Chapter Eighteen
Jesse
After
“I’ll be there to pick up Tommy from school tomorrow,” Charlotte said right before she climbed out of the front seat of the SUV. “I’m looking forward to spending the afternoon with him.” She waved at the both of us. “Good night, you two.”
“Good night,” Emery and I replied in unison.
The driver pulled away from her hotel and was heading toward our home. Emery and I were in the backseat, still recovering from the two-and-a-half-hour-long dinner we’d just had. Since he hadn’t left the builder’s office until eight, the meal had started late. After a few glasses of wine, none of us seemed to be in a rush. Charlotte was the only one who had to work tomorrow anyway, flying back to Vermont and going straight to our house.
Our plans didn’t involve getting up early. We were going to have brunch and spend the day in the city. We would start by looking for a piece of art for my new home office in Burlington. We’d then head downtown and grab a latte in Quincy Market. When we returned to the Back Bay later that afternoon, we’d take a walk down Mass Ave, crossing the Charles River into Cambridge to see the skyline of the city. It was a tradition we did every time we came even when we brought the kids.
Just on the other side of the river was where Emery had taken me on our first date. We were firm believers that one should never forget where they came from or what got you there, which was why we always made it a priority to go and visit the spot.
Before I got excited about the plans for tomorrow, I needed to enjoy what was going to happen tonight. Time with just my husband was what I was looking forward to most about this trip. With Charlotte no longer in the car, I was finally getting what I wanted.
When we got into bed tonight, there wouldn’t be a dog at our feet. There wouldn’t be kids a wing away.
It would just be Emery and me.
And I could be as loud and as unruly as I wanted.
There were multiple times throughout the night when I sensed Emery was thinking the same thing. A slight smile would spread across his lips and it would cause a tingle in my body. Then there were the times he reached under the table and put his hand on my thigh. It would only stay a few seconds. Just long enough to tease his touch. But in that time my husband made me feel desired and so incredibly sexy.
The slickness that had been between my legs all night was the result of that.
I sighed, watching him gaze out the window, the blocks between the hotel and our townhouse passing by. “Today was good,” I told him.
“It was.”
His turned toward me and I immediately saw how unplugged he was. Emery had been so uptight when he returned from the builder’s office. While he was in the shower, I’d poured him a dirty martini and laid out his clothes. He drank it as he got dressed and as we were driving to the restaurant, I heard it kick in. Once alcohol hit Emery’s bloodstream, his voice changed.
I rested my hand on his cheek, his beard scratching the inside of it. Sometimes I would rub it, other times I kept my fingers steady, but it was always his cheek I reached for. “Charlotte did really well again today.” After wiping my face and putting myself back together, I’d found Charlotte and taken her around our home, showing her where everything was, the same way I’d done in Vermont. “I brought her to the jobsite and the hotel, so she’s comfortable with both routes.”
“There was a lot thrown at her this week.”
I chuckled, my hand falling from his face. “I’d say so.”
Before my fingers landed in my lap, he had already caught them and was softly kissing the top of my nail. Just as he was moving on to the next finger, my phone began to vibrate inside my purse. When I pulled it out of my bag, I saw it was a text from Viv, a selfie of her and Tommy. They had toothbrushes in their mouths and were making adorable faces in the mirror.
God, they were beautiful.
Emery took out his phone a few seconds later and was looking at the same picture.
“We have the best kids,” I said.
“Jesse, it’s past eleven thirty and they’re just going to bed now? They have school in the morning. What the hell is Luz doing over there?”
The two things Emery was strict about were academics and bedtime, believing they ran in conjunction.
“I’m sure she was just letting them have a little fun, that’s all.” I brushed my fingers through the back of his hair.
“If she can’t get them to go to sleep at a reasonable hour, then maybe Charlotte should be the one staying with them.” I didn’t need to say anything, I could see he’d already made up his mind. “That’s exactly what’s going to happen. I’ll text Charlotte in the morning and let her know the new plan. At some point we’ll need her to stay, so she might as well get comfortable with it now.”
She was told during the interview and again on her first day that there could be occasions where Emery would ask her to spend time with them. I just didn’t think an overnight was going to happen this soon.
I rubbed my hand across his chest and gave him a smile, using both to encourage him to stay calm. The last thing I needed was for him to get really angry and ruin our whole night. “I’m sure the kids will love it.”
His face nuzzled into my neck and his arm went around my back, using it pull me closer. “It’s a good thing we’re almost home.”
Each word was a burst of hot air on my tingly skin and I let out the softest moan just as the SUV came to a stop. Taking Emery’s hand, my feet slid onto the ground and I followed him inside our house. He hung our jackets in the hall closet and suddenly I was wrapped in his arms, standing in the middle of the foyer.
And we were dancing.
There wasn’t any music; Emery hummed and that was enough.
My hand was gripped in his and pressed against his chest while my other rested on his shoulder, his on the center of my back. I was shadowing his movements, wrapped in his body, feeling how much he wanted me with each step.
“Gorgeous,” he whispered into my cheek.
He was so tender and romantic when I needed him to be. But heat was flowing into his fingers as they lowered, stopping on my ass.
“Emery …” It was a plea.