Page 42 of Moore to Love

Waverly proved how perceptive she was when she murmured, “Don’t worry. The two glasses of wine she had might’ve loosened her lips, but she definitely means what she’s saying.”

Taking a step back, Ellie peered up at me with wide eyes. “Remember when I said I might be bad at the whole dating thing? This is probably an example of that since it’s not exactly the most romantic way to share my feelings with you for the first time.”

“You’re wrong, baby.” I cupped her cheeks with my palms, my heart feeling as though it was about to burst out of my chest with how happy I was. “Any time and any place you want to tell me that you love me is fucking perfect as far as I’m concerned.”

“I love you,” she whispered again.

I brushed my lips over hers. “I love you, too.”

Swiping my thumbs over her cheeks, I brushed away a few stray tears. Then I captured her mouth in a deep kiss, not feeling the least bit embarrassed when the women cheered us on. Although we hadn’t been hiding our relationship, we had avoided public displays of affection for the most part. But knowing that I had Ellie’s love changed everything. I wanted to shout from the rooftops that this amazing woman was mine.

“Aw, you guys are gonna make me cry, and then my makeup will be ruined.” Meghan sniffled. “Trust me, nobody wants to see me with mascara streaking down my cheeks.”

“Wait a second.” Waverly’s brows drew together as she tilted her head to the side. “What’re you doing here?”

Ellie’s eyes widened. “I can’t believe I didn’t think to ask until now. Who’s home with Benjamin and Madison?”

“Ryland is camped out on your sofa, just in case one of them wakes up while I’m gone,” I explained.

“I’m confused. Couldn’t he have just dropped Ellie off on his way home with me?” Waverly asked, frowning when she peered over my shoulder and saw Dean striding into the wine bar behind me.

Meghan shook her head as she slid off her stool. “But then we would’ve missed out on all of the lovey-dovey stuff, which would’ve been a damn shame.”

“Excellent point.” Waverly waved her hand between Ellie and me. “Carry on.”

Vienna stood and walked over to Dean, flinging her arm around his back as she leaned against his side. “Thanks for an awesome night.”

“I can’t take any of the credit, princess.” My cousin jerked his chin toward me. “This was all Finn’s doing.”

“And we kinda just invited ourselves along,” Skylar added.

“I’m so glad you did.” Ellie stepped away from me to give each of the women a hug. “We need to make our ‘Spill it. But not the wine.’ nights a tradition.”

Waverly pointed at me. “You’re the man with the plan. Make it happen.”

“Whatever Ellie wants,” I agreed with a nod.

“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Vienna sighed.

“And true.” Meghan circled her hand in the air. “As awesome as tonight was, Finn plans thoughtful stuff like this for Ellie all the time. The rest of our men could take lessons from him on how to earn all the brownie points.”

“Hey, now. I’m plenty thoughtful,” Dean griped.

Vienna nodded. “He really is. You should’ve seen how he proposed. He rented a plane with a banner. It was so sweet.”

“I think it’s fair to say that all of the Moore men know how to be romantic when the time calls for it,” Skylar murmured with a dreamy look in her eyes. Then she grabbed her purse, and the other women followed suit. “Who’s driving me home so I can show Baxter my appreciation for watching Franklin tonight?”

“That’d be me since I’m headed in your direction,” Dean offered. “Waverly, you’re with us too.”

Meghan beamed a smile at us. “And I get to ride with the lovebirds.”

“Yup,” I confirmed as I pressed my hand against Ellie’s lower back to guide her toward the exit. “I even moved one of the booster seats so you don’t have to sit in the middle.”

Meghan gasped and cast an accusing glare at Ellie as she walked to the parking lot with us. “You didn’t tell me about the booster seats.”

“Finn does so many amazing things for me and the kids. It’s hard to keep up.” Ellie leaned into my touch. “Like tonight.”

I stood a little taller at her compliment, happy that my small gestures meant so much to her.

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