Page 86 of The Fun Part
I defend Cal’s honor. “I find him to be a considerate and neat roommate.”
“I’m a little more than that.” Cal grabs me and nips my neck.
I squeal and slap at his shoulder. “Back off, vampire.”
He grins. Sutton shakes her head, smiling.
Cal and I mingle as more family and friends show up. Even my cousin Rafael is here from the city. He’s Owen and Harper’s younger brother. He’s got his digital camera at the ready, snapping pics. So nice of him to do that for us. He’s a professional photographer, mostly doing shoots for models.
I give Rafael a hug. Like me, he has brown hair and blue eyes, tall with a mix of his parents’ looks. His dad’s sharp jaw, his mom’s full lips. His easy smile earns him friends and lots of admirers. “Thanks for coming, Rafael! It’s so great to see you.”
“You too.” He shakes Cal’s hand. “Congrats!”
“On living together, thanks,” Cal says, which is kinda strange. I thought Rafael was congratulating us on being a couple.
I put a hand on Rafael’s arm. “You don’t have to take pictures the whole time. Just relax.”
“I don’t mind.” His head swivels as he spots Sutton. “Who is that?”
“My baby sister,” Cal says with a hint of a growl.
Rafael can’t take his eyes off her. “She’s beautiful. I wonder if she’d mind if I took her picture.”
“Only one way to find out,” I say.
Rafael heads over to her. And on that note, I pull Cal away. Sutton is a grown-ass woman who doesn’t need her big brother running interference. “Let’s get the champagne.”
Cal follows me to the kitchen. “Can we trust him? Sutton just came out of a long-term relationship.”
“That was six months ago. You came out of a serious relationship the same day I snatched you up.” I grin.
He doesn’t smile. “Seriously.”
“Of course you can trust him! He’s my cousin. Also, he’s a model photographer surrounded by beautiful women at work, and they find him in the wild too. He was probably artistically inspired.”
He grunts. “Not making me feel much better.”
I kiss him, lingering a little longer than is decent at a party. He gives me a tender smile and laces his fingers with mine. I continue our journey to the kitchen, pleased with how easy it is to distract him. It takes a while to get to the kitchen because more people keep arriving and stopping us to chat.
Once we’re finally alone in the kitchen, he boxes me in against the counter and kisses me, long and deep. By the time he pulls away, I’m dizzy with lust. He gazes into my eyes with so much love I’m momentarily speechless. I love him so damn much.
He cups my face in his hands, his voice husky. “I knew the moment I set eyes on you at that Valentine’s Day dance my world would never be the same.”
My throat tightens. “Oh, Cal. You’re so sweet.”
“I know all you saw was a sexy guy you had to have.”
I laugh. It’s his favorite story, how I saw green flags with his commitment-phobe self and a fabulous way to end my dry spell. “And I got so much more.”
He strokes my cheek with his thumb. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“I know we’ve only been living together for a month, but it feels right. Have you considered ever maybe getting married sometime in the near future?”
I scrunch my nose in confusion.Was that a marriage proposal?“You don’t have to dance around the topic. I’ve always been open to marriage for future me. Like in my thirties.”
He drops his hands. “Okay, I can wait.”
