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“I like talking to you,” he said, dropping another kiss to my lips, this one deeper, his tongue sweeping against mine. “And I like not talking to you.”
I grinned against his kiss. “We’re good at not talking.”
Lear’s hair blew in the breeze when he pulled back from my neck. “You want to keep the benefits, then?”
My skin tingled under his touch, and I wanted nothing more than to wake up with him tomorrow, sated and warm. “I do.”
Epilogue
RJ NUDGED MYhip with hers at the sink in her bathroom, where we stood brushing our teeth side by side. I nudged her back and we jockeyed for position. “I would kill for two sinks,” she said, pulling a tube of moisturizer from the cabinet. I’d grown up with a sister and lived with my ex, but the sheer number and variety of products and creams she owned still baffled me.
“You won’t miss brushing our teeth together in a new place?” I set my toothbrush next to hers in the mug by the sink, the one I’d gotten her for Valentine’s Day that readYou Bowl Me Overand pictured pins swooning next to a bowling ball. RJ shot me a rueful look, and I laughed, kissing her shoulder. “We’ll make sure the Realtor knows we want dual sinks.”
She turned and gave me a peck on the lips, the worn cotton of the law school T-shirt she slept in grazing my bare chest. “You’ll add it to the spreadsheet?”
“How did you know I made a spreadsheet for house hunting?” We walked into the bedroom together, removing the pile of throw pillows from the bed and stacking them elsewhere.
“You’re not that complicated,” she said, pulling out her scarf to wrap her hair. I loved watching her do it, the way her hands workedquickly to tuck and smooth fabric. “Musicals, spreadsheets, and sex, and you’re a happy man.”
The sheets were cool, and I settled into the comfortable bed, where I would fall asleep in a minute after the long week of events. Penny’s business had expanded, and I’d decided to stay on permanently. Sometimes I still missed working for a team, but weddings and the few non-wedding events we did were always a challenge, and I was happy. And every now and again RJ would surprise me at the end of a rehearsal. I really liked those surprises. “Are you calling me basic?”
RJ climbed into bed next to me after turning off the overhead light. We both loved space when we slept, but before that, when she spooned against me, her back to my chest, I was never more comfortable. RJ wiggled against me and linked our fingers. “Totally basic.”
“I missed you,” I said, tightening my hold around her waist. She’d been traveling with Gretchen, working on some high-profile case. Caitlin told me she’d asked Gretchen to make sure I didn’t get my heart broken once RJ and I shared we were a couple. Gretchen responded that RJ was too smart to let me go... unless I deserved it.
“I missed you, too,” she said, stroking her thumb along mine. “We need a vacation from work.”
“My uncle’s place tomorrow for Thanksgiving,” I said. RJ and my uncle were two peas in a pod, and I joked with my sister that I almost believed he liked my girlfriend more than he liked me. She told me there was nothing to worry about and that Uncle Harold definitely liked RJ better. We’d be staying the night at his place to have Aunt Bette’s waffles the next morning. I grinned at the prospect, excited for all the people I loved to sit around that table together.
RJ gave a hum of affirmation. “That will be fun. Harold and I haven’t had the chance to beat you and Caitlin or Penny and Kelly at gin rummy in a while.”
“So cocky. Holidays don’t have to be competitive,” I said,knowing I’d not let her hear the end of it if Caitlin and I won. “But to vacations, we’ll be going to Chicago next weekend.” I traced the edge of her middle finger, feeling the smooth tip of her nail. Her best friend was getting married finally after they’d had to delay the wedding during the worst of the pandemic, and it would be my first time meeting everyone without a video connection between us. “Think it will be weird doing a wedding again? Your pretending-to-believe-in-love skills are a little rusty.”
“None of my skills are rusty.” She reached behind her and tried to poke my side where I was ticklish. “Anyway. I’ve had a change of heart about believing in love.”
“Ruthie,” I said, squeezing her to me. “That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“Shut up,” she said, and I heard the smile in the way she said it. In truth, once RJ decided to let me in all the way, I never had to wonder how she felt about me.
I squeezed her again. “I’m kind of nervous to finally meet all your friends in person.”
RJ’s body was warm and pliant under my arm. “They’re already so shocked I’m bringing a boyfriend, they’ll probably be more interested in you than in me.”
I smiled to myself when she said “boyfriend,” because I’d already picked out a ring with Britta’s help, and I hoped to change my title soon to “fiancé.” “So, there’s Britta and Wes, and then Kat and Del.” I kissed her shoulder, pushing aside the neckline of the worn shirt. “Who else is in the wedding party?”
“Wes’s friends Cord and Pearl, I think, though Pearl moved for a new job, and I’m not sure if she’ll be able to make it back.”
“Didn’t you say she and Cord had a thing?” I didn’t actually need to ask—I’d overheard RJ and Britta trying to figure it out over the phone. I’d heard so much about all her friends, I felt like I knew them. It was a nice feeling.
RJ linked our fingers, sliding hers along mine, back and forth. “I thought so, but Britta said he started dating someone after Pearl moved, so maybe not.” She let out a soft sigh when I kissed the crook of her neck. “Without them to gossip over, you might be the topic of conversation.”
“Think I’ll pass inspection?”
RJ rolled to her side, facing me. “I’m the hardest to impress, and I already like you a lot, so I think you’ll be fine.”
“You are hard to impress,” I murmured, letting my palm slide under her soft cotton T-shirt, feeling the warm, sensitive skin of her stomach beneath. “I keep trying, though. I stocked the pantry with syrup while you were gone, since you’d run out.”
She grinned, sliding her fingertips down my biceps. “You did?”
