Sweet Love - Mia Kayla Page 0,100

just forget, even for a moment, about the girl I’d left in Chicago.

But then I was smart enough to know that that fix would be a temporary high, and nothing would replace the real thing.

I took her hand and lightly placed it on her lap. All I could think of was Kyle’s words—and I didn’t want to mess things up.

I’d had one too many beers, and if I stayed here, there was a very good chance that, in the morning, I would regret what I had done.

“Connor …” she cooed when I stood.

Brad slung an arm over my shoulders. “Hey, bud, where you headed?”

“I’m just not feeling it tonight,” I said. “I’ll see you at work.”

The guys started to protest, but I was out the door, hailing a cab because I already felt like shit from my overhaul of beer.

Once I reached my apartment, I surveyed the area—my home. And I realized this wasn’t my home any longer. It was an empty vessel that I slept in. Home wasn’t in New York anymore. Home was where my heart was, and right now, my heart belonged to someone in Chicago.

Without hesitation and still half-drunk, I booked the first flight to Chicago in the morning.

Chapter 32

Charlie

I was at my new desk, surveying the layout of the day ahead. We were meeting with the printers to go over the new packaging. This morning, I had gone over the PowerPoint presentation a second time. The marketing team had fine-tuned my original sketches, and Mr. Colby himself had cleared them. Now, we just needed to present this to our printers, so they could start printing the new packaging next week.

I stood, stapling my stacked papers, when I turned my head and found Connor. My heart jumped to my throat.

I blinked and then double-blinked.

I was dreaming.

I had to be because there was Connor.

In nothing else but a diaper.

My eyebrows scrunched together, and I rubbed at my eye.

“Charlie.”

He pulled me into him, and my whole body reacted. Good gosh, if this were a dream, then I never wanted to wake up. He hugged me fiercely as though he never, ever wanted to let me go.

And I held him close, equally as hard, until I remembered he was naked, except for an adult diaper.

I reeled back. “For the love of all that is holy, what the heck are you wearing?”

“Adult diapers.” He shook his head, searched the vicinity, but I was in the corner office and it was lunchtime. “It’s a long story.” He reached for both of my hands.

“What are you doing here? Don’t you have work?” I asked. Shoot, should I be concerned?

I pinched myself and yelped.

“What are you doing?”

“Just making sure I’m awake.”

He laughed. “Charlie …” The way he uttered my name was so reverent, so sweet, that it made my heart turn over in response. “I’ve missed you.”

Self-preservation was a funny thing. I took a step back from him, and it was as if I’d slapped him in the face because he flinched.

“What are you doing here, Connor?” I repeated, my voice soft, almost sounding defeated.

“I came back for you.” His voice was firm, his gaze set intent on mine. “This week has been the longest, most dreadful week that I’ve had in … in what seems like forever. And it’s because I can’t stop thinking of you.”

He pulled me in by the elbows, and I let him because my body ached for his touch. A stronger woman would have been able to stay away and resist, but I wasn’t a strong woman, not when it came to this man.

“Everywhere I turned, I wished you were there, right beside me, but I knew that was impossible because you were in Chicago.” He brushed my cheek with the lightness of his knuckles. “And I just decided … I don’t want to put myself through hell anymore. You were right, my brother was right, and Nana was right. I’m tired … tired of lying to myself. I can live without anything else—because I have—but not without you, Charlie. I can’t live without you.”

His breath was warm, and it coasted across my face, causing my stomach to flutter.

“Move in with me.”

His repeated words slapped me back into reality.

“We’ve discussed this. I’m not moving to New York.”

“No. I’m moving here, moving back, for you.” His eyes searched mine, and the intensity in them was so blinding that my breath caught. “Move in with me,” he repeated his words slower this time, tender, his gaze all-consuming, his chocolate eyes