God. Sutton stared at Charlotte, and she wondered if there were hearts in her eyes. She wondered if Charlotte knew that these words healed something inside of her, something she couldn’t put into words.
“Charlotte—” Katherine began but was swiftly cut off.
“Apologies, Katherine, but please let me finish. You may not trust me or my intentions with Sutton and Lucy just yet, and the reality is, if I had to come face to face with someone else who hurt Sutton, I wouldn’t like them or trust them either. So I understand where you’re coming from.” She flexed her hand around Sutton’s, squeezing tightly, as if drawing strength from their grasp. “But I’m not going anywhere. I intend to be here, with Sutton, for as long as she’ll have me. Which is why Ireallymean that I’d like for us to truly spend some time together, as I imagine that we will have a lot of shared holidays in our future.”
Sutton didn’t care that she was standing on a very public sidewalk with her parents and her daughter.
She couldn’t stop herself from swiftly turning Charlotte to face her, cupping her jaw and angling her face up as Sutton pressed her lips to Charlotte’s.
She was mindful—just enough—to keep the kissappropriate, but it didn’t mean that she wasn’t passionate. Dear lord, how could she not be?
Sutton had been married before, and yet Charlotte’s words just now were still the most romantic of vows anyone had ever pledged in front of her. To her.
She felt Charlotte’s hand curl into her hair, tugging gently, before her mother cleared her throat.
She pulled back, unable to summon even an ounce of embarrassment. How could she? Charlotte Thompson had just proclaimed her love for Sutton in front of her mother and was determined to win her respect.
Charlotte, on the other hand, had a slight blush creeping over her cheeks as she blinked widely, clearly trying to regain her bearings as she looked up at Katherine, who was watching them both, a small smile on her lips.
“My daughter is a grown woman,” she said, “with a very intelligent and responsible head on her shoulders.” Katherine slid her approving gaze from Sutton to Charlotte. “That being said, I trulydolook forward to getting to know you better, Charlotte. I think you may just surprise me.”
Sutton couldfeelthe smile on her own lips, how wide it was.
Charlotte’s looked fairly similar as she nodded.
“Ah, I’m sorry to interrupt, but our reservation is ready.” Jack turned to face them, holding out his phone where the alert from the restaurant had popped up. He glanced between them, his confusion palpable. Clearly, his attention had been very focused on the clapping game Lucy had been trying to teach him several feet away. “Is everything all right?”
“Everything is great,” Katherine informed him before she held out her hand for Lucy to take. “Shall we?”
“Yes!” Lucy cheered, latching onto her grandma’s hand.
Sutton waited for a moment of privacy with Charlotte so she could turn and face her properly.
Charlotte’s gaze was already on her, excitedly waiting. “I think I may have started to win her over just now.”
The pride in Charlotte’s tone was undeniable, and Sutton? Well, she just loved this woman. “Yes. I think you have.”
Sutton would let Charlotte have this moment because she deserved it. But Sutton wasn’t shocked; she couldn’t imagine any reality in which Charlotte wouldn’t be able to win someone over.
It washours later that they found themselves alone, at long last. While Sutton loved when her parents visited because she loved spending time with them, in this moment, she also loved that they’d taken Lucy for a sleepover.
Charlotte had completely melted Sutton emotionally before dinner, and sheneededtime alone with her tonight. It was the best birthday gift she could have received.
“Happy birthday, darling,” Charlotte breathed into her mouth, barely pausing their deep, sensually slow kiss to do so.
She’d initiated it the moment they’d sat on Sutton’s living room couch, god only knew how long ago. She’d climbed into Sutton’s lap, straddling her as she’d started kissing up Sutton’s neck, making her shudder.
Sutton hummed against Charlotte’s lips, feelingso muchinside herself. There were so many feelings inside of her, tangling together—desire and love and reverence and wonder—and she slid her hands up to rest on Charlotte’s curvy hips.
The memories hit her, at the reminder of it being her birthday.
The flashes of this day, years ago. She hadn’t thought about that night in so long; in fact, she’d actively done her best to shield her mind from it for years, and eventually, slowly, it had faded.
But now, as she felt Charlotte’s body all warm and soft and utterly perfect pushing against her, Sutton remembered.
She broke their kiss gently, leaning her head back as she tried to catch her breath.
“Everything all right?” Charlotte asked, stroking her thumbs softly over Sutton’s cheeks.
