Beautiful Ties (32 page)

The corner of his mouth lifted into an adorable smile, catching me off guard. “I had this whole speech all prepared in my mind. I was ready to plead for your forgiveness for walking out earlier instead of talking things over with you.” Jason’s hands cupped around my back, drawing me closer. “Yet, here you are, apologizing to me, when you have nothing to be sorry for, Abbey. I do. I apologize for letting you think otherwise. The truth is, I was scared. What I feel for you and Pearl is so intense.”

Butterflies soared in my stomach, and I restrained myself from jumping into his arms and kissing him into the morning hours. I had to remind myself that we needed to clear the air.

Just a few more minutes, and then I can jump him.

“Intense?” I inquired with a huge grin instead.

“Very.” He nodded, soothing his hands up and down my waist. “In twenty-seven years, I’ve never given my heart away to anyone because I was too afraid to fall in love. But from the very second I laid eyes on you at Kyle and Lily’s wedding, you’ve had this indescribable pull over me. I wanted to see your smile and hear your laugh. I wanted to know what you would feel like in my arms.” He paused briefly, stifling a grin of his own. “And I’d be damned if someone else was going to catch that garter. There was no way in hell I was going to let another man hold you.”

I refrained from rolling my eyes at him. “Your height alone gave you an unfair advantage over the other men that day,” I chided affectionately. A soft laughter escaped me as I threw my arms around his nape.

“True.” Jason chortled, burying his nose into the crook of my neck as I ran my fingertips through his soft hair. “You changed something inside of me that day, Abbey,” he added on a rough breath, his voice thick with emotion.

Jason drew back, regarding me with an overwhelming sense of sincerity and adoration. I thought surely my heart would stop beating.

“And then, you introduced me to Pearl—this sweet, intelligent, beautiful, little girl who’s full of life and has so much love within her that she gives unconditionally—and I fell in love with her, too.”

“You did?” I asked in awe, holding my breath and tightening my arms around him as I waited for his answer.

“Of course I did,” he answered, brushing my tears away. “I never knew it was possible to fall in love with two people at once.”

He let out a resigned sigh and lowered his forehead against mine. “I’m so sorry I left, Abbey. It took me about four hours of deep thought—and being miserable without you, I might add—to realize I would have done the exact same thing out of love for Pearl as you did.”

“Thank you,” I whispered. A profound weight lifted off my chest, knowing he loved Pearl, too, and he understood my reasoning for acting as quickly as I had today. “I—”

He gently cut me off, covering my lips with his index finger. “Now, that’s enough talking for one night.”

His eyes were suddenly keen and hot, and I felt my body instantly respond to him.

“I’m dying to make love to you,” he said.

My blood heated and sizzled within me as I reciprocated his thoughts. I dropped my hands between us and grabbed the hem of his shirt. I tugged it over his head in one motion. My desire to touch his bare chest overcame me as I set my hands on either side of his heart, and then I moved them up and down his rippled muscles. A gruff sound left his throat before he backed me up against the wall, colliding our bodies together. The hardness of him pressed firmly against my stomach.

His head moved from side to side. “I don’t think we’re going to make it to the bedroom.” He grinned wolfishly.

“Fine by me,” I replied, mirroring his expression as his hands removed my shirt.

He looked down, and his hands glided up and down my waist. “You look so fucking hot in lace,” he growled before bending forward to capture my mouth in a scorching kiss.

He dominated me with his lips, and we both stripped off one another’s clothes with rapid movements, never breaking our connection. Jason stepped closer, cupped my ass, and lifted me. I locked my ankles around his waist. My hands came to his nape, and I sank my fingers into his dark blond hair, reveling in the softness of it. With one hand still holding me, he shifted the other to rub his erection against my sex.

A throaty groan tore from the back of his throat as he leaned his forehead against mine. “Christ, Abbey. I haven’t even touched you yet, and you’re ready for me,” he said.

That was what he did to me. One look, one touch, one kiss—that was all it took for me to yearn for him.

Jason deliberately drove into me with a languid stroke, and then he paused. “When we’re together like this…it’s just you and me, baby,” he breathed against my skin. “No one will ever love you as much as I do.”

His confession sent the sensations inside of me rocketing. “Jason,” I rasped in agreement, needing him to satisfy the burning desire coursing through my core.

“I got you,” he said in a deep voice, grasping my ass again with both hands.

His hips fell into a rhythm, slow and steady, and then he picked up speed, pumping in and out of me. I clenched my arms around him, and I matched his fervor, feeling the muscles at the center of my abdomen pull and tighten, as I clenched around his length. Jason dragged his lips from my neck to my mouth. I kissed him hard as I shattered around him, my orgasm gripping and releasing him with every wave undulating outward from my center.

Jason moaned, coming inside me. His movements slowed, prolonging the delicious sensations he invoked in me. We parted, and he dropped his head against mine again.

“Love you, Abbey,” he said throatily, faintly shaking his head. “Nothing will ever change that.”

I tipped my head up to greet his lips just one more time, unable to restrain myself.

This man fills my soul.
“I love you, too…” I breathed against his luscious lips. “More than anything.”

The left side of his mouth twitched into a slow boyish grin. “Come on, baby. It’s time for bed.”

I nodded, and he lowered me to my feet. He twined his fingers with mine, and we stepped over our clothes lying all over the floor. I inwardly grinned, reveling at the memory of him ravishing me just moments ago against my foyer wall.

By one o’clock on Sunday afternoon, my entire condo was cleaned spotless from wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor.

I was one of those people who cleaned when emotions were running high—whether I was happy or sad or mad. It was uncontrollable. And today, I was a bundle of nerves.

It had been four whole days since I’d last seen Pearl or heard her laughter. I missed her terribly, and I felt like a part of myself was missing, too.

My other concern was Diane. I had no idea if she’d changed her mind on our arrangement.

Then, I wondered if Pearl would even want to live with Jason and me.

Not knowing and feeling powerless was a heartrending process to endure.

Jason’s broad arms wrapped around me from behind. “Hey,” he said in a gentle tone, nuzzling me. “It’s going to be all right. Give it some time, okay?”

I needed his strength and support more than he could ever know. I pivoted in his hold, facing him. “I know. It’s just that it’s Sunday, and we always spend the weekends together. I miss her like crazy.”

“Me, too. This condo has been way too quiet the past few days.” Jason smiled fondly, caressing his hands up and down my back reassuringly. “But I’m sure Pearl will come around when she’s ready.”

My anxiety increased as more doubts surfaced. I frowned, pondering over the fact that I didn’t know how Pearl felt about this all. “What if our friendship wasn’t enough? Or she doesn’t want to live with us permanently?” I asked my thoughts out loud.

Jason lifted one hand to brush a stray lock of my hair behind my shoulder. “Don’t say that,” he chided softly. “Abbey, Pearl loves you just as much as you her. Anyone would be a fool not to see that.”

He’s right.
My doubts were getting the best of me. “I hope so,” I murmured.

“I
know
so,” he countered before swooping down to kiss me once. Then, he stared around at our condo before glancing back at me. “Well, now that you’ve made this place sparkle, I thought I’d take you to the beach.”

I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of putting my toes in the sand. “Are we going to my favorite dock?” I asked hopefully.

Jason’s brows rose. “What other beach would I take you to?” he scoffed playfully with a smirk.

I loved his canny ability to lighten my mood. “Good point.” I winked but then frowned. “What if Pearl comes over while we’re out though?”

Jason looked to be contemplating his response while mirroring my expression. “She has your number now, right?”

“Yes.”

“We can leave a note on the door. Plus, it’s only right up the road, so we can always come back for her if she calls,” he replied thoughtfully.

“That’s true,” I responded. I knew if Pearl were coming over today, she would have been here already. “Okay, let’s get ready,” I added.

Jason and I walked into our room. We each changed into our swimming suits and then put on our clothes over them. Then, we packed a bag with towels and food. Jason was still finishing up in our bedroom as I ambled into the kitchen to write a note for Pearl to leave on the door, saying where we would be if she happened to stop over. Once done, I dug in my junk drawer for tape just as the doorbell rang.

Note forgotten, I eagerly headed for the door and pulled it open, hoping it was Pearl.

Diane was standing on the other side. My gaze lowered to see Pearl behind her. My heart plummeted at the thought of why Pearl would be hiding behind Diane. I forced my eyes back to Diane with a perplexed expression.

“Hi, Diane and Pearl,” I said kindly.

“Hi,” Pearl faintly murmured, still not stepping forward.

“Hello, Abbey,” Diane replied.

Her voice sounded like she was tired and stressed. The tone made my worry increase.

“May we come in?”

“Of course,” I replied, opening the door wider so that they could enter.

My attention darted to Pearl, but her eyes stayed focused in front of her. My heart clenched in my chest. I closed the door and spun around. Jason was standing at the junction of the living room and hallway with his questioning gaze on me. I offered him a weak smile while feeling vulnerable enough to crumble at any given moment. The unknown was pure torture.

Diane turned to face Jason. He lifted his hand to greet her as she spoke, “You must be Jason, I presume?”

“Yes. Nice to finally meet you,” he replied, outstretching his hand to shake hers.

She muttered an agreement to Jason and then glanced over at me. “Is it okay if we sit?” she said, pointing to the couch.

“Sorry,” I muttered. I realized that in my worry, I’d forgotten my manners. My brain felt like it was disconnected from my body as if I were floating off in the clouds somewhere. “Yes, please have a seat,” I quickly added, gesturing her to the couch.

Pearl sat next to Diane. Jason came to my side and gently laid his hand on my back, guiding me toward the love seat to the right of the couch.

Once we were all seated, Jason took the lead. “So, Diane, how can we help you?” he asked in a friendly voice.

My eyes bounced between Diane and Pearl before settling on Diane.

Diane immediately directed her attention to me. “Abbey,” she drawled in her nails-on-a-chalkboard tone, making me inwardly cringe. “I’m here to inform you that I spoke with my uncle, Tom Berkley, who is a lawyer, and he said that since we both agree on you taking full custody of Pearl, the court process should proceed rather quickly. Have you contacted an attorney yet?”

I gawked over at her, reeling, and feeling terrible that Pearl had to listen to this. I took a deep breath, praying for patience with this woman. “Since we spoke on Friday afternoon, I assumed the law offices would be closed. I was planning to call first thing Monday morning.”

“Monday will work. I’d like to take care of this as quickly as possible. I’ve decided to move back to Oklahoma to be near my family again,” she responded matter-of-factly, crossing her arms. “And I will have Tom forward my bill to you as well.”

I didn’t even bat an eyelash at the word
bill
. I was still stuck on the part about moving.

“You made plans to move already?” I asked in astonishment.

“But you are staying here in Lake Tahoe until arrangements are final with Pearl, right?” Jason cut in. His voice sounded as though he was fighting for control.

“Yes,” she answered, “as long as we can resolve this custody predicament fast because I have accepted a job offer back home.”

“Don’t worry. There will be no delays on our end,” Jason said curtly to Diane.

My ears tuned out Diane and Jason as I zoned in on Pearl. She looked sad and lost.

I wasn’t sure if Pearl was sad because she had to live with me or because of Diane’s careless and apparent dismissal of her. The gut-wrenching thought tore at my heart. I yearned to reach out, hold her, and cover her ears from listening to this conversation. She didn’t need to hear any of it.

“Diane,” I cut in, rising to my feet, “could I please speak with Pearl for a minute?”