Inside Out (39 page)

As she walked toward the door to grab her coat and bag, she noticed the pale, cream-colored envelope someone had slid under her door.

She looked through the peephole and then carefully opened the door, but no one was there.

One glance at the front of the envelope, and she knew who it was from. She braced herself for the worst as she opened it up and pulled out the letter inside.

She unfolded the smooth, thick paper and smiled. The handwriting was typical of him, of his voice. Bold. Masculine. His words unfurled across the page as if he never doubted a thing he thought. She knew differently by then, of course, that Andrew Copeland was far more than what he appeared on the surface. But his letters had become essential. Part of the rhythm and play of their relationship, like foreplay. And this one could make or break that.

Dearest Ella,

Imagine my surprise when I opened my mailbox and found your letter and the picture. I looked at it and read your letter. Then I read it a dozen more times, railing against myself for not seeing the obvious.

I found this snippet in a journal I keep. A snippet I’d written intending to send you at some later date in a letter. But then I figured today was precisely the day I needed you to read it, because it’s the truth.

As you slept, the rain fell outside and warm, I lay with you, naked, against your heart and body and you were mine. You are mine, and I don’t think I know all the words to tell you just what that means. Only that when you breathe, I do, when you smile just for me everything inside me stills and knows it’s found the key.

He’d sketched her on the paper, a quick pencil sketch of her shoulders and the top of her back, of the way her hair had swept forward over her face.

This is what I see. This is what I feel. This is what I want to feel every day for the rest of my life, and you’re the only one who can make me this way. Let me love you, and I promise you all of me.

I love you,
Andrew, Cope and Andy

PS—Look out front when you’re ready.

She read it twice more and, holding it to her heart, she went to her windows and looked outside. He stood there, looking up at her windows as he leaned against his truck, and when he saw her, his face lit with a smile so beautiful it nearly felled her.

Instead, she smiled back and waved.

He motioned up and managed to put a question on it, so she nodded.

And then she ran to the bathroom and tried to tame her hair, wished she had enough time for at least a bit of styling but opted for a quick, one-handed brush of her teeth while she buzzed him up.

She opened the door with a yank, not pretending she wasn’t anxious.

He came into her arms just the way he was supposed to, and it felt so right she just gave in and began to cry.

“Shh. Ella, baby, please don’t cry. I’m sorry for making you upset. I’m sorry I hurt you. I just want to be with you, and if that means realizing that something worth having is also something I’d be devastated at losing, then so be it.”

He kissed her eyelids.

“I love you. When all this craziness with Erin and the baby and Brody and Elise’s wedding is past, will you marry me? We can plan it for the anniversary of our first official date, though I can tell you the first day I saw you, May fifth, we can get married then too. Or tomorrow, or in two years. Whatever. I just want you. Every day forever.”

“You have me. And yes, I’ll marry you on the anniversary of that first date, though it makes me all smooshy inside to know you remembered the first day you met me. That was my third day at the café. I remember it too. I’d never seen anything like you before. You sort of scared me at first, still do I suppose, because I can’t understand how you could want me. But it doesn’t matter, because you do and I want you right back and those blonde skeezoids you were a boy skeezoid with can fuck right off.”

He laughed as he angled her onto the bed, pulling her clothes off. “They’re not skeezoids; they’re just not you.” At her look, he rolled his eyes. “Okay so one or two might be, probably the ones you have bumped into.”

“Andrew, you are aware that no one should be that shade of orange unless they’re an Oompa-Loompa, right?”

She was still laughing when he thrust into her body, choking off the sound, filling her and bringing a soft sigh of homecoming.

“I’m not wearing a condom,” he said softly in her ear. “We’d sort of discussed this as the next step, but I wanted to be sure before I move again. Because this feels so good I might just blow if I pull out and push back in even once.”

“Yes. Yes it’s fine. More than fine, it’s fabulous and beautiful, and you feel so good if you
don’t
move soon, I’m going to pass out from frustration.”

He nipped her neck and rolled them so she was on top. His favorite position and one she liked an awful lot too. “How can I resist all this masculine beauty spread out beneath me? How’d this happen, Andrew Copeland? How did I rate someone like you to love and to be loved by? Do you want to know what I think?”

“As long as you tell me while you’re fucking me.” He sent her a hopeful smile, and it was her turn to laugh. She circled her hips, keeping him deep, loving how it felt and that she knew it tortured him with pleasure.

“You make me feel like a siren. Did you know that?”

He slid his hands up from her hips to cup her breasts. “Red, you
are
a siren. Now tell me, oh holy shit, yep, like that. That’s new, I like it.”

She ground herself down onto him, moving her hips from side to side. “I like it too.”

“There she is,” he said when she’d sort of growled the last.

“I think that you’re my blue ribbon. Not only because you look so good, and let’s face it, Andrew Copeland, you look
fine
. Damn I have never seen a more beautiful man in my whole life. But you’re my blue ribbon because you’re good and kind, compassionate and you love me. Shelter me, protect me, trust me to protect myself and make my own choices. You are my blue ribbon for waiting and taking the hard way to get right here to this spot.”

“Just when I think I can’t love you any more, you prove me wrong.”

“I made an appointment for later today. Raven is doing a piercing for me.”

He stilled, his cock still deep within her. She leaned forward, bracing her hands on his shoulders to get better balance.

“Where?” he gasped out.

She dropped a kiss on his lips, meaning for it to be quick, but then falling into him the way she’d been unable to avoid every time she touched him. He took over the pace, lazily nipping at her bottom lip, sucking her tongue into his mouth until she writhed against him.

“My nipple,” she whispered into his mouth. “You said you’d like it. I sure hope you do, because it looks like it hurts getting it done.”

“It does for a few seconds. But I’ll keep you feeling so much pleasure you won’t notice the pain. Also?” He slid a hand down between them and found her clit. “Slick and hard, ready for me.”

She had already been on edge emotionally, had needed him so much it only took a few brief touches before climax hit, sending her fully upright, her back bending as the shock of it hit, radiating pleasure through every part of her. So much she saw bursts of light behind closed eyes.

“Christ,” he hissed as he began to come, pressing up as he held her down, even as she writhed still from her own orgasm.

Exhausted, she fell to the side in a heap of spent, jumping muscles, panting, not letting go of him for dear life.

“Can I risk telling you something really dirty?” he asked in that slow, sexy, lazy drawl of his.

“Duh. I want to hear all your something really dirty, any time it comes to mind, feel free to call me if I’m not around to hear it face-to-face.”

He pulled her closer. “The idea of coming on your tits when you get the piercing gets me so hot.”

She knew her full body blush would be impossible to miss. “Guh. That’s, well, wow, I’ve read in books about clits pulsing, and I thought it was bullshit. But I’m pretty sure mine just did when you said that.”

He laughed, rolling on top of her. “Sex will be a lot messier now that we don’t use condoms. Your shower is very small. Mine is much bigger. This is my way of asking you to move into my house with me. To make it our home. You know, just in case you didn’t know why the hell I brought that up.”

“You’re sure?”

He touched his forehead to hers. “This is go time, babe. I want you with me every day. When I want to talk to you, I want you to be there. I want your stamp on the house. Your cardigan is on the chair in the living room. I realized yesterday that I thought of it as your chair. I want it to be our house. I want to start our life. I know we’ve been dating for a relatively short period of time, but I know you. I’ve known you for six years. You know me. And I promise I will move heaven and earth to make you happy and keep you safe.”

He had a two-headed shower in his bathroom. And a washer and dryer in his basement. His bed was big, and he had a fireplace in three rooms. Most of all, he was there, and he wanted her there too.

“We have to tell my parents together. First let’s lead with the marriage part. And then the moving in part.”

“We can tell them at dinner tomorrow. I was thinking of inviting my mom to come too if that’s all right? I want her to know them, and I want them to realize I’m for real and forever and not anything like Bill. Your dad frowns at me a lot when he thinks I’m not looking. I want him to trust me with your heart.”

She laughed. “All right then.”

28

“Give that baby to me right now.” Ella stood in front of Brody and gave him the look. “You’ve had him the last half hour. I was nice because it’s your wedding day and all, but now it’s my turn.” She held her hands out, and with a disgruntled sigh, he kissed the top of Alexander’s downy head and handed him over.

In the end, even after all the health-inspired madness Erin had suffered, Alexander had come easily and quietly a week after Erin had been discharged from the hospital the last time. Six weeks old already and he was big, healthy and adored by everyone in his life. Not a bad way to live..

“Five minutes. Not thirty, drama queen.” Brody winked at her.

Alexander snuggled into her immediately and made a soft cooing sound. “Look at you. Already the handsomest boy in the whole wide world. Your mommy is looking for you. I think your dinner is ready.”

He put a tiny fist into his mouth, sucking on it. “Yeah, I gotcha. We’re moving.”

Cope came around the corner, holding two glasses. “Hey, Red. I’ve been looking for you. Thought a glass of champagne would be a lovely way to end a great day.”

“Thank you.” She smiled at him, and they both looked down at Alexander again. “Hang on a sec. Alexander is hungry, and I need to get him to Erin.”

“I’ll come with you. Seeing you with him makes me simultaneously hot for you and tender about our future.”

“There you are!” Erin called out from her place on a comfortable couch. Alexander heard his mother’s voice and began to fuss until Ella handed him over. He turned immediately and latched on.

Erin settled back with her feet up, and Ben handed her the blanket she used to keep Alexander focused on eating and not looking around the room at all the people who wanted to give him love.

“Thanks for tracking Brody down. Man gets his mitts on my baby, and it’s hell to get him back.”

“Well, you’re stingy with him. Sheesh, I got to hold him for all of two minutes before he threw me over for you and those giant boobs of yours.”

Todd laughed. “Ella, I love you and all, but when it comes to a choice between food and boobs and a nice lady who snuggles you, you have to know the former will always win.”

“Ella and I snuck away and got married last weekend,” Andrew blurted.

“What?” Erin turned her gaze on Ella, who was just as surprised that he’d spilled the beans as Erin was. She shouldn’t be surprised. He was like a kid at Christmas sometimes when it came to secrets.

“We were going to get married in the fall. You know, when we’d fully finished the house and all. But we were all in Vegas last week for pre-wedding stuff, so we snuck out and did it. Actually, I got her tipsy and convinced her we should do it. Hey, I’m not proud!”

“
Pffft
. I love you and I wanted to marry you. We didn’t want to say anything just yet because we didn’t want to take the focus off Brody and Elise.” Ella sent him a raised brow but he just laughed, unrepentant.

“Didn’t want to take the focus off us for what?” Brody came in, Elise at his side wearing a red wedding dress, her hair styled in cascading curls with crystals tucked inside. She looked breathtakingly beautiful. But it was the love between them that made Ella choke up a bit.

Erin piped up. “Ella and Cope got married last week when we were all in Vegas.”

“What the heck! You didn’t tell me?” Elise hugged her. “Girl, I’m gonna kick your butt.”

“It’s your wedding day. You deserve every last bit of attention. It would have kept until next week.”

“We want to try to get pregnant, and what better time to get married than when you’re in Vegas.”

She spun, ready to pinch him, but he danced out of her reach. “Oh my god! Andrew Copeland! You promised to hold off.”

Moving to her, he kissed her hard. “You’re my wife. The wedding is over, and we’re in private with my brother and our friends. What better time to share? Anyway, now when we have our kiddo, he or she will know there wasn’t a shotgun wedding or anything.”

The man was absolutely incorrigible, but he was all hers, which was the very best part of every day. Her parents had been over the moon, though they’d been disappointed to have not been there, so they promised to throw a big party in a few months to announce it. Annalee had been likewise thrilled, and she had called Moira immediately to start planning the party.

“I just wanted to be his wife.” She smiled at Elise, who grinned and then kissed Ella smack on the lips.

“We’re pregnant. We told Rennie yesterday, and she gave us permission to tell you guys today.”