Acceptance (Club X Book 5) (15 page)

She gently balanced herself on me, awkwardly placing her hands on my chest. Her right palm covered the scar from where the bullet entered my body, but when she realized where her hand was, she quickly pulled it away.

“I really have to get this day started, Kane.”

I lifted my hips to let her feel my hard on ready to go. “Feel that? He’s ready to get back into the game.”

“You say that like it’s cute. I’ve never been worried about that part of you. It’s the other parts that concern me.”

Squeezing her ass in my hands, I joked, “Do you mean my tongue? Because if you do, don’t worry. He’s ready to go too, and I haven’t forgotten how to make your thighs quiver.”

Her expression grew dark. “Stop joking about this, Kane. I don’t want to do anything that would make me lose you. You know that.”

I cradled her face and pulled her mouth to mine to kiss her long and deep. “You’re not going to lose me if we have sex. My heart is fine. The doctor told you that. I had a heart attack because I’d been shot, not because I have a bad heart. I have a great heart, and I’m as healthy as a horse. So climb on and giddy up!”

From down the hallway, I heard Liam cry, “Mommy!” No sex for me this morning.

“Looks like this cowgirl is going to have to take a rain check,” Abbi said as she climbed off me.

As she trotted toward the door, I folded my arms behind my head. “I’ll be back here tonight, so be ready.”

She stopped and looked at me. “You make it sound like something I need to prepare for.”

“It’s been months since we were together, Abbi. I’m like a man dying of thirst who’s getting his first drink in ages. I don’t plan on holding back.”

A sly smile formed on her beautiful mouth. “Well, then. I guess I better be ready.”

*

Everyone had gotten to Alexandria’s
house before we arrived since getting both kids ready, fed, and into the car had taken far longer than expected, so Abbi and Annalea hurried up the sidewalk to her front door as Liam and I followed behind. As was tradition, Cash’s birthday was always celebrated at his mother’s, so I expected something big for his thirty-fifth.

“Where are those beautiful babies?” Alexandria asked as she came through the front door with her arms open wide.

Annalea tore up the porch stairs to hug her. “Grandma! We’re here for the party.”

“We got a chocolate cake for all you chocolate lovers this year,” Alexandria announced, much to her granddaughter’s delight.

As Annalea ran inside with Abbi, I handed Liam to his grandmother, who eagerly waited to say hello to her youngest grandchild. “The chocolate lovers seem to be happy.”

Alexandria squeezed the baby to her and smiled up at me. “I made sure to get a yellow cake for this special little boy since I know he can’t have anything chocolate. I think Shay isn’t a chocolate lover either, if I’m not mistaken.”

“I’ll eat the yellow cake too, so you won’t have to worry about much in the way of leftovers, Mom.”

She studied me for a long moment before saying, “You look good, Kane. It’s like the whole thing never happened.”

“I’m as healthy as a horse. Now if I could just convince Abbi of that.”

We walked into the house and Alexandria quietly said, “She had a very hard time when she thought she might lose you. You can’t blame her for being scared.”

“I don’t blame her, but she has to stop worrying. I’ve returned to work and returned to everything I used to do before the shooting. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”

Patting me on the arm, she smiled. “Well, you’re just going to have to convince her of that then. I’m sure it will happen eventually. Just give her time.”

I wasn’t going to tell her that I’d given it more than enough time and planned to put an end to all this worry that night.

While she took Liam into the kitchen to join his sister and mother, I spied Stefan and Shay outside in the yard. Happy to see them, I made my way out to the porch.

“What’s up with you two? Avoiding all the kids inside?”

Shay turned around and smiled. “You know us. We don’t want to get too close or we might want one of our own.”

“How the hell are you?” Stefan asked as I walked down the stairs to meet them on the grass.

“I’m fine. You’re not going to ask me how I’m feeling now too, are you?” I joked.

Slapping me on the shoulder, he laughed. “Not really my style, you know? I’m going to assume you feel fine until I hear otherwise.”

That’s what I liked about Stefan and Cash. They didn’t hover, even though I knew they were worried about me when everything happened.

“Thank God.”

Shay opened her arms and gave me a hug. “Well, forget that manly nonsense. I want to know how you’re doing, Kane. I haven’t seen you since you were in the hospital.”

She squeezed me like she was afraid I’d run away if she loosened her hold and then stepped back quickly, like she’d remembered how much Abbi didn’t like when she showed me any kind of attention, nice or not.

“I’m fine. I was just telling Alexandria that I’m as healthy as a horse. Now if I could just get everyone to believe me.”

Studying me for a moment, Shay seemed to doubt that was the truth for a second, but then she nodded. “You look great. I’m so happy you’re okay, Kane.”

“Always.”

Behind me, Cash yelled from the porch, “It’s my birthday and you don’t even bother to say hi when you get here? No respect for the birthday boy.”

I turned to see him smiling and knew he wasn’t angry. “You looked pretty busy with the kids, so I figured I’d let you be the man of the hour. Anything to take the focus off me for once.”

“Well, I expect you guys to be in here for the cake in a few minutes, and Stefan, Mom wants you in the kitchen to help her.”

Stefan chuckled. “Duty calls.”

He ran off toward the house, leaving Shay and me alone for one of the first times in years. Shay instantly seemed awkward, but after a few seconds she asked, “Are you going to continue getting to know Sebastian? Stefan told me he’s started contacting you guys again.”

Sebastian had called once or twice since I got out of the hospital, but I hadn’t spoken to him yet because I didn’t know what I wanted to say. I didn’t blame him for what happened, but I knew Abbi did. More worry about me was the last thing she needed right now.

“I don’t know. Is Stefan?”

Shay nodded, but I saw a sadness come over her face. “I think so. He’s all about the idea that he has a younger brother out there.”

“You don’t look happy about that.”

She pressed her lips together to stop herself from speaking for a long moment and turned away. Finally, she turned to face me and said, “Do you mind if I give you some unsolicited advice, Kane?”

We hadn’t talked like this since that night in my apartment over Club X, so I was intrigued about what she would say. “Feel free. Say what’s on your mind.”

“Forget Sebastian. Your wife blames him for what happened to you, so spending any time with him is going to upset her. Do what you did with me. Forget whatever you want to do and never look back because whatever friendship will give you can’t trump the happiness you have with Abbi.”

Shay and I had never spoken about how I’d abandoned our friendship because it upset Abbi. She knew and never said anything about it, and even though I missed talking to her, I accepted the reality that what I’d done the night of Annalea’s birth had set in motion the hatred Abbi felt for her.

“I’m sorry, Shay. If I hadn’t been such a bastard to her all those months, none of it would have happened. I think her feelings toward you are more about how she never forgave me for what I did. Not that I think she should.”

“She forgave you, Kane.”

I hung my head, hating that this whole thing with Shay and Abbi was all my fault. “Well, she shouldn’t have. Some things shouldn’t be forgiven.”

“I forgave you because I love you.”

A look of horror settled into Shay’s face as we both saw Abbi standing next to us. I’d been so deep in feeling like shit that I hadn’t seen her walk up.

“Abbi, I—”

She shook her head. “No, let me say what I have to say.” She turned to look at Shay and smiled. “I’m sorry I let this go on so long that my husband doesn’t even feel comfortable talking with you. I’ve been stupid and petty because of my own insecurities, and that’s not right. I hope you can forgive me.”

Stunned, Shay said nothing as Abbi hugged her. I had no idea what had brought this on, but I loved her for it.

“Abbi, I don’t know what to say. I’m happy we can all be friends now.”

“Me too. Again, I’m sorry for everything. I hope you understand, but I need to speak to Kane now. We’ll be right in for cake.”

Shay smiled and headed into the house as I stood stunned by what had just happened. Abbi waited until she was out of earshot and took my hand in hers.

“I think it’s about time I apologized to you too. I’m sorry, Kane. I haven’t been a very good wife to you.” Her blue eyes welled with tears. “I wanted to be…”

“Don’t do this, Abbi. You’ve been a wonderful wife. You’ve had to deal with all my nightmarish shit and never once walked away, even when you should have. When I was in the hospital, I knew as long as I could feel your hand holding mine that I was okay.”

“I would never leave you. Never. I knew who you were when we started this that night in your rooms above the club. I also knew I loved you. So why would I leave?”

I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it, loving the gentle scent of flowers from her skin. “Because I put you through hell all those months after I sent you away. Because I still forget how wonderful my life is now and think I’m that person I was before I met you.”

Abbi wrapped her arms around me as I continued. “Because I lied to you and ended up getting myself shot because I couldn’t stop tilting at windmills.”

“You don’t see all the wonderful things about you. You never have. I do, though. I’ve seen them since you took me out of that club to protect me.”

I pulled back away from her and cradled her face. “I’m not going to do anything else with Sebastian. What Shay said is right. I don’t want to jeopardize our happiness. Sebastian’s fine. He grew up with a mother who loved him. He’s not like me.”

Abbi’s face lit up from her smile. “I know you’re worried I hate him. I did. When I was sitting in that hospital room praying to God you’d live, all I could think of was how he was to blame for you lying in that bed. I know that’s not true, though. I know how much family means to you, so if you need to be around him, I just need you to promise me you won’t lie to me anymore.”

“I don’t know. Maybe I will find him again, but right now, I have all the family I need.”

Standing on her toes, she kissed me sweetly on the lips. “Well, if you decide you want a relationship with him, I’m behind you one hundred percent. I just need to be sure there won’t be any more lies between us.”

“I promise. No more lies.”

“Good. Let’s go inside and celebrate your brother’s birthday and tonight we’ll have our own celebration,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.

“What’s this change about? Not that I don’t like it, because I do, but this morning you were worried I might drop dead from sex.”

She pulled me toward the house. “Let’s just say I was reminded that I have a very sexy man for a husband and I realized worrying about everything was a waste.”

I didn’t really care what had changed her mind. I knew she’d tell me eventually. Until then, it was nice to be back to the way we were before I got shot.

Kane

O
pening the bedroom door, I
saw all the lights were dark. I’d tucked Liam into his crib and told Annalea her favorite nighttime story, but I’d taken too long. Abbi must have drifted off to sleep before I could get to bed.

Disappointed, I stripped out of my clothes and slid under the covers. I didn’t blame her. It had been a long day with everyone out at Alexandria’s.

I closed my eyes as a sense of happiness came over me that I hadn’t felt in a long time. Abbi’s problem with Shay was over, and even though I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do about Sebastian, I knew whatever I decided, the woman I loved would be by my side.

My time with my father when I was lying in that hospital bed flashed through my mind, and his apology replayed in my head. I’d spent nearly all my life wondering why I wasn’t enough for him to love me like a father should. When I became a father to my own children, the question remained.

Now I knew for sure what everyone who loved me had said was true. It wasn’t me who was lacking. It was my father.

Abbi slid her hand down my chest and over my stomach to take my cock in her hand. “Hey, are you just going to lie there in the dark or come on over here where your wife has been waiting for you?”

God, I loved this woman.

“I thought you were asleep already. I figured I’d be left to my own devices,” I said with a chuckle.

She nuzzled my neck, sending excitement racing through me. “No way, baby. I’ve been waiting for this celebration all day.”

I pulled her on top of me and kissed her deep, my tongue mingling with hers and thrilling me like only she could. “What exactly are we celebrating?” I asked as I lifted my hips to slide into her wet and waiting cunt.