He looked too peaceful and too perfect, and I kept waiting for the guilt to come because he was sleeping where Ryder used to sleep. But the guilt never came. Having Fallon next to me felt…right.
He sits up and glances down at my handiwork. Using his body as my canvas, I penned several measures of the song I wrote for him on his skin. He leans in and kisses me. “Draw that up, and I’ll send it to Bastard.”
I run my fingers over his hip. “You want him to tattoo this?”
“I want your mark on me,” he says and thumbs the love bite exposed on my bare shoulder.
Fallon and I were not gentle in our lovemaking last night. I’m covered in the evidence.
Taking the pen from my grasp, he uncaps it and pulls my tank top down, then writes something on the upper swell of my left breast, right above my heart. I don’t have to look to see what it is. I feel the letters as he writes them.I LOVE YOU.
“Ditto,” I tell him and peck a kiss to the tip of his nose before climbing off the bed to change into a short-sleeved polo shirt with a collar. I was able to mask the hickey on my neck with makeup, but there’s no hiding the bite on my shoulder.
“The kids up for school?”
I unclasp my locket necklace and slide my wedding rings onto it before putting it on. They may not be on my finger, but I’ll wear them next to my heart along with my daughter. “Marcus just left for work, and Charlotte made breakfast for you. She went a little overboard with the scrambled eggs. Used the entire carton.”
Fallon moves off the bed, and I can’t stop from ogling him in all his gorgeously naked glory when he stretches his arms overhead and yawns. Good god, that man’s body gives me palpitations.
“I’ll probably scarf down the entire plate. I’m starving.” He smacks my ass on his way to the bathroom. “Xander is taking you and Jay to the airport.”
I know when to pick my battles, and if Fallon is one thing, it’s stubborn. Walking to the bathroom door, I lean against theframe. “You’re not coming?” I thought that he would be riding with us.
He spits out toothpaste and rinses the brush. “The next few days are about you and Jay and Elizabeth Ann.”
My brow puckers. “I don’t see why that would prevent you from driving to the airport with us.”
Fallon comes to stand in front of me and tucks a flyaway strand of hair behind my ear. “He needs this time with you. Besides, I’ve got some important business to attend to.”
He slips past me and shucks on the pair of jeans he left draped over the chair.
“I thought the contract stuff was done.”
“Ring shopping, baby,” he says, kissing me on the way out of the bedroom.
I chase after him. “Don’t you dare get me anything extravagant.”
He confirms my suspicion when he just laughs.
“Good morning.”
“You do exist and weren’t just a figment of my imagination,” I say to Xander when he opens the back passenger-side door of the Land Rover for me to get in.
He smiles and hands me a to-go cup of coffee and a paper bag I know must’ve come from Ruby’s Diner because I can smell the cinnamon scone.
“You are officially my favorite person.”
Xander laughs. “I wish I could take the credit, but I just do as I’m told. I got it,” he tells Fallon and offloads my suitcase and shoulder bag from him.
Fallon leans in, and I grip the front of his shirt, hauling him in for a kiss. “Thank you.”
Big, grand gestures aren’t important to me. It’s the little things that I appreciate the most. Like a wildflower picked from a field instead of a bouquet of expensive roses. Or loading the dishwasher and putting the clothes into the dryer without me asking. Or remembering what my favorite breakfast items are from Ruby’s. Fallon shows me in so many different ways how much he loves me without ever having to say the words.
“Call me when you land.”
A sudden pang hits me because I already miss him, even though he’s standing right here. This will be the first time we’ve been apart for more than a day since we got back from Italy.
“I will.”
