“Yeah, I know.”
“Why don’t you go inside, get changed, shower off this shitty afternoon, and pour yourself a glass of wine? I’ll be back inside in a few with the steaks.”
His frown morphed into the beginnings of a smile. “Okay. I’ll do that.”
I squeezed him again, gave him another kiss, and watched him walk off.
“If it makes you feel any better, those scrubs make your ass look fantastic,” I called out after him.
He sent me a wink over his shoulder as he made his way inside. “Damn right they do.”
I sighed as he disappeared inside. I couldn’t wait for my knee to get better so I could have him the way I wanted to have him. There was no way he was gonna let me do that before the six-month mark because Dr. K insisted I stick to the protocol after I’d gone off script that one time.
Didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try and get in there earlier.
By the time the steaks were ready, Sky was leaning up against the island in the kitchen, drinking from the heavy glass of wine in his hand, wearing my old robe, his hair wet.
“Better?”
He took another slug of wine. “Much.”
I set the steaks on the counter, letting them rest while I stood in front of him. Unknotting the robe, I slipped my hands beneath the soft, worn material to explore his trim, perfect body. Over the last several weeks, I’d come to love the angles and curves of his body, and what they did to me. Where there’d once been uncertainty, confidence stood in its place.
“You smell so good,” I murmured, running my nose up the long column of his neck.
“So do you,” he replied, capturing my lips again in a kiss.
I rolled my hips, fully clothed against his open-robed nudity, loving the softness of his skin under my blunt fingertips. I slid my hand around to his backside and took a handful of ass cheek, jiggling it. He pulled away from the kissing, laughing as the last of the evening sun lit his pretty eyes.
“You really are an ass man, aren’t you?”
“I very much am,” I admitted proudly. “And you have the world’s most perfect ass.”
His shy smile made my heart speed up.
“But the thing I love most about you,” I continued, “is your heart.”
His eyes darted to mine, widening. I smiled, shrugging.
“Yeah, I said it.” I took his face in my hands. “I love you. So much.”
His eyes went shiny, and he kissed me. “I love you, too, Kit Baker. You’re the best man I’ve ever known.”
We swayed and kissed there in the kitchen, whispering our I love yous, letting our hands drift over one another. After afew moments, his stomach growled, and we fell into each other, laughing and kissing and laughing some more.
“Let’s get you fed, pretty man, and then go round some bases.”
“Sounds like a plan, cowboy.”
EPILOGUE
KIT
Skylarand I were celebrating the six-month mark of my surgery at the new Texas-meets-bougie restaurant in Fredericksburg, followed by an extended weekend in my prettiest rental cabin, out by Enchanted Rock.
Sky cheated, though, and gave me my present a month early to help with the last, long stretch of my recovery—a fully trained cattle dog mix named Nellie. She was a rescue, and our friend Woody was the one to train her. I immediately fell in love with her beautiful amber eyes and fluffy chocolate and white fur.
More importantly, Skylar had roped Reed into helping him find the perfect dog, which ensured that he wouldn’t be upset by adding a pet and working animal to the mix. Reed and McKenzie were watching her this weekend, and I was so proud to know that he’d take excellent care of her.
