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“Seriously?” she asks.
I nod and open the door, hoping that’s a good reaction. She walks in and looks around, the smile on her face not faltering.
“Give me the grand tour, please,” she says, reaching for my hand. I take it and never want to let it go. Her skin brushing against mine feels like home as we walk through the house.
“This is my bedroom.” I open the door, and she steps inside, sucking in a deep breath.
“So this is where the magic happens?” She turns and looks at me with an arched brow.
“Only if you want it to.”
She licks her lips as I eye her. I notice her breathing harder but decide to just tease her until she can’t handle it anymore. Pulling her out of the room, I walk her around the rest of the house. “Here’s the kitchen, a bathroom…”
When I open the door to Jackson’s old room, her eyes light up. All the bedroom furniture is set up how I imagined she’d want it. “And here’s your room.”
She walks to the bed and her hand smooths the handmade quilt my grandmother made. “I can’t believe you did all this for me.”
“I’d do anything for you, River.”
She bites her bottom lip, and I’m so tempted to lay her down on that bed and break it in properly. She doesn’t even know how beautiful she is right now, and I want nothing more than to tell her as she looks up at me with seduction in her eyes. I remember that look in Key West and know it oh so damn well.
“There’s more,” I say, breaking the silence before I strip her clothes off and make sweet love to her. She follows me as I take her to the room where we kept our pool table, but now it’s empty except for an old rocking chair. “This is the baby’s room. I didn’t paint or anything because I thought maybe we could do it together.”
“Wow.” Her eyes light up. “It’s perfect,” she whispers, walking around the empty space. “Thank you for doing this. I honestly didn’t expect any of it.”
Once River explores the space, she comes back to me and wraps her arms around my waist, pulling me close to her. I inhale the scent of her hair, and I want her so damn bad it almost hurts. Eventually, she takes a step back, creating space between us.
“So, you’re okay with this arrangement?” I finally ask. “Sharing a house and setting up a nursery together?”
“Yeah, definitely.” She nods, taking it all in. “It’ll be like we’re…roommates,” she adds with a grin. “However, the last roommate I had slept with my ex-boyfriend, so hopefully you’ll be better than her,” she teases.
“I can promise you I won’t be sleeping with anyone’s boyfriend,” I joke with her. “But don’t walk around nude because I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold myself back. And if you’d like to save a horse and ride a cowboy instead, you just let me know,” I tell her with a wink.
Her breath hitches and blush hits her cheeks. It’s so damn cute when I catch her off guard. After shaking off my words, she finally speaks and changes the subject.
“You have a really nice house.”
“It’s our house now.”
“Why are you so perfect?” she asks.
“Trust me, I’m not.” I shrug. “But you make me want to be.”
“See, that’s what I’m talking about. You always have something sweet to say.”
I chuckle, giving her a smirk. “Do I?”
“You know you do!” She laughs and playfully slaps my chest. “You’ve got this charm thing down to a science.”
I can tell she’s happy being here. All the stress from traveling has already melted away, and it’s easy being here with her like this.
We’re still standing in the baby’s room, and she takes a step back and looks it over again. “We should paint it a neutral color like yellow. When the sun rises and sets, it will make the room glow even more when the windows are open.”
“Whatever you want, sweetheart,” I say, placing my hand on her shoulder. Right now, I know what true happiness is. There’s no other place in the world I’d rather be than with River, and when she turns and looks at me with a sweet smile on her face, I know she feels the same way.
“Are you hungry?” I ask, knowing she’s bound to be after traveling. It’s nearly six thirty.
“Did you hear my stomach roar?” She giggles.
“Nope. But come on, we’ll go to Mama’s.”
When her eyes meet mine, my heart does a flip-flop in my chest. I’m constantly at war with myself, telling the devil on my shoulder that I can’t kiss her or make love to her, and bending her over the couch and fucking her senseless ain’t gonna happen anytime soon. My body remembers Key West like it was yesterday, and I wish we could fall into the same step we were in before we left. I want to go from zero to sixty in five seconds with River, and just being around her for this short amount of time is a constant reminder of where we are right now—taking it slow. This is already proving to be harder than I ever imagined, but Mama raised a perfect gentleman, and when she wants me, she’ll let me know—hopefully.
