Page 145 of Pucking Daddy

“Okay. This is…” She trails off.

She looks at me for a long moment, then drops her gaze to my chest like it’s easier than meeting my eyes.

“I think…” She stops.

I wait.

She tries again.

“I need you to know this isn’t one-sided.”

Warmth floods through me so fast it almost knocks the breath from my lungs.

My heart slams hard against my ribs.

“It’s not?”

“No.” She smiles a little, like the admission embarrasses her even as she makes it. “It’s very much not.”

I step closer, until there’s barely any space left between us.

“Tell me,” I say quietly.

Her eyes widen. “You know what I mean.”

“I think I do. I still want to hear you say it.”

She glances away, then back up, gathering her courage.

When she finds it, her voice comes out soft, a little shy, and it hits me straight in the chest.

“I think about you all the time,” she admits. “I wait for you to come home. I know the sound of your footsteps on the stairs. I can tell when you’re in a bad mood before you say a word. I care what you eat, whether you’ve slept enough, whether your tie is crooked before you walk into something important.” Her cheeks flush deeper with every word, but she keeps going. “And when you touch me, even just a little, I feel it for hours.”

Every muscle in my body tightens.

Her voice softens even more.

“I love Lily like she’s part of me now. And somewhere along the way…” Her eyes meet mine, open and vulnerable. “You became part of me too.”

“Zara… that’s beautiful. Thank you.”

“You really love me,” she says again, and this time it sounds different. Less disbelief, more like she’s testing the truth of it, getting used to how it feels.

“I really do.”

She nods once, almost to herself.

Then, very quietly, almost shyly, she says, “That makes me ridiculously happy.”

I smile. “Good.”

“And terrified.”

“That too.”

“And kind of like I want to kiss you and hide from you at the same time.”

A laugh slips out of me. I slide one hand higher along her back, keeping her close. “You can skip the hiding part.”