He continued pushing the cart down the candy aisle as if he hadn’t introduced me to his mother a few seconds ago.“You had doubts.Now you don’t.”
I followed, putting things he grabbed off the shelves back since, despite all his talk about healthy food, he also put a lot of junk in the cart.And he was right.He’d put my doubts to rest with a simple phone call.Though I wasn’t ready to admit that out loud yet.
He pulled me in front of him so I was between him and the cart, his front pressed against my back, and we continued wandering up and down the aisles.
When we couldn’t fit anything else in the cart, he paid—refusing to let me cover even a portion, much to my annoyance but to the relief of my wallet—then loaded up the car, again refusing to let me help.
Once we were on the way to his house, my hand encased in his and resting on his thigh, I turned slightly in my seat.How can anyone look this good driving a car?
“You have to let me contribute in some way.The scales are already so uneven.Don’t tip them further.”
His hand spasmed around mine, and he glared out the windshield.“There are no scales,” he growled, his jaw ticking.“And if there were, they would be tipped to your side.Knowing that there’s someone to come home to at night, that I found the one person meant only for me, is everything.I have the means to take care of you, so let me.It’s what I was put on this earth to do.”
I think I’m having a heart attack.Why is my chest so tight?I knew all the pizza was a bad idea.
“Vance—”
He pulled into his driveway, stopping me before I could make a fool out of myself since I had no words that were adequate to respond to him.“Let’s have this conversation inside.”
He carried the bags inside—in one trip, even though there were at least ten bags—and put them on the massive kitchen island.I looked around the room, taking in the new barstools, kitchen towels, and empty fruit bowls.The living room looked amazing with the couch taking up one side, facing the fireplace.The forest green rug worked perfectly with the dark wood, and the sideboard and coffee table rounded it out nicely.
I couldn’t wait to see the rest of the house.
I grinned at Vance, my hands clasped in front of my chest.“It looks fantastic.”
He kissed my forehead on his way to the fridge.“That’s all thanks to you.You have an eye for color and great taste.”
I grinned at him, pulling the closest shopping bag toward me.“And you have the wallet to support it.”
He gave my waist a gentle squeeze on his way back to the bags.“Put the stuff wherever you want.”
I unpacked the first bag, pulling out spices and herbs.Since I had free rein to put things wherever I wanted, it took me a while to get everything exactly right.But it was important to have things like spices handy when cooking, so I wanted them on the shelf closest to the stove.But pots and pans were equally as important, so I had to compromise.
Once there were no bags left to unpack, Vance watched me hum over the glass jars while leaning against the island, arms crossed over his chest.“You know, you can always change them later on if you decide that you don’t like where they are.”
I stood up from where I was crouched in front of the cupboard, biting my bottom lip.“I guess so.”
He held out his hand and I took it, letting him pull me closer until I was leaning against the front of his body.He kissed my nose, then my mouth.“You want a tour?”
With my head tipped back and my hands on his chest, I nodded.“Absolutely.”
He led me to the office downstairs first.“Once the Denver office is done, I’ll be working from home two days a week.”
My stomach dropped at the reminder that he’d be working in Denver soon.Not because I didn’t think he’d love it, but because I was scared that he’d eventually get sick of the long commute and move there.
Since it seemed there wasn’t much that Vance missed, he picked up on my mood.“What’s wrong?”
Taking his hand, I walked back into the hallway, avoiding his probing gaze.“Nothing.Just wanting to see the rest of the house.”
He stopped me before we went into the room next to his office.“Don’t do that.Don’t pull back and pretend everything is okay when it is clearly not.”He crowded me against the wall, his hands on my hips, pressing a kiss to my neck.“If you don’t talk to me, I can’t make it better.”
“It’s not your job to make it better.Sometimes things are the way they are.Even if we don’t like it.”
His hand traveled up my side, stopping at my rib cage, his thumb brushing my breast.“Talk to me.”
When I didn’t respond—mostly because my brain had once again powered down at his touch, happily letting my body take over—he ran his thumb over my nipple.My sheer bra and thin T-shirt were only a small barrier, and I arched into him.
His lips found mine, and his tongue traced my bottom lip.I moaned, and he took the opportunity to touch his tongue to mine.The kiss was hot, it was wet, and I was immediately turned on.When it came to Vance, my whole body seemed to be one big on switch.
