BAILEE “Won’t your driver be mad that we aren’t staying in one place?” I asked as he picked it up to a jog. “I don’t think I’ve seen my driver mad a day in his life, and if he can’t locate a moving target, he lied on his resume,” Alex said. “Ben was already with him, waiting for our call. They we
BAILEE “This is absurd,” I said, pulling at the cuff around my wrists. “There are real criminals out there right now, and you have me locked up in here! I can sue you for this!” “No, we can’t,” Ben said, leaning his head back against the wall. “But I will raise hell if anything happens to my niece
BAILEE The air left my lungs in one big swoosh of air as I heard the words. She was safe. “Where is she?” I asked breathlessly. “She is being looked over by the paramedics right now,” Keller said, and my hand instantly grabbed Alex’s to steady myself. “Is she hurt? Did he hurt her?” I asked
ALEXANDER It was hard to take my eyes off Bailee and Brinley as they lay curled up in my bed. Seeing them there made me feel complete and whole. My woman, my future daughter, and my unborn baby. I had a family. They were my family. Every few minutes, I had been peaking my head into the room,
ALEXANDER “What’s going on, man?” “Nothing.” He said a bit too quickly before running his palm down his face. “It’s just been nice having people around again… my people. I’ve been alone for so long. No matter how many tickets I sent or how many times I called or texted, my family hadn’t shown up
BAILEE As I woke, my body was stiff and overly warm. Brinley was curled into my side, her head on my shoulder, sleeping partially on top of me, and I sighed in relief that she was actually here and safe. I stared at her for a long while, worried that she would disappear and I would wake up alone,
BAILEE “You’re being weird,” I muttered to Ben as he sat across from me at the dining room table. “You are weird.” He threw back, and the corner of my lips pulled up in amusement. There he was, back to himself. “Is this about the Range Rover because I came into some money recently, and I can
ALEXANDER The sign over the front of the building was chipped and outdated, something I hadn't noticed until now. I took a second to stare at it for a moment longer as I waited for Ben to get Brinley out of her car seat. He was a good uncle, but man, had it been satisfying to crack a few ‘Manny -
HAVEN “Have you ever done this before?” Ben asked, and I shook my head. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before stepping back. “How did I get so lucky?” His question, with the sudden loss of his body heat, made me blush, and I pushed off the counter slowly. I could only assume, with him
HAVEN “Did he say anything to you?” Ben asked as we settled into our room for the night. Siri had passed out on the car ride home, and Ben made it look so easy to transfer her from the car to her bed. I had never succeeded in doing that without waking her up. “No,” I said, meeting his stressed
BEN He was so close to them... so close to my family, and there was nothing I could do but watch. “Evans! Head in the game!” Coach screamed, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the scene before me. Security was coming down the steps toward him, and he threw his head back laughing before walk
HAVEN I was so scared that Ben would be angry at me for going behind his back and calling his parents that I hadn’t even told him they were coming. They were staying at a hotel near the stadium and were ecstatic to meet Siri. That was my big regret with this surprise. Ben didn’t get to introduce
BEN “Is Haven bringing Siri tonight?” Jake asked, and I nodded, unable to stop the smile on my face. The first pre-season game was tonight, and I was over the moon to finally have someone to give my tickets to. They weren't front row since the arena saved those for the high-paying fans, but my
HAVEN Ben’s eyes closed as if he were in pain as I leaned forward and flicked his lips with my tongue. I was bold when drunk, but this… this was a new level. I felt invincible with Ben as if I could act on any urge I had, and he couldn’t or wouldn’t judge me for it. He would just… satisfy me. “
HAVEN I loved them. The women were absolutely incredible. All of them, except Nora, but she broke away from the group fairly quickly. It seemed she was a bitch to everyone, and no one really put up with it. They just ignored her when her attitude started up and wouldn’t talk to her again until she
HAVEN Brinley stayed with us for three nights, which was the best distraction I could have asked for. The girls had been so happy to be together that I didn’t have time to dwell on any of the shit that had happened in the past few months. They needed constant engagement and snacks. I secretly had
BEN I watched with a smile as Brinley held her baby brother, Tristan, for the first time. I was excited to meet him, but I also wanted her to do so before me or Siri did. It was vital for them to bond, and with the bright smile on her little face, I knew she would have no problem with that. Brin