He smiles. “Old geezer.”
“Oh, mygod,” Zoey grumbles. “Do I need to go sleep in the guest room? You promised me we were sleeping late today, damnit.”
“Sorry,” we both say, our smiles growing wider as she grumbles again.
I kiss her, then Nolan kisses her.
“We’ll cook breakfast this morning,” he offers. “You can stay in bed.”
“I suppose that’s a fair trade,” she says. She still hasn’t opened her eyes.
Did I mention how damned much I love this woman right here?
The perfect woman for us.
I squeeze Nolan’s hand before we untangle ourselves from Zoey and each other. We both kiss her again and then climb out of bed and head to the bathroom. I let Nolan go first, standing there and leaning against the wall as I watch him.
This morning evenfeelsdifferent,better, despite him having spent plenty of nights over in the past four years since he finally admitted he wanted us and knew Jerilyn was not his forever.
I’m not sure if it’d been just me here that night when he came over in tears that we’d be here right now. When I first started dating Zoey, it was important to me that Nolan liked her. If he hadn’t, I would’ve quickly ended things with her.
Even though at that point Nolan and I were just friends.
Did I want him to be a little jealous or envious of me?
Maybe.
Again, I’m not perfect and never claimed to be.
Once we’re both finished, we pull on shorts and T-shirts and head out to the kitchen to start the coffee. I survey the disaster area that is our dining room, living room, and what is now Katie’s bedroom. “Holy crap,” I mutter. “We’re going to need all week to get this organized.”
Nolan chuckles. “Can’t back out now.”
I walk into the kitchen and wrap my arms around him from behind. “Like hell am I ever backing out. Took me damn long enough to finally get you here.”
He turns in my arms and our gazes meet. I let the comfortable quiet remain unbroken as we simply exist in this little bubble of our own for a few minutes.
Nowhere to be, no one to hide from.
Yeah, I’m positive this is what contentment feels like.
He kisses me, turning so I’m pressed against the counter, and I realize it’s possible I’ll get to start most mornings for the rest of my life doing this with him.
Damn right I’m good with that.
