She slides into my arms like she belongs there, and I wrap my arms around her. But it’s not enough. I want her closer. She hooks her leg over mine, and it’s like my whole body exhales.
I put my finger on her chin and tip her face up to mine, and I kiss her softly. Not the way I want to kiss her, but still.
It’s progress.
I breathe in deep—her hair, her skin, the warmth of her—then let it out, slow and full.
“Did you mean it about the face paint? At my games?”
She laughs. “Yes.”
“Good. I think you’d look hot with face paint.”
She chuckles and buries her face in my chest, and the sound of it fills the room.
“I think you’re going to blow their minds at camp,” she says.
“Whoa. That’s not equal,” I protest. “I said you’re hot, and you said I’m good at hockey.”
I feel her smile against my chest. “Isn’t noticing your competency better than noticing your beauty?”
“No. A guy needs to know his wife finds him attractive sometimes.”
Her voice drops. “Sean O’Shannan. You don’t understand how attractive your competence is. But even without it, you are aggressively hot. It’s my goal in life to see you leave the bathroom without a shirt on. My résumé now lists ‘heroic restraint’ as my greatest skill, because I haven’t thrown myself at you even once since we’ve been married.”
“Funny,” I murmur, “your ‘heroic restraint’ is the only thing Idon’tfind attractive about you.”
She laughs again, but this one sounds breathless. Like we’re both suddenly aware that we’re laughing to avoid something a lot more serious.
“I’ve fallen for you,” she whispers.
“So have I,” I say, no hesitation.
She presses closer. Her cheek rests against my chest, and I know she can feel how fast my heart is pounding. It’s racing to catch up with what I just said—and how much I meant it.
“I don’t want to jump into the physical before we’re completely there, Sean,” she says quietly. “Until we love each other so much, only having a year together feels like cruel and unusual punishment.”
I nod, running my hand up and down her back. “I get that,” I say. “But what happens when wearethere? What happens when we say ‘I love you,’ and ‘forever isn’t long enough’?”
She doesn’t answer right away. Just presses her body tighter to mine. And then, with the softest voice, she says, “I guess I’ll update my résumé.”
That makes me laugh. A real one. The kind that rumbles out of my chest and vibrates through both of us. I kiss her temple, still grinning. “Okay.”
“Okay.”
Neither of us moves to say goodnight. We just lie there, tangled up and warm and quiet. I fight sleep for as long as I can, because holding her feels like I’ve stolen a sliver of heaven.
But eventually, sleep pulls me under. And right before I fall, I whisper the truth out loud for the first time.
“I love you. Forever isn’t long enough.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
KAYLA
Sean’s parents insist on feeding Sean and my family breakfast at the bar before they all leave. As much as I love both our families, I wish I could have just a few minutes with Sean all to myself. I woke up in his arms and ache to feel them around me again. Knowing I won’t feel them again for three weeks feels like … if not cruel and unusual punishment, at least light torture.
When it’s time for Sean to leave, we all see him out.
