“Damn, woman. That’s a buzzkill.”
She giggled as they went into her office. “Are your crutches in the truck?”
“I bought a second pair to keep at your place, and yes, they’re in the truck.”
“I love that.” I love you! “Two things.” She opened the desk drawer and withdrew the earplugs she’d gotten at the drugstore. “Since we have the flotilla this weekend and it’ll be mobbed and loud, I did some research about unilateral hearing loss and how to minimize the discomfort caused by it. Lots of people recommended using an earplug in your good ear to try to tone everything down. So I went down to the drugstore and talked to the pharmacist. He recommended these.”
Tenderness rose in his eyes as he took the earplugs from her. “God, baby, you’re always thinking of me. Thank you.” He drew her into his arms and kissed her.
“You’re my guy, and I like taking care of you. The forums all said it might take some time to get used to wearing them, but I figured you could try it out and see. Maybe it’ll make the community events more bearable.”
“You do that for me already, but it’s a great idea. I’ll try them out.”
“Great. And I have this to show you.” She handed him one of the flyers she’d made and printed to hand out at the flotilla detailing their secret Santa efforts for Saul. She’d written TOP-SECRET SECRET-SANTA MISSION across the top of the page in red and crafted a short paragraph about what they were doing for Saul, and added an old picture of him in his firefighter uniform and a recent picture of him standing in front of his shop. “What do you think? I called Mr. Barrington at the newspaper, and he copied the pictures from old articles for me. Saul was handsome in his fireman uniform, wasn’t he?”
“Jules,” he said uneasily. “You are incredible, and these are great, but I need to tell you something.” He set the flyer on her desk. “I told Saul I got him a discount, but really I made an arrangement with his doctor to pay whatever his insurance wouldn’t cover, and the doctor promised to keep that confidential. I also said I’d pay for any remaining medical appointments he needed to rectify issues he has from walking on the ill-fitting prosthesis. Saul went to see him last week and was fitted for a new prosthesis.”
Her heart swelled with love for him. “You did all of that for him?”
He nodded. “But that means we don’t need the flyers that you worked so hard on. I’m sorry. I should have told you, but I didn’t want to make a big thing out of it.”
“It’s okay. I’m sure we’ll find other good deeds the community can get behind.” She lowered her voice as she backed him up against the desk and said, “I promise not to make a big thing out of it. But that big heart of yours is a major turn-on, and I happen to believe you should be rewarded generously for your actions.” She unzipped his jacket and brushed her hips against his. “Maybe we should lock the front door after all.”
He gripped her hips. “I’m going to have to be a lot more generous.”
As he lowered his lips to hers, a loud “Meow” sounded, and Jules pulled back.
“Did you hear that?” She looked around the office as another meow rang out.
Grant gritted out a curse and shrugged the backpack off his shoulder, causing more frantic meows as he unzipped it, and Crash’s little head poked out of the top.
Jules gasped. “You brought my baby! Come here, little dumpling.” She lifted a meowing Crash out of the backpack and snuggled against his fur.
“I knew you wouldn’t want to leave him alone. I’ve got a litter box and food in the car for your place.”
“Oh, Grant! I love you!” She threw one arm around him and kissed him. She was sure he heard her words as a random exclamation, but she didn’t care. It felt good to say them just the same.
“I guess christening the desk is out of the question now.” He glowered at the cat and grumbled, “Cockblocked by a cat. Fucking perfect.”
She nuzzled against Crash’s neck. “He didn’t mean that, Crash. You are perfect.” She looked at Grant over the cat’s head and said, “Don’t worry, big guy, I’ll make it up to you triple fold once we’re upstairs.”
She’d never seen Grant move so fast as he grabbed his backpack and headed out of the office. “I’ll lock the front door. You get upstairs and get naked.”
A LONG WHILE later, they lay in Jules’s bright bedroom recovering from their sexy romp. Jules was warm and safe in Grant’s arms, and Crash was happily asleep on a blanket that had fallen off the bed. Everything Grant needed was right there in that room. His body might be spent, but his heart was full of Jules.
His gaze drifted to the painting of Sunset Beach, and he wondered if they should bring it to his place since they hadn’t been spending much time in her apartment. She said she preferred staying at the bungalow because it was where they’d first come together and he had everything he needed to be comfortable there. Didn’t she know that he could be comfortable anywhere as long as he was with her and had the basic necessities for his leg? But that was Jules, putting him first. She knew the bungalow was special to him. He had a long history there, and that history meant even more because of her—and because he now knew that he owed the discovery of that hideaway to his father. As he lay there thinking about Jules and his life, he knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to give her everything, to build all the special pieces on her inspiration wall, and make their life together so inviting, she couldn’t imagine life with anyone else.
He kissed her forehead. “Hey, Pix.”
“Yes, Sex Machine?”
He laughed and turned onto his side, gazing down at her. Her hair was a tangled mess, and her eyes were so full of love, she’d never looked more beautiful. “I’m going to call Roddy tonight and let him know I’m going to clean up the bungalow, the yard, fix the driveway, and maybe do a bit of painting.”
“Really?” she asked, wide-eyed and happy. “Does that mean you see your future here on the island?”
“Baby, you’re here. What do you think?”
She shrugged one shoulder. “That doesn’t mean you have to stick around.”
He kissed her softly and said, “How about the fact that I’m falling in love with you? Does that mean I should stick around?”
“Grant…?” she asked breathily, a disbelieving smile on her lips.
“I am, Pix. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m already there. I think about you day and night, and even when we’re together, I just want to be closer. When I think of the future, I see you, baby. Everything else is there, our families, the island, the foundation, but that’s all in the background. It’s you standing by my side, and without you, I might never have seen the rest.”
“Oh, Grant. I love you so much!” She threw her arms around his neck, pulling herself up to kiss him. “I meant it when I said I love you downstairs. I know I said it jokingly, but that was just because I didn’t want to be the first to say it.”
He gathered her in his arms and kissed her deeper. Hearing her say she loved him hit with a whole different impact than seeing it in her eyes or feeling it in her touch. He’d thought she’d made him feel whole, but he was wrong. It was them, their love, that made him whole.