She peered up at him from under her lashes. “He said . . . that me taking care of you was the only thanks he needed.”
Irritation flashed through Mav. “Nosy fucker. Ignore him. You don’t need that kind of—”
“No, he’s right,” Alexa said, grabbing the edges of his cut in her fists. “You’re doing so much for me. I want to be there for you, too. I just—”
“What?” he asked, needing to hear what she had to say like he needed his next breath.
“I just need more time.”
He probably should’ve accepted it at that, but something made him push. “And then?”
She swallowed thickly. “And then . . . we’ll see if . . . if you think you can forgive me and . . .” She gave a little, uncertain shrug. “. . . whether you maybe want to try again.”
He cupped her face as triumph surged through him and then he leaned down so he could look at her eye to eye. “I want.”
Her eyes went glassy as she whispered, “You do? After everything? Because I wouldn’t blame you—”
“I. Fucking. Want.” He didn’t try to restrain a bit of the fierceness roughening up his voice. He wanted her to know it. To believe it. To feel it down deep. “You. Us. A future. Our history, even the fucked-up parts. All of it. Understand?”
“Yes,” she said on a fast nod, her eyes suddenly brimming with unshed tears.
He caught the wetness with his thumbs. “Don’t cry, baby. And don’t think you’re the only one who has things to apologize for. Because I told you I have regrets, too.”
“God, Mav—”
“Alexa?” her mother called from the living room. “Are you ready to go?”
Looking into Alexa’s eyes, Maverick loved the hope and affection he saw there. “We’ll finish this another time.”
“Okay,” she said. And then she pushed up on her tiptoes and threw her arms around him, holding him so tight he could barely breathe. So much unspoken emotion rolled off of her, and it fucking slayed him.
And made him feel hopeful for the first time in a long damn time.
Alexa was going to be his again. Sooner or fucking later. And nothing was going to keep them apart this time.
CHAPTER 23
Want to help me give the cat a bath?” Alexa asked, her face playfully hopeful. Wearing a long black shirt of his, her hair still mussed from sleep, she looked beautiful standing barefoot in the sunlight spilling into his kitchen the next morning.
Leaning against the counter with a cup of coffee in hand, Maverick smirked. “If that’s code for getting between your legs, sign me up.”
Throwing her head back, Alexa laughed out loud. “Like we need special code for that.”
He grinned around another sip. “Good to know.”
She rolled her eyes, but it was clear she was enjoying the conversation every bit as much as him. And he was glad after the day she’d had yesterday. After seemingly doing so well at her new place, her mother had fallen into another round of tears when they took her home. They’d ended up being there until nearly nine o’clock, and Alexa had been exhausted by the time they got back here.
“I mean, the actual cat,” Alexa said, her eyebrow arched. “Not the pussy. Maybe later, though . . .”
Maverick had to adjust himself. “You say shit like that you give me ideas of what to do with that mouth.”
Laughing, she disappeared down the hall. The water came on in the bathroom. And then he heard the low murmur of her talking to Lucy. And it occurred to him how much he liked not being here alone. He loved the sounds of Alexa moving around his house. He loved seeing her things sitting with his on the counter. He loved her weird sweater-wearing cat greeting them at the door or jumping up in the bed when they woke up. And it made him realize how much he’d changed in the past five years. How much he valued things now that he’d never thought all that important before—big things like commitment and small things like the sounds of companionship.
Curious, he wandered down the hallway to find Alexa kneeling next to the tub, the cat in her arms, the skull sweater discarded on the counter. Lucy wasn’t bolting but she also wasn’t looking thrilled with the plan. “She likes baths?”
Alexa chuckled. “She likes it once she’s in, but she always gets tense before.”
“And why exactly are you torturing—I mean, bathing Lucy?”
Smiling up at him, Alexa shook her head. “Being hairless means her body has no way to absorb the oil from her skin or from when she grooms herself, so she has to be washed pretty regularly. It’s worth it for how awesome she is, though. Plus, she’s so cute when she plays in the water that I can barely stand it.” She pressed her face to the cat’s. “You ready, baby?” She leaned over the tub and slowly lowered Lucy in, her arms still cradling the thin, little body as it submerged.