“This place is perfect… how did you know I’d love all these little details?”
“I had help,” he admitted. “Lily was talking to Gunner one day about the layout of their house, and she mentioned you’d spent time showing her a design platform where you’d saved all your favorite things for a house one day.”
“Oh my gosh.”
“It wasn’t hard to get Lily to agree to show me it once I told her my plans.”
“How did you have so much faith? We haven’t talked in all this time.”
“I knew that you needed time and space to work on what you needed to work on. And even though it fucking killed me to not pick up the phone twenty five times a day and reach out to you, I let you go. Because the truth has always been there, Mae. It’s always been you. It’s always been us.”
“And if it doesn’t work out, you have a beautiful house to live in with someone else…”
“Michaela…” Stone’s growl sent a shiver down her spine. “There is no one else. I’ll wait in this house, empty and alone, until you are ready. I carved our initials all over this place. They are on every beam. On every doorway. A promise that this home isours. I’ve never spent a single night sleeping here, because I wanted the first time I laid down in our bed to be with you in my arms.”
“Show me our room,” she whispered, breathless from his devotion.
“One more space to see.” He chuckled at her sigh. “Just one more. And then I’ll take you to bed.”
He tucked her hand gently into his and tugged her downthe hallway to the space that connected the house to what Mae thought was the second story of the garage. Stone opened the door and she burst into tears.
“No. Don’t cry,” he begged. “I’m so sorry. You don’t like it?”
She shook her head. “I love it. It’s exactly what I saw in my dreams.”
And it was. The beautiful dance studio she’d dreamed of, over and over when she was pregnant, was right in front of her eyes. It was almost as if he’d gone into her memories to transform the space.
“Maybe it wasn’t a dream you were seeing, but a glimpse of the future.”
“Do you think that means we’ll have a little girl one day? She was dancing, right over there in my dreams.” Mae pointed to the wall of mirrors behind a ballet barre.
“I think we can have fun trying.” He opened his arms and she slid into place.
“Thank you for this. For all of this. For doing this for us when I couldn’t.”
“Always, Mae. You’ll never be the only one fighting for us ever again.”
Mae smiled, slipping her hand back into Stone’s. “Come on, Sully. I think it’s time you took me to bed.”
He pulled her close, and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her. But in an instant, she was up in the air, being cradled against his chest. She kicked her feet and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“A girl could get used to this, you know.”
“Good. My girl should expect these things. To know I’m going to spend the rest of my life showing her how much I love her.”
He walked them back down the hall, to the room acrossfrom the nursery. Mae’s eyes went wide as the glow from a hundred candles filled the space.
“Stone!”
“Don’t worry. They’re battery operated and on a timer. I wouldn’t risk starting a house fire now that you’re here.”
“Very practical. Now, set me down so I can get out of this dress.”
“As you wish.” He lowered her feet to the ground, holding her waist as she steadied herself. His hands reached back, gathering her hair to one side. With that out of the way, she felt his fingers dance down her spine, until they connected with the small zipper hidden in the silk fabric. Slowly, so fucking slowly she was sure her skin was about to burst into flames before he finished, Stone lowered the zipper.
Mae felt the fabric pull away from skin for a fraction of a second before Stone’s touch was there again, guiding the thin straps over her shoulder, until the fabric fluttered to the floor.
Stone sucked in a sharp breath as his eyes raked over her naked body.
