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“How did I live so long without you, Lex?”
“I don’t know how I did it either. It was torture.”
“It’s all good now, sweetheart.” He pushed into her, overwhelmed by the memories, the sweetness, the heat, the love. “We found each other twice in a lifetime. How lucky are we?”
“So, so lucky.”
Max had never felt quite as lucky as he did having her back in his arms and in his bed for the first time. Caden was his greatest joy, but Lexi… She was his one true love, and now that she was back in his arms, he would do everything he could to keep her there.
ChapterNine
“Immature love says: ‘I love you because I need you.’ Mature love says: ‘I need you because I love you.’”—Erich Fromm
When Max woke early the next morning with Lexi in his arms, a feeling of peace came over him that was another indication that all this time, he’d been waiting for her without realizing it. Had he expected her to come back to find him? Not really, but she’d set the gold standard for what it meant to be in love, and he’d never again come close to having what he did with her.
And now he knew it was all still there—the love, the desire, the laughter, the easiness. Everything about being with her had always been perfect, and last night, they’d confirmed—numerous times—that it still was.
He couldn’t wait to celebrate Caden and Savvy today with their joint birthday party and to spend this day with Lexi. Max wanted her and Caden to get to know each other, which couldn’t happen if she went back to Texas tomorrow. Later, he would see if he could talk her into staying awhile longer.
In the seven years since the momentous day that Caden had come into his life, Max had experienced many highs and lows. Most of the highs involved the son who’d been a joy to him from the minute he arrived. The lows had included Chloe’s decision to punch out of Caden’s life and the loneliness that had come with single parenthood. His entire focus had shifted toward his son, which hadn’t left much space for dating or anything else that didn’t involve Caden.
A nagging sense of discontent had attached itself to his personal life and stayed there as he meandered through a few meaningless encounters with women over the years. Today was the first time in years he’d woken up without the discontent, and it was all because of Lexi.
He tried to disentangle himself from her, hoping she’d sleep awhile yet, but the second he moved, her eyes opened.
And then she smiled. “Hey.”
“How you doing?”
“Better than I’ve been in a very long time.”
“Same. What do we think of sleeping in a bed together?”
“We quite like it, but we knew we would.”
“I could very easily get used to sleeping with you,” he said, kissing her shoulder and her neck and making her shiver.
“Me, too.”
“Why do you have to leave tomorrow?”
“Because that’s when my flight is.”
“Flights can be changed.”
“Is that what you want?”
“Hell yes, that’s what I want. I want you here, with me and Caden, for as long as you want to be here, which is hopefully forever.”
“What if that’s not what he wants?”
“He’ll be fine with it. He’s super easygoing and always loves to meet new people. I’m not worried about him.”
“I think, maybe, we ought to slow down a bit and be a little more cautious about our next steps.”
“Why?”
“You have a son to consider, and I’m still trying to figure out what’s next for me.”
