I’d never lost belief in my family, but I’d sure as hell lost faith in everyone else. Carla had broken down my walls and proved that a woman could want me for more than what I was worth. And that regardless of my financial status or my behaviour or my past, she would be there, right by my side giving me every piece of her heart.
I trusted that she’d never let me down or walk away when shit got real.
And that trust was all I needed to know that Carla was my future.
* * *
I entered Dad’s house later that afternoon to the sounds of him, Yvette and Carla laughing. The fact she spent time with my family made me more than happy. Carla’s eyes met mine with a smile when I found them sitting around the kitchen counter. “Who won the footy?”
Scooping her around the waist and pulling her close for a kiss, I said, “Who do you think?”
“Oh God, don’t tell me it was the Broncos?”
“Of course it was the Broncos. The Cowboys have lost it this year, babe.”
She smacked my chest. “Pfft, they’re gonna win. You’ll see.”
I grinned. This argument would never grow old so long as I was having it with her.
When I didn’t say a word but simply kept grinning, she pressed hard against my chest trying to escape my embrace. “Oh I see how this is gonna go, Mr I’m-So-Sure-Of-Myself. I’m gonna have to spend the next couple of months listening to you go on about how good your team is. But you can bite me. My team is gonna whoop your team’s ass.”
Tightening my hold on her, I bent to her ear. “I’ll happily bite you any time you want, darlin’.”
She smacked my chest again and I smirked as she said, “You better watch your words. There might be no biting in your near future.”
Fuck, this was what had been missing in my life for far too long.
I let her go. “We both know that’s never gonna happen.”
Yvette cut into our conversation. “Carla, it’s your turn.”
Eyeing the Monopoly board they sat around, I asked, “Who’s winning?”
“You’re not playing, Havoc,” Yvette muttered as she sent me a dirty look. “No one ever has a chance when you play.
Carla raised her brows. “Really?”
I moved to the fridge to grab some cold water. “Yeah, really.”
“Challenge accepted,” she threw out, a determined glint to her eyes.
Yvette groaned. “No, he can cook dinner while we finish up this game. You two can get your own game on later.”
Carla grinned, not taking her gaze off me. “It’s a date. You, me and Monopoly tonight.”
“I didn’t realise you had this competitive streak, angel,” I said as I pulled some steak from the freezer.
She rolled the dice to take her move. “I’ve had it from way back. But it’s gonna be so fun playing with you. Winner takes all, and I’m not talking money.”
Dad chuckled. “Gonna be some more creakin’ in that bedroom tonight, is there?”
“When is the bed not creaking, Al?” Carla shot straight back.
Dad’s chuckle turned into a full belly laugh. “That’s pretty spot on, little lady. I taught my son well.”
Yvette rolled her eyes. “God help me.”
Dad turned to Yvette. “I taught you well, too, Vettie. Never knew I’d raise a daughter to love women as much as I do, but I’m mighty proud of that achievement. And don’t think I never heard your bed creakin’ when you lived here. My hearing always was good.”