Page 39 of Keeping You
She carefully lifts herself off me, wincing slightly, and I immediately miss the connection. But she doesn't go far, curling up next to me with her head on my chest, the image of when I woke.
I want to do this every day. Wake up with her in my arms every morning. I want to keep her.
“We should probably talk about what this means.”
I trace lazy patterns on her bare back, considering. “It means I like you, Callie Cooper. A lot. And I think you like me too.”
She laughs softly. “That's a bit of an understatement, don't you think?”
“Maybe,” I concede. “How about this: I want to see where this goes. For real this time, not pretend.”
She props herself up on one elbow to stare at me, her expression serious. “What about Harper? And Kirk? And the whole reason we started this in the first place?”
“I think the bakery will be fine,” I say, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Business has already picked up. As for Harper and Kirk,” I shrug. “I think you need to let that go and move on.”
She bites her lip, considering. “And what if this doesn't work out? What if we try for real and it falls apart?”
“Then at least we'll know we gave it an honest shot,” I tell her. “I can't promise you forever, Callie. No one can. But I can promise to be honest with you, to respect you, and to do everything in my power to make you happy for as long as you'll have me.”
Her eyes soften, and she lowers her head to kiss me. I nab her tongue and suck on it for a second. “Okay,” she whispers breathlessly when I let her go.
“Okay?” I repeat, not quite believing it's that simple.
She nods, a smile spreading across her face. “Let's do this. For real.”
With one hand cradling the back of her head, I pull her down for another kiss, this one all-consuming, pouring all my feelings into it, trying to show her with actions what I'm not quite ready to say with words. When we finally break apart, we're both breathing heavy.
“I really do need to get to work,” I say reluctantly.
“Me too,” she sighs, but makes no move to get up.
I laugh, giving her a playful swat on the behind. “Come on, Librarian. The books are waiting.”
She groans but rolls away, stretching like a cat before standing, and I almost yank her back, our jobs be damned. “Fine. But I'm using the shower first.”
On the walk across the floor to the bathroom, her ass twitches seductively, and my groan is automatic. “Want help?”
She pauses in the doorway, glancing over her shoulder with a mischievous grin. “Well, it would be environmentally conscious of us to save water.”
I'm out of bed and following her before she can even finish the thought, my heart lighter than it's been in years.
In the shower, with water cascading over us and Callie's laughter bouncing off the tile, I hold her against me and let myself believe that I deserve this second chance, too.
Chapter Twelve
Callie
The sharp chime of a text, and then another, rapid-fire, pierces the silence. Groaning, I reach out blindly, my fingers brushing nothing but cool sheets where Luke’s warmth should be.
The happiness that curves my lips is immediate, as is the sultry groan that slips out for a completely different reason. Every inch of me hums. I’ve never felt so sated and deliciously used. Between my thighs is tender, my lips still swollen from his kisses. I’ve never desired a man as much as I did Luke last night.
Dragging in a slow breath and lazily letting out, I stare at the ceiling for a beat. Never in a million lifetimes did I ever think this would happen. But last night? It wasn’t the same as before. We were kids then. Young and inexperienced. This was so much more. Luke understood what I needed without being told. And there’s that flare of green thinking about the other women he’s been with and everything he’s learned in the years we’ve been apart.
My phone pings again. Then again. Whoever it is clearly doesn’t believe in letting a girl bask in the afterglow.
“Alright, alright,” I mutter, voice scratchy as I roll over and fumble for the phone, knocking an empty water bottle off thenightstand in the process, which causes me to grin. Hydration wasn’t optional last night. It was a survival tactic.
The screen lights up with a string of messages from Nikki, each one more dramatic than the last.
