Page 38 of Heart Like Yours

I stare down at her, blinking at her words as they hit me deeper than I thought possible. Paige softens, reaching a tentative hand up to place on my cheek.

“You lost people you loved. Just because someone else is also hurting or has ‘been through more’ doesn’t change the fact that your heart broke too.”

“I never thought about it that way,” I admit, leaning into her gentle touch and closing my eyes. “I’ve always been focused on just the fact that Dominik lost his family, that technically speaking, mine is still alive.”

“Blood doesn’t always equal family.” Paige rests her head against my chest. “You hide so much pain behind such a shining smile. It’s like you have the sweetest and kindest heart despite everything you’ve gone through. It takes strength for you to show up like you do every day.”

Despite how raw and exposed I feel, a laugh slips free. Paige tips her head back, eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

“Did you know I named the company in honor of Liv?” I ask. She shakes her head and I continue, “She used to tell me, and anyone who would listen, that I had the sweetest heart.”

A smile splits across Paige’s lips as she makes the connection to what she just said. “If there’s one thing for certain, it’s that a heart like yours is one of a kind, Garrett.”

The damn organ in my chest skips and I clear my throat before continuing.

“Liv was always jumping in to help people. She even started a local book club just so she could use it as an excuse to send some of the new moms in the neighborhood home with food without being overbearing. When I first had the idea for SweetHeart Publishing, it was because of her.”

“That’s the sweetest thing I have ever heard.”

We stay like that for a while, Paige curled up in my lap as she listens to me tell random stories about growing up with theMikelsons’. She only leaves my arms when my stomach rumbles and makes room so we can dive into the food.

“I don’t know how you manage to always pick out my favorite snacks.”

This time, I can feel my cheeks burning and I busy my hands by stacking a cheese square on top of a cracker.

“What’s that look for?” Paige asks.

“Um, I have a note in my phone.” When she doesn’t say anything after a few drawn-out moments, I finally cave and look up.

She’s staring at me with wide eyes, her jaw hanging comically open.

“You…what?” she whispers.

I set my cracker down and reach behind me to grab my phone. “I started a note in my phone shortly after we started working together so that I could remember what you liked or not.”

After opening the notes app on my phone, I hesitantly hand it to her. At her little gasp, I briefly wonder if I should have kept this to myself.

“Sorry if that’s weird. After our first few late nights in the office, I wanted to make sure I’d get things that you would like so just started jotting it all down.”

My phone slips from her hand, bouncing on the comforter and landing on the bag of Twizzlers. Before I can think of anything else to say, Paige is kneeling in front of me. I hold my breath as she pauses with her gaze on my lips all while my heart thunders in my chest.

And then she’s kissing me.

Her soft lips clash against mine, causing every previous thought to fly away, leaving only her. My hands itch to touch her, to memorize every inch of her that she would allow. But I don’t want to push her too far.

Paige’s hands slip from my face and slide through my hair to the back of my scalp. I don’t hold back the moan at the feeling, which seems to only encourage her to pull me impossibly closer. She moves until she’s straddling me and I finally give in to my own urges.

I wrap one arm around her waist, locking her in place in my lap while tracing my free hand up her ribs. She grinds herself against me, my cock aching to be free, and I know this won’t be enough. The need to learn everything there is to know about her, from her thoughts and dreams to her body and sounds, simmers just beneath my skin.

My thumb caresses over her ribs just below her breast, and I groan at the realization that there’s only a thin scrap of fabric between us.

Breaking away from her lips, I trail kisses along her jaw while she catches her breath.

“Garrett,” she whispers and I don’t have to see her face to know what she’s about to say.

“Let me in, Sweetheart.” I nudge her chin with my nose and her head tips back with zero resistance. Breathing in her sweet scent, I continue pleading against her neck. “Let me show you just how good we could be together.”

She sits up as much as she can with my arm wrapped around her waist. Her bottom lip is stuck between her teeth as she studies me. I reach up with my thumb, tugging her plump lip free before tracing over it.

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