Only Forever by Cristin Harber Read Free Book Online

again can I let that happen. Once again, I’m consumed by a dizzying need to run my hands over her, to make sure she is fine.
    We make it to her Jeep, and I manage to stow her safely in the passenger’s seat before my hands clasp her cheeks, and my mouth takes hers. I breathe her in as our lips brush against each other. Her tongue caresses mine, and I push away the sudden spring of fear. Life’s too unknown, with hidden enemies and unseen terrors. The idea that I could lose her again… it’s unbearable.
    “I love you, baby,” I murmur against her lips. “I’m not the best guy out there.”
    “You might be.”
    “But Jesus fuck, I promise you, Emma. I will be the best one for you. No more working shit jobs, no more paycheck to paycheck. I’ll figure it out.”
    Her eyelashes lower as if she’s lost in thought. But then her hands cover mine. I realize I’m clinging to her.
    “We’ll figure it out. I didn’t work this hard here because it was my only option, but because I needed to control what I could of my future.” She studies me. “Does that make sense?”
    Her words roll through my mind. She doesn’t need me to survive, but she wants me by her side, making it better. There’s a big difference between those two things. “Yeah, I think it does.”
    “Sweet.” She settles against me, her legs hanging off the passenger’s seat as I block her in. She sighs against my chest and asks, “What’s next?”
    “Guess we go home.”
    She leans back. “ We go home?”
    “Yeah, baby. We go home together.” My hands run down her shoulders, holding onto her biceps. “Us, under the same roof.”
    “With our daughter.”
    Point, Emma. My heart explodes in my chest. “Don’t be too perfect, pretty mama. Otherwise, I’m likely to propose in the parking lot of a strip joint. That’d be an awkward story to tell our kids.”
    Her face lights up, with big eyes and an unhinged mouth. She silently mouths our kids .
    I kiss her on the forehead, buckle her in, and shut the door. Kids. Plural. She’s my family. I want her as my wife. I’m not sure how I’ll pull it all off, but it will happen. I toss the Jeep keys in the air as I walk to the driver’s seat and climb in.
    She leans against her door with sleepy eyes. “What a night. Glad it’s over.”
    I chuckle. “Me too, baby. I can’t handle any more right now.”
    “We’ll get a couple hours sleep before Cally wakes.”
    “Perfect.” I pull my wallet and phone from my back pocket, turn the engine over, and notice a light flashing on my screen. No one has this number except the Titan guys and Emma.
    And Mazie.
    I slide the screen on, and there’s her text: There’s a guy looking for you. Pops is dead.

CHAPTER EIGHT
     
    Emma
     
    My thumb hovers over the button to snap another picture, but really, I’m studying Grayson, wondering what’s wrong. Is he angrier about Emerald’s than he let on, or is he continuing to rehash all of his regrets?
    I kick off my flip-flops. The cool grass scratches the bottom of my feet and tickles my toes. Summer is my favorite season, and I bask in the warmth of the slipping sun. There are a million excuses to go outside, a million things to take pictures of, especially around sunset. Especially when Grayson is manning the grill on the back patio.
    But as much as I’m enjoying the view and taking pictures of Gray flipping burgers and Cally trying her best to do rolls in the grass, Gray’s smile isn’t genuine.
    I snap another picture and check back in the viewfinder to study him. Sexy man. But that’s not a true smile. I haven’t seen one on him since we left Emerald’s yesterday.
    I hold my camera up again. “Smile.”
    Again, a smile without a spark. I’m unnerved, and despite all of his words, I have to wonder if the guy who was so quick to want to join Titan needs more excitement than Cally and I can offer. Sure, grilling out is fun. Having a beer in the backyard while watching our kid is my dream come true,