Page 139 of The Casanova Complex

I carry her up the stairs to her room, shoving the door shut behind us with my foot and setting her on the bed so she doesn’t have to walk.

“I feel like a princess right now,” she muses, tossing me that sassy little grin that… fuck, I fucking love.

I pull at the tie around my neck, wrenching it off and tossing it onto her desk.

“I aim to please, my queen.” I shrug out of my suit jacket and then my button-down, shedding my clothes so quickly that Merritt lets out a giggle once I’m left in nothing but a pair of gray boxer briefs.

I climb onto the bed with her. “Why are you still dressed?” I ask.

She laughs. “Uh, because you just got undressed in like five seconds flat?”

I hum, leaning down to kiss her. “Priorities.”

Begrudgingly, she slides off the bed and grabs an old T-shirt and a pair of sleep shorts from her dresser, heading to the bathroom to get ready for bed and leaving me alone in her room.

I stretch out across her bed, which is comically small for my body. My feet hang off the bottom.

When she reappears, a smile moves to my lips.

“My beautiful, stabby queen,” I rasp.

I take her in. That big T-shirt, worn and faded, old sleep shorts, her face freshly washed, her dark hair wavy and loose, hanging down to near her waist.

She’s perfect.

“I’m so glad that you love me like this.”

The second she crawls onto the bed, I sweep her into my arms, wrapping her up tight. “I love you all the ways, any way there is. Honestly, I’m not picky.” Her laugh sounds against my chest. “Thank you, baby. For bringing my parents here. For coming to dinner, and for being a part of everything. I hope you know how much it means to me.”

She smiles sweetly up at me, snuggling in closer. “You don’t have to thank me. It’s nothing. I’m so glad that it all worked out and that they made it and were able to be here for you. I really loved meeting your family. They’re amazing.”

I’m so damn glad that she and Mom and Brie hit it off the way that they did because this isn’t temporary to me. She isn’t temporary.

I want her to have a good relationship with my family.

Just the way I want to have a good relationship with hers.

With her dad and Elliott.

“They loved you.”

“You think?”

I nod, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Yeah, baby, they loved you. Mom already texted me while you were in the bathroom and told you to accept her friend request on Instagram. Which you absolutely do not have to do.”

“I am, and I will. We agreed that next time they come to town, we’re going to go thrift shopping. I can’t wait.”

I love that she’s excited about spending time with my family.

“I love you, Merritt. So fucking much. I’m going to keep saying it until you’re tired of hearing it, baby.” I press a kiss to the corner of her lips. “I love you.” Another kiss at the edge of her jaw. “I love you.” On her shoulder. “I love you.”

I say it over and over and over until she’s giggling and squirming beneath me when my fingers press into her sides.

“I’ll never get tired of hearing it, Goalie,” she whispers against my mouth.

“And I’ll never get tired of saying it, baby.”

EPILOGUE