Page 25 of Gift of You
“Shh,” he whispered into my neck.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You’re overthinking loudly.”
A startled snort sprang out of me. “I’moverthinking?”
“At the moment? Yes.”
“I thoughtyouwere processing?”
“I was. And now we’re napping.”
“What if I don’t want to nap?”
He lifted his arm off me, letting it hover a few inches above my body. “You’re free to go if that’s what you want...”
I let out a sound that could only be described as ahrumph. “No, no. I’ll stay.” In all honesty, I wasn’t sure why I was putting up a fight. At the moment, there really wasn’t anywhere else I wanted to be more than in his arms. I supposed the sassy twink of my twenties still liked to make an appearance every so often, and that bitch liked to be contrary.
Matthew dropped his arm back over my waist, and his solid body pressed up against my back was a comforting presence. I could already feel my eyelids drooping.
“Thank you,” he mumbled into the back of my neck.
“For what?”
“For staying.”
18
MATTHEW
I was lying in bed,staring at Ally’s picture on my nightstand while Louis gently snored behind me. After a couple of sleepless nights, followed by mutual orgasms and a shower, I’d sunk fast and deep into oblivion. And by the way the light was filtering through the windows, I’d guess we’d slept for a couple of hours. But now I was awake, and I was full of thoughts.
Louis stirred beside me, stretched, then rolled over and rested his chin on my chest. “What are you looking at?”
I reached over and pulled the framed photo off the nightstand, bringing it closer so he could see it more clearly without his glasses.
“No beard?” He reached out and traced his finger across my face over the top of the glass. I tried to see the image as if I was looking at it through his eyes. Dark hair, not yet starting to gray, worn short and freshly trimmed. Clean-shaven face unmarred by wrinkles. Freshly pressed suit on a body at least twenty pounds lighter. A groom and his beautiful bride.
Ally was grinning from ear to ear at the camera, but my eyes were focused solely on her. She’d been the sun in my solarsystem. She had that effect on everyone. She was the only one I’d ever had eyes for... until now.
“The beard came later.” My voice was gruff from sleep.
Louis scratched his fingertips over the hair on my chin. “I like the beard.”
“Ally did too. She made me promise never to shave it off. Not that I really wanted to anyway.” I was sure it was inappropriate to be talking about the love of my life while someone else was in my bed, but Ally had been such an integral part of my world for so long, it was impossible to keep her separate. And Louis didn’t seem to mind. In fact, it actually felt good to talk about her with him. I’d barely spoken to anyone about her since she passed, and she didn’t deserve that. She didn’t deserve to be forgotten.
“She would have liked you.”
“Yeah?” I could hear the shock of surprise in his voice.
“She would have thought you were hilarious. And I have no doubt the two of you would’ve been thick as thieves, likely plotting against me.”
He chuckled, the rumble of his laugh vibrating through my chest. “I’m sorry I never had the opportunity to meet her.”
We fell silent, and after a moment, I returned the picture to its place on my nightstand. Louis’s fingertips forged paths through my chest hair in a soothing rhythm. “How’s the processing going?”
The corner of my mouth rose involuntarily, amused at the way he’d asked his question. I squeezed his hip, offering reassurance as I answered. “I’d say I’m making progress.”
