Sleeping ’til Sunrise by Mary Calmes Read Free Book Online Page B

finished angrily because it flared through me and out.
    “I just—”
    “You need to have some faith in me.”
    “But I do. I have all the faith in the world in you.”
    “Then come home. And bring your copy of the will and have either Britton or Mia look it over, and when their lawyer contacts you, you’ll refer them to yours.”
    “That makes a lot of sense.”
    “I always make sense.”
    He chuckled softly. “Yes, you do.”
    “And that way you can figure out what it is you really want to do.”
    “Okay.”
    “I know you know this. I know being pressured into making a decision isn’t you, and isn’t something you should be made to do. But I also know that losing someone you love screws with your heart, and when that gets involved, it messes with your normal decision-making process.”
    “It does. Yes.”
    “So you need to take a breath, and the best place to do that is here at home.”
    “With you.”
    “With me.”
    There were several moments of silence.
    “Now’s the time to figure out your story,” he finally said.
    “I’m sorry?”
    “Now, before I get home,” he told me. “Before I get even more attached or excited or horny… now’s the time for you to come up with a logical reason, other than the obvious, why you can’t see me.”
    “And the purpose of that would be what?”
    “Because once I get home, Essien, I’m going to want to see you. A lot. Like all the time. So if you’re scared, and you’re just being noble… now’s the time to run.”
    But the thing about me was that I never ran. Not ever. “I appreciate the advice.”
    “You’re welcome.”
    “Now could you get on a plane, because I need to get laid.”
    His throaty whimper, full of ache and need, sent a tremor of desire racing through me. “On my way.”
    It was good to hear.

Chapter Five
     
     
    IT WAS amazing how quickly things changed. I’d spent four days thinking one way, and then because of a phone conversation on a Friday night, I was in a relationship. And it wasn’t that I hadn’t thought I was—I had, and then hadn’t, and was now back to the go place I’d been in the evening after I’d taken Roark home.
    When I’d left him that night, passed out in his own bed, exhausted, I thought he’d call me the next day. I’d been scared, worried about him and Ivy and the entirety of my life changing, but the following morning, I’d felt like I had the first time I’d ever seen the man.
    Hopeful.
    And now as I sat on his front steps, waiting on a Saturday afternoon, the butterflies in my stomach were actually welcome. It meant I was ready, because I was unsure, and that was something I never thought would happen again after Deanna died. Yes, I was opening myself up to hurt a second time, but the rewards outweighed the risks. I wasn’t ready to marry Roark Hammond; I just wanted a chance to see what we could be. So did he. He’d said as much on the phone that morning when he called to say he’d be home around four and would I please meet him?
    I sat down with Ivy on our back porch and told her that I wanted to be there when Roark got home, as we had some talking to do, and then asked if she would consider spending the night with Hutch and Mike.
    Her eyebrows had lifted high. “You planning to sleep over with him?”
    I groaned.
    “Huh? Dad?”
    “Just—”
    “Good for you,” she said, slapping me on the bicep. “Hutch said that he’d like to see you take advantage of the fact that you have built-in babysitters.”
    “You—”
    “Even though, as you know, I’m not a baby.”
    “No, I know.”
    Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me. “Please tell me why you were so sad this past week.”
    “Was I?”
    She nodded. “Hutch said it was because of Roark.”
    “He really needs to get out of my business.”
    “Yeah, I know, but you’re interesting to everyone, not just him.”
    “Oh yeah?”
    “It’s because you’re you.”
    “And what does that mean?”
    She put her hand on my knee,