Page 42 of Kiss Me Ever After
Lennon burstthrough the bedroom door, tears streaming down her face, and threw herself into my arms. I’d been messaging Alex to let him know of my change of plan, and my phone went flying across the bed.
“Hey, what’s up?” I stroked the back of her head as she sobbed into my shoulder.
“It was all a setup!” She managed through gritted teeth.
For a moment, I thought she was talking about the robbery, that she’d had some insider information from Bryony or something.
“Mum arranged everything!” She pushed me away and sat up, rubbing her eyes with her fists and smearing mascara over her cheeks. “She and Bryony are old friends and she made sure I got the job at the cafe.”
I held her shoulders and made her look at me. “And that’s a bad thing because?”
She pouted. “When I went for the interview, I tried really hard and even though it wasn’t interning in New York, I was really pleased when she offered it to me. Grateful, even. I know I’m not the best waitress in the world, but I thought it was something I’d achieved on my own, with no help from my parents.”
Everything Lennon had just said cemented my thoughts about how much she’d changed. From being the pampered princess, the Queen Bee, who came to Ealynn Sands and flaunted all she had and all she was outside of the town, to wanting to be her own person.
My fingers went to her mouth and traced the outline, hovering over her bottom lip. Her breath hitched, and I leaned in to claim her. She adjusted her position to sit in the space between my legs, wrapping hers around my hips, lips never leaving mine. Her hands tangled in my hair, pulling me closer, pressing her tits against my chest.
I took a breath, knowing how much I wanted her, my dick rock hard. I slid a hand under her work polo shirt, tracing a line up the soft skin towards her bra line. She moaned into my mouth, rubbing herself against me.
“Lennon, I…oh!”
Mrs Cole stood in the doorway, taking in the scene in front of her. I could imagine her horror at seeing her precious only daughter wrapped around me.
Although Lennon turned to look at her mum, I made sure I still held her close to me, if only to hide my arousal. Mrs Cole had a serious timing problem.
“What can we do for you?” I filled the awkward silence.
“I’ve decided to leave this evening,” said Mrs Cole, trying to avert her eyes from the scene in front of her. “I would stay longer, but you’ve made your feelings quite clear, Lennon. I don’t think either of us need the extra stress right now.” She swallowed as she spoke. “I’m not giving you my blessing to be here, Justin, and I hope you won’t abuse Lennon’s hospitality, but it gives me some comfort to know she won’t be on her own.”
Lennon wriggled out of my arms and went to her mother. I took the opportunity to grab a pillow and placed it over my lap. I didn’t want Mrs Cole to know exactly how pleased I was by her statement.
“I’m sure he won’t, Mum.” Lennon hugged her. “If I need anything, I know Sonya’s next door.” She paused. “Or I can ask Bryony.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, Lennon. I know you can do things by yourself, but I needed to be sure you had something sorted quickly. Me and your dad didn’t know what would happen.”
“Be assured, I will look after her, Mrs Cole,” I chipped in. “And thank you for letting me stay for a while.”
Mrs Cole grunted in response. The two of them left to say their goodbyes, leaving me alone.
My phone rang, and I unearthed it from beneath the covers where it had ended up.
“Mum?” I answered.
“Justin! Where the hell are you? I got home from work and found your note. Why are you staying with Alex?”
“Like Ted says, it’s about time I moved out.” I deliberately referenced Ted’s previous suggestions and hoped she’d get the message my leaving was something to do with him.
“The Kane’s house isn’t exactly getting your own place,” huffed Mum. “And since when have you listened to anything Ted said?”
She might have had a point. Since I wasn’t prepared to tell her the absolute truth about why I wasn’t at home, I diverted the attention away from me. “I’m sure Ted will be delighted to have you all to himself.”
“Seems you weren’t the only one who didn’t come home,” she said. “I haven’t seen him since he went out last night.”
“Maybe you’re better off without him. After all, you haven’t exactly been getting on lately. I don’t like the way he treats you.”
“He loves me, Justin. I know he doesn’t show it very well.”
“Ha, that’s an understatement.” I wrestled with my conscience over the events of the night before. But I didn’t want to tell her. I didn’t want to imagine the look on her face as I told her whatI’dseen. It would make me as bad as her gossiping friends. “When did he last do something nice for you?”
