Honeymoon Phase By Amy Daws Read Free Chapter 33

Luke

“Oh my God, this is fun!” Roe squeals with delight as she sits on my lap in the fully enclosed cab of the tractor, pushing snow into a pile at the top of the drive, just next to my cabin.

“Okay, now use the back blade and push that excess to the left.”

“Here?” She points to the controller that shifts her into Reverse.

“Yeah, you got it.” I smile and laugh, gripping her hips as she runs the tractor like a pro, picking up instructions easily with all her time spent on machinery at the lumberyard. Her hair is braided down one side and stuffed under a beanie, and she’s dressed in a pair of my Carhartt overalls that are way too big on her, but she needed something better than what she had, so we made them work.

We have easily gotten two feet of snow in the past few days so Addison really got a taste of Fletcher Mountain snowstorms. The plow company finally called and said they’re going to come do our road tomorrow morning, so I figured it was time to get outside and dig out our cabins so we’re ready to get back to the real world in the morning.

But I would have much rather stayed snowed in with Roe. I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve fucked already this week, and miraculously I am in no way losing steam.

“You look good enough to eat in these overalls,” I murmur, snaking my hands inside and squeezing her tits. She ditched her coat in the heated cab and her little braid is driving me insane.

“After this, we’re eating real food!” She gives me a playful shove away from her. “I swear you’re trying to starve me.”

“I think I fed you pretty well in the shower this morning,” I state hungrily as I picture her lips wrapped around my cock again. God, she sucked me so good. Begged me to blow it down her throat as her fingers dug into my thighs and she swallowed every drop like the good little slut she’s proving to be.

Fuck, she’s even more perfect than my perverted dirty little heart could imagine.

It’s no wonder I couldn’t keep my hands off her a couple hours later when she was doing her precious “stretch and fold” process to her bread. Her hands were literally covered in sticky dough as I bent her over my kitchen counter and ate her out from behind. She screamed my name and pressed her face into the countertop so by the time I was done with her, she needed another shower.

My dick is raw from overuse and, still, I crave more. I can’t get enough of her. And even though my girl is hungry, I know the feeling is mutual. That’s why we forced ourselves to go outside just to get a break from the fucking pheromones floating around my small cabin. It’s suffocating in the best possible way.

But once we’re done pushing snow, I have every intention of stripping her out of her gear and taking her in this tractor to tell her what a good girl she was for working so hard. And then I’ll feed her real food afterward as a thank-you.

Maybe.

However, when we finish, my plans are put on hold when we spy Calder, Dakota, Wyatt, Trista, and Stevie all bundled up and heading our way. The way they’re looking at us, I can tell they’re trying to gauge if we’re okay. And the look of relief on their faces says it all.

Wyatt and Calder both have sleds in their hands and Calder has a dopey smile on his face . . . not too dissimilar to the dopey smile on my face.

Everyone loves some snow days.

“Hey,” I say, hopping out of the tractor and turning around to help Addison down.

“Hey, you two,” Trista calls out, shielding her eyes from the bright sun as she looks at the giant pile of snow we just created. It’s the perfect snow for sledding, taking you right past all three cabins, down the driveway, and ending at the more flattened section in front of the barn.

“Baby’s first sledding adventure.” Trista cheers, holding Stevie’s hand up, who looks completely unimpressed by the whiteout conditions all around her.

She’s dressed in tiny pink Carhartt coveralls that match her mother’s tan set. Her chestnut curls peek out under the matching pink Carhartt hat on her head, and I can’t help but reach my hands out to take her in my arms. The cuteness of her is too overwhelming to stay away from. I hold her up to the sky and give her a little toss, causing her to giggle excitedly.

“We made a hill for you, Stevie baby!”

She babbles and slobbers down her chin as I hold her to my body, my chest full of a feeling of rightness that I’ve never experienced before. It’s wild how my brothers and I swore off women just a few years ago and now we’re all standing out here smiling with our ladies like one big happy family dressed for a Carhartt photoshoot.

Because we found the right women.

Except Wyatt, who doesn’t look quite so happy. “She’s too little for sledding.”

“Stop being such an overprotective grump,” Trista says, smacking him in the chest.

“Dakota and I will go first to make sure it’s not too fast,” Calder says, grabbing Dakota by the wrist and dragging her up the giant pile.

“Calder, I swear, if you crash us, I will kill you.”

“Baby, you know I love to make you angry so that’s not even a real threat.”

They situate themselves at the top and Addison climbs up to help give them a push down. With a loud cheer, they skid past us, Dakota screaming and Calder laughing as they go soaring down toward the barn where the golden sun is just beginning to lower in the horizon.

It looks like fucking heaven.

Wyatt’s goat Millie bleats from the pasture and he sighs. “I guess that doesn’t look so bad.”

“Stevie is going to love it,” I confirm, giving him a pat on the back.

Wyatt turns to face me and then subtly cuts a glance up to Addison. “Are you two good?” He eyes me thoughtfully, clearly wanting to check in after all the drama the other night.

I bite my lip and feel a flush of heat crawl up my neck. “Oh yeah, we’re good.”

My grumpy fucking brother actually grins at me and pats me on the back, hitting me with a knowing wink. “You look good, baby bro.”

“Thanks.” I smile sheepishly.

And we spend the next two hours playing in the snow as six grown-ass adults all focus on the one baby on the mountain. Except for the moment when everyone else is down by the barn, and I push Addison up against a tree and kiss the life out of her.

A boner in snowpants is not a pleasant experience, but I’m way too happy to be bothered by it because I finally don’t have to pretend in front of my family. I finally don’t have to be the seventh wheel. I finally get to touch my best friend whenever I want.

After we end the day watching the sunset at our dad’s bench, Addison and I stomp inside out of the fresh powder. We’re cold and out of breath, but the crackling fire in the hearth and the smell of chili she threw together in the Crock-Pot before we went outside warms me instantly.

“I’m starving,” Addison exclaims, her cheeks rosy as we undress each other in the doorway, smiling like a couple of lovesick puppies.

I grab her braid and pull her toward me. “I promise I’ll let you eat food this time.”

She presses a chase kiss to my lips before heading into the kitchen and prepping for our dinner. She begins cutting up a loaf of fresh bread and spreads her homemade cinnamon butter on it, offering it to me as an appetizer when I come to stand behind her. My hands skate around her hips as I pull her back into my groin.

Fuck, this is how we got in trouble last time.

I bite the toast out of her hand and groan my approval. Everything from this woman tastes like heaven, including her body. I press my lips to her shoulder and rest my chin on her, watching her slice a few more pieces.

“I’m going to text your family and tell them if they want to come grab some chili, they can. I made more than you and I will be able to eat in a week.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Smiling, she stops her work on the bread and shoots out a message in a group text that Trista started the night before the Mercantile. The Fletcher Mountain group chat has changed a lot these past couple of years as we’ve folded in the new women who have joined the peak. But it gives me a warm sense of rightness that we’ve included Addison in it now too. It’s mostly jokes and memes, or images of Stevie trying to take her first steps, and Trista looking similar as she waddles down to the barn to do chores in all her winter gear. Calder just sends pictures of his fucking cat. God, he’s obsessed.

“What do you think about bridesmaids and groomsmen?” Addison asks, licking a dollop of butter off her thumb.

“Huh?” I ask, turning to look at her and not the bread.

“And maybe a flower girl and ring bearer.”

I shift over so I’m standing beside Addison instead of behind her and note those two worry lines are present between her eyebrows. “I feel like you were having a whole conversation in your head, and I need a bit of context before I can answer these questions.”

She brushes crumbs off her hands before lifting her eyes to me, the setting sun casting a golden halo around her wild hair. “When you filled out that questionnaire from your mom, you put that we didn’t want any bridesmaids and groomsmen.”

“I figured that was for the best . . . all things considered.”

“Right. But things have changed, no?”

My brows lift. We haven’t really had the talk quite yet about what we are. I mean . . . we’ve admitting to caring about each other obviously, which felt like a huge accomplishment. I guess I was just waiting for the winds to die down before I hit her with another snowstorm. If it was up to me, we’d be walking through the sunset right now.

But it’s not just up to me.

I swallow the knot in my throat, my muscles tightening as I ask the question, “This wedding we’re having in a couple weeks . . . is it fact or fiction?”

She blinks back at me with a completely unreadable expression that makes me sweat. When will I feel secure with this woman? When will she be able to admit she doesn’t just want me, but she loves me with her whole heart like I love her?

“I think,” she starts, and I feel myself holding my breath, waiting for what she’s about to say. “I think I still need more time.”

Pain.

Deep, cutting, soul-crushing pain.

She notices my mood shift and closes the space between us, cupping my face with her hands. “Don’t look like that.”

“I’m not.” I try to pull away, feeling like a fool.

“You look mad.”

“I’m not mad.”

She exhales out her nose as she waits for me to look her in the eyes. When I do, I hate what I see.

It’s pity.

“Last week, I didn’t want a relationship, a boyfriend, marriage, babies, anything. Now I’m watching you hold your niece on a sled in the snow and I can hardly contain myself.”

My heart lurches at her words. Fuck, does this mean she’s fantasizing about kids? With me? I would not have expected that. Love, yes . . . obviously.

Kids?

Holy shit.

Do I want kids? Honestly, I haven’t really thought that far ahead. I’ve loved watching Wyatt’s journey with Trista and Stevie, and Max is an amazing father to Everly and Ethan. But for the past several years, I’ve just wanted Addison. I think I’d be okay with kids or no kids as long as it was with her.

She purses her lips, and I watch her throat contract. “I need time to figure out what I’m feeling. Can you understand that?”

I close my eyes and feel like a total dick. I got so swept up in the snow days, and how good this all felt, and how perfectly we connected that I warped my mind into thinking she loved me. She said she wanted me. I heard she loved me.

This is a fucking me problem.

And I need to get my shit under control or I’m going to freak her out and she’s going to bolt on me again.

I reach out and hook my thumb through the loop of her jeans, pulling her closer to me. “Of course I can understand that.”

She rubs the pads of her thumbs along my jaw. “Thank you.”

I lower my lips to kiss her, trying to hide the ache in my chest. I hate that it’s there, but I’m only human. And I’ve been in love with her for a long-ass time.

She breaks the kiss and slides her hands down my chest. “Luckily you’re stuck with me for a year, so we have time to figure this all out.”

I wince at the deadline she just casually tossed out there, like it’s the answer to our problems. It’s not the answer. It’s a fucking kill date and I hate that it exists. I hate even more that Addison is still thinking about it. I want our wedding day coming up to be forever, not for a year. If she can’t see it by then, then I wonder if she’ll ever see it.

Fuck.

Maybe my niece is right. Everly’s right.

She has to fall in love with you before the wedding ceremony, Luke. Because the moment she walks down the aisle and sees the way you look at her . . . she’ll know the truth anyways.

If Addison sees how much I love her on our wedding day, it could spook her and then she’ll be looking for a way to divorce me early, lumberyard be damned.

I just have to hope that the next two weeks show her whatever she needs to see to feel safe enough to fall.

’Cause I’m ready to catch her.

“So where were you going with the bridesmaids question?” I ask, trying to let go of my inner thoughts and focus on the present.

She plays with the buttons of my flannel and shoots me a thoughtful look. “I think you should have your brothers up there next to you at the wedding. I can see how close you guys are and I think it’s important.”

My heart thumps in my chest at that gesture from her. “But what about you?”

She bites her lip nervously. “I was thinking I’d ask Dakota, Trista, and Cozy if they want to stand up for me. I know we’re not super close, but they feel like sisters already. No one needs to be in matching dresses or anything. Just whatever they planned on wearing to the wedding will be great. They’ve been so amazing to me since I moved up here. I want them to know how much that means to me.”

My throat tightens as I realize the gravity of what she’s considering. Putting herself out there like that to the girls is a big step for my best friend. She may not be ready to verbally say this wedding is real . . . but she’s certainly making some real big decisions right now.

“And fact or fiction, Stevie would make the cutest little flower girl.”

My eyes crinkle as I hit my wife with a heartfelt smile. “That’s a fact.”

“Maybe Ethan can be the ring bearer and help her down the aisle?”

My smile drops and I cut my wife an “are you out of your mind” look which she laughs at.

“We don’t have to give him the real rings. Your brothers can hold those.”

“Am I getting a ring?” My chest lurches with excitement over that thought and I stare down at my hand, liking the idea of a ring on my finger more than I have any business to.

“Don’t you worry about it, Fletcher,” she says coyly, turning away from me to resume her work. She nudges me with her elbow. “Why are you smiling at me?”

I inhale deeply through my nose. “I’m just . . . happy.” And scared but trying not to be.

“This is your happy face?” She eyes me warily.

I nod. Damn this woman can see right through me.

“I thought this made you happy.” She lowers her hand between us and strokes my cock, causing me to lean into her and expel a shaky breath, my body tightening with need as my balls begin to ache.

“Oh, it does. It really does.”

She tilts her head and bites her lip. “So, lots of things make you happy?”

“No, not lots of things.” I press a soft kiss to her lips. “Just you, babe.” And I could make you happy forever if you’d let me.