Chapter 48

Axton

“Come on,” I grumble as the old man in the truck in front of me turns the opposite way his blinker is indicating.

The church is within my sight and she’s already going to be upset I didn’t get her from her house. Parking in the small lot beside the chapel, I climb out and practically run to the front doors, but they’re closed. A quick look at my watch tells me morning service started ten minutes ago.

I try to sneak in, knowing she sits close to the front with her family, but just like any small town church, every head turns my direction, the people needing to see who dares show up late.

I nod at people as I walk to the front. Mr. Hatfield being the awesome man he is, doesn’t skip a beat. He continues with his announcements at the front as I walk toward his youngest daughter. I catch a raised eyebrow from Addi’s mother and a quick wink from Renee, which surprises me. Motherhood looks good on her, I realize, seeing the tiny little girl wrapped in a pink blanket in her lap. Elijah offers his right hand when I walk past and I give it a quick shake.

Her mother, noticing there’s not enough room beside Addi, begins to scoot down, and the entire family moves with her. They squeeze in closer just to give me enough room to sit with them.

“Sorry,” I whisper when Addi looks at me. “My cellphone died last night.”

“It’s fine,” she says with a quick pat to my knee. “I’m glad you’re here.”

She turns her eyes back to her dad and doesn’t say another word until the service is over. I watch her more than I pay attention to her father as he addresses the congregation about forgiving hearts and giving without the expectation of getting something in return.

“I won’t be late next Sunday,” I promise when we finally stand. “I grabbed a regular alarm clock on Amazon at a red light.”

She chuckles. “At least it wasn’t while driving down the road.”

We make our way outside, the mid-May heat of the south hitting us in the face like a blasting furnace.

“Can I take you to lunch?” I ask after she stops to talk to a couple of people.

“Sure,” she says, clasping my hand. Instead of walking with me to my truck, she turns in the direction of a small house beside the church.

“Lunch with the family?” I say with a beaming smile.

“Does that make you nervous?”

I shake my head. “Not one bit.”

“It’ll be a few more minutes before my parents get over here, but we can wait inside where it’s cooler.”

I follow her lead, hating how she drops my hand so I can trail behind her.

“Adelaide!”

I groan at the familiar voice, and we both turn, watching Gabe as he jogs up to us.

“This is my church,” Addi says before he gets to us. “Please don’t get into a fight with him.”

“I’ll do my best,” I offer, already feeling the tingle in my knuckles to hit him in his mouth.

“Please,” she begs, looking up into my eyes.

“Anything for you.” I sweep a piece of wind-blown hair off her face, wishing I was clinging to her soft pink lip gloss rather than the dark strand.

Lips parting, she takes a raspy breath, only pulling her eyes from mine when Gabe makes his presence known by rudely clearing his throat.

Placing a possessive hand at the small of her back, I turn my attention to him just in time to see his eyes narrow at my familiarity with her.

I’m thankful her parents are still in the church and we’re far enough from the lingering people our conversation won’t be over heard unless it gets heated and one of us begins to yell.

“I texted you several times after you left last night,” he says, his eyes on her, but his attention still on me, like I’d stoop low enough to get a cheap shot to the side of his face in while he’s not paying attention. “I expected you to respond.”

“I was at Axton’s house until super late.” I raise an eyebrow, shocked she just stole the words out of my own mouth. “I wasn’t paying much attention to my phone.”

She was only there for about an hour, but I’m not going to correct her.

“It’s rude to go on a date with someone, then leave with another man.” He straightens his back, and the action makes me want to knock his self-indignant ass down a few pegs. “Some people would consider that unchaste and bordering on immoral.”

I take a step toward her, but she snakes her arm around my waist and tugs at the back of my shirt.

She huffs a humorless laugh. “So, I’m promiscuous for drinking water with you at a bar, then drinking water with an old friend while we caught up on the last couple months?”

He sneers. “He stared at you from the stage the whole time he sang like he wanted to know what you taste like.”

I take a deep breath in through my nose and slowly release it out of my mouth, but this time, it’s Addi who needs to be held back.

“For your information,” she hisses, “he’s well aware of what I taste like.”

“Delicious,” I tell him as Addi claps her hand over her mouth. It takes everything in me not to emphasize my point by licking my fingers, but this is church property, not a drunken show of prowess at Old Man Henry’s.

“Jezebel,” he spits.

“I will knock your teeth down your throat, man,” I warn.

He shakes his head and straightens his already immaculate button-down shirt. “Your parents invited me to lunch, but I think I’ll have to decline this week. Please give them my best and let them know I’ll be here next week so long as Mr. Lane isn’t.”

“I’ll be—”

“He’ll be here every week, Gabriel,” Addi says, a saccharin sweet smile lifting her lips. “Might want to make other plans from here on out.”

She turns on her heels, and I follow in awe, more in love with her than any minute before now. She’s shaking by the time we make it inside and plops down on one of three sofas in the living room.

“My parents will kill me,” she says, near crying. “If he tells them what I said, if they know what we’ve done.”

“I think there are worse things than two people in love making love, Addi.” She smiles weakly down at her hands as a small stream of tears stain her cheeks. “He was out of line, so I doubt he’s going to bring something like that to your parents.”

“I hope not,” she whispers.

“You were, you know.” Her head pulls up and she meets my eyes in question. “Delicious.”

My tongue sneaks out, sweeping the full width of my lower lips as if tasting her again. Her eyes follow the hot, wet trail until it disappears back into my mouth, and my cock jerks in my jeans as I sit in the childhood home of the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with while we wait for her pastor father. There’s a special place in Hell for me, I’m sure.

“Delicious?” a female voice asks from the front door. “Are you guys talking about the peach pie we’re eating later?”

I grin, ear to fucking ear, as Mandy comes inside with Renee and Elijah right on her heels.

Renee chuckles. “From that dreamy look on Addi’s face, I’d say they were talking about a different kind of peach.”

Addi’s eyes widen as Elijah says his wife’s name in chastisement.

I clear my throat, but the smile I try to hide can’t be wiped fully away.

“What’s it like being a commoner again and not some famous musician?” Renee asks as she sits down on the sofa.

I turn to answer her, but the second the couch is under her ass, her breast is exposed and she’s bringing her fussy daughter to it.

“Renee,” Elijah moans. “Seriously? This is his first family lunch and you’re going to scare him away.”

“It’s natural,” she defends. “And Savannah is hungry. I’m pretty sure Axton doesn’t want our daughter to starve.”

“I don’t,” I agree.

“You could cover up,” Elijah says.

“A little warning is all I need,” I tell them over my shoulder with my eyes closed as I turn more toward Addi.

Her cheeks are still flushed from my shameless recall of our night together, and a smile plays on her lips at the banter going around the room.

“She’s very brazen,” Addi explains. “I understand if you’re uncomfortable and want to leave.”

I swallow roughly and shake my head. “I’m here to spend time with you, not look at your sister’s breast.”

“Good thing,” Elijah mutters as he crosses between Addi and me with a small blanket for Renee.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Renee presses.

Without looking in her direction, I respond, “Life is good. I’m volunteering with kids and teaching them to play guitar, and gearing up to start a few summer classes.”

“Didn’t take you long to end up back in Addi’s good graces,” Mandy says from the entryway of the dining room.

“Y’all quit ganging up on him. I invited him. You should be more worried about Gabe and the way he’s still trying to weasel his way into the family,” Addi informs them.

“Asshole,” Elijah mutters, earning a frown from Addi.

I don’t say a word, but offer my fist in commiseration. He bumps it, then goes back to tending to his wife and daughter.

“I told him today to make other plans for lunch and dinner,” Addi says. “I told him Axton will be here with me every week.”

“That’s the ultimate sacrifice,” Renee says. “Spending time with my parents. I’ll pray for you.”

I chuckle. “I’m here to spend time with Addi.”

“Yeah, keep thinking that,” Mandy says, opening a bottle of water. “I bet by next week you’ll be elbow deep in Mom’s garden with plans to help dad clean out the garage.”

“I don’t mind helping,” I offer, a plan already being set in action in my mind. I’ll be indispensable to this family if that’s what it takes for Addi to give me another chance.

“A man is supposed to take care of all his woman’s family,” Elijah says. “It’s how he proves he loves everything about her.”

“Exactly,” I say, looking Addi right in the eye. “I can’t wait to plant some flowers.”