Chapter 213
Ava.
Rowan pulls the covers back and gets on the bed. The mattress dips under his weight, but none of it registers. My mind is far away, drifting in circles I can’t seem to break out of.
Today was unexpected, and I can’t stop thinking about it.
I can’t stop seeing Sierra standing in Noah’s home like the house was hers. Like she belonged there. Like the twins belonged at her sides and Noah–my stubborn, emotionally constipated son- stood softer beside her side, like he was always meant to be hers.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” Rowan’s voice pulls me back.
I force a smile. “I’m not thinking. I’m reading p>
He snorts. “Right… and that’s why your novel is upside down p>
I blink, glance down, and groan. The book is indeed upside down. Heat rushes to my cheeks and I flip it the right way.
“It’s… it’s been a long day.” I laugh to cover up my embarrassment.
Rowan chuckles. “Has anyone ever told you you’re adorable when you blush p>
Those grey eyes, that always leave me weak in the knees, pin me in place. My heart flips like I’m some freshly–in- love teen, not a woman who’s remarried the same man after surviving hell together.
It’s been years since we found our way back to each other. Years since we tore each other apart, healed, rebuilt, and chose each other again. There was a time I thought Emma’s return had destroyed everything permanently… but Rowan fought for us. We both made mistakes, but through those mistakes, through the pain, our relationship emerged stronger.
I fall in love with him every day, in the tiny ways he whispers I’m sorry without saying the words, and in the bigger ways he reminds me he’ll never take me for granted again.
Giving us a chance, giving him a chance, was the best decision I ever made, because now, I can’t imagine my life without him.
I wish… God, how I wish Noah could know this kind of love. The real kind. The steady kind. The kind where you’re safe, and seen, and chosen. If he ever experienced it, he’d understand that what he felt for Chloe was nothing but a drop in a vast ocean. It was a ripple compared to what he could have had. What could have been. Compared to what he could still have if he stopped running from it. 1
My thoughts are drifting again when Rowan gently plucks the book from my hands and sets it aside on the nightstand.
“Rowan p>
Before I can finish, his hands wrap around my waist, and he lifts me effortlessly, setting me on his lap so I’m straddling him. His palms slide up my sides, pulling me close until our foreheads nearly touch.
“You’re thinking of Noah and Si, aren’t you?” Rowan says. It’s not even a question, just a fact he’s gently dropping in my lap.
I settle against him, looping my arms around his broad shoulders. “How do you always know what I’m thinking p>
He buries his face in my neck, trailing light kisses along my skin as he speaks. “Maybe because I’m psychic… but only when it comes to you p>
A laugh slips out of me. “Seriously, Rowan p>
“What?” he says innocently against my throat. “It could be true p>
“We both know that’s not it,” I mutter, though the warmth in my chest betrays me. “But thank you for the distraction p>
His kisses grow slower and deeper, grazing that spot just beneath my ear. My thoughts start to melt. My body follows. I tilt my head, offering more of my neck and then he pulls back.
I stare at him, betrayed. “What are you doing p>
“So,” he says, stroking my hips like he knows exactly how irritated I am, “tell me what’s got your insides twisted p>
A growl escapes me. “Rowaan,” I snap. “What is wrong with you? I was getting in the moment p>
He chuckles, that low, wicked sound that always makes my pulse trip. There’s not a speck of apology in his eyes when he smirks.
“When I fuck you,” he murmurs, voice dark and velvet–smooth, “I want your brain empty of everything except how I feel inside you p>
My inner walls clench so hard I nearly gasp.
“So yes,” he continues, kissing the corner of my mouth slowly, deliberately, “you’re going to get whatever’s bouncing around that pretty head off your chest. Then I’ll give you exactly what you were getting into p>
Well, if motivation was what he wanted to provide, he succeeded spectacularly.
“Fine,” I breathe, even as heat curls low in my stomach. “Didn’t you find it strange that Sierra was at Noah’s house p>
He shakes his head easily. “Not really, and didn’t Noah already explain it? The twins wanted to see her. It makes perfect sense since they were glued to her at dinner weeks ago p>
“That’s exactly the problem,” I mutter. “It’s too believable. Too convenient p>
He sighs, thumbs brushing circles at my waist. “You’re overthinking this, my love… and besides,” he lifts my chin gently “didn’t you always want something like this to happen p>
He’s caught me there, but still, there is something about the whole thing I can’t quite put my finger on.
Ava.
Rowan pulls the covers back and gets on the bed. The mattress dips under his weight, but none of it registers. My mind is far away, drifting in circles I can’t seem to break out of.
Today was unexpected, and I can’t stop thinking about it.
I can’t stop seeing Sierra standing in Noah’s home like the house was hers. Like she belonged there. Like the twins belonged at her sides and Noah–my stubborn, emotionally constipated son- stood softer beside her side, like he was always meant to be hers.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” Rowan’s voice pulls me back.
I force a smile. “I’m not thinking. I’m reading p>
He snorts. “Right… and that’s why your novel is upside down p>
I blink, glance down, and groan. The book is indeed upside down. Heat rushes to my cheeks and I flip it the right way.
“It’s… it’s been a long day.” I laugh to cover up my embarrassment.
Rowan chuckles. “Has anyone ever told you you’re adorable when you blush p>
Those grey eyes, that always leave me weak in the knees, pin me in place. My heart flips like I’m some freshly–in- love teen, not a woman who’s remarried the same man after surviving hell together.
It’s been years since we found our way back to each other. Years since we tore each other apart, healed, rebuilt, and chose each other again. There was a time I thought Emma’s return had destroyed everything permanently… but Rowan fought for us. We both made mistakes, but through those mistakes, through the pain, our relationship emerged stronger.
I fall in love with him every day, in the tiny ways he whispers I’m sorry without saying the words, and in the bigger ways he reminds me he’ll never take me for granted again.
Giving us a chance, giving him a chance, was the best decision I ever made, because now, I can’t imagine my life without him.
I wish… God, how I wish Noah could know this kind of love. The real kind. The steady kind. The kind where you’re safe, and seen, and chosen. If he ever experienced it, he’d understand that what he felt for Chloe was nothing but a drop in a vast ocean. It was a ripple compared to what he could have had. What could have been. Compared to what he could still have if he stopped running from it. 1
My thoughts are drifting again when Rowan gently plucks the book from my hands and sets it aside on the nightstand.
“Rowan p>
Before I can finish, his hands wrap around my waist, and he lifts me effortlessly, setting me on his lap so I’m straddling him. His palms slide up my sides, pulling me close until our foreheads nearly touch.
“You’re thinking of Noah and Si, aren’t you?” Rowan says. It’s not even a question, just a fact he’s gently dropping in my lap.
I settle against him, looping my arms around his broad shoulders. “How do you always know what I’m thinking p>
Chopperati
He buries his face in my neck, tralling light kisses along my skin as he speaks. “Maybe because I’m psychic… but only when it comes to you p>
A laugh slips out of me. “Seriously, Rowan p>
“What?” he says innocently against my throat. “It could be true p>
“We both know that’s not it,” I mutter, though the warmth in my chest betrays me. “But thank you for the distraction p>
His kisses grow slower and deeper, grazing that spot just beneath my ear. My thoughts start to melt. My body follows. I tilt my head, offering more of my neck and then he pulls back.
I stare at him, betrayed. “What are you doing p>
“So,” he says, stroking my hips like he knows exactly how irritated I am, “tell me what’s got your insides twisted p>
A growl escapes me. “Rowaan,” I snap. “What is wrong with you? I was getting in the moment p>
He chuckles, that low, wicked sound that always makes my pulse trip. There’s not a speck of apology in his eyes when he smirks.
“When I fuck you,” he murmurs, voice dark and velvet–smooth, “I want your brain empty of everything except how I feel inside you p>
My inner walls clench so hard I nearly gasp.
“So yes,” he continues, kissing the corner of my mouth slowly, deliberately, “you’re going to get whatever’s bouncing around that pretty head off your chest. Then I’ll give you exactly what you were getting into p>
Well, if motivation was what he wanted to provide, he succeeded spectacularly.
“Fine,” I breathe, even as heat curls low in my stomach. “Didn’t you find it strange that Sierra was at Noah’s house p>
He shakes his head easily. “Not really, and didn’t Noah already explain it? The twins wanted to see her. It makes perfect sense since they were glued to her at dinner weeks ago p>
“That’s exactly the problem,” I mutter. “It’s too believable. Too convenient p>
He sighs, thumbs brushing circles at my waist. “You’re overthinking this, my love… and besides,” he lifts my chin gently “didn’t you always want something like this to happen p>
He’s caught me there, but still, there is something about the whole thing I can’t quite put my finger on.