Kissing her neck, I murmur, “Are you almost done here?”
Her head tips back and she runs her soft hands through my hair. “Yeah, I was going to clean up fir—”
“Leave it,” I say and nibble on her earlobe. “I’ll worry about it in the morning. Let’s go take a shower, and I can properly thank you for taking care of Rosie.”
She grabs my jaw, holding my eye contact at the same time. “I’ll never turn that down, but you don’t have to thank me. I…” She bites her lips nervously. “I care about Rosie. And you. A lot.”
My lips part at her raw confession. It’s easy to imagine Calypso replacingcarewith another four letter word, one that starts with L.
“I care about you, too.” Infusing as much vulnerability and passion as I can into those five words, I hope Calypso realizes how strongly I mean them. I decide to test my luck. “I love you.”
It’s a silent bomb in the kitchen around us. Calypso doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t pull away either.
“I love you,” I repeat. “You don’t have to say it back. You don’t have toeverreturn the sentiment. But I want you to know that I love you more than I’ve loved anyone—more than I ever will, Calypso. This—” my arm waves toward the mess, “—was just the cherry on top of my feelings for you, but they’ve been growing since our first night together.”
Calypso blinks a few times, stunned at my declaration. Her body is pliant and pressed against mine. “Liam,” she murmurs. “I… You know, I—” She shakes her head, unable to get the words out still.
“Don’t.” I kiss her. “There are no expectations, just the hope that you’ll let me be yours for a while longer.”
She nods, and I can see the affection she feels for me in her warm, honey-colored eyes. I don’t need words when she’s the only thing I want. And I fucking have her.
Gently, she grabs Rosie from the counter and sets her on the ground before taking my hand. Calypso pulls me upstairs and into the bathroom, where we share with eachother all the words she’s not ready to speak out loud. We take our time undressing each other, sharing sensual touches and pressing kisses along our exposed skin. I take her mouth with mine and give her a preview of how I plan on fucking her tonight—slowly, endlessly, possessively.
Calypso may not ever be ready to say she loves me back, but she shows me with her body every time I’m inside of her.
Chapter Forty
Liam
It’s Calypso’s first time seeing the studio completely done since the crew started work a few months ago.
I have to admit, it looks fucking incredible. I’m beyond proud of my team and myself.
The bones of the building were in great condition, so other than the few layout changes Pippa wanted, it looks similar to what the town will remember. The murals in the concession areas are still there, freshly touched up by some local artists who added a few new pieces to the lobby and the stage face.
The kitchen is completely renovated and bigger, allowing for more options. Pippa wanted to start offering fresher choices, but didn’t have the space or equipment; that won’t be a problem anymore. In the concession area, the repainted metal picnic tables are more inviting than they had been a few months ago. The offices all have new electrical and tile, the bathrooms are updated, and the practice studios have new wood floors.
A lot of the textiles and décor are all Pippa’s choosing, whether it was thrifted or donated. I can only take credit for some of the improvements, but we made a great team.The lady of the hour herself agrees, and has been singing my praises all evening.
More than anything, I am extremely thankful to Pippa for taking a chance on me. Of course I can’t forget about Calypso’s role in all of this, but the dance studio was a much larger project than I had ever hoped to pull in this year. It gave me the opportunity to prove myself to the town, and to my crew. I hope I did.
Calypso and I are waiting in the lobby after the recital. Vivi, Grady, and his ex-wife Arielle are in the back with their oldest daughter, Stella. It was the ten-year-old’s first winter recital, and she played a snowflake and flower. The rest of the group is spread out, and everyone is excited to see the new studio. Pippa is more than happy to show off the space to everyone, but I was able to give Calypso a tour earlier in the evening. She wants to see Stella before we leave since the young girl took up ballet to be just like her. Calypso has admitted that Stella is already more committed to it than she ever was, though.
Two women walk toward us, hand-in-hand.
The taller woman with jet black hair speaks first. “Hi, we’re so sorry to interrupt—are you Liam? Pippa pointed us in this direction.”
Nodding, I hold a hand out. “I’m Liam, the owner of Maddon Construction and Hardware. And this is Calypso.”
They haven’t acknowledged her, so I assume they are not long-time locals.
She smiles in relief. “I’m Brielle, and this is my wife Emilia.”
I share the same gesture with Emilia, who is a few inches shorter and has a dark, warm complexion that matches her hair.
“How can I help you two?” They said Pippa sent them in my direction, so hopefully that means one thing…
“Well,” Brielle slowly starts, “we want to purchase a building in town, but it needs alotof work. We only have untilMonday morning to make a decision before it officially goes on the market. It’s bad timing, I know—but could we run some numbers by you before we make any decisions?”
