Page 100 of Love Beyond the Illusion
“I love saying it,” I reply, darting out my tongue to lick the tip of her nose. At the same time, she tilts her head up and tries to capture my tongue into her mouth but misses. I do it again, bringing out a belly laugh from us both. I wrap my arms around the back of Piper’s neck, folding them over her shoulder blades.
“I see you got the necklace.” I glance down to where it hangs perfectly around her neck.
“I did,” she says, rolling it between her two fingers. “I can’t thank you enough for it.”
“I wanted to do it.” I glide my lips across the outside of her ear. I spot two more plants peeking out behind the couch in the corner of the room.
She sees me staring, slowly turns toward my line of sight, and shrugs her shoulders. “They keep the air clean.”
I smile, appreciating everything about her. “Whatever you say.”
“I’m going to shower really quick.”
“Without me?”
She playfully frowns. “Never.”
“I thought so. I’ll be right in. I’m going to grab a glass of water.”
“Don’t make me wait too long,” she replies, lifting her shirt over her head and disappearing down the short hallway.
I walk into the kitchen and open two cupboards before finding the correct one with the cups. The shower runs in the background, causing excitement to flood me.
While holding my glass under the spout in the refrigerator door, my eyes scan the polaroids that hang across the stainless steel. In almost every photo is Piper with three other women. I recognize one as Bailey, and I’m assuming Avery and Lina are the other two. With what she shared about her mother and home life, I’m grateful she has such a strong support system with them.
Then, my focus lands on one with Piper, Bailey, and Bailey’s son Luca. I know it’s him because I remember seeing him walk down the aisle as the ring bearer at Harry’s wedding. Piper and Bailey have her son sandwiched between them in a tight hug, and they all have blue party hats on. I love seeing that smile on her face—I wonder if she’d ever want kids. I mean, we’re already married, so why not?
Circling over to the other side, I find a dry-erase calendar with dates and notes written in black marker. The notes include things likeDinner with the Girls, Work Week, Pay Roxy’s rent,andJack’s Week—that one brings a smile to my face. When my brain catches up to the words I’ve read, my jaw flexes—Pay Roxy’s rent.Has Piper been paying her mother’s rent as well as giving her money?
My blood boils, even though I know I handled this for her already—which she doesn’t know exactly how, and I will tell her at some point. It’s time she realized that she needs to put herself first. Not her mother. She’s my wife. Hopefully, the future mother of my children, and she deserves the world.
I run my thumb across the dry-erase marker, wiping the words from the calendar. Piper will not be alone when fighting this battle. And with that, I stalk into the bathroom, ready to make love to my beautiful wife. Steam seeps out from the small crack in the door. I push it open with the palm of my hand.
“Took you long enough.” She smirks. That’s my spunky girl.
I pull my shirt off and drop my pants and boxers. “Sorry, I got caught up looking at the pictures of you and your friends on the refrigerator.”
I pull the curtain back to see Piper’s wet, glistening skin under the water.I can’t believe I almost had to say goodbye to this.Stepping in, I immediately pull her into me, savoring her warm, familiar body against me.
And she is all mine.
“I loved seeing those pictures of you.” I rub my thumb across her bottom lip. “Your smile is the most perfect thing in the world, and I will do everything in my power, Piper, to make sure you smile every day for the rest of your life.”
She stares up at me from her wet eyelashes, water droplets forcing her to blink a few times. “How did I get so lucky to deserve you?”
“You deserve the world, my love. All of it.” I softly kiss her slippery lips. “I also saw something concerning your calendar.”
“What was that?”
I clear my throat. “Do you pay Roxy’s rent?”
Piper dips her head, resting her forehead on my chest without answering my question.
“You shouldn’t be doing that. Your mother is perfectly capable of paying for her own bills.”
“I know. But you don’t know the type of guilt trips she puts on me. The things she says to me and how she makes me feel. It’s difficult for me to say no to her.”
“I know how she speaks to you, and it won’t happen anymore. A mother’s love should never be conditional. You are strong, independent, and smart. You have the power to establish boundaries with her.”
