“I did,” Millie yelled from the bed.
“I bet you did too.” Again, he pulled me close and pressed an impossibly soft kiss to my forehead. His lips lingered for a few breath-stealing seconds before he walked toward Millie.
“Hey, princess, how do you like your room?” There was a nervousness in his tone I hadn’t heard before. It made my knees weak. “We can always change—”
“No.” I’d never seen Millie jump off anything as fast as she jumped off that bed. Her little feet scrambled across the floor, and when she reached Tristan, she wrapped her arms around his legs.
“Thank you,” she said, looking at him as if he were a knight in shining armor.
His inhale was sharp. “Welcome, princess.”
The gruff edge to his voice hit me right in the sternum. In one big whoosh, my lungs were empty, and a giant-sized rock landed in my stomach. Those pretty purple walls inched closer, closer, and closer.
My head spun. My heart stopped.
I needed out.
Smacking my palm to the spot where my chest ached, I got the hell out of there.
I’d only made it onto the porch when Tristan’s long fingers dug into my arm. One tug and he’d stopped me dead in my tracks.
My eyes fell shut.
“Kate.”
I couldn’t see him, but I felt him move to stand in front of me. Trailing his touch along my skin, he took my face between his palms. His warmth seeped through my pores, crawled over my bones, and settled behind my ribs.
“Baby,” he begged, voice hoarse. “Look at me.”
Slowly, ever so slowly, I pried my lids apart. His dark stare was right there, waiting, searching.
“What just happened?” he asked in a low whisper.
Emotions clogged my throat. I swallowed, then swallowed, and swallowed. “It’s too much,” I finally managed. “Way, way too much.”
His features switched from confusion and concern to understanding within the space of a breath. Sliding his hand down my arm, he locked our fingers and walked us to the love seat.
“Are you mad I bought the house, or that I didn’t check with you first?” he asked as soon as we sat.
“Both,” I answered honestly. But that wasn’t right. Shaking my head, I added, “I’m not mad, I’m…overwhelmed. I was raised in a household where we had to earn the things we wanted. Houses didn’t fall into our laps because we wanted them to.”
The tips of his ears turned red before the color spread. It was fascinating to see it travel all the way to his cheeks. “It was supposed to be a big, romantic gesture,” he half-muttered, half-pouted.
The tightness in my chest eased; the tension in my limbs relaxed. With a laugh, I angled my body closer to his. “Itisbig, and itisromantic. And thoughtful, so incredibly thoughtful. Especially how you managed to create Millie’s dream room. It’s also a little scary,” I added softly. “I don’t expect big, costly gestures,” I told him. I only needed him and Millie. They were the key to my happiness.
Before I could say that, he slipped off the seat and crouched between my spread legs. “What good is having all this money if I can’t spend it on the two people I love?”
My heart came to a screeching halt.
“I love you, Kate,” he went on as if he hadn’t just upended my entire world. “You and Millie both. You swept into my life, picked up all my broken pieces, and glued them together. You made me believe in the unbelievable. Made me feel things I didn’t even know existed. You—”
Surging forward, I pressed my mouth to his. I poured everything I felt for him into that kiss. “I love you,” I whispered against his lips. “So much.”
Closing his eyes, he rolled his forehead over mine. “For all my life, I thought those words to be the filthiest lie anyone could tell.” His lids parted, dark eyes finding mine. “From your lips, it’s the sweetest gift.” The muscle in his jaw ticked as he held my stare. “Say it again.”
Sliding off the seat, I straddled his lap and cradled his stubbly face between my palms. “I love you, Tristan Blake… even more than I love BTS.”
“Thank fuck.” His chest rattled with the laugh that broke free. “I didn’t know how the heck I was supposed to compete with all that.”
