Page 49 of The Corner of Heartbreak and Forever
Not wanting to dwell on the fact that her life was hundreds of miles away, she tried to lead him astray. “I was wondering if you were ever going to buy a bedframe.”
“Do you want a bedframe?”
“It’s not my house.”
His eyes darkened. “But you’re in my bed.” He kissed her chin. “Should I worry about why you’re thinking about bedframes when I’m lying on top of you, naked?”
“No,” she said lightly. “I was really wondering when you were going to finish your kitchen so you wouldn’t have to eat out every meal.”
His eyes went pitch-black, and he nipped at her lower lip. “I loveeating out.”
A soft laugh escaped, and she whispered, “Me too. I wasn’t really thinking about appliances.”
“Ah, you’ve begun lying to me,” he teased.
“Just avoiding the truth. I was thinking about how much I like this.” She rose to kiss him, and he drew back with a tease in his eyes.
“This?” He rocked his hips.
“Yes. But it’s bigger than that.”
“Hey, watch it.”
“Not bigger thanthat. Being with you, falling asleep in your arms, waking up to your kisses. It feels like it’s always been this way. Like life went on when we weren’t together, but that all seems like a blip in time.” Even though she wasn’t leaving for another two weeks, she felt the end of her stay looming, making every moment they had together feel special and every moment with her family feel important in a way she’d never appreciated.
“When I first got to my parents’ house, I wondered how I’d make it through three weeks with my sisters’ drama, and then I saw you and my world turned inside out. But my sisters haven’t driven me crazy. They’ve enabled me to do more of what I love, and they’ve shown me sides of themselves that I’ve never slowed down enough to appreciate. And you and I…well, the two weeks we have left doesn’t seem like enough.”
“Because it’s not. Nothing will ever be enough, but it’s not supposed to be. Love is supposed to grow stronger, not get easier.”
“But we won’t havethis, Reed. Right now we have parts of every day. I mean, we’ll have Friday and Saturday nights and Saturday and Sunday mornings. But I’ll have to work some of that time, and if you’re fixing up the theater, you’ll need to behere.”
“We’ll figure it out,” he promised. “All we have to know right now is that we bothwantto make it work. Do you want that?”
“Yes, very much.”
“Good. Then let me ask you another important question. Do you”—he kissed the corner of her mouth—“think I should start here?” He kissed the other side of her mouth. “Or should I start at your pretty little toes and work my way up your gorgeous legs all the way to your lips?”
She giggled at his playfulness. “The second option sounds appealing, but I think I have an even better idea.” She pushed on his shoulders, and he shifted onto his side. Then she moved, bringing her legs by his head, and she pressed a kiss to his ankle. “How about if webothstart like this and we meet in the middle?”
He kissed her calf and said, “You were my first love, Gracie, and I know that regardless of where we’re living, you’ll be my last.”
LATER THAT MORNING, Reed made room in his dresser for Grace’s things and took far too much pleasure in watching her put them away. It was torture not asking her to move back, to movein, but he held his tongue.
As they got ready to head out to the Stardust Café for breakfast, Grace stood in the foyer holding a pair of cute sandals, looking gorgeous in skinny jeans and a lavender top, with her hair twisted into some sort of knot on the top of her head. Several dark tendrils had already sprung free, sexily framing her face.
Reed embraced her from behind. “Are we bed shopping after breakfast?”
She turned and wound her arms around his neck, her sandals dangling over his shoulder. “You know I don’t care if you have a bedframe or not, don’t you?”
“A big-city girl like you needs proper furniture.”
She swatted his arm, then bent to put on her sandals. “I do not.”
He chuckled.
“I have to get Sophie’s baby shower present. Can we stop by that new baby boutique in town?”
“Sure.” He opened the door for her and followed her out.
