“Baby,” he says, and I hate his tone. Okay, fine, I love when he calls me baby because his tone is soft and filled with love. “I’m not going that long without you.”
“Well, I’m not going to be sleeping at your house with Ethan there. That is just …” I don’t say anything because he pulls me to him. “Jacob.”
“Kallie, you sleep with me,” he says, and I want to push away from him. “We just won’t tell him.”
“So, you want me to sneak into your house?” I ask, shaking my head.
“For now, that is what we have to do,” he says, kissing me.
“No, we can be grown-ups about this and have dinner, and then I can see you tomorrow morning.”
“Fuck no,” he says. “Now kiss me because I have to go to work.”
“Fine, we can table this discussion.” I barely get the words out before his mouth is on mine, and I’m lost in his touch, in his kiss, lost in him. “Be safe.”
“Always.” He kisses me one last time, and I open the door, turning to get out. He grabs my hand one last time. “He’s going to love you.”
“Or hate me for taking you away from him,” I mumble and get out of the car, and he rolls down the window.
“I love you, Kallie,” he says, and I look over my shoulder. “I’ll call you later.”
I turn and walk up the steps toward the front door, ringing it first. I made the mistake of walking in yesterday and found them dry humping each other on the island. “It’s open!” Olivia yells, and I stick my head in. “It’s all clear. Cowboy is not home.”
“Good,” I say, stepping into the entrance and walking to the kitchen where Olivia has set up her office on said island.
“The coffee is fresh.” She smiles at me, and points at the coffeepot on the counter that looks brand new.
“Thank you,” I say. Putting my bag down, I take my laptop out and start it up, then walk to the coffeemaker. “Why does it smell like bacon?”
“I made Casey breakfast this morning,” Olivia says, and I look over at her for two reasons. One, my brother has never made a meal in his life. In fact, my mother still cooks all his meals. And two, Olivia doesn’t cook. “I know, I know …” She puts up her hands. “But I wanted to do something nice for him.”
“I mean, we had to throw out five pots because you burned them so bad.”
“Okay, fine.” She smiles at me, and I look over at her. She doesn’t have one ounce of makeup on her face. Her hair is piled on top of her head. She has a nice glow to her face from being out in the sun in the afternoon. She is also wearing a white tank top with black yoga pants and a long sweater over her. “I asked your mom for instructions.” I look at her, and she just stares at me. “Don’t think too much into it, please.”
I shake my head. “Honestly, I’ve never seen you happier,” I say. “You aren’t even wearing makeup.”
“I know.” She smiles. “And my skin is so soft. I think it’s the water,” Olivia says.
“I’m going to give my notice,” I say, putting the cup of coffee to my lips.
Her mouth flies open. “I mean, are you sure?” She puts her own cup down and leans forward. “This is a big change. You’re going from city to country.”
I smile. “I’ve always been country.” Tilting my head, I say, “And I’ve always been in love with Jacob.” She looks down. “It was one mistake, and I have forgiven him for it.”
“At the end of the day, he is your person,” she says. “He makes you happy.”
“For my whole life, I knew that I would be his wife,” I say. “For my whole life, nothing made me happier than seeing him. Then I lost him, and I lost myself. I was me, but there were all these pieces of me missing and now …” I smile. “Now with him, seeing him, touching him. He was my missing piece.”
She puts her hands to her chest. “Bless your heart.” I shake my head, laughing. “Did I not say it in the right way again?”
“I have no idea,” I say, “but you’re learning.”
“So you are really going to leave and come live here?” she asks, and I nod. “What are you going to do?”
“I have no idea, and I’m scared as fuck, but the other way is me being away from him, and I’m not okay with that option.”
“Does he know?”
“He doesn’t. I think he’s afraid to ask.” I walk to the chair next to her and take out my phone. “I’m going to call Meryl right now.” I take the phone and dial Meryl, who answers right away.