She returns a few minutes later and kisses me hard on the lips with fresh minty breath. Pulling back, she snags her coffee and sits against the headboard, patting the space beside her.
“Do you have plans today?” she asks in between sipping her caramel macchiato.
“Nothing concrete.”
“I want to visit Nana’s grave, and I thought maybe we could visit your mom’s too, if you like?”
“I would like that.”
“Mom’s expecting us for dinner later, if that’s okay? She wants to keep the tradition going.”
“That’s cool too.”
She beams at me. “Great.”
After breakfast, we shower together, which turns into sex and the need for another shower. Then we visit the graveyard together and head to Ravenna for dinner with Monica.
* * *
Over the next three months, we slip into an easy routine. Stevie spends most nights here with me, sleeping in my bed instead of her room, only going home to catch up with Hadley. We are basically living together although we haven’t discussed it or made it official. I’m happy to just go with the flow as long as I get to have her in my life and in my bed.
Sex is incredible, and we can’t keep our hands off one another. All our friends tease us about it, but they’re just jealous.
Although we make time for date nights—catching a movie, or going out for dinner, or meeting our friends for drinks—we are both homebodies, preferring to stay in.
I have never felt more at ease with anyone.
Stevie and I just fit.
When I’m on a deadline, she does her own thing, without complaint, knowing I have to work nonstop until my manuscript is ready to send to my editor. She drops in with coffee, water, and snacks and even brings my meals into the office when she knows I’m in the zone and won’t stop to eat at the table.
Other times, we work side by side in the office, and she helps me with research and plotting, and she’s even managing my online street team now.
“Babe?” Stevie calls out on Friday night. “Where are you?”
“In the office,” I shout, casting a glance at the clock on the wall. I was so lost in a scene I didn’t realize it was late. We’re meeting Jenny and Law and Mike and Hadley for dinner at a Mexican restaurant tonight.
Stevie waltzes in carrying a bouquet of flowers, and I arch a brow. “Secret admirer?” I tease. “Point him out to me so I can eliminate the competition.”
Setting them down on her desk, she practically skips over to me. I make an oomph sound when she plops unceremoniously onto my lap. My arms go around her on autopilot as I brush my nose against hers. She beams at me, and her smile is so wide it threatens to split her face in two.
“Good news?” I inquire, dipping my fingers under the top of her blouse to caress the soft swell of her breasts.
“I got a promotion.”
A shit-eating grin appears on my mouth. “That’s my girl.” I peck her lips. “Congratulations, honey. Now we have something to celebrate tonight.”
“Is it wrong to want to stay at my job and not set up my own business?” she asks, her brow puckering a little.
“Not at all. You’re in the driver’s seat, and you’re still young. There is plenty of time to set up a business in the future.” Personally, I think Stevie will end up joining her mom and running the family business in Ravenna in the future.
“Sometimes, the old me rears her head, and I internally beat myself up over letting go of my goals.”
“Your life changed. It’s only natural your goals did too.”
“True.” She looks pensive as she stares into space.
“You’re one of the smartest, most focused people I know, Stevie. If you want to set up your own business in the future, you’ll do it, and you’ll have my help.”
