Page 105 of Every Broken Piece
“It is now.” She touches the rim of my glasses. “I like your glasses. They’re sexy.”
Fuck me.“Thank you.”
Her eyes drift closed, and I bend to pick her up, cradling her against my chest. “Time for bed, Spitfire.”
“Can I bring my blankies?” she mumbles as her arms wind around my neck.
“You want all of them?”
“Every one of’em. Because you gave them to me, and I love them sooo much.”
I chuckle. “Then you shall have all of them.”
I leave her in the bathroom with instructions to get ready for bed while I gather all ten of her blankets and bring them up to her room. I had no idea a weighted blanket weighed so much.
When I return, she’s sitting on the edge of the bed in an oversized t-shirt that says I ?? NY that barely covers her upper thighs. Yup, time to get her into bed fast. I pull the covers down and step back to let her climb in. But before she does, she stops in front of me and leans into me. I go rigid, keeping my hands at my sides before I do something catastrophically stupid like tumble her to that bed.
“Smell my breath.” She huffs a big bubble gum scented puff of air into my face, then giggles. “Bubble gum. Did I tell you that’s my favorite flavor ever?”
“You mentioned that.”
“I love it.” She falls backward onto the bed and curls on her side, tucking her hands under her cheek to stare up at me. “Do I have all my blankies?”
“Every one, just like you ordered.”
She grabs my arm before I can pull away. “Thank you. For the toothpaste and the blankets and bringing me here and letting me spend the day with your son. He’s so nice. You did good with him, Gabe.”
Jack was so wrong. Tess doesn’t need saving. She just needs a sanctuary so she can heal and regroup and I’m going to be that for her.
“He got you drunk.” And Pax and I will be having a conversation about that tomorrow.
“It was fun.”
I kiss her forehead. “I’m glad you had fun. And I’m glad you and Pax got along. Although I think he’s a bad influence on you.”
She waves her hand with the brace and smacks me on the cheek. I jerk back and bite the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning.
“He’s a good kid,” she says. “He likes playing Go Fish.”
“I learn something new every day. Like Go Fish can become a drinking game.” I tuck two of her blankets around her and heap the others at the foot of the bed. “Sleep, Tess. I’ll be here in the morning when you wake up.”
“’Kay. Night, Gabe.”
Because I’m not quite ready to leave her yet, I sit on the side of the bed until her breaths even out and she’s drifted off to sleep. Maybe I am attracted to women in need. Maybe I like being the protector, but what I’m feeling for Tess isn’t anything close to wanting to fix her. I love her just the way she is—naive, yet street smart, vulnerable yet resilient, optimistic yet realistic. She’s a dichotomy, a paradox, a contrast of extremes. Sunshine and shadows, warmth and whispers, joy and sorrow, hope and doubt. Love and light.
I wouldn’t change one thing about her. I would never stifle any part of her. I just want to bask in her smiley emojis and exclamation points and experience life through her eyes.
She murmurs in her sleep and rolls to her back, dragging her yellow daisy blanket with her. Smiling, because drunk Tess is a delightful surprise I didn’t realize I needed to experience. I kiss her softly on her bubble gum scented lips and quietly exit her room.
I check on Pax who’s still under the table and will remain there until he takes his own ass up to bed.
Despite my earlier exhaustion, when I get to bed, I’m wide awake, lying on my back, hands behind my head, watchingthe shadows play across the ceiling when my door creaks open revealing a shadow that’s shaped very much like Tess.
Her hair is wild and untamed, falling in waves over her shoulders. Her eyes are sleepy and not quite awake, but not quite asleep either.
I blink at the image of her, thinking maybe I fell asleep and am dreaming.
“Tess?”
