Page 32 of The Path To Us

Chapter Nine

Beau

I’m playing a dangerous game. One that I know will turn out one of two ways. Either really good. Or really, really, freaking badly.

One thing I’m not, is a liar. Not even lying by omission. Especially when it comes to Addy.

As I make the final turn to go down the street that leads to Addy’s house, I try to decide whether I need to psych myself up and admit why I’m looking at Richard Noosma’s house, or if I should just let it ride for a little while.

I pull into her driveway behind her tiny SUV that she just parked in her garage and park my pickup. As soon as I see her smile at me before walking into the house, I know I’m going to be holding my secret safe for a little while longer. Today was hard on her and I’m not going to add to it.

My mom said that she looks exhausted and while she’s still beautiful, it’d be impossible to miss the bags she’s carrying under her eyes, the weight she’s lost, and the way her shoulders seem to curl forward as if she’s too tired to even fully stand up straight.

Tonight I plan to feed her pizza and the oatmeal fudge bars my mom sent with me while we watch a movie and relax. She’ll probably be annoyed with me when I do my best to get her rested and healthy again because she’s incredibly independent but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.

I grab the large cooler from her back seat of all the frozen food that was in Chris’s freezer as I’m walking past her car and carry it inside then rush back for a few more loads of things she took from his house. She’s just emerging from her bedroom with wet hair, a pair of cotton shorts, and a t-shirt that says the words “be kind” when I walk in carrying my bag and the container of bars from my pickup.

“You showered?”

“I stunk.”

“Do we have time for me to shower before the pizza gets here? I think I got everything from the car already.”

“Beau! You didn’t have to do that! I just couldn’t take the sweat and gross feeling from cleaning out the fridge another second and needed to hop in the shower quickly. I’d planned to bring everything in myself.”

“I know you did. But now you don’t have to.” I reach into the front pocket of my shorts and pull out my money clip, handing it to her. “I’m going to shower. Here’s some cash for the pizza.” She opens her mouth to no doubt protest me giving her money so I lift a hand and give her a pointed look and point at the leather money clip she’s holding while trying to glare at me. “I know how much is in there, so if you don’t use it, I’ll be upset.”

“You’re so annoying.”

“My cross to bear,” I joke and brush past her.

It’s a mistake to inhale while I do so because the scent of her freshly showered skin and coconut shampoo infiltrates my senses, making a direct line to my dick. There is nothing and no one that turns me on as much as Addy does. Everything about her just does it for me.

She’s not just under my skin or in my heart.

She’s it for me.

It’s why I haven’t moved on or been with anyone else in four years.

I shower quickly in the guest bathroom, which is also Zoey’s. Her hanging basket of mermaids and boats and cups makes me smile.

After toweling off, I throw on a pair of baggy shorts over my boxer briefs and slip a t-shirt over my head. Swipe on some deodorant and gather up my dirty clothes, shoving them into a side compartment of my bag before heading back to the living room.

Addy’s placing a large pizza box on the coffee table along with two bottles of beer and two glasses of water.

She glances up and I love the fact that her eyes make a trail from the top of my head to my bare feet then back up again, lingering a little at my crotch. “I’m too tired to get plates. Care if we just eat straight from the box?”

“You need sleep,” I reply gruffly.

“Yeah, well…” She trails off and I have no idea what she’s going to say. What is she battling on her own? For a second, I wonder if she’s upset over the loss of Chris for reasons other than I assumed, but the thought vanishes just as quickly. If she’d wanted to be with Chris romantically, she would have been.

“Let’s eat. Mom sent her oatmeal fudge bars with me and I’m just nice enough to share with you.”

Her eyes light up. “Is that what’s in the container?”

“It is.”

“I might have dessert before the meal.”

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