“Mmm.” He lifted his head and pressed his lips to mine, sweet with my milk and his own taste. “I’ve got you, my good girl.”

“You do. You do have me,” I told him because it was true. I was his now. Couldn’t imagine ever being anyone else’s after this.

I’d make sure there was no “after this.”

Eventually, his hips snapped against mine, and our cries grew more frantic. Skin warmed, misted with sweat and milk, my inner walls fluttered and swelled, and my outer walls crumbled. My body welcomed his to my hidden depths, and he dragged me along with him to the precipice.

There, we kissed again. Lips, tongues, teeth.

Clawing, grasping, panting, needing. We were wrapped in each other, arms and legs like bands, tied up, so we stayed tethered as we shook. So close, there was no air except what we exchanged in gasps and pants. No light except what was in his eyes when he opened them and focused on me. Even when they were closed, his focus was on me. Always on me.

I was his.

Me.

Imperfect and floundering, he wanted me anyway.

I wanted him too. God, did I want him.

I laid my head on his chest and sighed. He lifted my hair off my shoulder and ran it between his fingers.

“Do you understand, Catherine? So deep.”

I nodded. “The deepest.”

And I would do my part to keep us right here because I never wanted to be anywhere else.

Chapter Twenty-nine

Catherine

Ihadnoplanunless “fix up the house” counted.

Which it didn’t.

I was strolling through a home improvement store, hoping a starting point would come to me. Luckily, Joey was content being strapped to my chest, looking around at all the new sights.

“Maybe paint should come first. What do you think, Joey-Girl?” She kicked her feet, which I took as agreement, so I stopped in front of the swatches. “Now, what color? We can’t paint the whole house lavender like your room, even though I love it. I picked it for you before we even met, and it suits you. The thing is, not everyone loves it as much as we do, so we have to go neutral if we eventually sell the house. Mama wants a pretty neutral, though, not boring ol’ white.”

A throat cleared next to me, followed by a low chuckle. I’d been so entranced by all the colors I hadn’t noticed Joey and I were no longer alone. I turned, immediately recognizing the man standing in front of the blues.

“Sorry to interrupt.”

I grinned at Miles Aldrich, who had a shopping cart filled with lumber. “No worries. I was about to start freaking out, so it’s better you did.”

“I’m known for my good timing.” He reached out and tickled Joey’s foot. “Hello, little lady. Helping Mom?”

“Looks like she remembers you.” I patted my daughter as she kicked and cooed at Miles. “And no, unfortunately, she’s no help at all.”

He raised a brow. “Ah, I see. Hence the freak-out.”

“Yes, but I’m not going to freak out.” I exhaled a resolute breath. “I’m going to make a plan.”

“Oh yeah?” He leaned an elbow on his cart handle. “I’m into plans. I’ve made a career out of plans. Tell me what you’re planning exactly.”

I’d met this man one time, but I had a good feeling about him. Joey seemed to agree since she’d chilled with him during brunch last weekend and was literally drooling over him now.

“Remember my wreck of a house I mentioned at brunch?”