I burst out laughing. I can’t help it. I make this big declaration to him, lay my heart bare and his answer is…
I’m down.
“Want to go out to dinner tonight?” he asks, his mouth brushing my forehead.
“Are you asking me out on a date?”
“I am.”
“Yes.” I pull away so I can smile up at him. “I would love to go on a date with you.”
“In public?” He’s full-blown smiling in return, and I close my eyes for just a second, savoring the moment.
“In public, in private, wherever you want me, I’ll be there. Just for you,” I declare as I open my eyes once more.
His mouth is on mine before I can finish my sentence, and the kiss is sweet at first. Gentle. But the longer our mouths are fused, the deeper it gets, until our tongues are tangling and his hands are wandering and so are mine. The window is open, I can hear the ocean waves in the distance, a seagull squawking as it flies through the air, and I know without a doubt I will never forget this moment, when I made Carter Abbott mine, and he made me his, upstairs in my nonna’s bedroom on a bright spring morning.
Someone clears their throat and we spring away from each other guiltily, only to find Nonna standing in front of us.
“Glad I wasn’t a robber. You two didn’t hear me at all, did you?” She’s smiling, looking pleased with herself.
I keep myself wrapped around Carter, and he doesn’t move either. “You tricked us.”
“Don’t complain. It was the quickest way to get you two together. Your brothers are in on it too.” She turns, making her way back out of the bedroom before she says, “The contractor and your brothers will be here at nine. Don’t be late!”
I gaze up at Carter. “Do you want to go to the meeting with me?”
“You want me there?”
Shaking my head, I say, “Yes.”
He chuckles. “You doing that mixed messages thing again that you’re so good at?”
“I guess so,” I say with a shrug. “But I won’t be sending mixed messages anymore when it comes to how I feel about you.”
“Oh yeah?” He kisses me.
“Yeah,” I murmur against his lips.
“You promise?”
“I swear on a stack of barbecue chicken pizzas,” I tell him.
More laughter. More kisses.
I am the luckiest girl in the world.
Epilogue
Stella
Six weeks later…
“What do you think?”
I’m standing in the doorway of Carter’s master bathroom, which leads into his bedroom, wearing a lacy yet sheer red bra and matching panties. I strike a pose like the former competition dancer I am (um, I last competed in the eighth grade, but hey, that still counts); hands on hips, standing to the side, right knee bent, pleasant smile on my face.
“Uh…” Carter is standing in the middle of his bedroom, a dumbfounded expression on his face as he takes me in. He just got home. He always works late on Saturdays and I thought I’d greet him when he returned home with a little surprise. “What are you wearing?”
I drop the pose but otherwise don’t move from my spot. “We all went on a shopping spree at Bliss earlier today.”
We threw a special secret bridal shower at Bliss for Caroline with just our friend group. Sarah’s boss let us close the shop down an hour early and we had champagne and cupcakes while we watched Caroline open her gifts. They were all lingerie-themed, of course, and she loved every single one of them, though her cheeks were flushed bright red by the time she finished unwrapping them all.
Marlo let us do a little shopping for ourselves too. It was fun. Lots of laughter and champagne. Innuendo and naughty jokes and cupcakes. I couldn’t resist the lacy red set. I knew Carter would like it.
From the way he’s eyeing me at this very moment, I’d say he pretty much likes it.
“And this is your purchase?” His gaze meets mine for the briefest moment before it drops, scanning my body slowly, lingering on certain places.
My skin goes hot just from the way he looks at me.
“Yes.” I start making my way toward him, nice and slow, putting some extra swing in my step. “Do you approve?”
“Damn, woman.” He whistles low, rubbing his jaw as he contemplates me. “I most definitely approve.”
I stop directly in front of him, sliding my hands up his broad chest. He’s still got his jacket and button-down shirt on, though the tie is long gone. My fingers go straight to the buttons as I start undoing them. “I missed you today.”
“I missed you too.” His hands settle on my hips, fingers toying with the thin waistband of my panties. “I sold a house.”
“Of course you did.” He’s doing so well here. Not that I’m surprised. He’s working hard, but not too hard. I try my best to ground him, to remind him that he needs to take time for himself instead of throwing it all into his job.
I also remind him he needs to take time for me, for us, and he does. He’s generous with his time.
Very generous.
His big hands slide over my backside, coming into contact with bare skin. “There’s not much to these panties.”
“It’s more like a thong.” I finish undoing the last button of his shirt before I go to the cuffs. I undo the buttons there too. “Let’s take this off.”
He shrugs out of the shirt and I go to work on his pants next, inhaling his delicious scent, smiling when I see the bulge in the front of his boxer briefs when I slide down the zipper. “Someone’s happy to see me.” I cup him, glancing up with a smile, and he attacks me with his lips before I can say another word.
We kiss. Strip. Somehow fall onto the bed, our mouths still connected. I eventually end up on top of him, the bra off, my hands resting on his bare chest as I grind my lower body against his, making him groan with pleasure. It’s like this every time we’re together. Like we can’t get enough of each other. I was so worried the spark between us would disappear, like it did with every other guy I’ve been with over the years, but not with Carter.
The spark just burns hotter. Higher and higher. Now it’s like a full-blown flame.
Afterward, when we’re lying in bed next to each other, still on top of the duvet, our breathing accelerated and our naked skin damp with sweat, I reach out and toy with the ends of his hair. “That was nice.”
He chuckles. “More than nice.”
“We should do that more often.”
He turns to study me. “We do it pretty often enough, don’t you think?”
Now I’m laughing. “I mean the lingerie thing. It was fun.”
“I don’t need you to wear expensive lingerie to make me want you. You could be wearing that old Mystery Spot sweatshirt and a pair of torn leggings and I’d still jump you,” he says with the utmost sincerity.
“Aww.” I rest my other hand against my chest, feel my racing heart beneath my palm. “That is the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.”
He smiles. Leans over and kisses me. Then he gets off the bed, and I watch with hungry eyes as he walks over to his dresser and pulls out a pair of black joggers, slipping them on. “I’m starving.”