into my hair as I circle around him, squeezing tighter as I pull toward his head.
In just a couple of seconds, we go from lazily teasing to panting, and Bowen flips me over shortly after.
“I love you.” He grunts as he pushes into me, our naked flesh tangling.
“I love you,” I answer, reaching up to thread my arms around his neck.
He makes slow, seductive love to me, quietly in the sanctuary of our shared bedroom. The build-up is agonizing, with each stroke, each gasp, each tense pulse of our bodies. When my orgasm finally washes over me, my mind is numb and my limbs quake with the blissful electricity buzzing through them.
Bowen covers my lips with his, groaning into my throat as his climax leaves him breathless.
We lay entwined, silent but for the labored breaths of our post-coital glow, for what feels like an hour.
“That was the perfect start to Thanksgiving morning. I think we just made a new tradition.” Bowen smiles into my neck, breaking the quiet.
I plant a kiss on his cheek and push on his chest for him to let me up. “I agree. But right now, we have to get ready.”
“A drill sergeant, you are. I think we need to talk about how bossy you are.”
“You like it.” I grin as I walk to the bathroom.
I hear him shuffling around in the bedroom while I pee, brush my hair, rinse with mouthwash and begin to apply the light amount of makeup I wear each day. He comes in looking like some fall catalog model out of a J. Crew ad. Olive green chunky knit sweater, dark blue jeans, cognac-colored boots, and his hair perfectly, sexily mussed from sex.
I’d say it isn’t fair to be that good looking, but I get to reap the rewards from it so I’m not complaining.
“Hi, gorgeous.” I raise a brow.
Bowen blushes, which is so rare, but I love making him do it. “So you’re going over to help Mom with the turkey while Keaton and I grab the pies from the bakery?”
I glance down at my hands. “Um, yeah, that was the plan. But I’m wondering if you could drop me somewhere else first.”
“Sure, where?” His voice is unsuspecting.
“I wanted to go see my mom.” I look up guiltily.
When he doesn’t answer, his expression unreadable, I continue. “It’s just … it’s Thanksgiving. I haven’t spoken to her since the truth about what my father did came out. I know it’s probably weak to want to see her, but I spent twenty-seven years with her on this day. I just kind of want to go see her.”
Bowen crouches down in front of me where I sit at the makeshift vanity I set up. “Lily, that’s not weak. It’s called love, and I think it’s admirable. Of course, I’ll drop you off to see your mom.”
My boots crunch on the leaves littering the sidewalk as I near the street where Eliza bought her townhouse.
I decided to walk from my parent’s house to Bowen’s mother’s place, to clear my head. And because I didn’t want to sit in a car and dissect the conversation with him just yet.
It had been strange being back in my mother’s house after the blow that happened there. It was almost a month ago, but it felt like yesterday. Thank God my father hadn’t been there today, something I’d been counting on as I’d checked his schedule and he was out of town. That’s right, out of town on the first Thanksgiving my mother wasn’t going to be spending the holiday with me. The man had no heart.
Our conversation had been odd and stiff, there was too much hurt between us now. In the past, I’d unconsciously forgiven my mother for turning the other cheek when my father did questionable things, but now it almost added to how badly he’d betrayed me. She claims she knew nothing about what he did after the accident, but I’m not sure I can believe that.
The mother I knew, the one who supported me and loved me with such an open and big heart … I wasn’t sure she could be trusted anymore.
And that was a shame. Decades of a relationship built, shattered because of one monumental lie.
As I push through the screen door, my mind is temporarily distracted from the sadness of my own family. The Nash’s buzz about the first floor, cooking, singing, setting the table, and especially drinking.
Forrest is passing out beers while Presley pours a red, steaming liquid into