“Now?” I park and turn to face her. “Now we figure out what we want. Together.”
“What do you want?”
“You. In every way I can have you.” I unbuckle my seatbelt, shifting to face her fully. “I want to wake up next to you. Fall asleep with you. Fight with you and make up with you. I want to be there for your bad days and your good days and every boring day in between.”
Her breath catches. “Carter—”
“I want you to move in with me.” The words tumble out before I can second-guess them. “I know it’s fast. I know we’ve only been together for a few weeks. But I don’t care. I want you here. In this house. Making it feel like an actual home instead of just a place I sleep.”
“You want me to move in?”
“Yes. Tomorrow, if you’ll do it.” I take her hand. “Look, I know my career is winding down. I know there’s uncertainty about what comes next. But the one thing I’m absolutely certain about is you. Us. I don’t want to waste time being careful or taking things slow. I want to live with you. Build a life with you. Figure out the future together.”
She’s quiet for so long that panic starts to creep in. Maybe I pushed too hard. Maybe it’s too soon. Maybe—
“Okay.”
I blink. “Okay?”
“Okay, I’ll move in with you.” A smile spreads across her face. “You’re right. Life’s too short to be careful. And I don’t want to spend another night without you.”
Relief crashes over me, so intense it’s almost painful. I pull her across the console, kissing her hard. She kisses me back just as fiercely, her hands in my hair, both of us grinning against each other’s mouths.
“You’re sure?” I ask when we finally break apart.
“I’m sure. But Carter? We need to tell Mark. Officially. No more hiding, no more secrets.”
“Agreed. We’ll tell him tomorrow.” I kiss her again, softer this time. “But tonight? Tonight is just for us.”
We climb out of the truck and head inside. The house feels different already, it feels warmer and brighter just knowing she’s going to be living here.
Olivia kicks off her heels in the foyer, the professional mask finally slipping away. “I need to get out of this suit.”
“I can help with that.”
She laughs. “I bet you can. But first, I need food. I haven’t eaten since those pastries this morning.”
“On it.” I head for the kitchen. “What do you want?”
“Surprise me.”
I pull out ingredients for pasta, something simple but filling. While the water boils, I watch Olivia wander through the living room, already making mental notes about what she wants to change. She pauses at the bookshelf, studying the photos there.
“Is this your family?” she calls.
“Yeah. Parents, sister, couple of nephews.”
“They’re going to want to meet me, aren’t they?”
“Probably. My mom’s been asking about you since the first article came out.” I add pasta to the boiling water. “Fair warning, she’s going to love you. And she’s going to ask when we’re getting married approximately five minutes after meeting you.”
Olivia appears in the kitchen doorway, eyebrows raised. “Married?”
“She’s traditional. Ignore her.” I stir the pasta. “Unless you don’t want to ignore her. In which case, we can discuss it.”
“Carter Storm, are you proposing to me in your kitchen while making pasta?”
“No. I’m just saying, if my mother brings it up, I won’t hate the idea.” I look up at her. “But that’s way down the road. Right now, I’m focused on convincing you that moving in was the right choice.”
