My heartbeat booms to a staccato beat. “You liked my ideas?”
He shakes his head, a slow motion I track with a steady gaze. “I wanted to build that dream for you, and us.”
I gulp at the pressure quickly building in my throat. “W-what?”
He cups my jaw. “You heard me, Sutt.”
“Why are you the sweetest man ever?” I clasp my palms to his cheeks.
Grady presses his lips to mine. “You deserve the best. I’ll never stop trying to be that for you.”
I sniff and blink off the moisture from my lashes. “You’re already perfect, Grady Bowen. If you get any better, I’ll feel extremely inadequate.”
He barks out a laugh. “That’s not possible.”
I lift an eyebrow. “No? What if I disagree?”
“Then I’ll spend hours proving you wrong.” With the stealthy moves of a panther, he scoops me up and rises to his feet. One strong arm is banded under my knees, the other cinching around my shoulders. This hold screams of protection. I’m safe and not going anywhere.
“Sounds like a promising compromise.” I nuzzle into him.
He tightens his grip on me. “You’re coming home with me to our house. That’s where you belong.”
A tremble wracks my limbs. Bossy Grady is pushing all the best buttons. He gives me a cocky smirk that tosses another torch on the blaze in my core.
Better indeed.
A thought occurs to me as he hustles across the yard. “What if we didn’t end up getting together?”
He gives me a fast jerk of his head in response. “I don’t want to consider that as a possibility.”
“Only a few short weeks ago, you were hell bent on keeping me away.”
Grady snorts. “I was being an asshole.”
It was difficult to dispute the truth. But I still give it a shot. “Well, things certainly had changed. There’s no blaming you. Negatively speaking, what was the alternative?”
His nostrils flare. “Maybe I would’ve sold the house and moved away.”
“You’d actually leave? Give our home to someone else?”
A muscle in his cheek jumps. “That was my plan. Not sure I ever would’ve gone through with it.”
I bury my face in his shirt, inhaling smoke and fresh pine and a man always meant to be mine. My fingers twist in the fabric and cling on for extra security. “Well, it’s a damn good thing we’ll never have to find out.”
21
Grady
Happy something #27: Playing board games. This wasn’t a tradition in my house, considering we never owned any.
The following Saturday, we drive 70 miles north to meet Sutton’s friends. Having my girl clinging to me while we fly down the freeway is a great way to spend an hour. That might’ve been my favorite ride yet. An electric buzz hums in my veins from having her lush curves pressing so close. But there’s no time for sneaking off to a secluded area.
I press a palm into the dip low on Sutton’s spine. That notch at the base of her back is fit for my hand. As if proving my silent claim, she pushes against my subtle touch. The smile she graces me with over her shoulder is icing on the damn cake. My woman loves the possessive parts of me.
We walk across the brewery parking lot with the sun beaming behind us. This is the type of day meant to be spent outside. Bottom Up Brew House appears to be a great place to do just that.
“How’d you hear about this spot?” I tuck her into my side as we wedge through the entrance.
