“Not sure,” I finally answered.
Last night after we ended our call, I lay awake thinking of her smile. It may have only been a little more than a month that she and I officially started dating, but the attachment I had to this girl was powerful. Hell, it even shocked me how reliant I had become on her and the support she offered. Everything just felt better with AJ around.
“You got it bad.” Mikey let out a low whistle, and I looked up just in time to see Dad and Gavin chuckle regarding his comment. Part of me wanted to shoot back at him with some smartass comment that would bring him down a few notches, but honestly what was the point? I did have it bad.
“Leave him alone.” My mother entered the living room with Aunt Maria hot on her tail. “I for one am happy to see him smiling and enjoying himself again. AJ is a sweet girl.”
“She keeps his ass in line too,” my father chimed in.
“Just like I do you,” Mom fired right back at him, and instantly the man became mushy as he sauntered over to her and hooked her around the waist. He pulled her close and she let out a loud squeal before he dipped her back and planted a big kiss on her lips.
“Gross.” Grace entered carrying a box. “Can you two spare the rest of us and make out on your own time?” Dad hassled Grace a little more by adding more kisses, only he added loud kissing noises to accentuate, but the only thing I could focus on was the pretty girl standing just behind Grace. AJ stood with her hands in the pockets of her jean shorts, also wearing a tight yellow tank top and flip-flops on her feet. Her hair was piled up on top her head, all messy like, but on her it looked perfect.
She was watching my father and my mother with a huge smile on her face. She had yet to look in my direction, but I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was gorgeous, and I wasn’t just referring to her looks. The person who lay beneath the beauty was one who managed to make me fall a little more each day.
Another loud squeal erupted, and I looked just in time to see Grace being lifted over dad’s shoulder and spun around in circles. “Daddy, I’m gonna puke.”
“It’s all right, it’s Rhett’s place, not mine.”
When I shifted my gaze back to AJ, I found she was looking at me, a sweet smile on her lips as she remained hovering by the door. Without a second thought, I began moving toward her and reached out to hook my finger through the belt loop of her shorts. I pulled her body to mine, and she moved without hesitation. “Hi,” I whispered as I dipped my head and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.
“Hi,” she said in return, her eyes still closed.
“I wanted to have as much furniture as I could moved in before you got here.”
“I could leave and come back later.” She looked up at me through those long lashes of hers. “I hate to put a damper on your plans.”
“Like hell you will, woman.” I clipped my other arm around her waist and pulled her body tightly to my own. “In fact, you aren’t getting out of my sight for at least the next twenty-four hours.” I leaned in and kissed her once more. “We’ve got some lost time to make up for.”
“I was only gone for one night.” AJ smiled up at me, and there was so much hidden in that smile. When she looked at me the way she was right then, it made me feel like a fucking kid because I knew that she felt how special she was to me. And in that, I was giving her exactly what she needed.
“One night that felt like ten,” I whispered. “Let’s not do that anymore.” She laughed, and I swear it hit me so deep. “Do you understand just how much I need you in my life?” She stopped laughing and once again gave me that look of hers that said so very much. It was full of hope and possibilities. “What do you say we kick all these fools out and spend the rest of the day and night together, just the two of us?”
“I’d like that.” Her arms snaked around my waist and she linked her hands together behind my back. “And just so you know, I missed you too.”
***
I woke to an empty bed and immediately tossed back the covers. I did my best to avoid the boxes sitting around and the bags of items my mother insisted I needed as I moved from my bedroom in search of AJ.
The moment I stepped out of the room I saw her, a silhouette of beauty standing near the large window overlooking the lake behind the barn. Instead of moving toward her, I stood in the darkness and just watched her. She stood with her back to me, a blanket wrapped around her body hanging off both shoulders and pooling on the floor at her feet. She held it securely at her front as she leaned one shoulder on the wall next to the window. She looked so breathtaking, just staring out into the distance, almost lost in her own thoughts.
“You are gorgeous,” I said into the darkness and watched as she looked back over her shoulder toward me, though her body remained in the very same position. “Every time I look at you, I see that sweet smile of yours or the way you look up at me with that awed look on your face, and I
