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“Fine, I’ll concede. I make you better. But you make me better too.” It was her turn to tug him closer, to brush her lips over his. But that’s all he let her do before he was leaving, dragging her behind him as they went back into the game room and then up the stairs.
They stopped in the kitchen. The kitchen where he’d repainted all the cabinets and built a breakfast nook. Installed new windows. One of which was a greenhouse window inserted over the sink that looked out on the side yard. That last bit had been Britt’s idea. And Teagan hadn’t killed all the plants she’d placed back there either. She was getting better. Making her thumb a bit more green than black.
“Remember when we put down this linoleum?” he asked, fingers trailing down her forearm. There was a playful lilt in his voice. And for good reason, she supposed.
Teagan arched an eyebrow. “How could I forget? That delivery man nearly caught us. Animal.” The last word was in jest, but it held a certain heat to it that made his eyes go darker.
“I can’t be held accountable for what you wore that day,” he replied, sniffing in a faux-haughty manner that made her laugh. She’d been wearing her gym clothes because she’d spilled paint down the front of her blouse and jeans.
“It wasn’t my fault that I ruined my others,” she argued. “And it certainly isn’t my fault that you can’t keep your head out from between my legs.”
“Why would I want to?” he countered.
“Why would I want you to?”
Beaming at her, Jaxon dipped down to kiss her again, tearing himself away before he dragged her towards the living room. Up the stairs and into the brand new hallway at the top. They’d built this from scratch. Two bedrooms, a second bathroom, and this landing area.
He spun her in his arms until he was standing behind her, wrapped her in an embrace, and rested his chin on her shoulder as they looked around the room. “Remember when you yelled at me because I was being an ass while we were putting up drywall?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes. Because youwerebeing an ass.”
“You’re still here, though.”
“Well, of course I am, Jaxon. Just because you are terrible at giving instructions and expect me to inherently know things doesn’t mean I automatically fall out of love with you. I knew you were just being blustery. It’s on-brand for you. And besides, you apologized five minutes later.”
“Deserved every name you called me that day,” he murmured. “What were they again?”
“Like I’m going to remember that…” He gave her a look that made her giggle, and she started rattling them off. “Know-it-all. Dick-hat. Dumb walnut. Pig-headed.”
He chuckled. “I’m sorry I wasn’t a better teacher.”
“Like I said that day, It’s fine. You fixed the problem. And we only lost a few sheets of drywall.”
He pressed his lips to the side of her neck, making her shiver with the contact. “You know I’d torch this place myself if I had to choose between you and it, right?”
She turned her head so he could kiss her temple. “Stop it, I would never let you. It means as much to me as it does to you.”
“I love you, Teagan.”
“I love you too, Jaxon.”
He yanked her hand again. Back down the stairs.
“What are you doing? You’re acting strange. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” he said, stopping as they hit the landing on the stairs. He nodded towards the banister. “Remember what happened there, love?”
She glanced over at the railing. The thing that had fallen and caused her to bolt out the door those many months before. “I try to forget.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because I acted like an idiot.”
“You can’t be perfect all the time, love,” he reminded her, before tugging her over to the center of the living room. Behind the coffee table and in the center of the new throw rug.
“And here?” he asked, his voice no louder than a whisper now.
“What about here?” she asked, leaning over to nuzzle his nose with hers.
