“It is,” he says, looking at me from across the couch.
I can’t understand why he looks so worried when I know that this news will make things easier for him as well. He has been running himself ragged working his normal cases while trying to keep me safe. Then, my head starts to fill with thoughts about my life, why I’m really here, and what this news means for my future.
“So, I can go home then?” I ask, looking down at my hands.
“No.”
The word is rough and causes me to lift my head. “What do you mean ‘no’?” I search his face, wondering what he’s not telling me. If I’m no longer in danger, I can return to Vegas, even if the thought alonemakes me feel sick.
“Exactly what it sounds like—no, you can’t go back to Vegas.” His hands ball into fist on his thighs. “This is your home.”
“This isyourhome,” I murmur and swallow, feeling my heart pound against the inside of my ribs.
“Since you’ve been here, this has become my home, but before you, it was a place I slept at night. You have given me a reason to come home.”
“You want me to move in with you?” I whisper, hope blooming in my chest.
“Yes, I want you to move in with me.”
“You’re serious?”
“Yes, baby.” He laughs, shaking his head.
“What about my place in Vegas?”
“Sell it…keep it… I don’t give a fuck what you do with it.”
I stand up, glance around the room, and then look back over at Kenton, who looks worried. My heart does a flip from knowing that he really wants this; he really wants me.
“Are you sure about this?”
“Without a doubt. One hundred percent sure.”
“What will your family say?”
“‘When are you getting married?’” he replies. I feel my eyes get big and my mouth fill with saliva. “One thing at a time,” he says gently, and I nod.
I’m not sure if he’s in love with me, but I think this feeling I have for him is love—or some form of it. Never really having been loved before, I don’t know what it really feels like. I know that what I feel for him makes what I felt for my son’s father pale in comparison. I know that I want to spend all my time with him, and he’s always my first thought when I wake and my last thought when I go to bed at night.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” he asks, searching my face.
“Yes, okay. I’ll move in with you,” I tell him, a smile creeping ontomy face.
“Yeah?” His lips twitch, and I nod before running at him and climbing onto his lap. His arms wrap around me as I press my mouth against his. “Shit,” he groans, pulling his mouth from mine.
“Why are you stopping?” I try to pull his mouth back to mine when I hear someone knocking on the door. “Oh.”
I smile as he sets me aside and adjusts himself in his jeans before standing. I sit there for a second and then get up to follow him to the door. After he looks outside, his eyes come to me before pulling the door open.
“You’re home?” Nancy says, smiling. “If I would have known that, I wouldn’t have come so early.”
“It’s fine. We were up.” He kisses her cheek, letting her into the house.
“Why were you up?” She looks between the two of us, her eyes twinkling, and I know she’s going to say something that will have me turning red. “You know, I want my grandchildren to have our family name. I think it’s about time you two stop playing house and just get married.”
All the air leaves my lungs at the word ‘children.’ I grab the table closest to me for balance. When a wave of dizziness hits me hard, I’m surprised that I don’t hit the ground.
