Keeping Her 18+ (Her Series book three)

Alex

This man is infuriating. After waking William up this morning, Wilder got him dressed while I took a quick shower, and now we are on our way to his brother's house to have breakfast with his family. His whole family.

Not only did I get barely any sleep last night only to be woken up by his stupid sexy self forcing my body to submit to him, but now I have to meet a group of people that I know I'm not ready to meet.

It's not even seven in the morning yet!

"You said you wouldn't be by to pick us up until eight a.m, Wilder. You got to my place just after five." I grumble. I'm sitting in the passenger seat of his truck with my arms crossed petulantly over my chest, doing my best to ignore the warmth of his hand that he has resting on my thigh.

"You're cranky in the mornings, Goldie." He looks at me with a smirk on his face before averting his eyes to watch the road again. "I figured making you come would have softened you up a bit." Jesus, this man.

"Wilder! You can't say things like that in front of William. Little ears are listening." I scold him. I look in the back seat and see William looking as content as can be while playing with a monster truck toy Wilder surprised him with this morning.

"Fuck- I mean fudge." He lets out a deep breath before clearing his throat and tightening his hand on my thigh momentarily. "You're right. I'm not really used to being around children. It's going to take me some time to get used to it and remember to put a filter on my mouth. I'm sorry." I soften at the uncertainty in his tone. I can't fault him, he basically became a father overnight, whereas I've had years to get used to parenting.

I place my hand over the one he has on my thigh and give him a reassuring squeeze. "Hey, it's okay. Part of being a parent is messing up and learning from your mistakes. The fact that you try and correct yourself means that you care." I shrug nonchalantly with a smile on my face. "It's a learning process."

I see him swallow thickly before looking at me with an unreadable expression in his eyes. "You and him are the best thing to ever happen to me, Goldie." I smile before looking away, not wanting him to see just how much those words affect me.

No one has ever made me feel truly wanted before. Until William, of course. Wilder did the summer we met, but those memories are tainted by what I now know are incorrect assumptions.

"As for me getting to the apartment earlier than I said, I couldn't stand to be away from you guys any longer. I didn't get much sleep last night either because I had to fight with myself to stop from going there in the middle of the night to see you guys again. It was torture being away from the two of you when I just got you back." His words are soft but the impact they make to my heart is deafening.

I look out my window as I secretly swipe away the tear that managed to slip free. Barely twenty four hours of this man being back in my life and he's already made me feel more wanted and cherished than I ever have been before.

A few minutes later we come to a stop in front of a large ranch house. I didn't even realize we were here because I was so lost in my head. There are quite a few vehicles parked outside and my anxiety instantly amps up at the thought of meeting these people.

"Come on, Goldie. Let's go meet your new family." He says excitedly, an emotion I can't even pretend to feel right now as my stomach twists into knots.

He expertly unbuckles William from his seat and carries him in one arm while the other hand grabs mine so he can tow me with him.

I take in the surroundings as we get closer to the front door, the Jaws soundtrack playing in my head the closer we get.