Page 87 of Until Tomorrow Comes
She smiles sweetly at me, and I catch the twinkle of mischief in her eyes. She raises a brow slightly, questioning me without saying a word. I nod in response, my heart skipping a beat and excitement mixes with curiosity to what she’s thinking.
These moments of defiance and bravery that break through as she becomes more confident and comfortable leaves me beaming with pride.
“Are you ready to get going, Babe? We still need to go find whipped cream…” She trails off, not even trying to keep her voice down.
“Going? Whipped cream!?” Molly questions. “Babe?” Her eyes snap to me, the accusation clear in them. “Youhatepet names. And sweets.”
I shrug, holding Kat closer to me and dropping a kiss to her forehead. She’s not wrong, I used to hate whenever Molly would try calling me any sort of pet names. Even ones as simple as babe or baby.
But there’s no denying that my heart skipped a beat at the sound of Kat calling me Babe.
“Sometimes it’s aboutwhosays the endearment, not the actual pet name itself.” Kat retorts, trailing her fingers down my chest while glancing sideways at Molly with a smirk. “As for the sweets… he’s not the one who will be swallowing…” Kat pauses for a second. “The whipped cream, that is.”
There’s no holding back my laugh and even Todd covers his with a cough. Molly’s mouth drops open before snapping shut. She glares at my brother before facing us again. I cut her off before she can speak.
“Well… glad you guys ended up working out. Best wishes and all that, but if you’ll excuse us.”
I lead Kat away, heading back toward the lobby.
“Wait, what?” Molly questions and I glance over my shoulder at her. “You’re leaving already?”
“Yup,” I answer simply.
“But we didn’t…” She trails off, sneaking a glance at Todd before shaking her head. “Dinner hasn’t been served.”
I scoff, raising my brow and facing her again.
“We all know it’s better for all of us if I leave before then.”
Todd wraps an arm around Molly’s waist and answers before she can.
“We appreciate you coming, all things considered, I wasn’t expecting you to come at all.” He shifts his hold on his daughter, glancing at Kat once more. “Glad you’ve moved on.”
My jaw clenches at his words and I have to bite my tongue to keep from commenting. Shaking my head, I turn back to Kat.
“Ready?” I mumble to her. She nods and I reach for her hand, interlocking our fingers and walking away.
I hear Molly’s nagging voice trail behind us, but I tune her out, focusing on getting away. Once we round the corner, my shoulders relax, and I let out a deep breath.
“You okay?” Kat whispers as we approach the elevators. I wait until we step on and the doors close around us before answering.
Closing the space between us, I envelope her in a hug. Nuzzling into her and breathing in her fresh coconut scent. It soothes me, calming my racing thoughts.
“I am now,” I murmur into her neck. She wraps her arms round my back, hugging me tightly. When the elevator dings, signaling our arrival on our floor, I reluctantly pull back. “Sorry we left without eating.”
She smiles softly. “No need to apologize. The room service here is shockingly amazing.”
Kat steps into the hallway, pausing to look back over her shoulder with a smirk. “Who knows, maybe they have some whipped cream they could send up.”
My heart stutters before taking off like a hummingbird in my chest. Kat heads toward our room without another glance, leaving me to scramble after her.
28
Kat
Being wrapped in Jackson’s comforting embrace is becoming my favorite place to be. Cuddling isn’t something I’ve ever spent a lot of time thinking about. If you asked me a year ago if I was a cuddler, I would have answered no. Without hesitation.
But now, since Jackson, my answer is different. I would be his little spoon any night without question.
