“I’m pretty sure I would have had plenty of freedom there, honestly. Grandad was heading to Dubai, and Dad was heading to the States. But I have friends here, and football, and—”
“A chick,” he interrupts me. “I heard you’ve got a girl.”
I grin as he spews profanities.
“Don’t turn your back on me. Think of everything I taught you.”
Laughter hits my lips. “Thankfully, you taught me a lot about football.”
He groans. “If you’d have taken me up on just one trip into the pool house with the girls I brought home, I’m telling you, you’d be a different man right now.”
He’s likely not wrong, which is sobering.
“Is she cool?”
My smile returns. “Ridiculously cool.”
Uncle Kip sighs. “You deserve to be happy, kid. I’m glad you found her.”
“I am too.”
“Don’t be like me. Don’t fuck it up. You lose that person, and it’s like the rest of your life you spend trying to find her again in everyone, and as you know from watching me, you can’t find them again.”
“You will,” I tell him.
He sighs again. “I better see you on the news soon, since that’s the only way I see your ugly mug.”
I laugh, joining in his attempts to lift the mood. “Oh, believe me, I plan to be in every reel once we get started.”
“I’ve got to go, kid. I just wanted to touch base and make sure I didn’t need to back you up.” My Uncle Kip is a lot of things, but like Coop, I’ve never had to question if he’s got my back. “Love you, kid.”
“I love you too, Uncle Kip.”
I pull into my driveway and kill the engine. It’s quiet out here where trees are my neighbors, and the only uninvited guests I get are deer and the occasional raccoon. I forget about eating as I make my way to the master bedroom, where I hit the mattress and fall asleep to the scent of Chloe on my pillow.
I reach out, sensing her before I even see her.
Chloe’s gentle laughter greets me as my hand closes around her breast. “Even in your sleep, you cop a feel,” she says from where she’s leaned back against the headboard, her neck craned at an unnatural angle that makes my muscles cringe.
I grin, lowering my hand because I hadn’t meant to aim for her breast; it was just a happy surprise. I link my arm around her waist and tug her to lie flat beside me, curling my body around her. “I thought I was meeting you?”
“I was trying to give Nessie and Cooper some time alone. For their best interest and my sanity.”
I press my nose into the back of her neck, breathing her in as I chuckle.
“Plus, Coop said you guys were worked over pretty hard.”
“Coach is all about making sure we’re committed.” I lace my fingers with hers. “How was work?”
“I have a new love/hate relationship with the place,” she says, rolling to face me. “I really like the astronomer I’ve been assisting at the observatory, and I keep debating if I want to remain with extragalactic astronomy or consider switching or doubling.” Her green eyes dance between mine.
I lean forward, kissing her. “Take some time and consider it. There’s no rush.”
“It could add years to my education.”
I grin. “So?”
She scoffs.
“We make the rules,” I remind her. “There’s no timetable. Follow your passions, and I’ll be here with you every step.”
Her eyes flash. The look I mistook for redemption, I’ve realized is affection, desire, love, and it’s mine.
“Come on. I have something to show you.” I jackknife off the bed, realizing my shoes are still on. I reach to take Chloe’s hand.
We pass through the house and head upstairs, stopping at the end of the hall, where I open the door to a currently empty room like all of my guest rooms. Chloe follows me inside, her gaze darting across the bare walls and floors. “What’s this?”
“It’s going to be our new room.”
Her eyebrows jump, making me laugh. “I have someone drawing up some plans, but they said they could open this wall and put in more windows, so you can put a telescope in here and see everything because it aims west, away from the city and lights. We’ll put the bed on this wall and cover all the walls and ceilings with mirrors so that when I’m inside of you, I can see every side of you.”
The shock on her face breaks with laughter. She shakes her head. “No way.”
“Maybe just one. On the ceiling. And that wall. We can have pieces of art over them. No one will know how freaky things get.”
She shakes her head again, laughter quaking her shoulders, but she doesn’t say no. I can tell she’s considering it.
“We just have to decide if we want our glass shower in the bedroom or the master shower.”
She looks around again and then back at me. “Are you serious?”
“Dead serious. I wanted to talk to you about the idea of having you and Cooper and Vanessa all move in. I mean, this place is huge. They could have their own floor. And you won’t keep forgetting your knickers or toothbrush because they’ll already be here.”
“You steal my underwear. I don’t forget them.”
I grin. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
She licks her lips. “Are you sure?”
“Fucking positive. I hate not having you here. I hate when I wake up, and you’re gone. I hate going to bed without you. I want you here, and our trip was fab. The four of us have a good vibe, and this place allows us to just continue that, and when you get tired of me, you can go hang out with Vanessa.”
“I never get tired of you.” She threads her arms around my shoulders. “I never will.”
I kiss her, my tongue tracing the seam of her lips.
“Truth or dare?” she says, pulling away from me.
“Both.”
Her eyes flash with that same glint of love and adoration that makes me feel bigger than a man. “What would have happened if I’d have asked you to stay?”
“I would have stayed,” I tell her without a second of hesitation. “It wasn’t fair of me to put that weight on your shoulders. You did what you thought was best, and I love you for your sacrifice, but there’s no way I would have got onto that plane had you asked me to stay. I spent that flight to London feeling absolutely gutted because leaving was the last thing I wanted to do. It was an impossible situation with no right answer.”
“But you found one.”
I nod.
“Because we make the rules,” she says, leaning her hips against mine.
“That’s right.”
“I dare you to fuck me in our new bedroom.”
I grin, reaching for the hem of her shirt. “That might be the best dare ever.” I move my hands up to her ribs.
She smiles outright. “I love you, Ty.”
I lean my forehead against hers, brushing my fingers along her impossibly soft skin, feeling her words in every part of me as she holds my soul in her hands. “I love you. I love you more than anything. More than everything.”
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