Page 111 of Noah

We moved into our usual positions, me wrapped up in Brody's good arm, my head on his shoulder. I kissed his pec. He hummed as he held me.

"Love you, sweetness," Brody whispered and kissed my head.

It was the first time Brody had ever used a term of endearment with me. Tears collected in my eyes, my heart swelling with the new familiarity.

Sweetness.

"I love you too."

It wasn't as late as we normally went to bed, but the events of today had worn us out. Brody had hung out with my friends, successfully, and I was moving in with him permanently.

Plus, the laughable but fulfilling double-ended dildo experience.

I smiled as I drifted off on the man I loved.

It had been a good day.

Chapter Twenty-Two | Brody

I was thankful Noah didn't appear to have many belongings. My mind had worn me out, imagining what he might bring with him and where we would fit everything. Example. Putting his clothes in my closet meant mine were squished together. I typically liked spaces between things.

Noah had offered to put his clothes in the guest bedroom's closet instead but that didn't feel right. This was our bedroom. His clothes should be here. Thankfully, he travelled light in the bathroom item department. A simple toothbrush, moisturizer, deodorant, and hair gel.

And an assortment of equipment I assumed was for douching.

I couldn't watch as he put everything of his away in the kitchen even though there wasn't much. He'd taken most of his kitchen stuff to the thrift store to be sold. He'd done the same with all his furniture. Apparently, he didn't hold affection for any of it. Except for a hideous piece of art that made me cringe as I gave him permission to hang it in the living room.

Maybe it could be a conversation piece.

All the commotion had the animals nervous and running around under Noah's feet. He almost tripped over a cat or two while bringing in his clothes.

Doing my best to help, I fumbled with the awkward angles of cardboard as I sat on the couch and used an exacto knife to break down the boxes. When I was done, Noah took them to the garage to be stored until recycling day. By the time we finished, a food delivery service had arrived with our dinner from the pub. Noah hadn't gone to work today. Even though it had been busy, I'd enjoyed having him around all day. We were taking a huge step in starting our life together.

Watching him buzzing around our home, settling in, brought me incredible joy.

Tonight's menu choice was Sheppard's pie. A crowd favourite at the pub. We ordered it at least once a week. I'd balked at first, not wanting to eat lamb. But Noah had fed me a spoonful of his one night and I'd been hooked. He had an excellent chef, but after eating pub food for weeks, I was anxious to start cooking again. I was missing the recipes I'd grown up with.

The food Mom cooked.

I sighed and caught Noah's eye.

He smiled at me. "What's going on?"

"Sad."

His eyebrows dipped. "Because I moved in?"

I gripped his hand. "No. Never that. I love that you're finally here for good."

"Then what's bothering you?"

"Charlie phoned while you were in the kitchen putting stuff away." I tugged on Noah's hand until he moved closer to me on the couch. "He's decided to put Mom in care."

His eyebrows arched. "Oh, wow … that's a huge step. Why?"

"She's having trouble taking care of herself and that house. We could have community care workers come in more often for her personal care, but they don't do housework, laundry, or cook full meals. Those things would be left to Charlie and me to take care of. And we would, but—"

"But … that's a huge time commitment."

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