Page 100 of The Obvious Check

“Good night, future Mrs. Bright.”

I close the app and let my phone drop onto the mattress beside me, a ridiculous grin spreading across my face as I stare at the water-stained hotel ceiling.

Tonight I'm going to dream about my fiancée, my future wife, the woman who's going to spend the rest of her life putting up with my obsessive bullshit.

And I couldn't be happier about it.

Chapter 23

When the door opens, Stanley launches himself off the couch and his feet skitter across the hardwood as the lock clicks shut.

“Hey, bud. Were you a good boy for our girl?” Cade asks.

Our girl.

I bite back a smile, my chest doing that fluttery thing it's been doing more and more lately. Things between us have been shifting, evolving into something deeper, more real. Last night proved that. We talked through a damn dog camera about nothing and everything, and I found myself saying things I've never dared voice before. He gave me pieces of himself in return, made me feel seen in a way that terrifies and thrills me in equal measure.

It's happening slowly, this healing he's doing to me. Cade is carefully piecing me back together, mending every crack in my shattered heart one fragile shard at a time. And I'm letting him because he's the only person in this world I trust not to destroy me all over again.

I rise from the couch, padding barefoot toward where he stands in the hallway, that massive hockey bag slung over his shoulder while he lavishes attention on Stanley.

God, he looks good. Tired but victorious with stubble darkening his jaw.

“Glad to have you back,” I say, my smile in full force now. I can’t help it. When I see him, I feel like a kid in a candy store.

When Cade looks up at me, time stops. We just stare at each other, drowning in this magnetic pull that's been growing stronger every day. He was only gone one night, but every cell in my body ached for him in ways I didn't know were possible.

“You’re still in my shirt.” His eyes drop to the purple fabric and before I can come up with a fancy retort, he grabs me, pulling me flush against his chest. His mouth lands on my neck as he leaves gentle kisses behind.

“I missed you so much, Pretty Girl,” he murmurs, his voice low with a rough edge that sends a shiver down my spine.

I melt into him completely, arms winding around his broad shoulders as I breathe him in. The warmth of his body, the desperation in his touch, ignites something wild and needy in my chest.

“I missed you, too,” I admit, making him pull back just enough to cup my cheeks. His eyes roam my face for a few seconds before he drops down and kisses me.

It’s not gentle or hesitant. It's consuming, claiming, stealing every breath from my lungs as he sets my entire world on fire. I clutch at his hoodie, desperate to get closer, but before I can pull him deeper, he breaks away, forehead pressed to mine, breathing like he just ran a marathon.

“Did you have a good sleep?” he asks, his voice gravelly and strained.

I blink up at him, my lips still tingling while my entire body screams for more.

“Not as good as when you’re here.”

He closes his eyes with a pained groan, hands tightening on my hips. “Don't say shit like that, Sav. The only reason I haven'talready carried you to our bedroom and locked the world out is because Stanley would never forgive me.”

Smiling, I rest my hands on top of his. “You really do have a flair for the dramatics, don’t you? How was your trip?”

“It was good. It was a tough win against a good team, so I can’t complain,” he says, his hands gripping my hips. “Happy to be home, though.”

Home.

His eyes darken as he looks at me, and I hate that look. That look makes me wonder if he thinksI’mhis home now. The feelings I have for him run far deeper than I’d ever anticipated so soon, and I’m still grappling with the reality of what that means and how crazy what we’re doing really is.

“Happy you’re here too.” I swallow, breaking our clinch as I look around the room for something else to do so I don’t have to deal with my feelings. Before I can figure that out, Cade slips past me into the kitchen and tosses his bag onto the counter. He gives Stanley another scratch on the head and unzips his bag before pulling out a brand-new dog toy in the shape of a polar bear.

Stanley dances on his feet, and Cade smiles. “Aw, buddy, did you really think I’d be able to leave you for a night and not get you something special?”

He points at the floor in front of Stanley. “Sit.”

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