Page 79 of Unexpected Love

“Stir those for me.” Laura pushes the bowl toward me before returning to the dough and rolling it out. “I know you said your parents manipulated you into being a lawyer. But if manipulation, and not force, got you there, then it implies you might have enjoyed it at some point.” Her voice is gentle and genuine. I still don’t hear an ounce of judgment.

“I loved it when I first started. I felt like I was really helping people and making a difference, which is what I wanted. But somewhere along the way, it became all about the money I could make for the firm, and it stopped being about helping people.”

“I’m not trying to push you back into doing something you don’t want, but that sounds like the atmosphere you were in was the issue. If you wanted to, you could easily create the environment you’re craving and still use your degree. It wouldn’t have to be here.” There’s a twinkle in her eye when she looks at me. “But Benny Meriwether is getting closer to retirement and has been looking to bring on someone else to take over his practice when he does.” She gestures for me to bring the apples to her where she’s got the bottom pie crust ready in the bakingdish. “It’s not just family law when you’re talking about a small town firm, but it’s also not about the money either.”

We’re quiet as I watch her lay the top crust across the apples, cutting off the excess before crimping the edges with a fork. She picks up a knife and gently cuts a few slits across the top for venting. When she’s done, she puts the pie in the oven and sets a timer.

She studies me for a minute before she moves to me, taking both my hands in hers, offering me a comfort I didn’t realize I was missing. “It’s just something for you to think about. I heard what you did for Scott, and it sounds like you’re an amazing lawyer. I’d hate to see you give it up because some bastard ruined it for you.” Her grip on my hands tightens. “Don’t let some man who means nothing ruin anything for you. He’s not worth it.”

I try to keep them in, but the tears fill my eyes and slip down my cheeks. Laura doesn’t hesitate the second she sees them. She pulls me into a fierce hug, rocking me slightly. It’s a mother’s hug, something I can’t remember ever feeling.

Without thinking, I wrap my arms around her and hold on just as tight, the tears falling even more freely now. I’ve known since early on in my childhood that I didn’t have the kind of relationship many daughters had with their mothers, but I didn’t realize how much I craved a mother’s touch and understanding until I got it.

It shouldn’t shock me that Laura freely offers this to me. Her son has been nothing but understanding and caring since the first moment I met him. We may have flirted that first day in the courthouse, but I can see it for exactly what it was now. He saw I was hurting and he wanted to help me forget, even if it was only for a few minutes.

I hear the back door open and the deep timber of Gage’s voice, but Laura doesn’t loosen her grip on me, and neither do I.I know the moment Gage sees us because his voice cuts off, and I feel his heat at my back almost instantly. He doesn’t try to pull me away from Laura or touch me, but his presence is enough, and he knows it because he knows me the same way I know him.

“Everything okay?” he asks softly a few minutes later when I pull away from Laura. He doesn’t give me the opportunity to wipe my tears before he’s reaching to do it himself.

I give him a shaky smile and nod, unable to form the words.

“Yeah, we’re just having a moment.” Laura smooths the hair at the back of my head—another touch I’ve never experienced from either of my parents—before moving to the island counter, where she starts cleaning up the mess. “Nick and the boys should be here shortly. Want to help me with dinner, Liv?”

“Sure.” Olivia moves further into the kitchen and begins helping Laura, the two of them moving around each other and the kitchen as if in a choreographed dance.

“You sure you’re okay?” Gage asks quietly, his hands still framing my face. It’s a gentle touch, one I could easily move out of if I wanted to, but I can read the look in his eyes—he needs to see my eyes when I respond; he needs to see I’m telling the truth.

“I’m okay. Just realizing how much I’ve missed out on with my parents.”

“Oh, Rebel.” He pulls me into his chest, bending so his lips are at my ear. “They’ll both love you fiercely if you let them.”

“I know.” Tears fill my eyes again, my gaze moving to where Laura and Olivia are at the kitchen island. “But why?” I lean back in his arms just enough to see his face, trying to process what it feels like to have parents who freely give their love, not just to their children, but to those their children hold close.

“Because that’s just who they are.”

When I don’t say anything, his eyes bounce between mine, searching for something. He must find it because here, in his mom’s kitchen, with her and his sister standing just a few feetfrom us, he says the three words I honestly wasn’t sure I’d ever hear with such feeling. “And because I love you.”

The tears fall, but this time, out of pure happiness. The brightness in my chest is back, and it pours from me in waves. I know I only just realized it, but I feel it down to my marrow. I love this man with everything I have and everything that I am.

I press myself closer to him, and our lips collide in a messy, tear-filled kiss. “I love you, too,” I whisper against him.

His arms around me tighten, and his lips lock with mine in a heated kiss. Considering our audience, it's likely not the most appropriate kiss, but I don't care, as my entire being hums with happiness and relief at saying those words.

Before everything happened with my parents and Brian, I always wanted this—this joy and contentment. But since that night in the office and that conversation with my parents afterward, I just didn’t know if it was real. I hoped it was, especially seeing Declan and Quinn together, but sometimes people see what they want, not what’s actually in front of them.

But I guess that goes for everything. If I had been paying better attention from the start, I might have realized it sooner—the love I have for this man and the love he has for me.

“I really wish we weren’t in my mother’s kitchen,” he whispers against my lips.

I smile, leaning back to see his face. “I get it, but I’m glad we’re here. I didn’t know how much I needed it until I got it.” My eyes travel over to Laura, who tries to cover the smirk on her face as she focuses on the chicken in front of her.

“I know,” Gage murmurs, smoothing hair from my face and cupping my cheek. “Now you’re going to get it far more often than you want.”

I shrug, a smile forming on my lips. “Maybe, but I won’t take it for granted.”

Gage leans forward, pressing a tender kiss to my lips just before a commotion at the front door and voices shout over each other.

“Liv said Gage brought his girlfriend home for dinner!” a raucous voice shouts.

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