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We had to quit again. We were just finishing the pack.
“So we’re actually alone right now?” I peered into the living room, where Piper and Blake had fallen asleep on the couch. The TV was still playing a Pixar movie.
“Yeah—can you believe it?”
Barely. I took the smoke from him again, finished with a last drag, then put it out in the ashtray on the table. Now I could finally get my arms around him. I hugged him tightly and pressed my lips to the side of his head.
He hummed and squeezed my middle, and he buried his face against my neck.
“How wrung out are you on a scale from one to ten?” I murmured.
He chuckled drowsily. “If ten is sleeping for a week with you in my arms, I’m a fifteen.”
He said all the right things.
I kissed my way to his lips and cupped his scruffy face in my hands. I just wanted to take care of him. He’d carried the weight of the world on his shoulders for weeks, throughout this operation, and he evidently couldn’t stop taking on more responsibilities. Madison would be here tomorrow, and we had Nicolas, Mattie, and Julian—then a dinner with Tariq’s wife and daughters. The latter didn’t involve me, so I’d make myself useful around the house in the meantime.
“I’m gonna take care of you,” I murmured. “You do what you gotta do, but when you come home, I want you to relax. I’ll deal with the furniture and whatever.”
He made another humming sound into the kiss, and we eased into a slow, sleepy make-out.
I tasted coffee and something sweet on his tongue, and this was all I wanted. Every fucking day for the rest of my life.
He pecked my lips a few more times before we went back to just holding each other.
He sighed contentedly, tension draining from his body. “I love you, Hayward.”
Fuck me.
Indescribable happiness washed over me, and I hugged him even harder. “I love you too, Jones.”
We met in another kiss, and I couldn’t shake the stupid grin. But it was okay, ’cause it made him smile.
“Say it again,” he whispered.
“I love you.” I nipped at his bottom lip. “You’re the love of my life, even. But the question is if you’ll still love me when I move myself in to your home one sock at a time, starting tomorrow.”
He chuckled and squeezed my ass. “Considerin’ you’re the love of my life too, I can’t imagine I’ll put up a fight.”
Wasn’t that just perfect?
I smiled and scratched my fingertips over his sexy scruff, and we got another lazy make-out session. More hugs too. I couldn’t fucking stop. I wanted to hold him forever.
We broke the kiss when we heard something coming from inside, and we looked through the window. No movement. Piper and Blake were still asleep. Maybe the remote had fallen off the couch, or…
“What’re we gonna do about your darling sister?” I asked quietly.
He let out a breath and dropped his forehead to my shoulder. “She already knows, so it’s up to her.”
I had a feeling she knew too, though I was curious about why Elliott was convinced.
“Did something happen?” I wondered.
He shook his head and kissed my neck. “It’s more the lack of somethin’ happenin’. She’s not stupid. She knows something’s up.” He straightened and glanced into the living room too. “I can’t hide what I feel about her fuckin’ lies. When she hugged me earlier, I got all rigid. I patted her back and stepped away, pretty much. Then add how you and I have interacted tonight…”
Plus, she’d seen me squeeze his hand at dinner. She’d obviously known about our feelings toward each other too since she’d gone to all the hassle of sabotaging us.
“She’s my sister, and she’s Blake’s mom,” Elliott said. “I’m not gonna say a word, but she’ll notice a shift in our relationship. Let her stew—her silence is our proof of her deception. And mynotconfronting her is my olive branch to maintain a good front for holidays and around Blake.”
