked around the Jeep.

“I love surprises,” she said.

“Know that, babe.”

I tossed her book bag in the back and climbed in the driver’s seat, taking a hold of Sir and holding him out for Syd to take after she got in and buckled.

“Tell me what it is, sugar bear, and I’ll give you some peanut butter when we get home,” she whispered against the top of his head as I pulled away from the hospital.

I breathed a laugh, shot her a quick glance, and asked, “You really want to know? I can tell you.”

She sat up tall in the seat and shook her head, fighting a grin.

“Nope. Surprise me. I want to be wowed.”

I smiled at the road.

Fuck yeah. I’d wow her. She had no idea this was coming.

Fifteen minutes later, I pulled up in front of the house I signed the papers for an hour ago, parked in the driveway, and cut the engine.