Page 74 of Falling for Red
“I’ll do what I’m told,” she breathes, and I hear how close she is.
“Good … will you do what you’re told right now?”
“Yes.”
“You need to come outside and give me a kiss goodnight.”
“What?”
Smirking, I hang up.Let’s see if she does this.
Doubt creeps in as the seconds pass, but this was the right move. This is how we’re going to get back on track. Her front light turns on, and I immediately step out of my truck.
“Claire,” I exhale, seeing her in her doorway. She looks as beautiful as ever with her messy bun, sweatpants and a T-shirt.
I pull her in by the back of her neck and kiss her deep. She wraps her arms around my neck, pressing her body into mine. I have missed every single thing about her. Running my hands down her back, I kiss her with more need. I squeeze her ass, lifting her for a moment, excited about what’s next for us. Breaking our kiss, I hold her face in my hands. Staring at her, I take in everything, her blue eyes, freckles, red hair.
“I love you, Claire,” I blurt out.
Her eyes widen.
“If this is all you’re ready for, I will do this every fucking night with a smile on my face.”
She starts to cry, and I probably shouldn’t have said I loved her, but I couldn’t hold it back any longer.
“Baby,” I softly say, brushing the tears away. “I hate when you cry.”
“Happy tears,” she whispers, deeply inhaling.
I rest my hand on her heart, and she sets hers on mine. Without words, we begin breathing together. Inhaling and exhaling. Smiling and connecting.
After a few breaths, Claire says, “I’m ready to take you up on dinner and cookies.”
“With Gabby?”
She nods.
I cup her face in my hands, kissing her deep. This is huge for us. She wants us. “Tell me when.”
51
Wednesday, August 6th
“Where are your pink shoes?” I ask Gabby, not seeing them in our shoe organizer.
“Bear likes them,” she calls from the living room, and I see the bear Jake got her is wearing the shoes.
“Tonight, when you meet the firefighter that got you this bear, tell him how much you like it and say thank you.”
She nods.
So far, I’ve only said that we’re having dinner with Jake, the guy daddy wasn’t nice to, and the guy who bought the cookies. That I met him when there was a fire. That he’s nice. But now … I want to say this is mommy’s boyfriend. But I should probably talk to Jake about that first. Right now, this is just dinner. I shake my head. He said he loves me, and I know it’s the truth.
“Gabby, Jake is also mommy’s boyfriend, so I’m excited for you to get to know him. We’re going to be seeing more of him.”
She nods, and it feels right. I want to be Jake Schmidt’s girlfriend.
Unbuckling Gabby from her booster seat, I hear Jake’s voice. “Need any help?”
