Why did hearing her say that have to hit me so hard? If I hadn’t already been on the floor the first time she said it, I would have been. The way she searched him out was a big factor in getting back together with him and agreeing to move in with him. I could see how much he adored and cherished her. I’d seen it before, but my insecurities had kept me from accepting it.
Being with Thane was overwhelming. My feelings for him were stronger than anything I’d ever felt, which was why I was so scared. That fear hadn’t left me, but maybe one day it would. For now, I covered what was left with love and happiness.
A sigh left me, and I nodded in agreement. “Dada.”
“Did I hear my name?” Thane said from the doorway.
As always, I was blown away by how handsome he was. My still-lingering self-doubt tried to whisper that he was too good looking for me, but I quieted it. Or rather the blinding smile directed at me stifled it.
He wanted me. He wanted us. And didn’t Lizzie tell me to find a man who wanted us both? Thane had more than proved that he did. As my mom said when she saw the room he created, “Nobody spends thousands of dollars to make a home for a baby if he isn’t madly in love.”
She was right. I’d allowed all my fears and insecurities to sabotage our relationship. It was something I regretted, but Thane told me not to, that it was just a stepping stone to our forever. I knew that was just him trying to push out the negativity, and it worked.
“Kinsey was just reminding me why I was standing in a sea of cardboard.”
He looked down at her all serious, and her eyes popped wide at his expression. “Good girl,” he said, his lips turning back up into a brilliant smile, which Kinsey returned.
I taped up the box of kitchen utensils and labeled it with a marker before setting the heavy square on top of another.
Thane’s hands landed on my hips when I turned back around, and he pulled me tightly to him.
“Hi.”
“Good shower?”
He nodded and I leaned in, taking a deep pull of his spicy, citrus scent. A moan left me, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down. I released an unsteady breath a second before his lips pressed against mine.
I deepened the kiss, wanting it to never end, but he pulled back, making me whimper. He chuckled at my discomfort.
“We have a task today, remember? The movers will be here at two and you still have a lot to do.”
“Whose fault is that?” I asked, giving him a swat on the chest and a scowl as I stepped out of his arms.
“No clue. Being lazy?”
I turned to him, that shit-eating grin on his face, and threw a towel at him. “Lazy, my ass. Every time I tried to pack, you started groping me.”
“You could have resisted.”
I rolled my eyes. “Like that would have worked. As you said, you know my weak spots, and you exploited them.”
He shrugged. “Happy fucks.”
A sigh left me, and I couldn’t keep the smile from my face at his lunacy.
“What furniture do you want to take?” he asked as he picked up a pad of paper and a marker.
I looked around the room, taking in what little I had. With a small apartment came little furniture.
“The bed, dresser, and nightstand from my bedroom. We can set up a guest room in the third bedroom.” They were mine growing up, and I didn’t want to get rid of them.
He nodded. “Good idea. I’ve got a desk in there and some odds and ends, but they can go in the library.”
I let out a small chuckle and shook my head. “You call it a library.” It was an empty flex room on the other side of the kitchen.
He shrugged. “That’s what it said on the floor plan. Okay, what else?”
I bit down on my bottom lip. There wasn’t much more. We were buying a new sofa together, so there was no need for mine. It was well worn, anyway. The coffee table had come from my parents, so it was definitely going. There was my small kitchen table that maybe could be used somewhere, and it was small, so why not? Last was my bookcase by the front door. It was a piece I bought with Pete, and there was nothing special about it, so it could definitely stand to be replaced with something bigger and better.
“The lamp?” I pursed my lips before moving to the built-in hutch, a box in tow. “I don’t remember—are there bookshelves in the ‘library’?”
“We can definitely put some in.”
“Built-ins.”
He nodded, then flipped the page, probably to make a note. “They’ll look great.”
I stared at the cabinet before me. It was filled with odds and ends, and I didn’t know where to start first.
“Are you purging anything?” Thane asked as he folded one of the boxes and taped it up.
A sigh left me. “Besides some of Kinsey’s stuff, I don’t know. There isn’t really time to.”
“Are you freaking out over there?” he asked, noting my stare down with the shelf in front of me.
I glanced over my shoulder back at him. “A little.” He closed the space between us and wrapped his arms around me, and I melted into him. “How can you calm me with just a touch?”
He chuckled and pressed a kiss to my temple. “Magic. Now, what has you stumped?”
I looked back at the mish-mash of items. “Do I go through it now or later?”
“Let’s just make it easy and say later. Just get it all in boxes and you can go through it at home.”
Home. I loved the way he said it with ease. It was going to be our home for our family.
I nodded and leaned my head back against his shoulder. “Hey.”
“Hmm?”
“Have I told you today that I love you?”
His arms tightened and his voice was strained. “No.”
“I love you,” I whispered.
A shuddered breath left him. “I love you. So much. And if I haven’t told you today, I’m so fucking happy you’re moving in with me.”
“Are you sure it’s not too soon?”
“Nope. Not a single doubt. I want you full time. So does my cock.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled. “Always with the cock.”
He was giving me no wiggle room, and with his answer I realized that it didn’t bother me, because in the end, that was all I’d ever wanted. To be with him. To share our lives. To never leave him.
And we were taking the biggest step toward all of that being made into more than just dreams and words. It was a reality.
We tag-teamed boxing up everything with entertaining Kinsey, and after two hours the movers arrived. Four men had everything out in just over an hour and a half like it was nothing.
I walked around the empty apartment checking for any last-minute or overlooked items, noting how much larger the space looked when it was empty. It was a small place, but it had worked. It was the home I brought Kinsey into, the home where I learned how to be a mother, and the home where I opened up my heart to someone.
As much as those memories meant to me, it was just an apartment, one that I’d only lived in for just over a year.
“Ready?” Thane asked, carrying Kinsey in his arms. She had her head against his chest and her chubby hand gripped his shirt. The sight made my heart soar.
He was the partner and father we deserved. The one who chose us both. The arrogant man with a heart just as fragile as mine.