Page 12 of Make Me

Once she pulls into her driveway, I pull in behind her. As soon as I get Ivy’s booster seat in the back seat of my truck, we drive to a nearby discount chain store and pick up two bookshelves.

Chapter 9

Laci

I don’t even thinkhe’s wearing cologne today, and I already can’t get enough of his smell. When Brian was alive, we hardly ever did things as a family. We went to his family’s house for dinner a few times, and that was about it. But walking into the store with Cooper and Ivy today, I started longing for something I thought I didn’t want.

Ivy was in between us, and we each held one of her hands. While we stood in line at customer service, he kept Ivy entertained by answering all her questions. After a while, he lifted her and sat her on his shoulders.

Now, our time is almost up because he just turned onto our street. When he parks his car in my driveway, I grab Ivy, and he brings the bookcases inside one by one. And because today is my only day off for the next four days, I need to get one of those shelves put up while Ivy takes her nap in a couple of hours.

“I’ll be right back,” he says after leaning the bookcases against the living room wall.

When he starts to walk to the front door, Ivy runs after him. “I go,” she yells. “I go.” She lifts both her arms out to him and bounces on her short legs. He bends down and picks her up.

“Let’s all go. I’m just going to grab my tools.” Without giving me time to answer, he walks out the door with my daughter in his arms, and I have no choice but to follow them. For the first time in a long time, I find myself admiring a man’s ass, and the baggy jeans do nothing to hide the well-shaped muscle.

I hear Sam barking even before Cooper opens the door. Ivy squeals, and as soon as Cooper puts her down, she runs to the dog. Sam licks her face, making her shriek in joy, and they start to chase each other in the living room.

“I’ll be right back,” Cooper says.

Unlike my place, his house has a garage, and he opens the side door and steps inside. I take the opportunity to look around. His house is a different design than mine and is larger. It’s still just one floor, but the ceilings are higher. The entire layout is open. His kitchen is pretty big, and his cabinets and appliances are high-end. I walk over and run my hand over one of his cherry cabinets and admire the stainless-steel appliances. Everything in my kitchen is white, and I crave something closer to this.

The place is clean, but it’s definitely a man’s house with his brown leather couch and large flat screen TV. There’s a door that’s slightly open down the hall. I see a messy, unmade bed. I get visions in my head of him rolling around in it with Candace, and I chase the unpleasant thought away.

“All set,” he announces, stepping back inside and carrying a large toolbox.

“Come on, Ivy.” I hold out a hand for my daughter, who is now laying on top of Sam.

“Come, my doggie.” Sam gets up and follows Ivy to the door. Cooper opens the door for us, and we all walk back to my house. When we get home, Ivy tells Sam to follow her into her room.

While he pulls everything out of the box, I grab a bottle of water and almost choke on my first sip when he pulls off his sweatshirt. Just like before, his tee shirt hikes up and leaves his bare torso exposed for the briefest moment. Not realizing I’m looking at him, he tosses the sweatshirt on the couch, runs a hand through his hair, and returns to the bookshelf. His tee shirt hugs his body when he reaches over and drops the bookshelf to the ground. His biceps bulge, and I force myself to look away and to shove down the feelings he’s bringing out in me. Feelings I didn’t know I was capable of.

“You want some water?” I ask, and he shakes his head. “So, what can I do to help?” I walk over to him and stare at all the pieces of the bookshelf, relieved to have him here to deal with it.

“You can talk to me while I work.” He walks to the island in the kitchen, grabs a stool, and brings it into the living room. Strong hands grab me by the hips, lift me as if I weigh nothing, and put me on the stool.

“So,” he says, “where did you go after that year in high school? I visited the school on my breaks and never saw you,” he says while he pulls a long piece of wood and lays it against the wall.

“I doubt you were looking for me,” I reply.

“I did look for you.” He looks up at me, and from the look in his eyes, I know he is telling the truth.

“Why would you look for me? We weren’t exactly in the same social circle.” I drop my gaze from his and focus on the water bottle in my hand.

“I liked you,” he says simply. He pulls out the instructions and lays it flat on the floor while he arranges the tools.

I clear my throat at his sudden admission and explain, “My mom ordered me back to Chicago. I loved it here that year. I loved being with Aunt Mae, but my mother had a new man in her life, and he claimed he wanted to get to know his girlfriend’s only child. Turns out, he had a five-year old daughter, and he needed a free babysitter for her.”

He stills. He drops his screwdriver and looks at me, brows furrowed.

“Yeah,” I say. “It’s as bad as you’re imagining.” I take a sip of water. “What about you? Why did you and Candace break up.”

He looks up at me and says, “I’ll take that water now.” When I go to the kitchen, he follows me. I collide with his chest when I turn around from the fridge. He wraps his arms around me before I could step away. I hold the bottle of water against his chest, and I make the mistake of looking into his eyes. “She went to Ohio State, and I went to Indiana. I decided that I didn’t want to do the long-distance thing anymore, so I ended it. We bumped into each other during the breaks, but that was it. We only got back together last year. It’s over now.” I clear my throat and try to look away, but he grabs my chin and forces me to look at him.

“You’ve said, but—" He puts a finger to my lips.

“Shh. I’ve thought of you over the years, and then one day, you show up. Right next door to me.” He reaches for a piece of hair and pulls on it. “With your colorful hair and matching fingernails.” He grabs a hand and kisses it. His warm lips are like a shock to my system. “You said you have scars. I’ll make them disappear.”

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