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“Back atcha, babe.”
He finally pulled free and soaped her body again, then toweled her dry and carried her to bed. They dozed until the sun filtered through the curtains and the smell of bacon carried from the kitchen.
“Ma’s making breakfast,” he murmured. “You hungry?”
“Starved.”
He pulled his arm free from under her and stood, yanking his jeans over his bare ass.
Tinsley rolled to her side and let her eyes run over her man’s beautifully sculpted body. He was muscled, and there wasn’t an ounce of fat on him. She smiled, thinking she could stare all day at the dimples that rode low on his back.
It had been a few months since she’d moved in with him.
Tonight, they were having dinner with her parents. They’d started a bi-weekly tradition the week after she’d left.
Grady returned to the bed, leaned over, and dropped a kiss on her lips. “You comin’ or you want me to make you a plate and serve you breakfast in bed?”
She grinned. “And have your mother think I’m too lazy to come to the table? No way.”
He chuckled. “She loves you too much to think that.”
“Just give me a minute to get dressed.”
She watched him walk out of the room. He really did have the sexiest body.
That evening, after dinner, Grady reached over and squeezed Tinsley’s hand. Her parents had seemed to accept the fact that they were a couple and that wasn’t going to change.
Loretta stood from the table. “Tinsley, I want to show you the new drapes I put in the master.”
JD stood as well. “Come on, Grady. Let’s you and I retire to my study. I’ve got a bottle of fine Scotch I’m dying to try.”
Tinsley went up on tiptoe and kissed him before she left with her mother, and Grady followed her father into his study.
JD got out two crystal rocks glasses and poured an inch of the amber liquor into each one.
Grady studied the man and decided this was as good a time as any to ask what had been on his mind for weeks now.
JD capped the bottle and handed one glass to Grady. He looked up and cocked a brow. “Anything on your mind? You look deep in thought.”
Grady stood, his hands in his pockets, more nervous now than when he’d faced down a horde of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.
He drew in a breath, and a calm settled over him, because he knew his path was set, and he knew it was the right one. Of all the things he’d ever done in his life, he was most sure of this one. “I’d like to ask for your permission to marry your daughter, sir.”
JD studied him for a long moment. “Do you love her?”
“More than I knew was possible.”
JD lifted his glass. “Then you may have my permission, Mr. Steele. I wish you both all the happiness in the world.”
Grady grinned and blew out a breath. It was easier than he’d thought it would be. “While we’re here, there is one other thing I’d like to ask you about. It’s for your daughter.”
“What’s that, my boy?”
“It’s big, but I thought maybe you could count it as an early wedding present for her.”
“I’m listening.”
Grady proceeded to lay out his plan.
