“But then where would I live?”
He squeezes me tighter. “With me, I hope. I bought the old Cooper place.”
My mouth drops open. The one I told him I dreamed of living in, with the wraparound porch and the swing and the huge field out back with space for chickens and dogs, and lots and lots of children. “You bought that? But how? When?”
“Closed yesterday. I’ll be moving in after New Year’s. And you don’t have to move out right away. I’ll have a home officethat I can work from for as long as I need to. You can take all the time you need.” He cups my jaw between his thumb and forefinger. “But not too long, because youaremine, Addie. You were mine from the very first time I kissed you, and you’ll be mine until the day I die.”
My knees tremble and if he weren’t holding me up, I’m sure I would crumple to the ground in a heap. “Let me get this absolutely straight. You’re telling me you’re moving back to Juniper Ridge, you bought my dream houseandyou want me to move in with you?”
“In a nutshell, yes.”
Wow! Arrogant, possessive, making-a-hell-of-a-lot-of-assumptions asshole. And I love him for it. “You know you’re a walking red flag, right?”
“So I’ve been told.”
A smile tugs at my lips. “What if we drive each other crazy living together?”
He kisses me again, a dark laugh tumbling out of him. “Baby, you drive me crazy every second of every fucking day and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s one of the many, many reasons I adore you.” He glances over my shoulder at the window. “You know they’re all watching us, although I’m sure they think I can’t see them.”
I can just picture the four of them peeking out from behind the curtain—their faces a mixture of shock and excitement, and I can almost hear the excited giggles from my mom and Eva. “Then you’d better unhand me, sir, or Brax and my daddy might come out here with a shotgun and run you out of town.”
He hums, like he’s thinking. “Yeah, they might if I hadn’t already told them I was moving back here, and that I was madly and hopelessly in love with you.”
“They all knew about this before I did?” I would poke him in the ribs, but I’m too warm and comfy wrapped up in his arms.
“I asked them to keep an eye on you and let me know if you were freaking out about us. I know you’d never have told me anything was wrong. It killed me being in LA and barely being able to talk to you.”
“So, this is it? You’re back for good?”
He nods.
“Won’t you miss LA?”
“LA is just a place.”
“A place that’s been your home for the last eight years.”
He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and squeezes me tighter. “You’re my home, Addie. I would live in the Arctic circle in an igloo as long as you were with me.”
“I think the Wi-Fi there might be terrible and then you’d be super grumpy.”
He hums, running his nose over my throat. “If your parents and your brother weren’t watching, I would put you over my knee right here, Firefly.”
I shiver. “Don’t tease me. We have to stay here at my parents’ house tonight. No spanking allowed.”
He smiles against my neck. “I can wait for that. But you’re gonna have to learn to be quiet for me, baby, because it’s been twelve very long days and I’m probably going to combust if I don’t get to fuck you very soon.”
“Well, I can’t have you exploding in your pants at the dinner table now, can I?” I snicker.
He nips my neck. “I just added another twenty strokes to your spanking.”
Sounds incredible. I press my lips against his and we kiss like we might never stop. Little does he know I plan on adding at least another hundred or so to that spank counter before we go back to my apartment tomorrow.
And I cannot wait.
Chapter 35
Chase
