“Congratulations,” I manage, wiping tears from my eyes. “You’ve officially been accepted.”
Maverick groans dramatically, his face buried again, but his hand squeezes my hip under the sheets. “This is not how I imagined my Sunday morning.”
I giggle against his shoulder. Rex stands up, yawning, and jumps off Maverick’s back, retreating from the room.
Maverick sighs, “Thank, fuck.” He leans in, smirking against my lips. “Stay here. I’m making you breakfast.”
Before I can argue, he’s already rolling out of bed, tugging on his sweats, and padding downstairs barefoot, humming something off-key.
I smile to myself, stretching across his side of the bed, before slipping into the bathroom.
That’s when I see it.
Folded crookedly and taped to the mirror, a sticky note in his messy scrawl.
Don’t disappear on me, dollface. I’ll hunt you down.
– HR (aka Hot Roommate, aka Your Husband)
My laugh escapes before I can stop it, bouncing off the tile. God, he’s such a troublemaker. But my chest swells anyway, stupidly warm, because this is how Maverick Hayes shows love, loud, ridiculous, and impossible to ignore.
I tuck the note into the pocket of his hoodie hanging on the back of the door and head downstairs, still smiling.
The smell of bacon hits me first, then the sound of him humming in the kitchen. Maverick’s shirtless at the stove, flipping pancakes with dramatic flair, hair sticking up in every direction.
I slide onto a stool at the counter, sipping an iced coffee he made for me. “Do I get a say in breakfast?”
He grins over his shoulder. “Options are pancakes, bacon, or me. Strongly suggest all three.”
Before I can answer, the front door bangs open.
“Rise and shine, lovebirds!” Catalina’s voice rings through the house.
Maverick groans. “I knew I should’ve changed the fucking locks.”
Carter follows behind her, muttering, “You didn’t even knock.”
Maverick sets a plate of pancakes in front of me with a triumphant grin. “See, baby? Perfect golden brown. You’re welcome.”
I smirk, cutting into one. “Thanks, baby.”
Catalina leans her elbows on the counter, eyes gleaming. “So…” Her gaze flicks between us like she’s about to detonate a bomb. “Since you two made up…”
I freeze, fork halfway to my mouth. “Cat?—”
“…are you pregnant yet?”
I choke so hard on the bite I almost die. Pancake crumbs spray across the counter, and Maverick immediately thumps me on the back, sputtering with laughter.
“CATALINA!” I cough, my face flaming.
Carter groans, dragging a hand down his face. “Jesus Christ, woman.”
Maverick, of course, is eating this up. His grin stretches ear to ear, dimples flashing as he bites into a strip of bacon. “Well, dollface? Wanna tell them, or should I?”
“Maverick!” I swat his arm, mortified.
Catalina gasps, eyes widening like she just uncovered state secrets. “Wait. WAIT. Are you?!”
