Unravel Me (Playing For Keeps, #3)

by Becka Mack

I want something. I want to be needed. Appreciated. Loved. No, I don’t just want it. I fucking crave it.

If you’ve ever wondered if thigh tattoos are hot, the answer is yes. So. Fucking. Hot.

“Don’t go dying on me, Rosie. I’m not ready to let you go yet. We’ve only just met.”

“Don’t worry.” He nudges my shoulder with his. “I won’t replace you.” I giggle. “Promise?” “Promise.” His gaze moves over me in a slow sweep that heats my insides. “’Cause you’re irreplaceable, Rosie, aren’t you?”

“You know, Rosie. I wasn’t having the best day when I ran into you. Or rather, when my dog tackled you to the ground. Maybe he knew what he was doing, though. Because my day got a hundred times better after you fell into it.”

“You’re trouble, aren’t you?” That t-word sparks something inside me, something lost and broken, and I cling to Adam as he squeezes me for a moment that ends too soon.

“Hidden…identity…” She underlines it three times. “I love this trope.”

“Because I’ve never wanted to be so deep in it as I do now that I’ve met you.”

“Got it. Two bottles of wine, an ice cream cone, and date number two.” He grins then, wide and full of mischief as his gaze drops to my legs. His hand lands on my knee, sliding along my bare skin, where he nabs the hem of my dress from where it’s ridden up my thigh. Gently, he shifts it back into place, eyes rising to meet mine, a fire blazing so hot, it singes my skin. “I can’t wait to unravel you.”

“The only trouble I want to get into, Rosie…it’s with you.”

“Why do you keep doing that?” I twine my hair around my finger. “Doing what?” “Covering your laugh.” “It’s not a laugh. It’s some sort of strangled, dying animal sound, and it’s embarrassing.” “Okay, well that’ll be weird.” “What will be weird?” “When someone asks me what my favorite sound is, and I have to describe it like that.” I blink up at him. “You’re deranged.”

I’d give anything to capture this moment in a photo, because right now, I see all of her, but more than that, I’ve found her.

I could float through the rest of my life content in knowing I’ve held perfection in these arms.

She doesn’t knock the air from my lungs when she walks into a room; she breathes the life back into me.

If she’s the flower blooming after the harshest winter, I’m the spring. I’m everything new and fresh, full of life and color and sunshine and hope, after it was all stolen from me the way the first bitter frost of winter steals the beauty of autumn.

Rosie is bright cerulean skies and the heat of the summer sun kissing your cheeks. She’s toes in the sand and crystal clear water splashing at your feet. Rainbows made of flowers and swirls of colors blending together at sunset like a flawless painting. She’s escaping reality and living in pure bliss without the racing thoughts and the itch of too many bodies, too many eyes on you. She’s my version of paradise.

Adam’s mouth moves against mine, murmuring that word he promised, the only word I want to hear. “Mine.”

“And this smile…Jesus, this is what makes you stand out, Rosie. This smile is what I couldn’t tear my eyes from that day in the forest, not the nervous way you chewed it when you looked up at me, the way it grew when you watched that precious dog melt in my lap, the way it transformed every inch of your face when you laughed. I fell for this smile first, because there was no other choice but to fall.”

“I’d kiss every fucking inch of this body, worship it all, make it my only religion if you’d only let me.”

“I’ve wanted to belong to someone for a long time. So long, I’m not sure my brain will let me believe it now.” “I’m a patient man. I don’t mind needing to prove it to you every day.”

“It’s been a long time,” she admits on a whisper. “For me too. But I’m glad for that. It means I waited for something special. You’re my something special, Rosie.”

I’d give her anything, whatever she wants, because as she stares up at me like I’m the sun in her sky, I realize she’s mine. She’s everything bright and good in my world, and in this moment, I’m so fucking thankful.

“You’re not my first choice, Rosie. You’re the only goddamn option.”

“I don’t think my forever exists without you somewhere inside it.”

“You were never his dirty secret, Rosie. You’re his world, and I’m pretty sure it’s stopped spinning since you’ve been gone.”

“You will never lose me, Rosie. As long as you want me here, there’s nowhere else for me to be.” I press my lips tenderly to her temple as she clings to my shirt. “I promise.”

“These are peonies. You’re planting a peony garden in your front yard.” He nods. “Why?” I whisper, heart pounding in my ears. The haze in his eyes clears, leaving them vulnerable. “Because I wanted you to feel like you were home if you decided to come back to me.”

“Every day, you give me something new to love about you. How lucky am I to find someone who gives me so many things to be thankful for?”

I want her to know how I feel about her. How utterly devoted I am to her. How mind-blowingly in love with her I am.

Rosie. She unravels every string, and when she puts me back together again, I’m better than I was before. Whole, finally, and I don’t think I’ve ever been whole.

I look down at the tiny hand in mine, his other hand tucked into his mama’s as we walk down the street, and fuck, everything just feels so damn right in this world.

“How lucky am I to have my dreams come true?” “Am I really your dream?” he whispers against my lips. “Promise?” “Swear it.”

“If I’m your happy ending, you’re my heaven. There’s nothing else I need from this world. I could live here forever, in this place where I’m yours and you’re mine. There’s never been anything more beautiful than this version of paradise. I’m certain of it.”

“I’ve always thought people were like puzzle pieces. That we spend our lives searching for someone who’s shaped almost as if they’re just for us. You find each other, and you get this funny, excited feeling in your stomach the closer you get, the more you learn about them. And then, suddenly, something slides into place, this perfect fit, like you had this space saved just for them. And when they squeeze themselves in, it feels like your puzzle is finally complete.”

“Can I give you something to help you feel better?” “I’d like that.” Two tiny, gentle hands cup my cheeks, and I close my eyes as Lily presses featherlight kisses across my nose. “There,” she whispers. “Butterfly kisses.” She turns to leave but pauses, smiling back at me over her shoulder. “I think Connor’s the luckiest kid in the world. He’s got the best mama.”

“Sometimes people say they know they’ve found the one because they turned their world upside down, took everything they thought they knew and shook it up. But you? Not you, Rosie. You didn’t throw my whole world off balance. You centered it. It was like you were my gravity, and every moment I was with you, everything settled into place. My fears, my insecurities, my hopes, and my dreams. I was at peace with everything, as long as you were by my side.”

“With you, I found my gravity. That’s worth so much more than my chaos.”