She narrows her eyes, but her gaze is still locked on my lips. It makes me fucking giddy she wants more. “You should not be skiing, Lincoln Wilds. You’re going to destroy your body.”
I lick my lips and shake my head once. “The only body I want to destroy is yours, Maeve. After this time apart, I want this weekend with you more than anything else.”
“Destroy is such an aggressive word.” She’s smirking.
“Fine. Pick any word you want,” I counter. “You’re mine. What do you say? Mountain air a little thinner than where we are here? Hot tubbing in the snow. Wine. You and me without clothes for as long as we can stand it.”
Her smile widens. “Yes. A million times yes.” Maeve touches the lighthouse around her neck, something she does frequently when she goes silent in thought. “Can we bring Chonk?”
It only takes a second for me to devise why she’d ask. “You’re safe, Maeve. You know that, right?”
She clears her throat, letting go of the necklace to touch my face. “I know I’m safe, logically, but his presence gives me even more peace of mind.”
I’d never deny her that. “Chonk can come. He’ll have his own bedroom though. I’m not sharing you. Even with him.”
Maeve giggles and the sound hits me square in the cock. “I love you. I feel so lucky to have you in my life. Even if it sometimes feels predestined.”
That takes me out of the moment. “What do you mean by that?”
She looks to the doorway. “Only that I’m his aunt, and maybe a little of what… Rena said was true. I don’t care if that’s why you were drawn to me, because I’m glad to have this in whatever way it came about, but I often think that maybe this is fate aligning or something.” She reads my face and must feel I’m not accepting of her theory because she goes on. “It’s not negative, though. I’m finally getting the family I’ve always wanted. Just sort of in a messed-up way.”
“Nothing is messed up, and Rena wasn’t right, Maeve. You are nothing like her.”
“But I do look like her.” Her tone suggests she wants to look like Rena. She wants that connection.
I nod. “But not so much that I was drawn to you for that reason.”
Maeve twists the lighthouse. “How can I be his aunt and his mmm…” Her sentence trails off and my pulse ricochets.
Mom. She was going to say Mom. My skin chills, and my breathing speeds. She’s self-actualizing my deepest desire.
I grab her hand with my good one. “It doesn’t matter what he calls you. What matters is you’re the woman in his life. You’re the one who stays.”
Her eyes shine wet. “You’re right.”
“Have I ever told you how hot it is when you care about my son?”
Maeve sniffles and hits me in my good shoulder playfully, softly. “How can you do that? Bring it back to that when we’re talking opposites?”
We hear Turner turn off the television so she hops off my lap and brushes her hands down her jeans. I swivel so my lap is hidden under the desk. His feet slam against the wood as he runs down the hall and peeks into the office.
“Hi,” Turner says brightly, gaze fixed on Maeve. “I like your shirt. Do you want to build a LEGO with me?”
Maeve turns to look at me, smile wide. “How do I say no to that?” Then to Turner, she replies, “Of course. Let’s do it. Go pick one out.”
“Next weekend then?” I ask before she gets to the door.
Over her shoulder, she says, “As long as your doctor clears it, Mr. Wilds.”
“Oh, he’ll clear it alright.”
Maeve shakes her head and exits the room. I immediately call Isaac to set up a sleepover for Turner, and then my doctor to make sure we’re on the same page. As much as I’m done with this laying low bullshit, getting better is important to me. Just not quite as important as Maeve is.
Chapter 5
Maeve
“He’s going to kill me, or think I’m doing this on purpose.” I pace my living room as Aspen sits on my sofa aiming the remote at the television. “You know you don’t need to aim remotes anymore? So, you can hit the button and look at me while I have a mental breakdown.”