Page 111 of Falling for Her

Walking down the steps to the kitchen, I smell the coffee right away. I catch him pouring milk into the frother and slide my arms around his waist from the back, one hand resting in the middle of his chest, the other on his stomach.

“Good morning.” I breathe in the scent of him before kissing his back and laying my head on it. I feel a sense of peace, knowing I’m here and he’s with me.

Ever since I got here, it’s been nothing but smooth sailing. My new lawyer, Ryleigh, is taking care of everything. She’s making sure that not only is Davis never going to touch a penny of mine, but she’s also suing him. I told her all I wanted was my freedom, and she’s giving me that and more. It helps that he had so many documents incriminating himself, including forged documents in which he tried to open accounts in my name. He was getting desperate at the end.

Lincoln lays his hand on mine in the middle of his chest, putting his fingers in mine and lifting my hand to his lips. “Good morning, baby,” he says softly. A smile fills my face as if the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Santa just came to deliver all the goodies to me. He lets go of my hand to pick up the frother and pours the milk into my cup of coffee. “Just in time for coffee,” he mumbles as I step to the side and pick up the orange porcelain cup that I’ve deemed mine since I came back.

“Thank you.” I put my head back and look up at him, and he bends to kiss my lips before I taste my coffee. “Smells good.” I take a sip. “Just perfect,” I compliment, walking to the back door and opening it. I step out onto the deck with him right beside me. Each of us sits in the same chairs we always do. “It’s early.” I’m looking at the horizon where the sun is just starting to come up.

“It’s the same time.” He leans back, extending his feet and crossing his legs at the ankles. “It’s just that the days are getting shorter.”

“The things you learn,” I joke. He chuckles, and I wink at him. “It’s going to be a nice day.” I take in the soft breeze blowing through the trees. “Perfect day to go riding.” I fold one arm on the table as I cross my leg over the other, taking a sip of the hot coffee.

“Every day is a good day to go riding.” He reaches over to grab my chair and pulls me closer to him. “We need to get one of those chairs that we can sit in together.”

“Oh, you know what we should get?” My eyes light up when I see the flicker in his. “A porch swing. A white one, and we can sit on it at night and wave to the neighbors when they walk by.” I hold up a hand. “Or I can sit on it when I wait for Asa to come home from school on the bus.”

“You want a porch swing?” I nod my head. “So we’ll get a porch swing. I’ll see⁠—”

“I’m so happy you said that.” I giggle. “I might have, perhaps, maybe ordered it two days ago. It’ll be delivered sometime this week.”

“Of course you did.” He shakes his head, chuckling.

“It’s not my fault.” I put my hand to my chest. “I was sitting in bed, waiting for you to come home. And you were late doing whatever it is you do when you don’t get home for dinner.”

“Working on a case.”

“Whatever.” I roll my eyes. “I saw a picture, and it was perfect. So I sent it to Theo and asked him if he could install it. He said yes, so I was like, ‘add to cart,’ and ‘check out now.’”

“When is he coming?”

I smirk. “As soon as I get it. It was going to be a surprise, but then I was like, what if he doesn’t want a swing hanging in front of his house?” He glares at me. “The house.”

“Our house,” he corrects, and I get up. He puts his knees up, knowing I’m about to cuddle in his lap. I get on him as if I’ve been doing this my whole life, instead of just the past two weeks. His arm wraps around my waist to bring me to him, and he holds on to me.

“Have I told you I love you today?” I ask him, seeing his eyes light up.

“Not yet.”

I smile big, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I love you,” I say, meaning it with my whole heart and soul.

“I love you more,” he replies, and I bend to kiss his lips before placing my head on his shoulder. The two of us just watch the tree for a while. Then he carries me up to bed, and we do the second-best thing I like to do in the morning.

An hour and a half later, I’m slipping on my shoes at the door as he comes back from the kitchen. “You ready?” he asks me as I stand up. I nod, and he slips his hand in mine and walks me out to the new SUV we got from Brock when I came back to town. It was the first fight that Lincoln and I had as a couple. I mean, I don’t even know why we were fighting since he said himself that I had to geta car. I left my Mercedes in the garage of my penthouse and have already made arrangements to sell it rather than bring it here.

He stands by the car with me. “You call me when you get there and when you leave.”

“I’m going to stop and get a matcha at the bakery first.” I put my hands on his chest. “But I will call you when I get to the barn and then when I leave.”

“Okay.” He bends to kiss my lips. “Have a good day, baby.” He opens the door for me and gives me one more kiss before he starts to close the door.

“You, too,” I tell him. “And stay safe, yeah?”

“Will do.”

I roll my window down as he walks to his truck. “In case no one tells you today,” I call out, and he looks over his shoulder, putting on his sunglasses, “your ass looks phenomenal in those pants.” He chuckles. “Actually, if anyone does tell you that, you call and tell me, and we’ll discuss it.” He shakes his head. “Love you,” I say to him right before I take off and head to the bakery.

I pull into a parking spot on the street and say hello to about five different people by the time I walk into the bakery.