Boudreaux 01 Easy Love (32 page)

And I’m sick of being stupid. And sad. And…smelly.

“You know what?” I say and stand, stretch, and ignore him when he winces at the smell of me. “You’re right. I’m done sitting on the couch. I’m going to go take a shower and go to the grocery store.”

“Good, you could use some sun. You’re as pale as those vampires on that show.”

“You know, you used to be nice to me. You used to love me.”

“You used to smell good,” he replies with a grin and crosses his arms as I saunter by. “Take a shower, and I’ll love you again.”

“Conditional love.” I tsk tsk as I walk by. “There aren’t supposed to be strings attached to love, Rhys. Maybe that’s why you can’t keep a girlfriend.”

“I don’t want to keep a girlfriend,” he replies with a laugh. “Girlfriends expect stuff from you.”

“Yes,” I agree sarcastically, “like kindness and cuddle time and sex.”

“Hey, I can handle those things. Especially the sex.”

“Ew.”

“But not the other strings like
commitment
and all of my time and nosing into my financial business.”

“And monogamy.”

He just smiles and I make puking noises as I walk upstairs to my room. I love Rhys. He always makes me feel better.
 

The shower feels amazing. I stay in long enough to wash my hair three times, shave my legs, and drain all of the hot water.

When I step out, I actually take the time to style my freshly washed hair and put on a bit of makeup; I pull on a cute pair of red capris pants and white button-down sleeveless shirt.

I feel almost human again.

My bedroom is a shambles. I never unpacked my suitcases when I came home from New Orleans. I quickly do that, throw some dirty clothes into the laundry, vow to burn the clothes I’ve been marinating in over the past two weeks, then bounce down the stairs to find Rhys in the kitchen, making me a list.

“Thanks,
dear
.”

“You’re welcome.” He grins and checks his list. “I need some things. Don’t get any junk food. We’ve had enough of that to last the rest of the year.”

“Yes, sir.” I give him a mock salute and take his list. “Since when do you eat parsnips?”
 

“I’m going to put them in smoothies. They’re good for you.”

“What
are
they?”

“A vegetable, smart ass.”

“I’m getting extra Oreos, just to even it out. Yuck.”

“No junk!”

“Whatever.”

***

“They didn’t have the milk and cookies flavor of ice cream, so I got chocolate chip cookie dough.” These bags are so dang
heavy.
I seriously need to go to the gym once in a while. “And you can stop judging me right now, Rhys O’Shaughnessy, because I deserve ice cream.” I pile the bags on the kitchen island, let out a sigh of relief, and look right up into the whiskey-colored eyes of Eli Boudreaux.

“Someone came to see you,” Rhys says.

“And you can show him out,” I reply, and turn to rush out of the room. I can’t feel my feet, and I pray I don’t fall on my ass. “I don’t have anything to say to him.”

I can hear their voices, but can’t understand what they’re saying over the rush in my ears. My skin is hot. I can’t breathe.
 

Damn it!
I was doing so much better today.
 

I walk straight through my bedroom to the balcony that overlooks my backyard. The sun is warm on my shoulders as I lean on the railing and take a deep breath, fighting tears.

Why is he here?

“You’ll get burned out there in the sun,
cher.
”

I will not turn around
. But, oh, God, the sound of his voice is the most amazing sound I’ve ever heard.
 

“Look, Kate, I know I should have called you—”

“Why?” I ask without turning around. “Why would you call? The job was done. I came home. There’s nothing to say.”

“There’s a lot to say.”

“You’re right.” I turn now, and will myself to keep myself together until I throw him out on his arse. “There is one thing to say. Fuck you, Eli. All I wanted from you was respect and honesty. To be monogamous until I left. And you couldn’t even do
that
. So, fuck you. Now, please leave.”

“I didn’t fuck anyone!” he exclaims with frustration. “Declan told me what you saw the morning you left, but she wasn’t with me, Kate. I didn’t go home that night at all. I haven’t been home since I left you that night.”

“Wait. What?” He advances, but I flinch, so he stops abruptly and shoves his hands in his pockets.
 

“I haven’t been with Cindy, or anyone else, since the minute I met you. I have no idea what she was doing at my townhouse that morning.”

“Why haven’t you been home?” I whisper.

“Because you aren’t there,” he replies, almost reluctantly. “And I miss you.”

“Look, thanks for clearing that up for me, Eli, but you didn’t have to come all this way to tell me that. You could have just sent me an email.”

“I’m in love with you,” he says, his face intense, jaw ticking. He looks nervous. Unsure of himself.

And that kills me, because Eli is the most self-assured person I’ve ever met.

“Excuse me?”

“Fuck it,” he whispers and takes me in his arms, clutching me to him almost desperately. His nose is in my hair, breathing deeply, his hands rubbing up and down my back.

And I’m not hugging him back. Not yet.

“I remembered something,” he murmurs. “Remember when I told you about what my dad said to me when he was dying?”

I nod, and can’t help but take a breath, inhaling Eli’s strong, spicy scent. God, how I’ve missed him. My hands grip onto his arms as he continues.

“All I’ve focused on was the disappointment in his eyes, his voice. The
bad
things he said that day, and I’ve done everything in my power to make sure that he would be proud of me now.”

He grips my shoulders and pushes me away, looking me in the eye.

“But something Declan said reminded me of what Dad said about what’s important. That the love of one good woman is worth more than all the casual sex put together. That what matters is being in love, having a family.
 

“Kate, I thought I didn’t deserve you because I work
so hard
to make Bayou Industries something my dad would be proud of, and I thought that in doing that, you’d always take the backseat to my career. But that’s bullshit. I can have both. My parents did it effortlessly, because they
made
each other the priority.”

“What are you saying?” I ask breathlessly.

“I’m saying,” he says and swallows hard, “that you mean the world to me. I’ve been looking for you my whole damn life. I’m uninterested in a life without you. Not having you with me over the past few weeks has been a hell I don’t wish on anyone.”

“You hurt me,” I whisper, as tears roll unnoticed down my cheeks. He sweeps them away with his thumbs.

“I hurt both of us,” he replies softly. “I fell into such an easy love with you, I didn’t even realize it was happening, until one day, it was everything.”

“You don’t do love,” I reply.

“I didn’t,” he agrees with a half-smile. “But you made the man who was incapable of love fall in love with you.”

I frown and tilt my head. “You said that to me in the hospital.”

He nods solemnly.
 

“Eli, I don’t know if I can do marriage and forever with
anyone
again. I don’t know if I have that in me.”

“Oh, baby.” He kisses my forehead and hugs me to him again. “You do. But we can take this one day at a time. As long as you’re with me, every day, nothing else matters,
cher.
We don’t have to jump into anything.”

My arms clutch him now, wrapping around him and holding him tight.

“I missed you too,” I whisper into his chest.
 

“You’re going to burn,” he says and leads me into the bedroom. He lies next to me on my bed, turning us so we’re facing each other, and I can’t help the tears that spring to my eyes. “Don’t cry.”

“I thought you’d—”

“If I’d known you’d thought that, I would have called and told you differently right away. I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”

I shake my head and close my eyes, then lean in and press my lips to his lightly. His hand drifts down my side to my hip, and he lets me take the lead, nibbling his lips, kissing his cheek. I pull my fingertips down his chin as his hand makes its way up my shirt.

“I missed your skin,” he whispers.
 

“I might have missed your abs,” I reply softly.

He raises a brow. “Might have?” He pushes me onto my back and unfastens the buttons on my shirt, nudges it aside and kisses my chest, over to my already puckered nipple, pulling it into his mouth through my bra.
 

“Probably.” My hand drifts down his back to his butt. “And this too.”

He chuckles and works his way down my stomach. “I think we should make a list. The first on mine is this sexy as hell piercing.”

“A list of things I love about you?” I ask with a giggle. He raises his head, his eyes wide, and pushes back up to look me in the eye.
 

“Do you love me, Kate?”

“I love you very much,” I reply sincerely. “All of you.”

His eyes close and he tips his forehead against mine, then sends me that sexy, naughty grin of his. “Let’s make those lists.”

***

Two Weeks Later…

“I would have hired people to unpack your things,” Eli says, as he wraps his arms around me from behind and kisses my cheek.

“That’s silly,” I reply, and hang the last blouse in the closet. “Besides, the thought of having strangers touch my clothes and underwear is not appealing.”

“Well, when you put it like that,” he agrees with a smile, and turns me to face him. He kisses me softly. “Welcome home,
cher
.”

“Thank you.” I smile widely, happy to be here in
our
townhome in the French Quarter. “I love this place.”

“I love you.”

I smile up at him. “I know.”

He swallows and cups my cheek in his hand. “Kate, Rhys told me about the baby you lost, and I’ve been meaning to find the right moment to tell you that I’m so very sorry for your loss.”

I feel tears fill my eyes, but his words are a balm to my heart. “Thank you.”
 

He kisses me softly, gently, his thumbs making circles on my cheeks, and I can’t help but hope that there will be other babies.

Lots of babies.

“Is the family here?” I ask.

“We are.” Eli’s mama’s voice comes from the bedroom, and when we step out of the closet, she’s smiling widely. “Hello, sweet girl.”

“I’m so glad you all came for dinner.” I hug the petite woman before walking toward the door.
 

Just before I leave the room, I hear her say, “Your daddy would be so proud of you, Eli.”

I grin and leave them alone, joining the others in the kitchen.

“Are you really living with Uncle Eli now, Miss Kate?” Sam asks excitedly.

“I am.” I smile at the sweet little boy and smooth his unruly hair down, then snatch a fried potato out of a serving tray that the caterers brought.

Eli had this gathering catered. He didn’t want me to have to deal with cooking dinner
and
unpacking my things.

God, I love that man.

“Are you okay?” Eli asks, as he wraps me in his arms and hugs me tightly, joining us in the kitchen.

“Why wouldn’t she be okay?” Beau asks, as he uncovers the shrimp gumbo. “She doesn’t start work until Monday, so you haven’t had a chance to be a hard ass with her yet.”

“How did your boss take it when you quit?” Van asks.
 

“He was fine when I explained that I didn’t want to travel around so much, and that Bayou Enterprises offered me a position.”

“I don’t want to think about the positions Eli offers you,” Charly grumbles, earning a glare from her mother.

Eli simply raises an eyebrow at me, a half-smile on his sexy lips.
 

“I’m great.”
 

“You’re amazing,” he whispers in my ear. “And all mine.”

I smile up at him, in the middle of the hustle and bustle of his family, laughing and talking, in our home, and know that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

“All yours.”

Epilogue

Three Months Later…

Rhys O’Shaughnessy

“It’s fine,” I insist with a growl, glaring at the doctor. My coach, team physician, even the fucking
owner
of the team are all here in this meeting. “I can play.”

“No, you can’t,” the doctor insists grimly. “You’ll tear that rotator cuff again in a heartbeat.”

“I’ve done the therapy,” I insist. “I’ve done everything you’ve told me to.”