The Acceptance
Page 32

He’d been glad he’d had the foresight to stop at the corner store and buy a box of condoms. It had been awhile since he’d been with a woman. There wasn’t a supply of them tucked in his wallet or car.
He thought about the moment he’d stopped and reached for the box he’d shoved in his jean pocket. For a moment, he’d thought Courtney was going to cry because he’d even given thought of protecting her—them.
She moaned against his skin. “I’ve never felt like that before.”
Tyler brushed her hair from her forehead. “You’re going to explode my ego.”
“It deserves it.” She pressed a kiss to his chest. “I never thought someone would take such care of me. I mean you carried me up the stairs. You didn’t just have sex with me.”
Tyler ran a hand down her back. “You’re more than that to me.”
“I just keep waiting for the moment when that’s all I am.”
“It’s not going to happen.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“I believe that from you.” She lifted her head and turned toward him. “I’ve always accepted what happened to me. It sucks. Don’t get me wrong. It might have been better if I hadn’t always known what being sighted was like. But it happened. I am who I am because of it.”
She trailed her fingers down his breastbone and back up. “And I believe the world is full of good people. You know, the kind that don’t judge a person’s ability on whether they can see or not. But I’ve learned that people in general are not patient enough for people like me.”
Tyler rolled her so that she was on her back and he was looking down at her. “I’m a very patient person.” He laid his lips on the crevice of her neck and trailed more over her shoulder. “You’ll meet my family tomorrow and you’ll understand where I get my patience.”
Courtney smiled as he moved his mouth back to hers. “Your family won’t judge me?”
“No. Not a one of them. Talk about a group that accepts anyone—everyone. My mother, aunt, and uncle were adopted. My sister was given up for adoption and then reunited with our family—so I consider her adopted back,” he said and she giggled under him. “My Aunt Simone was as far from normal as I suppose you could get for my uncle. And Warner Wright…” He propped himself up on his arm and thought. “I think he was lucky he landed in this family where everyone is accepted. He needed that.”
“And what about Tyler Benson? The son who felt pushed out when his sister came back? Is he accepted in this family?”
He ran his fingers through her hair and focused on the softness of each strand against his skin.
“Tyler Benson was the only one who thought he didn’t fit in. He’d never been unaccepted,” he said as if he were realizing it for the first time too.
“That’s what I figured.”
“You’re going to love them. All of them.”
“Do you suppose they’re going to know what’s going on here—between us?”
He chuckled as he nuzzled his face into her hair, which sprawled out like a fan. “Something tells me you’ll still have that glow in your cheeks by dinner time tomorrow.”
Courtney’s mouth opened. “Glow? Why?”
Tyler pressed his mouth to hers and took it with the passion that surged through him as he rolled atop her. “Because I’m thinking that this is exactly where I want to be all day, doing exactly this,” he said kissing her again. “Chances are they might notice.”
He felt her tense again beneath him, but as his tongue tangled now with hers and her body began to go pliant under his, he was sure she too wouldn’t care what kind of glow she gave off. The Keller/Benson clan was about to fall in love with the most perfect woman Tyler had ever known.
Chapter Eighteen
Every muscle in Courtney’s body was relaxed, until the car stopped and she heard Tyler put it in park.
“This is it.”
She heard him pull the keys from the ignition. “I’ve only known you a week. Maybe it’s too early to meet your family.”
“I’ve already met yours.”
That was true enough. Thankfully she’d managed to avoid them most of the week. Well, her father at least. She knew that wasn’t going to last long. He’d already texted her and asked for her to meet with him on Monday.
She wasn’t going to tell Tyler about that. After she heard what her father had to say, then she’d see how she felt about sharing the conversation.
“I don’t take you as the type of person who gets nervous,” he said resting his hand on her thigh.
“Oh, I can get nervous. In fact, I’m very nervous.”
Tyler moved in his seat and she could feel his eyes on her so she turned her head toward him. “What are you nervous about? Give me specifics and I’ll be able to tell you what to expect.”
Courtney dropped her shoulders. “Did you tell your family I’m blind?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because that doesn’t define you. Would you have rather I did?”
She shrugged. “Even when people know in advance it doesn’t stop the shock.”
“My grandmother has met you. My guess is she might have mentioned it to my parents. Not because it matters but because you see the world differently than the rest of us. It’s a charming quality.”
That squeezed at her heart. “I’ve been told I don’t look blind.”
Tyler’s hand came to her cheek. “You don’t. I can tell you that. Your eyes are clear, chocolate brown with specks of gold in them. You often look deep in thought.”
Courtney bit down on her lip. That was probably the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. “Someone in that house will stop mid -sentence when they notice me.”
“Okay, so someone will. I can absolutely guarantee that it will be only a heartbeat long and never happen again.”
“You can guarantee that?”
“With this group, yes.”
Courtney licked her lips. “I’m scared of your mother.”
Tyler laughed at that and she didn’t know if she should be horrified because he thought it was funny or maybe it was something she should be afraid of.
“My mother? Oh, my. No one in their life could possibly be afraid of my mother.”