She stares at me, dumbfounded, as if the thought never crossed her mind.
Finally, she asks, “You want me to move in with you?”
I can’t help the huff of a laugh that leaves me. “Astrid, you already did that, a year ago.”
“Technicallyyyy—” she singsongs, but I cut her off.
“Technicalities aside, you’ve already lived here a year. I just want that whole ‘until I find a place of my own’ thing to just… drop off the end of that thought inside your mind.”
She pulls her ponytail around her shoulder to pick at the ends. “You don’t think that’s… moving too fast?”
“Your sister and Seth moved in together after only a short time of knowing each other. We’ve known each other a year,” I remind her, taking a step toward her. I take it as a good sign when she doesn’t retreat.
“Yes, well….” She shifts on her feet again but doesn’t move away as I take another step. “In your professional opinion, you don’t think this is a bad idea? I mean, we only just… you know… stepped up a level like… yesterday.”
“In my professional opinion, you are now in a relationship with a man who would do anything to protect you. One who will move heaven and earth to make sure you begin living your very best life, starting by healing wounds that happened in the past so you can get everything you want out of your future. So no, this is very, very far from a bad idea.”
She swallows when I take that last step up to her, and slowly she raises her chin to look up into my eyes. Hers still look unsure, but there’s something else swirling around with the doubt—hope.
And then she nods, and my system is flooded with both excitement and relief, but I keep my expression neutral for her sake. “I’m… I’m gonna go shower now,” she whispers.
“Okay, goddess,” I reply.
“In… in our bathroom,” she adds.
And it breaks the calm façade I’ve put in place. A smile breaks across my face before my lips slam down on hers, my arm swooping around her back to dip her backward, and she squeals into my mouth. She swats at my chest and I stand her back up, unable to wipe the grin off my face.
“I’m gross and sweaty!” she reiterates, and I chuckle as she races away from me and disappears into our bedroom.Chapter 10AstridWhen I come downstairs, I glance out the back door to see Neil is already in the hot tub on the back patio. I’ve never actually been in it with him before. The few times I’ve used it, it was during the day while he was at work, and it wasn’t for long, because I started feeling guilty just relaxing in a freaking spa like a lady of leisure.
I go to the fridge and pull open the freezer drawer, grabbing a couple of bags of frozen fruit and carrying them to the Ninja over on the counter. I hurry over to the pantry and take out the tub of protein powder, stopping by the fridge once again for the milk. A few minutes later, I carry the two fruit smoothies I made out the back door, handing one to Neil before setting mine in one of the little cup holders on the top tip of the hot tub.
“Wow, what a treat. Thank you,” he praises, taking a sip, and I get that warm feeling in my chest as I pull off my coverup. “Fuuuck.”
I lift my eyes to him, startled by the growl in his voice. “What’s wrong? Was the fruit bad? I swear I just got it.”
He shakes his head slowly, and now I see his eyes are scouring my body. It’s one thing to be naked right up against him in the shower where I’m too close for him to see all of me at the same time. It’s another thing entirely to be back enough for him to take my body in at once. I may be pretty comfortable with the shape as far as my weight goes, but I’m definitely not comfortable in my own skin. Literally. Anywhere that could be hidden beneath shorts and a tank is covered in slash-like scars. Being from the west coast, I was always super tan as a teenager and into my early twenties, so when Brandon had given me these marks and they healed, they ended up being lighter than the rest of my skin since once that whole era began, I didn’t go out much. They look a lot like stretchmarks but all of them horizontal.
“If I didn’t already know you were a California girl, I’d know it now by you in that bathing suit, goddess,” he murmurs, his voice especially deep.
I look down at my yellow string bikini, one I’ve had since high school but hadn’t warn since then, because Brandon wouldn’t let me. I look back up at Neil, tilting my head to the side curiously. “Do girls not wear bikinis on the east coast?”