CHAPTER47
NOVA
Who knewthe kind of high the wordforeverfrom the man of my dreams could give a girl, but I’m riding this bitch all the way back home. When we pull up to my place and the SUV stops at the gate to scan the entry card, Zeke ducks to look out the window.
The car rolls down the driveway, and the trees break to show the house. Zeke mumbles under his breath and looks at me with a raised brow.
“Really?” he says as the vehicle stops in front of the large front door.
Heat explodes through my cheeks, and suddenly I’m self-conscious of my life. Of my things.
“Really,” I answer, opening the door and stepping out, waiting for him to stretch and take in the place.
“Del is going to lose her mind that I didn’t let her come with me.” He laughs and throws his backpack over his shoulder.
“She can come,” I say.
Zeke shakes his head wildly as Mom gets out and moves past us like she has more important places to be now that this is over. “Del wants to beat the shit out of your sister. Believe me. You don’t want her here.”
The laugh is halfhearted because I’m flattered that Zeke’s siblings have taken to me the way they did. Over the last months, they’ve shown me what it could be like to be a part of a tight-knit family. But knowing that just makes me sad.
Because my family would rather run or hide or lie than just tell each other how we feel.
Zeke’s arm goes over my shoulder and I tip into him, inhaling him with the deepest breath. I’ll never get tired of this.
I look up to his soft brown eyes, his concerned tilt to his mouth, and I kiss him. His hand goes to my stomach, and my heart explodes for him, wrapped up in his confession that he wants to be with me.
“I love you,” I whisper, and he tenses under the words. “Thank you for coming here.”
He smiles.
“Of course, Pumpkin,” he says, his smirk tipping into a laugh as I slap his chest.
“You’re an ass,” I say, shaking my head and moving up the steps, dragging him up behind me.
Five minutes later, Zeke is still standing in the centre of the foyer, his feet planted to the floor.
“This is not a house, Nova. It’s a hotel.” Figgy comes slinking down the stairs and when he sees Zeke, he bounds across the marble floor and headbutts him right in the ankle.
He bends to scoop the cat up. “Hey, buddy. Surprisingly enough, I’m glad to see you, too.” Figgy clamours to nuzzle under his chin.
I take Zeke’s hand and tug him forward, pulling him up the stairs to my room. He’s studying every detail of the railing and then cranes his neck to the chandelier.
“I’ve never been anywhere this nice before,” he mutters. “This is fucking insane.”
“You are going to have to get used to it, Zeke,” I say playfully.
“I don’t know if I can. Am I even allowed to step on the carpets?” He’s teasing, but underneath it, I sense his discomfort. That low-browed look he gets before he starts overthinking everything.
I push the bedroom door shut and take the cat from his hands. Figgy jumps to the floor. I back Zeke into the wood, rising on my toes and kissing him. When I pull back, he’s a bit more focused, and I press my palms to his chest.
“This is the house I grew up in. My parents are stupid rich. If you’re with me, it’s part of me. Our child will never go without anything he needs or wants, but that doesn’t mean shit when it comes to you and me.”
He turns from gawking at the expansive room with the bathroom and full glass patio doors overlooking the pool to frowning at me.
“Please don’t get weird dude vibes about this.” I run my palms down his chest. “You are perfect in what you are and what you have to offer this relationship and our child. Okay?”
I can see the wheels turning in his mind, the ways he wants to argue, but after a moment, the tension melts from his shoulders.