My lips parted, but no sound came out. I had no idea what to do with that. None. Except I couldn’t help the small, stunned, incredulous smile that spread on my lips.
When I got back to the apartment after my visit, the smell of coffee hit me the second I opened the door. Trent was in the kitchen, barefoot with his hair a mess, one hand braced on the counter as he scrolled through something on his phone.
He looked like home before he’d even turned around, but when I dropped a bag of donuts on the island and he glanced up, I felt the pure, undeniable love I had for this man. As soon as he saw my face, he set down his phone and leaned back, cocking a hip against the counter and studying me with slow, amused suspicion.
“So,” he drawled. “What foundation are you donating all your money to?”
I blinked hard. “How did you know?”
“Your smile is very loud.” He winked at me and tapped his temple. “I’d also like to think it’s because I’ve gotten to know you just a little bit.”
I laughed, the sound bright and uncontained, and I walked straight into his arms, answering his question with my voice muffled by his chest. “All of the charities. That’s who I’m giving it to, every last one that I can actually help.”
His arms cinched around me, strong and certain, and in that moment, everything felt so right that I suddenly knew we’d always been meant to weather this storm together. Trent Shepard and I had fought for us. For our future. For our home and our ridiculous, unexpected, perfect-for-us love.
We’d fought for it, and now that we’d finally made it to the other side, I knew all the way to my bones that neither of us would ever let it go.
CHAPTER 48
TRENT
By the time I pulled the truck up the long drive toward the house, it didn’t feel like we’d been gone almost a week. It felt like it’d been half a goddamn lifetime.
Charlotte was curled up in the passenger seat, watching the porch lights appear through the rain. The storm wasn’t heavy this time, just steady enough that everything shimmered and looked soft around the edges.
Texas knew how to put on a mood when it wanted to, and tonight, it sure had wanted to. I killed the engine and stepped out before she could reach for her seatbelt, calling to her over the roof when I saw her hand move toward the buckle.
“Don’t even think about it!”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Don’t even think about what?”
“Walking to that door yourself.” I rounded the truck, ignoring her exasperated sigh. “I’m carrying you.”
“It’s already my house too,” she argued even as I opened her door and slid my hands around her waist. “We’ve been here after we got married, remember?”
“Exactly,” I said. “Which is why I’m carrying you over the threshold now. I never got to do it before.”
She gave me an irritated but secretly delighted look, and I grinned because I knew her tells by now. She could fight me, sure, but she wasn’t going to win.
“Trent,” she tried one last time.
“Charlotte.”
She let out a very fake, exasperated sigh but looped her arms around my neck and I lifted her off the seat, kicking the door shut behind us and starting for the porch. I fucking loved holding this girl. I’d carry her all day, every day if I could.
She tilted her head back to look at the sky, opening her mouth to catch a few raindrops on her tongue before she glanced at me. “Does it always get this cold in the fall?”
I snorted. “Cold? Sweetheart, this is a mood swing, not a season. If there’s anything you need to know about Texas weather, it’s this. Tonight might be in the fifties, but tomorrow? Eighty degrees and stifling. Don’t get attached to any forecast.”
She groaned. “I just got used to the humidity. Now I have to deal with weather having mood swings too?”
“Welcome home,” I said and nudged the front door open with my boot.
The entry lights came on automatically, casting a warm, soft glow over the table where a big vase of flowers sat—white roses, eucalyptus, and something frilly I couldn’t name. There was a note propped against it.
Charlotte twisted in my arms. “What’s that?”
“Probably from my mom,” I muttered, carrying her inside and finally setting her on her feet.
