The Sweetest Gift - Scarlett Cole Page 0,31

twisted in his chest.

Fuck, he loved her more than anything else in the world.

More than the band.

More than his drums.

More than music.

He could give all of them up in a heartbeat, had even considered doing so when he’d woken from surgery to find his arm gone. But not the pain of his injury, or pain from his loss, could hold a candle to the pain he’d felt when he thought he’d lost her.

Leaving the balcony doors open, even though it was still cool outside, he returned to the bed and sat down next to her, the warmth and proximity to her easing the turbulence of his mind.

They were meeting her brother for breakfast. Randall, the famed surgeon and Head of Neurology at a hospital in Atlanta, had a proposition he wanted to discuss with her, and Lennon knew it was going to be a job offer. Likely a better one than the one she had now, or he wouldn’t be offering it.

He wouldn’t stop her if it was what she wanted, and he’d follow her to the end of the earth. But he’d miss Toronto. He’d miss the band. He’d miss Maisie and Ellen and seeing his bandmates’ kids grow up on a day-to-day basis. He’d miss Daniel, Elliott’s stepson, who had one day just started popping over when he knew Lennon was home. They’d sit and chat, watch hockey, mess around on his drums, and sometimes play video games, although Daniel’s interest in them was waning. Recently, their conversations had turned to girls. He found he liked being called Uncle Lennon, and despite Daniel’s assertion that Lennon gave great advice, he wondered how on earth he was able to deliver anything remotely close to sage wisdom given his own fucked up view of the world. Most importantly, he was grateful for the opportunity to try.

Lennon ran his hand gently along Georgia’s spine, savoring the soft warmth of her skin. Replacing his fingers with his lips, he placed a trail of kisses from her shoulders to the curve of her butt.

Her body flexed beneath his touch, a stretch that tensed every single muscle. Georgia lazily turned over and pushed her hair from her face with her left hand, the engagement ring he’d placed on her finger the previous year sparkling as brightly as Gia did when she smiled.

“Morning,” she said, her words laced with slumber.

This was his favorite Gia. Sure, he loved her when she was all capable and dashed out of the house in response to a medical emergency at the hospital. And he loved her when they were hanging around with his friends, the way she’d slid into their lives without a ripple. He loved it when she sang ever so slightly out of tune, when she closed her eyes and bobbed her head to jazz, or made him cookies for no reason at all. But he loved her most when she slowly woke up for the day, before all the responsibilities of her job filtered in, before she started to think about her to-do list. When she was still simply Gia.

Leaning forward, he brushed his lips over her, a gentle touch of wonder that she was his and he was hers. “Morning,” he murmured.

A sigh fluttered from her lips as her hand slid through his hair to the back of his neck. “Did you sleep okay?”

The fact she always asked every morning, even though she knew about his sleep patterns, warmed his heart. “Better than usual. You?”

“Like a log, as usual.” Her smile was as powerful as a caffeine jolt. Only she could wake him up, make him forget a crap night’s sleep, and make him think the day was packed with possibilities.

Georgia pulled him closer, drawing him back in for a longer, deeper kiss.

Lazily, his tongue sought hers, nothing rushed or hurried, a slow languorous connection. He ran his hand from her shoulder, over her breast, cupping it gently as his thumb brushed her nipple. Goosebumps broke out on her skin. Damn, it was a fucking miracle every day that he could turn her on so easily.

“Make love to me, Lennon,” she said softly.

Those words, softly spoken, turned him on more than he’d ever thought possible. He’d spent the early part of his life attempting to fill all the holes in his heart with mindless fucks and the attitude of a prick. And while he loved nothing more than having sex with Gia, it was when she asked him for something more that he found his