He sighs. “If we don’t get moving soon you’ll never get home and your mom will be calling again,” he warns me.
But I can see and feel that Reeve’s just as reluctant for me to go back home as I am.
I try to protest one last time, but his instructions are his orders and he takes them seriously.
Even if he doesn’t agree with them.
I change back into the regular clothes I had prepared, deciding to leave my dress at Reeve’s place.
“It’ll need a thorough cleaning. And a press… maybe some repairs too,” he grins as he surveys his handiwork spread out on the bed before we go.
His big mitt runs over the dress as though I’m still in it.
“Remember, tomorrow at ten,” he reminds, helping me into the truck again.
The drive home seems faster like there’s suddenly not enough time to be spent together.
Always something coming up or making us separate.
“It’s only for a few days,” Reeve assures me, picking up on my mood as well as voicing his own opinion on things.
I sigh loudly. “I guess I could go home alone for a few nights…” I murmur, suddenly having an idea.
“I could send you some pictures, on your phone?” I suggest, but his brow darkens.
“No,” he snaps, shocking me for a moment until he explains his sudden outburst.
“The thought that someone else could see anything like that, even by accident? No. I won’t have you on display. You’re mine, Piper. And the only eyes who’ll ever see you like that are the ones who’ll also watch over you, mine,” he says with fierce determination.
Instead of turning me off, it’s the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me, and I shimmy over, stretching the seat belt to peck his cheek.
“What was that for?” he asks, grinning as he keeps his eyes on the road.
“Just because,” I say, wanting to tell him the real reason why but wondering if maybe it’s a bit too soon for that.
The ‘L’ word.
It’s hard for me not to think of Reeve’s name and that word at the same time.
It’s what I feel inside, and it couldn’t be anything else because I’ve never felt anything like this for anyone or anything, ever.
In the short silence, until we reach my mom’s house, I get lost in my own thoughts.
Not just fantasy anymore, but actual thoughts about the future.
Reeve has shown me how he feels, told me he wants me and no one else.
He’s spelled it out and told me he wants to put a baby in me for Christ’s sake.
A life with a man like him, being lifted out of the hopeless life I had just two days ago?
It’s a miracle. He’s a miracle.
The whole thing is just so perfect. I don’t think anything could ruin it. Not even—
“Here we are,” Reeve announces, pulling up to my house, the truck still running.
I half expect him to help me out, to come inside, but the shadow of my mom in her rob standing in the doorway explains a lot.
“Remember, Piper,” he whispers, leaning over to open the door and making sure his arm scrapes my breasts.
“Ten o’clock tomorrow. I know for a fact that your mom’s going out too, so don’t mind her.”
“Reeve?” I ask, shivering a breath as he cocks a brow.
“I… I…” I stammer.
“I know,” he says, squeezing my hand and eying the open door. “Low-key, remember. See you tomorrow, puppet,” he says in a smoky voice.
I let myself out of his truck and before I even get to the yellow square cast in the shadows from the open front door, mom’s ripping into me.
Not even bothering to say hi or bye to Reeve.
Not even thanking him for bringing me home.
“Just what the hell is with you, Piper?” she hisses, slamming the front door once we’re inside. “You had me worried sick, and Rhys,” she adds for effect as if it should make me feel bad.
But I can’t feel bad.
Not anymore.
My new life is about to start, and even my mom is in a crappy mood, and her nothing but ‘me and Rhys’ attitude can stop that.
Reeve has set things in motion, and I know once he claims me properly, there will be even bigger things to come.
Just a few more days.
His deep, rich, and strong voice in my mind, echoes the facts, helping me calm down.
I use his voice as an anchor to stop me from acting out when my mom obviously wants to start an argument.
“I thought you knew I’d be with Reeve,” I shrug, finally. “It was your idea that we spend some time together anyway, remember?” I remind her.
She opens her mouth to say something but thinks better of it.
Something in her just knows I guess.
Not a part of her that’s consciously aware. Not yet.
But a mom just knows things, and like it or not I think she also knows that I’ve snagged the better of the two most eligible ex-Marines in town.