So you better suck it up, buttercups, because this commoner isn’t going anywhere.
Sending another text, this time to Luca, telling him to spend the morning with his family and that I would see him at my place later today. I added that I loved him because I really fucking did.
Today had been nothing short of disastrous. What began as a perfect morning with the love of my life finished with her leaving with just a text for an explanation, which left me with my sobbing mother and judgemental sisters. Even Naomi returned to the house to demand why I was seeing another woman behind her back.
To be truthful, I’d rather deal with the twilight zone that was Meadow’s family than deal with the emotional and demanding females in mine.
I hated that my mother brought Naomi without consulting me first because I would have told her no. I didn’t appreciate the chilly reception Mum and my sisters gave Meadow, and I fucking really hated that Meadow felt so uncomfortable she left the house, then finding out through a text message.
That was on me, though. I’d virtually ignored her once Mum started her meltdown, but I knew if I didn’t nip it in the bud right away, her performance would have escalated to downright unbearable levels. Meadow didn’t need to see that after what she had seen in just a few minutes.
I did manage to calm Mum down, then read her the riot act. My sisters and Naomi too.
I told them in no uncertain terms Meadow was part of my life, a huge part and they either accepted it or not; I didn’t care which. So far, Meadow and I were fine not visiting my childhood home. I’d juggled my family commitments and my relationship pretty easily up until now, and I could keep it going. What mattered to me was Meadow—losing her because of my difficult and meddling mother was not acceptable to me.
She was it for me, and the women in my family were going to accept it or shut up. Those were their only options.
Driving to Meadow’s nine hours later pissed me off, but after dealing with my family, I had to head to the office and meet with a new client. Of course, Kayla found menial tasks for me to do that she could have easily delegated off to other workers and had done so many times in the past. I knew what she had been up to; she was trying to keep me occupied at the office as long as possible so Meadow would feel ignored. I had a feeling Naomi was behind Kayla’s deceitfulness but couldn’t prove it. I texted and called Meadow throughout the day, but all my texts went unanswered, my calls were sent straight to voicemail. It made no sense for her to deliberately ghost me after she told me in her earlier text she loved me, ending the message with two rows of X’s and O’s.
Reaching her house, I saw that Spring’s car was there as well as Prue’s, Meadow’s best friend.
“Great, two more women who probably want to kill me,” I muttered out loud, putting the car into park and reaching over to the passenger seat to grab Meadow’s sling. She’d left it on the kitchen bench when she went, conveniently or because she was in a hurry didn’t matter. She should be using it.
Jumping down from the cab, I marched up the newly graded driveway, thanks to Boofa, who I’d asked to use one of the companies loaders to scrape and flatten out the bumpy drive in readiness for a fresh load of fine gravel I’d ordered to be delivered next week. I was slowly helping Meadow fix up her place, not too much that it looked like I was trying to take over but enough, so I didn’t have to worry about her breaking an ankle walking down her drive. I convinced her to let her dad and me, along with a few of my work crew guys to finish painting the house and fix the guttering, not replace it because she point blank refused to allow that. As well as source her a second-hand aerial, which she paid for, and put it up on the roof.
My motivation was purely selfish; fixing her place is a means to an end—getting Meadow to sell her house and move in with me. I was yet to ask her or even talk to her about it. In fact, I wanted to bring it up with her this morning, but the minx distracted me when she decided to put on a show at the fridge. Fingering my girl was one of my favourite things, making her come that way, with both of us fully dressed and just my hand down her pants, turned me the fuck on a lot.
Getting inside her would have been nice too after brunch, but …
Sweeping a critical eye over the driveway as I made my way to the house and happy with the job, I took the steps three at a time, reaching the landing just as the front door swung open, revealing a very pissed off duo of Prue and Spring.
And so it begins.
“You utter wanker!”
“What were you thinking, douche?”
They both yelled at me, both pushing past me, the door left open—a good sign I was allowed to go in. Spring ignored me as she walked down the steps, but Prue stopped to deliver a punch in my upper arm. I felt nothing more than a prod but the meaning behind it was received loud and clear.
“I have never seen Meadow so in love or so upset. She isn’t a dirty secret, she is to be cherished and shown off for the beautiful creature she is,” Prue hissed at me, keeping her voice low.
“I love her more than anything, Prue, believe that.”
Prue’s expression softened, but
