Page 55 of His Wild Storm
Everyone has been asking me about Haven and Wilde. They want to be able to spend more time with them. They also know it has to be up to Haven and is dependent on what she’s comfortable with. Hopefully, she gets comfortable quickly because Travis is liable to stop by and pick Wilde up for a day out without warning. The guy is amazed by the kid, which I completely understand.
Wilde really liked Travis as well. It was not a one-sided admiration society. Am I a little jealous? Yes, but I’m not going to say that shit. I’m barely even going to let myself feel it.
Wilde needs people at his back who he feels comfortable with. I’ll never take that away from him.
Because I love him. More than I ever thought possible.
And I love his mom. As much as I wish I could tell her, I know it’s not time yet.
With having her in my house, her things mixing with mine and the sound of a little boy’s footsteps and laughter taking up space, it’s going to be hard to keep my feelings to myself. Her room is next to mine which is going to be a test of my control. As much as I wish I could move her right into the primary bedroom with me, I can’t.
But she’ll know my door is always open to her.
Always.
The rest of the people we call a family are excited about meeting my little family as well. I reached out to Amelia, Beckett’s wife, to let her know about Haven and Wilde joining me for the holiday get together. She had a lot of questions, most of which I could answer including any dietary needs, but some I didn’t answer just yet.
There was no way I was going to tell Amelia that I’ve fallen in love with Haven before I tell her. Just no.
I’m hoping having a place to come home to that isn’t the shelter will help settle Haven’s nerves about the family gathering tomorrow. Telling her there’s going to be a lot of people, and kids, did not help at all.
When I get to Safe Home, Haven is putting a bag into the trunk of her car which is parked in front even though it is not where it’s normally stored. They keep the number of cars down in front of the remodeled house to ensure people don’t look too closely.
The moment I stop my truck, she turns in my direction, and a wide smile stretches across her face. Seeing it, and knowing I’llbe able to see her smile so much more starting today, has my heart clenching in my chest. I want it.
I want so much more too, but I can be patient.
Fuck. It won’t be easy, but I can do it. For her. Always for her.
As I approach her, I try to keep some of my eagerness in check. She should know how excited I am, but she doesn’t need to know about how I’ve been dreaming about today. You know what I mean?
“I told you to wait for me and I’d help you carry everything out,” I admonish her, but my voice is gentle because I never want her to think I’m mad at her.
“It wasn’t much,” she explains.
When she looks toward the house, Wilde’s face is there peeking up over the ledge of one of the front windows. He’s trying to be sly about it because he’s not supposed to be doing it. And he knows it. Haven just chuckles and shakes her head.
“Also, I think Wilde was about to carry everything out himself if I didn’t,” she admits, her voice low.
“He’s excited, huh?”
She shoots me a knowing look and sasses, “If I had to guess, he’s not the only one.”
I bark out a laugh, my head tipping back as I do. “I’m so glad you’re excited,” I tease her as I slide my arm around her waist and pull her a step closer to me even though it doesn’t close the distance between us completely.
When she steps even closer, my fucking soul sighs. It’s a strange feeling, but I know how important it is when she’s the one to initiate contact. I know the weight of her actions.
“I wasn’t talking about me,” she snarks even though a smile tugs at the corners of her mouth.
“I think you were,” I fire back without missing a beat. “It’s okay,” I assure her, “I won’t tell anyone.”
Haven huffs out a laugh and rolls her eyes, but she doesn’t deny my words. The grin on my face as I look down at her starts to hurt my cheeks, but it’s the best fucking feeling.
“How much more stuff do I need to carry out?”
“Nothing,” she looks toward her car, “that was the last of it. We haven’t let ourselves collect a lot of stuff.”
“That changes now,” I rasp, the words fierce as they leave me.
