“Maggie,” I said as I ran a hand up and down her side, “should we talk about what comes next?”
“Mmmm?” she murmured with her eyes closed. “What do you mean?”
My heart sped up. Maybe I should just sit and enjoy where we were. And if that condom hadn’t broken, if Maggie wasn’t pregnant with my baby, I probably would. However, it felt like everything between us was more intense as a result of our circumstances. I really didn’t want to rush her, but I needed her to get where I was at. This was more than friends with benefits. This was more than scratching some itch. This wasmyMaggie, and she said she was willing to try a relationship. I needed her to know I was all in, I’d been all in even before she gave me the news that rocked my world, and I’d continued to want this thing between us regardless of anything else that was happening.
“I want to talk about the future,” I began. Maggie’s eyes shot open as she looked up with what I could only assume was some apprehension. Shit. This could be a delicate situation. Could I just tag my mom in for this conversation? Probably not, but I felt like there should be a flashing neon sign above her head lighting up the wordcaution.Okay, I thought,here goes.
“Well, here’s the thing. This little nugget,” I put my hand back on her stomach, and a feeling of joy rocketed through me. That was our baby she was growing in there. Mind-blowing. Starting again. “This little nugget has given the relationship I wanted to start with you a different focus.”
“What relationship you wanted to start with me?” Maggie’s brows were pulled together, and she had this little line between them. Damn, she was adorable.
“Shit, babe, let me backtrack.” I took a breath, going for broke here. She needed to know how I’d felt for a while. It was time to lay my cards on the table and see where she wanted to go from there. “I’ve loved you as a friend forever. I can barely remember my life without you in it.”
“Not making my heart swell when I’m lying next to you,friend,” Maggie growled.
“Easy, babe. My point is several years ago, I realized those feelings changed. I think they were moving gradually, but one day it hit me. You came into The Homestead dressed in cutoff jean shorts that made my dick jump to attention. You were going on about butterflies needing a place to land, and all I could think was that I wanted your legs wrapped around my waist.”
“So, you’re saying you were horny.”
“For you, hell yes, but that wasn’t the part that stopped me in my tracks. I realized I was thinking about you constantly. When I saw you with a guy, I felt like I was going to lose my shit. When you’d come to my place with Emma, or I to yours, I just wanted to be alone with you.”
Maggie ran her fingers through my hair, letting her fingers travel down, and then placed a hand on my chest. Her brown eyes locked on mine, and I felt like I could lose myself staring at her. “So why didn’t you make a move before?”
I rolled to my back, bringing Maggie with me so she was tucked against my side. I looked at the ceiling as I second-guessed every decision I’d made over the past few years. Then again, those decisions brought us to where we were, with a baby coming, and I wouldn’t change that for the world. “I’m not sure I can put words to it. I wanted to get to a place where I wasn’t in debt, where I felt like I could be a partner for you, before I made a move.”
Maggie propped an elbow into the bed and looked down on me. “Let me see if I get this, Cole Sullivan. You didn’t think I’d want you if you weren’t successful?”
I rolled to my side and propped myself up on an elbow too, looking at Maggie and trying to figure out how to express my thoughts. Damn, this was hard. “Babe, it’s not that. I just felt like you were it. Once I went in with you, if you wanted the same thing, that there would be no going back. I wanted to make sure my focus could be on you, not trying to get a business off the ground. It’s only been in the past year that my work week wasn’t like seventy hours a week. I didn’t know what kind of boyfriend I’d make before.”
“I’m giving you shit, Sully. I get it.”
I leaned forward and captured her mouth in a kiss. God, just the fact that I could do that blew my mind.
“And Sully, for the record, I wanted the same thing.”
“Really?”
Maggie laughed as she ran her hand up my chest and slid it behind my neck, pulling my head toward her. “Yeah, really. In fact, you could have asked me any time after about the age of thirteen, and I would have said yes to you.”
I pulled back, feeling my eyes widen in surprise. “No shit?”
She pulled me back down. “No shit.”
My lips caressed hers, but I made myself pull back one more time. “Maggie,” I whispered, sliding my hand up her hip. Time to go big or go home. “I love you. I’ve loved you for so long I don’t remember not loving you.” My heart was hammering so loudly I wondered if she could hear it.
She let out a small sigh before brushing her lips across mine. “Cole Sullivan,” she began.
“Yeah.”
“I love the shit out of you.” Her lips lowered to mine and parted. I slid my tongue into her mouth and drowned in the feeling that nothing could ever be as perfect as this moment. It wasn’t everything—she hadn’t committed to staying in town or letting me move with her—but small steps were important.
Speaking of small steps, I pulled back. “Can I run something by you about the brewery?”
Maggie’s eyes lost the dreamy look she’d had and narrowed in focus. “Is this about canning?”
I nodded, looking down at her hand intertwined with mine.
She tugged her hand away and slid up, putting her back to the headboard. She pulled the top sheet up and tucked it around herself as she slid her hair behind her ears. “Okay, ready.”
