Page 67 of Fixed Asset

“Jack?”

“I want you to move in here with me. You said you were moving to San Diego, but you didn’t specify where. I want you here.”

If it was possible for a heart to pound so hard it broke ribs, mine would’ve.

“And you’re afraid I won’t like your mansion on the water with staging furniture, and I’ll opt for an apartment to move into instead.”

“Something like that,” he grunted.

I’d never seen Jack unsure of himself. I’d call it cute, but it wasn’t, not when what he was unsure about was me.

“Jack, honey, I don’t care where I live as long as it’s with you. This place is off-the-charts gorgeous. If you want to sell it in a few years, sell it. If you want to stay and raise fifteen kids here, then that’s what we’ll do. If you want to move to Alaska to be next to your family, then that’s where we go.”

“Cat—”

I reached up and pressed my fingers against his lips to silence him.

“I’ve been worried. I see what you’re doing, how you’re fighting who you are to give me what I need right now. I was scared that you were giving up more than I was. That the scales were tipped so far in my direction that I’d be unable to even it out. But I was looking at it all wrong. I was thinking about it in the short term when we’re playing the long game. We’ll work it out, Jack. The only thing that needs to be decided has been decided—the rest, the details, those don’t matter.”

With my fingers still on his lips he asked, “Fifteen kids?”

I shrugged. “I’m an only child. I grew up with my gran but no other family around. Are you not up for the challenge?”

I felt Jack’s lips twitch under my fingertips. “Up to the challenge of making fifteen babies, fuck yeah. Raising all those little fuckers, no. And I’m man enough to admit when I’m visiting my sister and her four are running around, that’s about my limit. We have four boys, we’ll have a fifth in hopes it’s a girl. We have four girls, we’re stopping.”

“Um, no. If we have four girls, we’re having a fifth so I get my boy.”

Jack’s eyes went soft. In the dim light of the bathroom, they were black. I hoped my future boys got their daddy’s eyes.

“Decided.”

“See? We’re already rockin’ the hell out of this relationship gig.”

One minute Jack was standing in front of me, laughing at my stupidity, the next his arms were around me and his tongue was in my mouth. I had yet to decide which I liked more, making him laugh or him kissing me, when he broke the kiss.

“You wanna shower before bed?”

I glanced over at his magnificent walk-in shower and suddenly wanted to wash off my day.

“Yeah.”

“I’m gonna go lock up and set the alarm. I’ll be back up in a few minutes to join you.”

“’Kay.”

I didn’t know how long it had taken Jack to come back. It could’ve been the few minutes he said it would be or it could’ve been an hour. Once I was under his rainfall showerhead and the hot water was rinsing my long day down the drain, I lost track of time. I was in a daze of magical shower euphoria, but not enough of one that I missed Jack’s big, naked body against my back.

“I like your shower.”

“Our shower,” he corrected.

“I was thinking on the plane, I’ll keep my place in Arizona. We can Airbnb it for now. If it turns into a pain in the ass, we’ll sell.”

“Whatever you want.”

Jack. That was all I wanted.

That was easy.