Page 178 of Someone Like Me
Drew’s weight presses into me. Real. Solid. And male. Unmistakably male, in fact. And as good as that feels, it’s nothing compared to the certainty he’s given me. About him. About us.
I’m so grateful, I want to thank God. Thank every god.
“I missed you,” I whisper, running my hands down his back.
He makes a gruff noise and brushes his lips above the V of my top. “I don’t think I could have missed my own skin more than I missed you.”
Drew angles his hips, and I feel him hard and glorious against me. I wrap my legs around him, wanting to fall into this bliss, but needing him to know how sorry I am.
“I should have been with you,” I murmur into his hair. “Monday night… Today…”
His hands slip under my top, moving up to my ribs, his thumbs sweeping the skin just below my breasts.
“You’re with me now.” He places a kiss right above my cleavage. I shiver. “That’s all that matters.”
I know he’s right. The now is all that matters. But the last three days still have me in their grip. I need to make peace with them, and the only way I can do that is to make sure he has made peace with them.
“I hated what I did to you. I’ve never been so miserable. You’ve suffered so much.” His lips still against my skin. “I hate that I added to that.”
Drew lifts his face and locks eyes with mine. “Evie.” He says my name like a vow. His gaze is intent. Bottomless. “Loving you’s the best thing I’ve ever done. And I kept loving you the last three days because I wasn’t about to stop doing the best thing I’ve ever done. Yeah, the last three days hurt. They hurt a lot. But you were still with me.”
His words don’t erase the guilt, but something eases in me. He’s watching, and I think he sees it happen because his eyes soften.
“Was I withyou?”he asks, a knowing grin shaping his mouth.
I grip the fabric at the back of his shirt. “Of course you were with me!” I cry. “I thought of nothing but you. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat. I meditated in my love for you. I held you in my heart—”
I stop this little rant when I feel him shaking, laughing silently, on top of me.
Squeezing his hips with my legs, I glare at him. “It’s so not funny.”
Drew shakes his head. “Not laughing at you, Guppy.” He slides one hand out of my shirt before pressing it to my cheek. It’s rough, huge, and warm. I stop glaring. “You were doing your magic, like you always do. Making it safe for me. Turning evil into good right in my backyard.”
I blink at him. “What do you mean?”
His eyes shine as he looks down at me. “Evie, you turn everything around. My guilt. My shame. The way I see myself.” His thumb sweeps up and down my cheek. “Hell, even this house. Grandma left it to me, and I didn’t want to take it until I thought of bringing you here. And then it went from an empty house to our home.”
I’m so glad Drew is lying on top of me. Otherwise, happiness, golden and weightless, might just carry me away.
“You have any idea where I found Tori’s necklace?”
I shake my head, tensing at the sound of my sister’s name.
Drew quirks a brow at me. “You remember that piece of shit PlayStation I stole?”
I nod. “The one under the sheet.”
He nods, too, slowly. “I decided to take it back today after I’d searched and searched and couldn’t find anything that could have belonged to your sister.” His eyes narrow and I watch him swallow. “But I brought it back to the house where I’d stolen it because I knew you’d approve of that. And then this kid — this middle school kid — opens up the battery slot and pulls out her necklace.”
My eyes bug. “You’re kidding.”
Drew shakes his head. “No. I keep thinking about it. I mean, what are the odds? As soon as I righted that wrong, I got you back.” The light in his eyes is now tinged with awe. An awe that I now share. “I’m not an innocent man, Evie. But loving you is teaching me I can be a good man.”
My nose stings. My throat goes hot with ready tears. “Drew…” I say his name because it’s the only thing I can manage.
His thumb glides up and catches the lone tear that slips from my eye. “So stop worrying about the last three days, huh?”
I bite my lip and manage a nod, the unease I felt before has melted completely, leaving nothing but joy in its place.
