“Surprise!” I beamed at him.
“Alright, alright. You’ve had your greeting. It’s our turn,” Dallas teased, moving in to hug Liv. “It’s good to see you, Cupcake.”
I looked at them curiously. “Cupcake?”
“You did good work, Agent Sprinkles.” She patted Dallas on the back.
“Agent Sprinkles? Wait, you knew?” I asked incredulously. “Andyou had code names?”
Dallas grinned. “Well, obviously.”.
“Weallknew,” Luca said, swooping in to give Liv a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“It was hard keeping it from you,” Derek admitted, taking his turn to embrace Liv. “Especially seeing how down you were when you thought she wasn’t coming.”
“But we knew she’d be here soon, and you’d be okay.” Cash winked.
“I am more than okay.” I reached for Liv’s hand and pulled her to me.
“Thank God for that,” Derek ribbed at me. “You’ve become insufferable without her.”
“Seriously,” Dallas agreed. “Sir Mopes-A-Lot over here.”
“Lies. All lies.” I laughed. “Gentleman, if you’ll excuse us, I want to spend some quality time with my beautiful girlfriend who flew across the country to see me.”
Liv looked at me with wide eyes at the mention of the word ‘girlfriend.’ I mentally kicked myself for not having that talk with her before now.
“Are you two ready?” Brady asked, reading my mind. “I’ve got the car parked outside.”
“Yes. Yes, we are,” I curled my arm around Liv’s shoulders and steered her away from the group.
“See you guys tomorrow,” Derek called. They all waved their goodbyes, and we followed Brady out into the balmy California night.
“So, about the ‘girlfriend’ thing,” I said. “I’m sorry. I know we haven’t talked about it, but I just… I want to be whatever says we belong to each other. Was that okay?”
She smiled. “It’s more than okay. It’s perfect.”
I couldn’t stop myself from kissing Liv once we were tucked inside the back of the SUV en route to the hotel. “I’m so glad I get to do that again.”
“And you can for the next two weeks.” She smiled flirtatiously up at me, pulling my face back down to hers. “As long as that’s still okay with you.”
My mouth fell open. “Are you serious?”
“I donut believe I would make this up.” She grinned. “Ella and Katie are holding things together at the shop while I’m gone, so I’m yours for the next couple of weeks.” She placed her dainty hand on the side of my face, and I covered it with my own. I stared into her eyes that sparkled beneath the passing lamplight. She bit her lower lip, and my heart rate picked up speed, thudding in my ears. I had never wanted anyone, or anything, more than I wanted her.
“There you go biting that lip.” I touched my thumb to her pillowy mouth. “You know that drives me crazy.”
“I know,” she whispered. It was as though a match had been lit and was being dangled over a barrel of gasoline, waiting to catch fire.
The second Brady pulled the SUV to a stop, I lurched from the car with her hand in mine and sprinted through the side entrance of the hotel. I barely even nodded to the doorman that let us in. I pulled her onto the passcode-protected elevator reserved for VIP guests, and it began its excruciatingly slow ascent to the top floor. I stood behind her, brushing her hair to the side so I could kiss her neck, my hands trailing down her shoulders. Finally, the elevator doors opened, and we barrelled down the hall, hand in hand. Once we reached the room, I fumbled for the room key with shaky hands.
The door clicked open, and once we were safely inside, the flame was ignited. I tossed the card to the ground and took her in my arms, pressing her gently against the back of the door. She kicked off her heels as she took my face in her hands and kissed me.
“I missed you so much,” I whispered between kisses as she yanked her jacket off, tossing it to the ground.
She tugged my shirt over my head, running her hands over my bare chest.
“I missed you too,” she murmured. She took my hands into hers and slid them beneath her camisole before ripping the silky garment over her head.
