Sweet Affection (Truth Book 3) (14 page)

He pulls back and moves his hand round to my face, thumb gently stroking over my cheek.

“I love you.”

I never get tired hearing him say that. It took me a while to say it back to him after being hurt in the past, but I eventually found the closure I needed and opened up my heart to him fully.

“I love you too, gorgeous. Now get out of me so we can go back to the party.” I nod down between us where we’re still connected, but he pulls me in closer.

“No, I’m happy right here. I don’t want to move.”

“James,” I sigh out, “This is to celebrate your birthday, I don’t want everyone to think I’m monopolising your time. There are people here that want to spend time with you.” I’m also anxious that his present will be here soon, and I want everyone gone for that.

“Yeah you’re right.” He says dejectedly, and kisses me once again. “I haven’t seen the guys in a while. I’ve also just experienced drunk Jess for the first time, and that shit needs to be controlled.”

He told me a couple of weeks ago that he was starting to feel really protective of Jess. The same as how he feels about Jen and Cassie, like they’re his little sisters. Jess is twenty-two but she’s still pretty naive when it comes to guys. He pulls away and adjusts his jeans back up to his hips and I hop off the counter to clean myself up.

His arms come round my neck and shoulders from behind and he hugs me back to him whilst smacking his lips against my cheek.

“Happy to have you back, Matthews.” He winks through the mirror at me, and I tilt one corner of my mouth up copying his infamous half-smile.

“Glad to be back, Dawson.”

James

“So, I have a present for you. It’ll be here any minute.” She says nervously, and I take her in my arms, pulling her hand away from the piece of hair she’s worriedly twirling in her fingers. Everyone’s left now and the whole house is silent again. Tonight has been amazing. After our little session in my bathroom, we went downstairs and played a few drinking games and danced for a while before people started to leave slowly.

“Babe, you shouldn’t have bought me anything else. My birthday’s over now.” I woke up on Tuesday, my actual birthday, and she had brought a whole pile of presents into my bedroom and stacked them up against the wall. Then proceeded to give me the best present I could have wished for; her naked body riding on top of me. After we spent the whole morning in bed, she took me out for lunch. We spent the afternoon at an ‘abstract painting for beginners’ class, messing around with paint, and then Leicester racecourse, where I lost every bet I placed. But I spent time talking about mum, and she was right, it made me happier. Like I was close to her for a while. She made the whole day even better when we got back and let me fuck her on the kitchen counter. That room has some amazing memories.

“This one, I didn’t buy. I just arranged it. You’ll see.” She sends me a sly smile over her shoulder as she walks into the kitchen and goes straight to the sink to start washing up. Now, I’m even more curious than I was before. She’s not very good at keeping secrets but this one, she’s managing to without much hesitation.

I frown at her back wondering what it could be. If it’s a present I’m sure I’m going to like it, but I’m impatient at the best of times and now I don’t want to wait.

“What is it, babe?” I walk into the kitchen and wrap my hands around her waist from behind. She rests back against my chest but carries on scrubbing at the pan in the sink.

“I’m not telling. You’ll find out.”

Now I frown again. She hardly ever resists me asking a second time. Why the hell is she being so secretive? My body tenses, but I decide I’ll try the thing she can
never
resist. I reach down to move the soft blonde hair away from her neck, letting it trail down her front, and lower my face to her neck. The straps of the dress she has on are getting in the way of what I want to do, so I unzip the back of it just enough to slide the thick straps over her shoulders. Goose bumps appear on her arms and now I’m certain I can coax this out of her.

“You’re beautiful.” I whisper in her ear, kissing my way down to the hollow of her neck and peppering little kisses on her shoulder. My hand splays across her stomach as I pull her tighter against me, and she rests the back of her head on my shoulder as I continue my kisses on her skin. I decide that she’s significantly drowsy enough with lust now she’ll answer anything I ask her.

“What’s going on tonight, babe?”

She stops mid-moan and just like that I know she’s caught me.

“Geez, you’re good Dawson, but not that good.” She shakes her head, laughing and pulls the straps up over her shoulders. “I told you, it’s a surprise. You’ll like it, I know you will. Now stop with trying to seduce me, because I promise, in a couple of hours I’ll be ready to go again.”

A couple of hours? What is she talking about? If she’s not ready to go right now, then something’s wrong. Damn it, I know there’s something wrong. Why is she acting this way?

She lifts her head to the window in front of the sink and I can see both of us in the reflection. My face shows panic and frustration, but hers is laughing.

“What’s funny?” I ask straight at the window.

“Nothing.” She shrugs and carries on biting the inside of her cheek. “I’m just looking forward to you getting your birthday present, that’s all.”

“Babe,” I growl out, “What’s going on? I want to know.”

She pulls the plug in the sink, the water swirling away with a loud roar, and turns to face me whilst drying her hands on a towel.

“You, Mr Dawson, are the most impatient man I know.” She chucks the towel down on the side and steps into my body. “In about ten minutes your dad’s going to be here,” she whispers.

“What?” I ask her, searching her face in desperate need of clarification. “I spoke to him Tuesday. He never mentioned it.” I frown again, but my heart starts beating a little faster.

“Well, he was just trying to surprise you. I rang him a few weeks ago and asked if he’d consider coming back for longer to get here for your birthday. He arranged some things with work and managed to get the time off.” She shrugs, and looks up at me for my reaction. I’m amazed she thought about this for me, and that she went to the trouble of talking to him before I even introduced them.

Holy shit, I haven’t seen my dad in nearly a year. Not for want of trying, our schedules just never matched. I speak to him at least once a week, so he knows everything about me and Laurel, but actually seeing him is going to be awesome. Relief still seeps through every muscle in my body. She was hiding a fucking amazing surprise.

“I knew there was a reason I was in love with you.” I say in awe, leaning down to place a kiss on the soft, luscious lips just begging for my attention. She kisses me back emphatically then sighs against my mouth.

“We should stop,” she mumbles then steps away from me and I can’t help but chuckle at the reluctant pout forming on her lips.

“So, is he still bringing this mystery woman back then?” I ask apprehensively. It’s not that I don’t want him to be happy. He just hasn’t dated since my mum died, and I don’t know how I feel about it. Especially given how close this is to my birthday. I’m a grown-up and I can appreciate that he gets lonely, but she was my mum, and there’s still a small part of me that feels like he’s being disloyal to her.

“Yes, her name is Hayley. She seems nice, she answered the phone once and I had a quick chat with her.”

I frown, wondering how the hell she knows more than me. “How is it that you know her name and I don’t? He never told me.”

She turns her body directly towards mine, and watches me for a second before saying, “Did you even ask?”

I scan her face while I think about that question. There was definitely something in her tone. A kind of challenge. A test. And she’s right, I didn’t ask.

“Huh, I guess not, smartass.” The side of her lips hover and she leans back against the kitchen table.

“So, she’s nice then?” I ask, trying to hide the uncertainty in my voice, but it’s there, masked by a cough.

She considers me for a moment before walking forward and placing her hands against my chest. “She seemed nice, yeah. Your dad deserves to be happy. And from everything he’s said, and you’ve told me, she makes him happy. She’s not trying to replace your mum.” Her voice and features soften, and she looks up at me with love shining in her eyes.

“Yeah I know.” I blow out a breath and mentally kick myself into gear. I need to get a grip. He’s allowed a girlfriend, for fuck’s sake. Mum’s been gone ten years. Gone. He’s not cheating on her. I kiss her once on the lips and she wraps her arms around my back, ducking her head into my chest. I rest my chin on her head and shut my eyes.

Fuck, I can’t get it out my head.

No matter how much I tell myself it shouldn’t bother me, it does. I’m being pathetic, I know, but I can feel myself starting to snap. I always used to remember my mum with happiness. She died of cancer, but when she did, I was relieved that she was free of it. Then Laurel’s mum got cancer, and went through a tough time with chemo and surgery. It was like it was happening to me all over again. I was strong for Laurel, but lately it’s been bringing back bitterness. Every day I wish she was here.

I want her to meet Laurel. She would have loved her.

I want her to see this house I bought. She would have been amazed at the view from upstairs, just miles of fields and parkland.

I want her to be proud of what I’ve done with my company. So many things I’ll never get to share with her, and it’s been eating at me for weeks.

A doorbell rings and I’m snapped back to reality. Let’s get this the fuck over with.

Maybe I’ll like her. Maybe she’ll be sweet and funny and we’ll end up being good friends. Shit, Laurel’s watching me out of the corner of her eye as we walk to the front door. She sees how agitated I am. I feel her warm hand slip into mine and I open up my fingers to entwine with hers. I squeeze gently showing her I appreciate the gesture and as she rubs her thumb over mine, I feel some tension leaving my body. Just a little bit.

Laurel opens the front door with a huge smile on her face. She looks beautiful.

“Son?” The voice breaks through my sappy thoughts and I look round at the faces all staring back at me in the hallway waiting for me to say something.

“Dad.” I acknowledge with a shit-eating grin. He’s here. I hold out my hand to shake his and he takes it then pulls me in for a hug. Nearly a year. But I feel relieved he’s here. I feel lighter when I’m around him, like I’m a little boy again.

“Good to see you, son. And this must be Laurel. She’s just as beautiful as you said.” He smiles at her affectionately and she reaches forward to give him a hug.

“It’s so good to finally meet you Graham.”

I get the warm fuzzies as I look between them both but a sudden movement behind dad brings my focus back to the fact there’s someone else standing here too, and my mood shifts.

“J, this is Hayley.” Dad puts his arm round the back of the woman and urges her forward. She’s short, slim, brown hair to her shoulders, a few wrinkles splattered across her forehead. She must be mid-forties, slightly younger than dad who’s fifty this year. Seems nice enough. If not a little plain. I look once at dad, and notice his wrinkles too. He’s tall, and he’s beefed out a bit since I saw him last. He’s bigger, fitter. Last time I saw him was he really that tanned? His hair is the only thing that gives away his age now, the grey has spread over the whole of his head, other than that, he could pass for forty. I’m impressed. He looks down at her, eyes shining. I know the look of a man in love. Hell, I have that look every day. And now I feel conflicted again. My mum instilled manners into me though, so I step forward and shake her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Hayley.”

“I’ve heard so much about you James. Your dad talks about you all the time. Thank you for letting us stay in your home. It’s beautiful by the way.” She says eagerly. She’s trying hard, I’ll give her that. But
us,
what did she mean by that? It’s a foregone conclusion that I would let my dad stay here, he wouldn’t have to thank me for that so why did she include the
us
part. Did it just slip out? I’m being paranoid, I can tell, so I shrug it off.

“Thank you.” I know this is my house and I should be a better host, but I can’t find the words at the moment. I’m just trying to process it all.

Laurel claps her hands together, and talks through the silence.

“So, come on through both of you. I’ll get us all some drinks. What would you like? We had some friends round tonight and there’s loads left over. Pretty much any drink you could imagine.” I’m grateful for her taking the lead. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I do know I need a minute to sort my head out.

“I’m just going to take your suitcases upstairs. You go ahead with Laurel.”

I see Laurel mouthing to me, asking if I’m okay, so I just nod my head, and she seems to get the hint so she drags Hayley by the arm into the kitchen. I grab the suitcases and run up the stairs, back to feeling like a little kid who just wants to hide.

I slump down on the edge of the bed, and breathe through the emotions and thoughts waging war in my head. There’s a soft knock at the door, and my dad pokes his head round.

“You okay, son?”

I want to talk to him about it. About mum. But it isn’t really the time with his new girlfriend downstairs.

“I’m fine. Glad you’re back. It’s not the same without you.” He slaps me on the shoulder and sits down next to me.

“I know, but you know why I couldn’t stay. It was just too hard.” His voice breaks but he breathes through it and pulls himself together.

“You seem to be doing well for yourself. Laurel’s great!”

I nod in agreement and feel my lips moving to a proud smile. “Yeah she is.”

“Look, son. I know this is strange. There haven’t been any women around since your mum passed. But, I don’t know quite how to say it. She…I owe Hayley
everything
.”

I shift on the bed, feeling slightly uncomfortable. I don’t really want to hear about how much he loves a woman who isn’t my mother but the look on his face is enough to pin me where I am. He’s got tears in his eyes.