“I’m happy for you, Griff,” Margaret says sincerely. “Thank you for telling me, and consider your legal obligation complete.”
“Thank you. If you ever have any questions or concerns about how my relationship with Phil affects my work for you, you can speak to me or Damian anytime. I want you to feel comfortable.”
She gracefully rises and crosses to pat my arm. “You’ve always made me comfortable, dear. Except for that horrid undergarment contraption I had to wear under the Dior gown at the BAFTAs three years ago.”
When Phil textedthis morning to ask what time I wanted him to come over, my reply was immediate, shameless, and eager.
Now.
He sent back an emoji of a running man, which made me smile, and now, half an hour later, my doorbell is ringing. I love that he doesn’t feel the need to play games any more than I do.
I throw open the door and grab him for a kiss before he can even step over the threshold. My intention was for it to be a “hello” kiss, but it’s Phil, and his mouth and taste and the feel of him in my arms are all addictive. I’m not even sure how long we’ve been kissing when a wolf whistle pierces my awareness.
Dazedly, I lift my head, taking a second to notice with satisfaction that Phil’s pupils are dilated and he looks blissed out. Then I glare at my neighbor, who’s paused beside my mailbox, her dog at the end of the leash looking just as amused as she does.
“Go away, Bettina.”
She grins. “You have a good day, too, Griff. Nice to meet you, Griff’s cutie.”
I growl as she walks away, giggling to herself, and pull Phil inside so I can close the door.
“Did you hear that?” he says, his cheeks pink—whether from the kiss or embarrassment, I’m not sure. “I’m your cutie.”
His eyes sparkle with mischief, and it makes me happy all the way to my bones. “Yeah, you are.”
Vivi chooses that moment to put her paws up on Phil’s leg, and he crouches down to give her some love. “What are we doing today?” he asks while he rubs her ears, and she sprawls on him like the little cuddle whore she is. “It’s a gorgeous day. Could we take Vivi to the park or something?”
I know for sure the look on my face right now would have my Marine brothers calling me a sap, but I legit don’t care. Phil including my dog in our plans makes me want to shout from the rooftops that I have the best boyfriend in the world.
It’s probably too soon to use that word. I should wait at least until Monday.
“We could,” I reply when he glances expectantly up at me. “She’s actually been invited for a socialization appointment this afternoon at this canine club I’ve been thinking of signing her up at. We could go there and check it out.”
“A socialization appointment? What’s that?”
I shrug. “I’m not exactly sure, but this place doesn’t let dogs join if they’re not good with other dogs, so I’m guessing they want to see how she does. And I want to see how she likes it too. I wouldn’t mind another opinion about whether she should join.”
“Happy to give opinions. Would… I mean, how many other people…”
I immediately get what he’s asking. “There will be other people there, but the way I understand it is that everything is centered on the dogs. The fees are high, so everyone who comes is going to care more about their dog than anything else. But we can leave anytime, and if you’re nonverbal but want to stay, I’ll be with you the whole time to run interference.”
He stands so quickly that I don’t have a chance to step back and give him room before his mouth is on mine again. “That’s this afternoon, right?” he murmurs between kisses, and I manage a grunt of agreement. “Great. I’ve got something else we can do until then. Your bedroom’s this way, right?”
I like this assertive side of him and obediently follow him to my room. Vivi whines as I close the door in her little face, but it’s not like she doesn’t have the run of the house, and there are some things my baby doesn’t need to see.
Phil’s already shirtless when I turn back to him, a fiery red flush rising from his chest to his face, and I want to press kisses to all that pink skin and see if it feels as hot as it looks.
He reaches for the button of his jeans, and I spring into action. Sure, watching him strip is fun, but if I’m not participating in the whole getting-naked thing, our ultimate gratification is just going to be delayed.
“You, uh… wow. I guess I should have expected that a former Marine would work out a lot.”
I flash him a grin, loving the way his eyes are glued to my body. “Not as much as I used to,” I admit. “But it gives me brain time.”
He nods solemnly, climbing onto my bed. “Brain time is important.”
I toss aside my socks and crawl onto the bed to join him, a happy thrill going through me when he reaches out a hand to draw me into a kiss. The light scrub of his fingertips against the back of my head raises goose bumps over my whole body, and I gasp into his mouth.
“What do you like?” I whisper when we finally separate in search of oxygen.
