Chapter One Hundred Three
Lincoln
I watch her walk out the door just as I put her car in park. I make quick work of getting out of the car and closing the distance between us, until I’m standing in front of her and pulling her against my chest.
“I love you,” she says, cuddling into my embrace the best she can. Her words surprise me, considering that ever since Jax moved out and I took his room, there’s been this distance between us that no matter how I’ve tried, I’ve not been able to close.
“And I love you,” I reply, pulling back I look her over, really taking her in for the first time in weeks and not liking what I see.
Her skin is pale, and she has dark bags beneath both of her eyes, indicating that she’s not sleeping well and I hate that I’m not beside her at night to comfort her.
“And I’m also sorry,” she murmurs the words, looking down between us, unable to meet my eyes, but even still, I know that she means them.
“Hey,” I say, grasping hold of her chin and guiding her face back up until we’re eye to eye again. “Baby, you have nothing to be sorry for.” As I say the words, her face hardens in determination and she pulls back slightly, creating space between us.
“I do though. I’ve not been a very good girlfriend lately. I’ve not asked about you or how you’re doing with all of this or any of the other stuff that you have been going through. And I should have. So, I’m sorry but I swear, I’ll try to do better.”
Closing the distance between us once more, I cup her cheek and lower my face toward hers, our noses skimming one another, as I whisper against her lips, “while I appreciate the thought, you focus on getting better. I’m a big boy and I’ll be okay.”
“But you shouldn’t have to just be *okay*. And part of me, us, moving on from all of this is by focusing on every aspect of us, not just the sexual one.” I’m so fucking proud of her for taking her sessions seriously that I claim her mouth in a kiss, unable to hold myself back a second longer.
It would be so easy for her to just tell her therapist whatever it is that she needs to hear, what Raleigh thinks she wants to hear, even if they are trained to see through the bullshit, to move on to the next subject or be signed off as *all better*, but it wouldn’t be true and I wouldn’t bring her any closer to getting better.
“Thank you,” I whisper against her lips when I break the kiss. Then, pulling her into my arms once more, her growing belly makes it increasingly more difficult by the day, but it isn’t going to stop me from trying.
I tighten my arms around her, just relishing in the feel of having her in my arms before pulling back and then leading her over to the car, where I open the passenger door for her, help her in, then close in before rounding the front of the car back to the driver’s side and joining her inside the cab.
Threading my fingers through her slender ones, I bring her hand to my lips, pressing a kiss to the back of it before pulling from the lot and making our way back home.
We’re sitting at a red light when my phone buzzes with an incoming text.
Most likely one of my brothers.
Fishing it out of my pocket, I see it’s from Bos.
**Bos: We’re all finished up here and are now heading out.**
**Me: Thanks, man and tell everyone else I said thanks for everything. We’re on our way back home now.**
**Bos: Of course, Bro! Hope she likes it!**
*Fuck!* I think to myself as I put my phone in the holder and press on the accelerator, the light having been green for I don’t even know how long. *I hope she likes it too.*
I’m lost in thought about how Raleigh is going to react as we make out way back to our place. Bos, Aspen, Dal and Jax all helped me put together for her and it can go one of two ways-actually, possibly three, I guess.
One, she’s going to love it.
Two, she’s going to hate it.
Or three, she’s going to be pissed that we did it all behind her back and she didn’t have any kind of say .
*Fuck! This was a stupid idea!*
*I should have just included her instead of trying to surprise her.*
I hear her say something, but her words don’t seem to register because I’m too busy spiraling in self-doubt.
Reaching out, she grasps hold of my hand and says my name again, “Lincoln…”
“Sorry, Baby. What did you say?” I ask, the sound of her voice this time managing to pull me back from spiraling too far.
“I asked if everything was okay,” she repeats, watching me closely from her spot in the passenger seat.
I shake my head, trying to push my invading thoughts away and focus on the beautiful woman at my side.
“Oh, yeah…” I reply, then with a nod toward my phone, I continue, “Just Bos checking in and seeing how things went today.”
Raleigh quirks a brow, as if she doesn’t believe me, but doesn’t call me on it. Instead, she releases a little hum of acknowledgement, then pulling her hand from mine, turns in her seat until she’s facing the windshield and folds her arms against her chest, her irritation obvious.
Not liking he reaction in the least, I reach out and slip my hand beneath her arm, finding her much smaller hand and twining our fingers together, giving her hand a solid squeeze, trying to reassure her that there isn’t anything to be worried about.
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