Page 77 of Safe Place

“Stay over tonight.”

Her head lifts slightly, and she looks at me, a little surprised.

“You don’t have to,” I add quickly, keeping my tone casual even though my heart’s thumping harder than I want to admit. “I like having you here. And you already look like you’re two seconds away from falling asleep on me anyway.”

A small smile spreads across her face, and she leans her head back against my shoulder. “Okay. I’ll stay.”

The way those three words make my chest feel ridiculously full should probably worry me. But it doesn’t—at all.

TWENTY-ONE

That’s the stuff girls go crazy over

SOPHIE

I will never get used to waking up in Micah’s cloud of a bed. Micah’s scent still clings to the pillow. I sit up quickly, blinking around his bedroom, trying to remember how I even got here. The last thing I recall is sitting on the sofa with him, talking, laughing, and then nothing.

I push the blanket aside and pad toward the ensuite bathroom. I stop dead in the doorway. The bathroom looks completely different than I remember it. There’s a pink robe hanging neatly on the hook, a whole array of skincare products lined up by the sink—serums, moisturizers, face masks, and things I’ve only ever seen in beauty stores like a gua sha and some kind of device? There’s a pink hairbrush, pink hair ties, expensive looking floral body wash. I take the new pink toothbrush and put on some of the new strawberry toothpaste.

I step back out into the bedroom and head toward the kitchen. Micah’s standing by the counter, pouring coffee into two mugs, still in a plain T-shirt and sweatpants, looking entirely too good for this early in the morning.

“Morning,” I say, still a little dazed. “What happened? How did I end up in bed?”

He glances over at me, smiling softly. “You fell asleep on the sofa, so I carried you to bed. You’re a deep sleeper, you know that? You must’ve been exhausted.”

“Where did you sleep?” I ask, walking over to him.

“The guest bedroom.”

I blink at him, tilting my head. “Why didn’t you just sleep with me in your bed?”

He sets the coffee mug down in front of me, his smile turning teasing. “Because I want our first time being domestic like that to actually be memorable for both of us—which means we both should be awake. Especially when I can’t exactly control myself around you. You were completely out.”

My cheeks heat, and I can’t help the giddy little laugh that escapes me. “Oh, sorry.”

“And what’s with all that stuff in the bathroom? The skincare, the robe, and pink everything?” I ask, raising a brow at him.

Micah smirks, leaning casually against the counter. “Do you like it? I heard that’s the kind of stuff girls like.”

“Says who?” I bite my lip to keep from laughing but fail, grinning up at him. “Don’t get me wrong—I appreciate everything. So much. I just haven’t used most of those things before.”

He mutters something under his breath, shaking his head. “Fucking Grant,” he says a little louder this time, looking almost embarrassed. “He told me that’s the stuff girls go crazy over.”

I can’t help laughing again, my cheeks heating from how ridiculously thoughtful it was. He watches me with that soft smile—the one that makes me feel warm all over.

“You look way too happy about this,” he teases.

“I am happy,” I admit.

“Good, that’s all that matters.”

Then, without another word, he leans closer and presses his lips to mine. It's soft, slow, and tender, and I feel the warmth of it spread through my chest before I even register what's happening. His hand slides to my waist, pulling me closer, and I let him—easily, without thinking, without the usual voice in my head telling me to be careful.

When he pulls back just slightly, his eyes are more intense and his breathing is heavier. He looks at me like he's asking something without words, and telling me he’s been patient a very long time.

“Are you sure?” he finally asks quietly.

My heart pounds.