Page 163 of I Choose You

I took his hand and shook it. “I’m sorry. For losing my temper and pushing you into the lake. I’ll pay for the phone.”

He shrugged, pulling me close for a man hug. “Eh. The other one was old anyway. And I’m sorry. I’ll…” He sighed. “I’ll make sure to chat with her tomorrow and clear the air. If it matters that much to you.”

It did. “She matters that much to me.” And I would always do everything I could to see to her happiness.

54

BROOKE

I was tired, but I didn’t doze while I waited for Kaden. I slept best when I was with him, and it was a damned big motivation for me to consider the idea of living together.

“Little too fast there,” I mumbled to myself.

I didn’t want to rush anything, but he’d admitted it too. He woke up more rested after sleeping with me—both in the dirty sense and in slumber.

A grin stretched across my face. Almost every night, he’d want his “dessert in bed.” Oral had been hard for me before because it was a challenge to let go enough, knowing that a guy was right there, seeing me so up close. That hangup was part of my issues with my body, and it had sucked that it held me back from so much pleasure.

And I was the luckiest woman on earth to have met a man who truly enjoyed eating me out. I wouldn’t complain.

I was tired, and lying in bed should have made it too easy to fall asleep. It was late, but I was still on my phone.

After my failed attempt to hear the reason why he loathed plaid and what a kilt during Spring Break in Florida had to do with it, I fed those ideas into my vacation search. I fell down a path of searching tourism sites about Florida. Beaches and gators. Oh, and Disney World, but I’d gone as a kid with a Girl Scout thing and nearly puked after the tea cup ride. No thanks. Been there and done that.

The more I browsed pictures of beaches, I thought back to what he’d said. Getting sand everywhere? It would be torture. And knowing us, we’d be tempted to screw on the beach somewhere.

Maybe somewhere else.

I Googled world’s biggest kilt selection just to be silly, and that was how I fell down the rabbit hole of researching places to visit in Scotland. Ireland. The UK. All kinds of tours existed, and it was an enormous undertaking—especially so late at night—to organize anything of a travel plan. Or goal.

Maybe I should talk with Rena about this.

She’d researched and booked her vacation, so she had practice with it. It felt like an assignment, and I knew I wouldn’t be an impulsive vacationer. I’d need time to organize it. Maybe a new planner just for listing out the options. Ha! Todd was turning me into a Luddite, wanting to write down everything.

It was annoying though, how many freaking pop-ups and ads cluttered the screen when looking at vacation things. Tourism sure depended on solicitous approaches.

When I accidentally clicked on the very tip of an ad box, I was rerouted into a cycle of more and more ads and my phone locked.

“Shit.”

I pulled my laptop back out to search how to unfreeze it and remove what had to be a virus. I hadn’t plugged it in though, so that was why I was bending down to grab the cord when Kaden smacked my ass.

“Ahh!” I screeched, not hearing him come in.

I spun into his arms as he laughed and caught me.

I punched him, not hard enough to hit but just to vent out my fear. “You scared me!” I waited for my heart to slow down, racing in that moment of surprise. Squished in his arms, I removed my earbuds. “Freaking ninja stuff. You know, I was so excited in such a silly little way to give you my spare key, but now that I know you like to do a horror-movie stunt of scaring the crap out of me?”

He finally stopped chuckling, pulling back to smile at me. “I called. And texted. I told you I was heading over.”

I groaned and shook my head. “That explains it.”

“I figured you were asleep when you didn’t reply.” He rubbed his hands over my ass. “Not bending over and offering me this lovely view.” His fingers clutched my robe, dragging the fabric up so he could smooth his big warm hands over my cheeks.

I smiled. “No. I got a virus.”

He frowned. “You were sleeping because you’re sick? Damn. Right before the wedding?” He pressed his hand to my brow.

I giggled, taking it and kissing his palm. “No. On my phone. I think I fucked it up. I was going to plug in my laptop and look up how to factory reset it.”