Page 42 of Close to My Heart

“Aw. You’re already a great fiancé.”

“Are you going to call me that all the time now?” Every time she said it, a tingle of desire zipped through my body.

“Until I can call you my husband.”

That sent all the blood to my dick. How was I going to survive being so close to her and not touching her? It was too much to hope that she felt the same way.

At my house, I parked in the garage, and we met at the door to the laundry room. Otto was jumping from me to Sutton, angling for attention. “I don’t even need to get you a key to my house since you already have one.”

“Maybe a fob for the garage door,” Sutton said as she patted Otto’s head.

I grabbed the extra off the hook by the door and handed it to her. “My house is yours.”

Sutton held the fob in her hand. “I really appreciate you doing this for me.”

“You know I’d do anything for you.”

Her forehead wrinkled. “This is a big ask.”

“Nothing is too big.” Not for her. I just needed her to realize that.

We stood in the laundry room, the light I’d left on in the kitchen illuminating her face.

“What did you want to show me?” Sutton asked softly.

“It’s outside.” We made our way through the house and out the slider to the deck. Otto took off ahead of us to sniff the yard.

I used the new remote to turn on the lights.

Sutton gasped. “The new lights look great. You could keep them up year-round.”

“I might do that.” Mainly because I didn’t want to have to put them up again next year.

Sutton followed me down the deck steps where the lights continued along the railing to the outdoor living area I’d recently created, complete with twinkling lights that I’d strung under the deck to give it a cozy atmosphere.

“You did all of this? And decorated your trees?”

I had a few trees that could pass as evergreens but weren’t. In fact, in a few years, they’d be too big to decorate, but I thought I’d throw the extra lights I had on those.

Sutton walked past them, her expression filled with awe.

“You like it?”

“You did this for me?” She stepped back from the trees to take in the space.

I shifted on my feet. “You’re the one who said it would look good if I decorated more.”

“I love it.”

Suddenly feeling a little too exposed, I moved toward the fireplace and turned it on. It was my favorite feature. I loved that I could flip a switch and a fire immediately roared to life.

With the fire crackling and the lights twinkling all around us, it felt nice.

“We need music,” Sutton said as she pulled out her phone, hit Play on a holiday tune, and rested it on the mantle. “Shall we dance? It would be a shame to waste the ambiance.”

I pulled her into my arms, familiar with the feel of her. Except tonight my heart seemed to ache for her. She was so close yet so far away. Would I ever be able to tell her how I felt? Or would I be relegated to the friend zone forever?

“Thank you for rescuing me.” Her breath tickled my chin.

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