“Nope.Just thought I’d hitch a ride with my future brother-in-law so I could grab my things, then drive my own car back.”She glances over her shoulder and crooks her finger.“Now, stop torturing the poor girl and come give her a kiss.”
My jaw drops as Ford appears.His sandy brown hair looks like he’s run his fingers through it at least a dozen times tonight.Add in the oh-so-subtle bags under his eyes and his slightly rumpled shirt, and my heart aches.He’s been through the wringer tonight, even if he won’t admit it out loud, and all I want to do is give the man a hug.
“Hey,” I murmur.
His long legs carry him into the kitchen in five seconds tops before his arms surround me.Bending down, he breathes me in.“Hey, June Bug.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah.”His chest expands on another deep breath.“Fuck, you smell good.”
I smile against him.“Do I?”
“Mm-hmm.”His hum is low and throaty and pulls at my lower stomach.“Like every proud Quasimodough mama should.”
With a laugh, I pinch his butt, then tilt my head back so I can look up at him.“You should’ve told me you were coming.I just got a loaf started, so I have to stay?—”
“Already have a bag packed in my trunk.”
My forehead wrinkles.“Wait.So we’re staying here?”
“Yup.”
“But you hate my bed,” I remind him.
With a groan, he brings me closer.“I know.It’s the worst, yet I sleep in it every night.”
“And every morning, you grumble under your breath about how uncomfortable it is,” I reply.
You’d think he’d just buy me a new bed or offer to let me sleep at his place now that the renovations are complete, but here we are.And the crazy part?I wouldn’t change a thing.Whether it’s my bed or his, I love sleeping by him every night.Falling asleep in his arms.Waking up curled against his chest.It’s addictive and comforting and the highlight of my night each and every time.
“I don’t grumble,” he pouts, offended I would even insinuate he’s anything other than perfect.
“Ha!”I roll my eyes.“Of course, you don’t.”My arms hook around his shoulders as he sways us gently from side to side.“You know, if you’d given me a heads up, I would’ve kept Quasimodough in the fridge.”
He quirks his brow.“You think I don’t know my girl well enough to know that when she’s stressed, she bakes?”
“I don’t only bake when I’m stressed.”
“I know.”He kisses my forehead.“You also bake when you’re happy and excited and bored and hungry and?—”
“Okay, I get the point.”
With a grin, he presses his lips to mine.“You have no idea how much I needed this.”
“Needed what?”
His arms tighten around me.“This.Holding you.Breathing you in.Knowing you’re okay, and that you’re still mine.”
I give him a heavy sigh.I know we just determined he knows me super well, but considering his insecurities, I’m also convinced he doesn’t know me at all.“Is that what this is about?”I ask.“Your fear of Bryan stealing me away?”
“Of course not.”
I give him a pointed look.
“Okay, maybe a little,” he caves.“Sending my lamb into the lion’s den tonight messed with my head.”
This man and his metaphors.Bug, Volkswagen Beetle, lucky charm.And now I’m his lamb?Why is that so adorable?Biting the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning like a lunatic, I drag my hands along his broad chest, letting the steadythump thumpof his pulse against my palm ground me.The fact that Ford thinks it’s even remotely possible for me to be obsessed with anyone other than him is absolutely insane.Can’t he see I’m the luckiest girl in the world?
