Mine To Honor (Southern Wedding Series Book 7) (Southern Weddings)

We walk out of the daycare hand in hand on the way to our cars. On Mondays he drops her off by himself since I’m off, but the rest of the week it’s always the both of us. It’s mundane and one of us can easily not come, but neither of us wants to give it up.

So, this is how we’ve been doing it for the last month. His hand is in mine as we walk to my car, and he always puts me in the car before he leaves. “Have a good day.” He smirks at me, grabbing my face and kissing my lips. My hands go to his hips like they were made to be there. “I’ll text you later to let you know what time I’ll be home.” The past two weeks he’s been swamped at work, so he’s been coming home sometimes right before bedtime. The good news is that he’s not traveling as much, so he’s home every single night.

“Okay.” I look up at him, knowing he’s going to kiss me again, and I’m not wrong.

He’s about to let me go when a car door opening makes us both look over. Caine gets out of his car and opens the back door to his daughter. “Good morning.” He looks over at us and holds up his hand.

Levi doesn’t let me go, instead he pulls me toward him and puts his arm over my shoulders. “Morning, Caine.” If I was a tree, I have no doubt Levi would lift his leg and pee on me.

“Have a good day,” he replies.

“You, too,” we both say at the same time as he ushers his daughter into the daycare.

Levi waits for him to be in the door before he mumbles, “Dick.” Making me laugh.

“Are you still on that?” I ask as his hand falls away from my shoulder to my back before sweeping my ass, making my insides flutter. A month later, I still shiver every single time he touches me and he touches me plenty.

“Did he not want to bang you?” he asks the question but doesn’t wait for me to answer. “Then the answer is yes.”

“He didn’t want to bang me, we were just friends,” I refute, rolling my eyes. “Now, I have to go to work and so do you.”

“That means I’m right.” He laughs, kissing my lips softly before opening my door and waiting for me to get in.

“You aren’t right, you’re annoying, there is a difference.” I pull my seat belt to buckle myself in. “Now go away.”

“I’m going to have fun tonight.” He leans in and kisses my cheek. “I love when I make you agree with me.” The cheek he just kissed feels like it’s on fire. Literally. “Have a good day, dear.” He closes the door and waves before turning and walking to his own car.

He winks before he gets in, but he always waits for me to leave before he does. I pull out of the parking space, seeing him behind me, I wave one last time before I turn left and he turns right.

I get to work with a smile on my face, just like I have been for the past month. A whirlwind of a month. We crossed over the friendship into the sex thing, something that neither of us has been willing to talk about, it’s just happening. Like we woke up one day and we were more than friends. Like it was always him waking me with his mouth on my pussy. Like it was normal going to bed together.

“Morning,” I greet Raquel when I walk into the salon. “It’s so beautiful outside.”

“It’s going to be a beautiful day.” She smiles back at me. “Also, you have something on your desk.” She can’t help but smile big and I just shake my head as I walk toward my office.

I want to be surprised there is a bouquet on my desk, but this is what he does every single Tuesday when I get to work, there are flowers. Attached is always a cheesy card, pulling the white card out I can’t help but laugh at this one.

I like your style

I like your class

But most of all

I like your ass

L.

I shake my head and put it back in the envelope before placing it in my drawer with the other ones. Last week’s was funny also.

Roses are red

Tulips are corny

When I think of you

I get horny.

According to him, he couldn’t use Cici, so he had to think of another flower, so it’s always tulips like the one from two weeks ago.

Roses are okay

Tulips are fine

I’ll be the six

If you be the nine.

But nothing could have prepared me for the first one.

Roses are red

Lemons are sour

Spread your legs

And feel my power.

I wonder how long he’ll send them. I wonder how long this is going to go on. I wonder how long before one of us walks away. The thought makes my stomach get tight and I ignore it, pushing it deep down. Trying to live in the moment. Live for today. What no one tells you is that it fucking sucks because you don’t know if you are going or coming.

My phone buzzes and Raquel tells me my first client is here, after that the only time I stop is when I walk into the café to grab myself a shake. “Eva.” I hear my name and look over to see one of Levi’s regular bang friends. The smile on my face stays forced and fake.

“Marianna,” I say her name as she walks over to me, wearing a perfect outfit with perfect hair and equally perfect makeup. She comes to me and fake kisses my cheeks. “How are you?” she asks.

“I’m good, how are you?” I ask out of politeness, but I don’t want to actually know. “It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, about a month,” she replies, “but time to get glamified.” She taps the counter with her newly manicured nails. “How is Levi?”

And there it is, the reason she came to say hello to me. I shouldn’t be surprised since I introduced them. Never thinking she would be on rotation with him, also never caring, except for now. Except right now at this moment. “He’s good.” I don’t really know what to say.

“Is he now?” she asks or tells me, she knows that we are best friends. “It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve hooked up.” She talks as if my world around me isn’t being shaken to the core. “Which is strange.” She leans in. “We were a weekly thing and now it’s spaced out.” She shrugs. “I’m going to text him and see if we can hook up tonight.” Blood drains from my body as I pretend that it’s fine. It’s not fine. This is what people must feel before they either have a stroke or become the Hulk. It’s a fifty-fifty. Also, I’ve never fucking felt so on edge before, like my hand itches to slap her.

“Well, I’m sure he’ll call you this week,” I toss back without meaning it.

“He better.” She smirks at me. “I swear he’s got the best cock of life.” All I want to do is fucking throat punch her.

The girl comes over with my shake, and in my head I picture throwing it in her face. “If you excuse me, I have someone waiting,” I tell her, walking away from her, my knees almost knocking together.

The rest of the day is a blur, and even when I pick up Cici it feels like I’m in a daze. A text comes through from him right as I walk in the door.

Levi: Looks like something came up and I’ll be late.

I toss the phone on the counter, not bothering to answer him. Because what am I supposed to say? Am I supposed to ask him why? Am I supposed to be all up in his business? Am I supposed to care? Obviously, I care, but I’m not this person who is going to second-guess themselves for a man. “We are going to be okay,” I assure Cici as she smiles at me and babbles. She keeps saying Mama over and over again, the pain less and less each day. She thrives and I know that is the only thing Lisa would care about. “Aren’t we, baby girl?”

Our night routine is a bit different now, we usually like to go for a walk after dinner, not very long but enough to get her some fresh air. I’m just getting her out from the bath when the front door slams shut. “I’m home.” I swallow down the lump and ignore looking down the stairs toward where his voice is when I walk back into Cici’s room to dress her. Of course, she starts squealing for him and clapping her hands.

“There they are,” he says when he comes up the stairs two by two. His jacket is off and his shirt open at the top, like it always is. I quickly look at him, wondering if he met with Marianna. He holds out his hands for her and I try to see if I smell her perfume on him, but all I smell is him. “Hi, girly.” He kisses her cheek five times. “You smell clean.” He looks at me. “I’m going to go get a shower and then I can put her to bed.” He hands me back Cici and I turn toward her changing table.

“Sounds good,” I reply, avoiding looking at him, not sure that I want to see. What if he was with Marianna? Do I have a right to be mad? Should we have discussed that if we are sleeping together, it’s just us two? Should we have never slept together in the first place? Should we just end this now before it gets even more complicated? It’s the questions that have been on loop ever since I spoke with Marianna.

“What’s wrong?” he asks right away, catching that I’m acting strange and I want to kick myself. Here I was telling myself to act normal, apparently telling myself and doing it are two different things.

“Nothing, why?” I ask, but I’m not asking him. I’m hoping he just goes to take a shower so I can get myself under control.

“You’re acting differently.” I know he’s staring at me because I can feel his eyes on me. I busy myself with grabbing Cici’s diaper as I hand her a brush so she can play with it.

“Nope, I’m normal,” I reassure him, looking over my shoulder at him and maybe, perhaps, I should just tell him that we need to talk. Maybe, just maybe, I should ask him.

“You are not normal,” he says and it irritates me.

“You don’t know me.” I can’t even believe I would say these words because even I can’t help but laugh inside my head.

He laughs. “I know you better than anyone else.” He folds his arms over his chest as I grab the pj’s and start to put it on Cici.

“I saw your friend today.” Don’t do this, my head screams at me. Don’t do this here.

“What friend?” he asks, and I don’t have to be looking at him to know he’s saying this with clenched teeth. I can feel the shift in the air from him.

“Marianna.” Okay, we are doing this, I close my eyes. “She says she needs.” My breathing comes out now almost in pants as my hands shake. “What were her words?” I avoid turning around to see his face but I look over my shoulder. “Yes, a dose of your dick.” I pick up Cici and turn to him.

He just shakes his head and then puts his hands on his hips. I should maybe, perhaps calm down a bit before I continue. I know this, my heart knows this, but my head and my mouth, they are not down with this memo. “You know, since it’s been a couple of weeks since you last gave her a taste of your dick.” I try not to let the hurt get to me, but it’s easier said than done.

“A couple of weeks,” he repeats and then scoffs, “try months.”

I don’t know why but I roll my eyes. “You don’t have to lie to me.”

He stares at me. “I’m not lying to you.” His voice stays flat.

“She said she was going to text you to hook up today.” I just roll with this.

“Okay, and?” His eyebrows push together.

I’m not thinking straight, I’m thinking all over the place and perhaps, if I stopped for a second, I could see the change. “Well, obviously, that’s why you were late.” I stop talking right then because the lump that was in my chest is now rising to my throat, and I don’t think I can get anything else out.

“Wow.” He just stares at me, his eyes never leaving mine. “Is that where you think I’ve been?”

He shakes his head almost in disbelief.

“Well, you were late coming home.” I don’t get to finish because he snaps back at me.

“I had to go for a suit fitting for the wedding.” It’s my turn to stare at him shocked.

“Do you think I would have gone to have sex with her and then come home to you and act like nothing?” His words cut me to the core.

“I have no idea.” I take a step forward as he shakes his head at me.

“Yeah, I guess you don’t,” is all he says before he turns and walks away from me. “I need some air,” is the last thing he says before he walks out of the room and then a second later the front door slams shut, just like my heart.