“Bye,” I say as she steals one of the sandwiches.
“Thank God you’re home. I’ve missed you.” She leans up and captures my mouth again. “How’d today go?”
I can’t contain my smile. “Really well. Can’t wait to tell you about it later.”
“Awesome. I’m about to stuff my face, then take a bubble bath.”
“Go ahead, sweetheart. I’ll get Owen to bed.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her what he said, but I’d rather wait until later when Owen can’t overhear.
“You’re too good to me.” She sticks out her lower lip, which always melts my heart.
“Just wait till I can be really good to you later,” I whisper in her ear.
She giggles, and I playfully smack her ass before she grabs her food and takes it to the living room. Though I keep saying it, I can’t believe how far we’ve come. I’ve finally got my girl, and I never imagined we could be this happy and content together.
Loving and being loved by her is the best feeling in the world.
Chapter Nineteen
KATIE
I wake up with a smile on my face because I’ve been waiting for this day for months. The house I’ve put my blood, sweat, and tears into is finally going to be our permanent home. It really feels like Noah and I have invested so much of ourselves into this, which makes it even better. I’m proud of what it’s become and can already envision raising our little boys under that roof and making plenty of memories.
The past seven months with Noah have been a dream come true. Our journey back to each other started so rocky, and now we’re six months pregnant with twin boys. Noah shared with me some of the conversation he had with Owen last weekend. Though I was nervous to learn Owen brought up Gabe, I was also relieved by his reaction. It warms my heart even more to hear Owen call Noah dad. He beams every time, and I adore how close they’ve become.
“Mm...I love it when you hold me like this.” I snuggle deeper into his arms as we lie in bed.
“I’ll hold you close forever, baby.”
“It’s moving day!” Owen knocks obnoxiously on the door. “I repeat…” he shouts louder. “MOVING DAY!”
I groan. “Thank God his new room will be upstairs.”
He chuckles, bringing his hand to my stomach. “It won’t matter because soon there’ll be three boys, and we’ll be outnumbered.”
“Fuck.” I snort, admiring how sexy he is first thing in the morning.
Noah tilts up my chin and brings his lips to mine. “Glad my morning breath no longer bothers you. In a few months, you’ll be seeing more of me than you’ve ever wanted, and if I don’t scare you away by then…you’re definitely a keeper.”
He arches a brow. “I’ve been smelling your morning breath since freshman year when I’d pick you up every day for school, and you’d ask for a piece of gum.”
My eyes bug out, and I playfully smack his chest. “I brushed my teeth before school!”
“So the gum was for me? Hoping it’d finally be the day I kissed you?” He flashes a cocky smirk.
Pushing against him, I roll to the edge of the bed and, after struggling, finally pull myself up. “I think you were hoping that’s what it meant.”
“Don’t reverse psychology me, woman. You’d ask for a piece of gum every single time I drove you to school. If you brushed beforehand, why’d you need the gum?”
I stand and face him with a scowl. “We’re really having this conversation? I’m close to poppin’ out two of your children, and you want to talk about something that happened fifteen years ago?”
Noah stands, facing me. “As a matter of fact, I do. Especially if I’m right,” he muses.
Rolling my eyes, I grab the clothes I set out the night before. Everything else is packed, minus the bedsheets and blankets we slept on.
“Alright fine,” I say defeatedly, knowing this will make me sound super obsessive. “The first few times were because I was worried I had bad breath because I was going through puberty. My mom had made it very clear I was to wear extra deodorant. After a week or so, it felt special, like you were only buying gum for me, and you looked so excited when you handed me a piece. I didn’t stop asking because I thought you’d think something was wrong, so I just quit drinking orange juice at breakfast. The combination of cinnamon and citrus was horrible, but I liked that you bought gum for me.” I shrug, feeling even stupider now that I’ve admitted it aloud.
Noah closes the space between us and cups my face. “You’re ridiculously adorable.”
I grunt. “I’m starting to realize now why you never asked me out. I was awkward as fuck as a teen.”
“Not anymore awkward than I was, trust me. I was so hung up on you, I stocked up on enough gum to last me years. I bought every flavor I could find. I don’t know, it felt oddly intimate. Like…no one else was allowed to ask me for a piece, and you weren’t allowed to take any from someone else.”
“Wow…we were weird.” I laugh, and Noah does too.
“Young lust…” He shrugs.
“Turned into long-lasting love,” I add.
“Damn straight, woman. Whatever you want, I’ll make sure I’ve got it.” He flashes a wink before crashing his mouth to mine. My arms wrap around him as I pull him tighter. Noah threads his fingers through my hair, and we lose ourselves in each other.
“Mom! Dad! The movers are here!” Owen calls out.
“Dammit,” I hiss. “Can’t we tell them to give us like twenty minutes?”
Noah arches a brow. “You kept me up till three in the mornin’. You’re insatiable.”
I blush. “I can’t help it. These damn hormones are making me horny as hell.”
“I’m not complainin’…” He presses his lips to my forehead. “We’ll have plenty of time to christen every room in the new house.”
“We better!”
Noah quickly rushes to put on some pants and a T-shirt. He tells me to get dressed and meet him at the house since I can’t really do anything other than tell the movers where to put things. Though most of the boxes are quite heavy, Owen’s eager to help, so I let him stay with Noah and finish up. It puts a smile on my face at how much time they want to spend together.
By early afternoon, everything’s moved into the house, and living here finally feels real. The furniture and beds are set up, but each room has a million boxes, and unpacking seems so daunting. I’m already overwhelmed just thinking about it.
“Hello…” my mom calls from the front door. I’m too exhausted to move off the couch, so I shout for her to come in. “I came with reinforcements.”
She walks in with Loretta and Belinda behind her.
“And food.” Belinda grins.
“Oh thank God. I’m starving.”
She hands me a box, and I smile wide when I see a club sandwich and fries inside. “Thank you, thank you!”
“Thought we’d come and help you get things organized,” my mom says.