Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 22788 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22788 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Taking the squirt can of whipped cream with her into the sitting room, she settled onto the bed, which was quite comfortable. She’d slept on this a few times during the last few years when she’d been helping Emily and Pete. She adored her friends, and although it was cruel what they did, she was thankful.
This was actually the first time all week that she and Caleb had been together. They had gone from being inseparable, to making excuses to not spend their evenings or mornings together. She’d been the first one to make the excuse, saying she needed to stay late for a delivery. Caleb had been the next one, but he had to go out of town to do some tattoo work.
Mae hated this. She knew what was happening, and now, as they were together and he was showering, this would be the first time they were actually alone. Provided the girls stayed in bed long enough.
Leaning back, she picked up the cream and squirted a nice large dollop into her mug, and then blew across the surface. It smelled really good. She took a sip, being careful not to get any cream on her nose.
“You’re an angel,” Caleb said, coming into the room and sliding beneath the covers. They didn’t argue about sharing the bed, and Mae was not going to be cruel and force him to sleep on one of the chairs.
“You like hot chocolate?”
“Love it, and you even thought of the cream.”
She handed him the can so he could take as much as he wanted. She was surprised by the large mountain he squirted onto his plate, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “You do like your hot chocolate.”
He laughed. “Of course I do.”
She watched as she took a sip. It had already been a good few minutes since she had made it, and as he took a sip and leaned back, he actually appeared like he was in heaven.
“Delicious.”
She smiled and took a sip of hers. It felt nice. She’d been worried how it would be to be alone with him this weekend. Emily and Pete were due Sunday. She and Caleb still had all of Saturday and most of Sunday to spend with the kids. She doubted they would be plying them with candy. They were going to be the good babysitters now.
“I guess we should talk,” Caleb said.
Mae turned to look at him and she smiled. “Not if you don’t want to.”
****
This past week had been a fucking nightmare.
First, he and Mae were circling each other, and rather than answer her straight, he had to be a fucking asshole and attempt to keep shit to himself, and that pissed him off. He knew he should have just come clean with her, and told her the truth—that he wanted everything with her. But he didn’t know how to get that into words for her to understand exactly what he wanted.
Just tell her the truth, dummy.
Then, he had a client that needed him to do a touch-up, but couldn’t make it to town, and offered to pay all travel expenses, and was genuine with the fact he needed help. He and Pete talked about it, and Caleb flew out to check the recent ink that had been done, along with some touch-ups.
It had been a good experience, and he didn’t want to lose the client as a customer, as he’d helped spread the word about how good they were. So, for three days, he was gone, and he knew with every passing day, he was running the risk of losing his woman.
Now, as they sat side by side drinking their hot chocolates, Caleb didn’t think it was the right time to tell her he wanted her to be his wife. He wanted them to have dozens of kids, to wear matching Christmas outfits and spend holidays together, growing old.
He was done with women. He was done with playing that life. He didn’t want it anymore, but he also knew he had to make this real.
“Here,” he said, pulling out his cell phone. Mae had said they didn’t need to talk if he didn’t want to.
The time for talking was over. He needed to act. He was good at making things work, and with Mae, it had to be a gesture. It had to be something she knew he was serious about.
“What?” Mae asked.
“I want to show you the photos of what I was up to while I was away. I told you I had this client, and I wasn’t kidding.” He took a sip of his hot chocolate and had a visual in his mind, of him sitting around the table with a bunch of kids, all of them blowing over the cups of their hot chocolate. The squirty cream was handed to each of them to add to their drinks. Each of them probably added more than they should, but they were all laughing and giggling. The very thought of it made him smile.