What Happens Tomorrow (17 page)

AFTER A TWENTY-FOUR hour stay in the hospital, I’m allowed to go home. Tyler packs a bag and takes a couple of days off work to stay with me. He hasn't let me out of his sight since he drove me to the hospital, making sure he was by my side when the police interviewed me.

I love that he’s protective of me.

Wrapped in my favorite fluffy blanket, I lounge on the couch watching my favorite chick flick; the one about the single English girl who drinks too much, smokes too much and writes in her diary. Love this movie. Tyler makes us some lunch even though I tell him I’m not hungry; he insists I need to eat something. The ringing of his cell phone interrupts the movie and I lower the sound enough so I can hear who is calling. I have a good idea before he even answers.

“Hi, Mom.Yeah, she’s doing better.”

Tyler’s mom. I knew it. She’s called him half a dozen times since we got home from the hospital. He let it slip that he had a big argument with her after I’d ended things between us and ended up in the hospital. He blamed her for what happened to me because if I hadn’t overheard their conversation I wouldn’t have been upset and acted out the way I did. I love that he defended me to his mother, but it wasn’t right to blame her for this. This wasn’t her fault. It’s obvious she feels a tremendous amount of guilt over what happened because she won’t stop calling.

I get it. I would have done the same thing for Katelin. I sigh at the thought of another part of her life I will miss out on.

“Hang on and I’ll ask her,” I hear Tyler say as he walks from the kitchen to me, his cell muted by his chest. “Mom wants to know if it’s okay for her to come by this afternoon? She really wants to see you.”

I curl my lips into a heartfelt smile. “Tell her that would be nice.”

TWO HOURS LATER there’s a slight knock at the door, sending Charlie racing down the hallway barking his little nine pound head off. Tyler quickly scoops him up as he opens the door.

“Hi, Mom,” he greets her with a loving kiss to the cheek. I don’t care what anyone says, you can really gauge a man by the way he treats his mother.

“Hi, sweetheart,” she replies, pulling him into a loving embrace. “And just who might you be, little cutie?” Charlie’s tail wags a hundred miles a minute as he tries to lick her face. He loves meeting new people, especially those that pay him an ounce of attention.

“This is Charlie.”

She scratches his ears. “It’s very nice to meet you Charlie.” Scanning my apartment, her eyes zero in on their target …

Me.

A warm smile lights her face. “Brooke, sweetheart … how are you feeling?” The concern in her voice is genuine and motherly; it makes me miss my own mother.

I haven’t told my parents what happened. I’m still on the fence about that one. They’ve had enough to worry about and it would be nice, for once, if they didn’t have to worry.

“Hi, Kelly. I’m feeling much better, thanks for asking.”

Sitting down on the edge of the couch beside me, she pats my knee before taking my hand in hers. “I owe you such a big apology, Brooke.” She pauses for a moment. “I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.” I can’t put into words how sorry I am that you overheard Tyler and I talking the other night.” She pauses again. “Please, believe me, it wasn’t my intention to hurt you. Contrary to what you might think, Rob and I are very happy that you and our son are together.” She glances over to Tyler, her eyes filled with love.

I know that look. It’s the look only a parent can give to a child.

“Tyler had explained how you lost your husband and daughter in an accident a few years ago.” Her eyes brim with sorrow as she grasps my hand a little tighter. Her heartfelt gesture helps eases my anxiety. It never gets easy, telling someone about them for the first time. “I can’t even begin to imagine what you’ve gone through, dealing with such an unimaginable loss. I don’t know what I’d have done if something like that happened to me…”

She shakes her head at the thought.

Tyler walks in and sits on the arm of the couch beside me, his hand gently rubbing my back in support. I look up into his loving blue eyes, trying to force a reassuring smile on my lips, but I know he sees through me.

“I admit I jumped to conclusions. I was unaware how deep my son’s feelings for you are, and I only wanted to make sure he was thinking clearly when it came to his future. I should have known better than to second guess him. After Tyler called and told me what happened between the two of you…well, I was mortified. He finished telling me your story and made sure to set me straight.”

She lovingly eyes her son again before turning back to smile at me. I can feel how strong the mother-child bond is between them. “I think you’re an incredible woman, Brooke, and I have seen first hand how happy you make my son. I promise that if you give me another chance I will do whatever it takes to make things right between us, no matter how long it takes.”

She tries to pull her hands away from mine, but I grab them back. “You don’t owe me anything. I probably would have done the same thing in your shoes.” I turn to look at Tyler. “I want you to know that I would never do anything to hurt your son.”

She pulls me into a tight embrace, and quietly mouths into my ear, “I know.”

IT’S HARD TO believe we’ve been seeing each other a couple of months now. Some days it doesn’t seem very long and others…

It seems like I’ve known him a lifetime.

I think I’m finally at a place where I’m ready to move forward with our relationship…all right, I know I’m ready.

More than ready.

I’m lucky Tyler is such a loving, patient man. Never once has he tried to pressure me to do anything I wasn’t ready for. In fact, it’s the opposite; he seems to always be the one pulling back. We’ve never moved past passionate kisses or teasing touches even though I know he wants to. I’ve felt how desperately he wants to—pressed up against my body.

I haven’t dated in over a decade. Is there an etiquette for this sort of thing? How in the world do I tell him I’m ready to be with him without coming off sounding like a desperate woman needing to get laid? Oh yeah, that’s right—I
am
a desperate, horny woman in need of getting laid. Jenna was right, my battery operated boyfriend doesn’t cut it when I can have a real, live, warm version.

I need the intimacy.

But at the same time I worry … worry about how he’ll react when he sees my body. A woman’s body changes so much after she carries a baby and mine is definitely no exception. Will the constant reminder of the precious girl I gave life to, forever etched onto my body, be too much for him? Will the stretch marks that remind me of rivers running across my stomach repulse him? I haven’t been with a man since Matt, and he never seemed interested in my body after Katelin was born.

Staring at myself in the bathroom mirror, my hand gently glides over the reminders I hold dear in my heart. I try to reassure myself that everything will be okay, but I need to talk to him and let him know how I feel.

We can talk about anything, right?

After dinner, we take Charlie out for a walk. I love our casual walks at night with my arms wrapped around this handsome man.

“I…uh…I have something to tell you. I’m a little nervous, so can you please hear me out without interrupting me?”

Tyler stops dead in his tracks, letting go of my waist. “All right…but why are you nervous? You know you can tell me anything, right?”

Biting my lip nervously, I nod. I wish his words calmed my nerves this time, but they don’t. “Please. Don’t interrupt, just listen. We’ve been seeing each other for a couple of months now and things have been amazing, so I wanted to tell you that I…I’m…”

Oh, damn it, Brooke. Spit it out already!

“I’m ready.”

With his signature devilish grin, he teasingly cocks his brow, trying to appear puzzled by my statement.

This is so embarrassing. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut.

“Ready? I’m not sure I understand? What exactly is it that you’re ready for?”

Ass! He knows exactly what I mean. I elbow him in the side as my face turns fifty shades of embarrassed. “Jerk! You know exactly what I’m trying to say.”

His grin grows bigger, telling me he’s enjoying my discomfort. Reaching for me, he pulls me towards his chest. “Sweetheart, I’m sure I know exactly what you mean, but I wanna hear you say it. I want to hear the words come out of your gorgeous lips.”

He’s really gonna make me beg. “I’m ready for us to…you know...for us to…be together.” I cover my face with my hands. I’m ready to crawl under a rock now.

Pushing me back from his chest, he eyes me with such tenderness. “Can we please take this conversation home? I really don’t feel like talking about making love to my girlfriend in front of the homeless dude here,” he says, motioning to the man sleeping in the doorway of the shop we happened to stop in front of. I nod in embarrassed agreement as Tyler leans in to kiss the side of my head. “Hey, you have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

We walk back hand in hand, and when we reach the courtyard he lets go and kisses the tip of my nose. “I’m gonna run to my place and grab a few things. Do you want me to stay tonight?”

I bite my lip and optimistically nod my head.

“Relax, Brooke. All we’re going to do tonight is talk.”
Talk?
“Nothing is happening tonight.”

“But I thought—”

He cuts me off, pressing a finger to my lips. “Shh…there’s nothing I would love more than to take you home right now and push your gorgeous body up against a wall.”

I swallow hard at the thought as heat pools between my legs. Slowly, he walks behind me and his warm breath makes every hair on the back of my neck stand on end as he whispers in my ear, “I promise I won’t rush things…no, I’ll take it nice and slow…”

His strong hands firmly grasp my hips, sending a rush of electricity surging through my body. “Gently kissing the base of your neck, I’ll slowly inch your shirt up as my hand grazes the soft flesh of your stomach, only removing my lips from yours to lift it over your head. I’ll return my lips to your tantalizingly delicate skin as I slide the lacy straps of your bra slowly over your shoulders. Then I’ll gently trail my lips down to the sexy-as-hell swell of your breasts, all the while admiring how damn hard they make me when I look at them in that lacy peach bra you’re wearing.”

My pulse picks up. I’m so turned on by his sexy words and the feel of his fingers digging into my hips.

“It takes every ounce of strength in me not to rip it off your body with my teeth. I kiss my way down your perfect, sexy breasts as my hands carefully slide your jeans down your smooth, sexy legs, exposing the lacy peach panties that match your bra…mmm, I’m dying to taste you.” His grip tightens on my hips as my breathing hitches. “Slowly, I’ll get down on my knees, ready to worship your sexy body…my lips continuing their assault down the soft skin of your stomach as I breathe in the sweet smell of your excitement. God, you’re driving me crazy. I want to taste you so bad, Brooke. I want to put my lips on your warm, delicate flesh as I lick, suck and nibble until your body can’t take it anymore. I feel you pulse around my tongue as your legs shake uncontrollably while your body erupts in ecstasy.”