Page 101 of Pictures in Blue
“Yes,” she says, like it’s supposed to be a fact I know about. “And she’s very easy to read. She loves you. You love her. I expected nothing less.”
“I kinda….. told her I loved her. In a very unconventional way. And we haven’t talked about it. I think I may have scared her off.”
“You’d have to do a lot more than that to scare her off.”
“So what should I do then? I just asked her last night and then Sharon came and I think she’s overwhelmed and scared. What can I do to make it easier for her?”
Charlotte quiets and her eyes start darting back and forth before landing on the ceiling like she’s trying to solve a math equation in the air in front of her. “What’s your sister’s number?” she asks.
“Why do you want Sky’s number?”
“Just trust me and give me the damn number, Lucas.”
I roll my eyes and relay the number to her as she adds it to her phone. She hangs up shortly after that saying she will call me back with a plan. Whatever Sky has to do with this, I have no idea, I just hope it’s enough. ThatIam enough.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
AVERY
Iknow I should get up. I want to get up. Or at least, Iwantto want to. But I don’t. I want to stay in this bed forever. Hibernate for the winter and only come out when I am ready to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin again.
The bed shifts and Hudson’s soft voice fills the air. A gentle hand coaxes at the hair covering my face and I inhale his scent. “Sweetheart, you have to get up.”
“Is that a statement? Or a request?”
“Both,” he chuckles. “C’mon…I have something for you,” he plants a soft kiss on my shoulder. “Shower and get ready.”
As much as I want to stay wrapped up in Hudson’s sheets, I know he’s right. I have to pull myself together and move on with my motherless life. Dramatic? Probably. But I think I’m allowed to be dramatic after everything she has put me through. “Can’t you bring it to me in bed?” I beg.
“Unfortunately, no.”
“Okay, I’ll settle for just you then,” I smile and reach over to grab him, but he quickly moves out of my reach. “Hey!” I protest.
“Nope,” he wags his pointer finger in my direction. “No sex for you until you’re showered and dressed.”
“Being dressed defeats the purpose,” I whine.
He backs away from the bed until he is nestled next to the door frame and he leans his bicep against it, crossing one ankle over the other. Finally, I make myself sit up in bed and let my tangled hair fall around my shoulders and take him in as he stares back at me.
He’s wearing a pair of his nicer jeans. A pair that clearly hasn’t seen his workshop given the fact they aren’t covered with wood stain or have any holes in them. A plain white shirt hugs his torso and I don’t think I have ever had a white shirt fetish before, but I most definitely do now. On top, he is wearing a pale green flannel that matches his eyes, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
“Clock is ticking, Reid. Shower,” he points to the bathroom. “Now.”
“Mmmm, I like it when you’re demanding.”
“If you don’t get in that shower, I am going to come over and pick you up.”
“The best kind of threat,” I tease and sink my weight further into his mattress, strong in my resolve to stay here for the foreseeable future.
“There’s lemon bars in it for you.”
Nope. Not giving in for bars this time. This is my cave, my shelter for the winter and I am not leaving.
“Extra coffee?” he adds.
Caffeine is overrated, I lie to myself.
“Someone is here to visit,” he says.
