“Mm-hmm.” She slipped her hands behind his neck. “A bit like how Bella’s grown onyou.”
Bella clearly heard, because she gave a little bark from her bed in the living room.
Becket chuckled. “I think I’m growing on her too.”
“It seems to be a common trend.” She grinned before turning in his arms and tugging his head down to kiss him. A long, slow kiss that wasn’t nearly enough for Becket.
He lifted his head and scanned the counter. Even though it was a mess, there was a stack of pancakes on a plate, bacon in one pan and scrambled eggs in another.
“Making breakfast?” he asked unnecessarily, looking back at her.
“Yeah, I wanted it to be special.”
He drew her closer. “Really? Any special occasion I’m forgetting?”
“No. I just have something to tell you.” Pink tinged her cheeks.
She tried to turn back to the counter, but he gently gripped her waist, not letting her move. “Tell me now.”
Her eyes flared. Then she blinked and shook her head. “No. I made pancakes and bacon, and I’m going to make your coffee just the way you like it.” She pushed at his chest. “Now go and play with Bella while I cook.”
He shot a look over his shoulder to find Bella lolling on her back, tongue out.
Sky started to turn away.
“I love you.”
She gasped and swung back. “What did you say?”
He stepped closer, once again gripping her hips, tugging her into him. “I said…I love you.”
He couldn’t hold it in any longer. He needed her to hear it. For her to know exactly what she meant to him. How he hadn’t already blurted it out, he had no idea.
Emotion flared in her eyes, tears shining through. “One more time.”
“I’ll say it a million times. I love you. I love being close to you. I love fighting with you more than I love getting along with anyone else. Even when we were just neighbors who pretended to hate each other, the glimpses I got of you were the best parts of my day.”
Her lips parted, her chest moving faster, tears shining in her eyes.
Then she whacked him.
“Ow!” He rubbed his shoulder. “What was that for?”
“I was supposed to say it first! I got up early and made this big breakfast. I was going to set the table all nice. You saved my life, so I wanted to make my declaration of love special and be the first to say the words!”
His lips twitched. He shouldn’t be surprised she was mad. That was how this had all started. “You thinkI savedyou? You savedme, Peaches. You added color to my life. I didn’t realize I was living in gray shades until you came along. You made my life better.”
* * *
Sky closed her eyes,a single tear rolling down her cheek. He loved her. The words felt big and important and good. So damn good. They wrapped around her heart, squeezing.
Then she opened her eyes and said the words that had been locked inside her for far too long.
“I love you too.” Her words were a whisper, barely crossing the distance between them.
His arms tightened around her, emotion shadowing his features. “You do?”
“I love you so much, Becket. And not just because you’ve saved my life more times than I can count. I love you because you have become my entire world. Even when our relationship wasn’t real, it felt like it was.”
