by Lea Hart
“Brock, it’s so pretty. And quiet. Living in a townhome for that last several years has made me realize that having some space between houses is a good thing.”
Running his nose along the soft skin of her neck allowed him to drink in her scent. When he pressed his mouth to her pulse point, he felt her shiver. “I’d better not start something until I show you the rest of the house.”
“You can start…if you want.” She turned around in his arms and hugged him tightly. “Or I can.”
“Don’t distract me, woman. I have rooms to show you.” He unwrapped her hands and pulled her toward the hall. “There are three bedrooms up here and room to expand if we want.” They looked in the first empty bedroom and then the second. “Okay, close your eyes.”
“Why?”
“’Cause I said so.”
“Fine.”
He looked down and made sure she had her eyes closed. “No peeking.” When he was convinced she was playing along, he opened the door to the last room. Leading her inside, he smiled. “Go ahead. Open them.” When she gasped and covered her mouth, he figured his remodel had turned out okay. “This is your writing room.”
“Oh, my word, it’s so lovely.”
He’d painted the room the same pale yellow that she had in her current office. One wall was covered in framed corkboards, and the other displayed framed covers of her books. He and Brody had built her a desk and shelves, and he’d made sure to get her the best ergonomic chair he could find. There was a small couch on the last wall and a rug for Popcorn. “Do you like it?”
“It’s the most perfect room in the whole world. I can’t believe you did this. It’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
Taking her hand, he felt a ball of emotion threaten to erupt. He swallowed heavily and shrugged. “Lilly, you are my reason. You always have been.”
“Reason for what?” she asked gently.
“Everything. I remodeled this house for you. Let me take care of you. Let me love you. Men need a reason, and you’re mine.”
Stepping into his arms, she crushed herself against him and held him tightly. “Oh, honey,” he said, “I hope those are happy tears soaking my T-shirt.” When her head moved against his chest, he took that as a yes. Leaning his head on top of hers, he held her while she cried. “When Mama passed, I thought that I never wanted to love someone the way she and Daddy loved each other. I saw him destroyed, and I wouldn’t put myself in that position. I didn’t let myself feel that deeply for anyone, except you. I’m all in, Lilly. You have my heart, and if it costs me everything, then it’ll surely be worth it.”
Her head tipped up, and he saw her beautiful whiskey eyes filled with love. It finally dawned on him that she had always looked at him that way. He just hadn’t seen it. But now he did. And he planned on doing everything he could to make sure she never looked at him differently. “I love you, Lilly Bertrand, and I probably have since I was ten and saw your sassy smile.”
“I love you, too. Guess I always have.” Patting his chest, she then leaned forward and kissed him right over his heart. “I’m going to keep you and love you as hard as I can.”
“I couldn’t ask for more than that.” Lifting her chin, he held her face and dropped his mouth to hers. When their mouths were sealed together, his world clicked into place.
His control was about to slip, so he tore his mouth away and took in a deep breath. “Let’s go downstairs, so I can show you where you’re going to sleep for the next sixty years.” When he saw her eyes bulge, he figured again that she knew what he was up to. So much for subtlety.
After they made it downstairs and stood in the hall, he made her close her eyes.
“Why do I have to keep my eyes closed?” Lilly asked.
“Do you want to be surprised or not?” Leading her into the bedroom, he prayed she liked what he’d done. After twirling her around, he braced his hands on her shoulders. “Okay, open them.” Silence. Dead silence. “We can change whatever you want.”
Slowly, she moved away from him and walked over to the bed. Crossing her arms, she tilted her head. “Did you pick the slatted headboard so that you could tie me up?”
“I thought a woman as smart as you would see that big jar of ribbons and be able to answer that question herself.”
“Seems you want to do it on a king-size bed. What exactly do you have in mind?”
He moved to her side. “I think I should show you. I’m a man of action, not words. After I’m done, you can describe in detail how good I made you feel.”
Pushing at his chest, she laughed. “Not so fast, mister. I want to know exactly why you showed me this house.”
“Can I explain it to you when we’re naked?”
“No.”
“All right. I’ll make you dinner and we can talk all you want.” Leaning over, he kissed her cheek. “I hope after that we can come back in here and christen the room.”
“That’s a lot of hoping.”
Taking her hand, he led her out the door. “More than you know.”
***
Lilly sat at the patio table and enjoyed the glass of wine Brock had just poured her. The temperature was in the low seventies and a small breeze swept over the patio. The view was amazing, and she wasn’t talking about the huge expanse of grass and grove of trees. It was Brock’s fine behind that was a feast for the eyes. He stood in front of a big built-in barbecue and flipped the steaks. “You want me to do anything?”
“No, darlin’. I’m in charge of supper. You just relax and enjoy the view of your backyard. Think about what kind of garden you want.”
When he threw her a smile, she knew he was going for a full-frontal assault. Subtlety was never going to be seen again. The house was beautiful, and it seemed as though he had redone it with her in mind. The office he’d built was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her, but it wouldn’t matter if they wanted different things. And that is what they needed to figure out.
“We’re ready to eat,” he called out as he pulled the steaks off the grill and covered them in foil.
His walk was like poetry in motion. He had a long, easy gait that always reminded her how confident he was. Which turned her on. That and those pretty eyes of his.
Heat suffused her belly, and she knew her hormones were letting her know that they wanted to get done with the talking and get on with loving. Crossing her legs, she told her hormones to shut up. There were a few things they had to get settled before any smooching happened.
Brock set the plate down and then uncovered the bowls he’d set out earlier. “I hope you like it. I have corn salad, green salad, and rolls to go with our steak and baked potatoes. Did I forget anything?”
“My goodness, no. This is lovely. I had no idea you could make all this.” Looking into his smile, she realized how important her approval was to him. “Thank you.” Lifting a bowl, she started serving them, and soon they had full plates and dug in. “What are you going to do with the pool?”
He wiped his mouth and took a swig of his beer. “It’s going to be converted to a saltwater pool as soon as it gets resurfaced. Brody’s pool guy said he would come out whenever we’re ready, and he can show you the colors. Once you choose, we can get started.”
“I don’t need to do that.”
“Honey, you’re going to be looking at the color for a long time, and I want you to be happy.”
She lifted her glass of wine, took a sip, and then smiled. “Have you ever heard of the book The Five Love Languages?”
“Can’t say that I have.”
“It’s all about how people give and receive love. If you and your partner speak the same language, then you have a pretty good chance of making it. Some people feel loved when they receive gifts, but not when they receive affection. Others need the words for love to make sense. It’s not scientific, but the theory is fairly popular.”
“We don’t speak the same language yet, do we?”
“In some ways I think we do, b
ut we haven’t had enough time together to find out what the other needs to feel loved.” Sweeping her hand up toward the house, she grinned. “I think this is a major act of love on your part.”
“Why do I feel like there’s a but coming?”
“Not a but, more of an as well. I feel loved when I have time with you. Sitting here together or taking a walk makes me feel connected. I’m moved not by things but by your presence.”
Sitting back, he wrapped his hands behind his head and let out a breath. “When I couldn’t be there for you after Drew attacked you, it really hurt you. I can see that now. You needed me and I wasn’t there.”
“Yes. I needed you, and I was mad at myself for allowing that to happen. I felt duped because you said you were my backup and had my six.”
“Then I disappeared because I didn’t trust myself to be around you. I saw Drew’s actions and was horrified, and then I turned around and almost killed him. I saw too many similarities and it scared the shit out of me.”
“Which I totally get…now. I’m so proud of you for taking a step back and doing the hard work to make sure you were ready for a relationship. I think it had to happen the way it did. It just didn’t feel good at the time.”
Unlacing his hands, he leaned forward and took her hands. “Honey, I love you, and I hope you’re going to give us a chance.”
“I want us to have a chance, and I know we have a lot to figure out. This house makes me feel like you’re fast-forwarding to the end and we don’t even have a middle yet. I want to date you and build a relationship, so we can end up sitting on that beautiful front porch fifty years from now and watch our grandchildren run around catching fireflies. I want to know what your love language is and then try and speak it to you every day.”
“Can we date and live together?”
“Are you asking me to live in sin?”
He stood and bent down on his knee. “Honey, as much sin as we can manage.”
Taking his face into her hands, she ran her finger over his cheek. “Your face is so precious to me. It was the one I looked to when I was jumping off roofs, and the one I looked to for approval. Now that I see the man you’ve become, and I consider it God’s good grace that you’re the one I get to love.”
“I’m going to ask you to marry me one year from today, and when I do, you will be absolutely sure of your answer. Come home, Lilly, and let’s live in this house and figure how to make us.”
Sniffling, she felt tears start to stream down her face. “I think I’d like that.”
Moving his thumb over her cheeks, he grinned. “Thank you.”
“I hope you’re still saying that after we’ve been living together for a couple of months.” Kissing him quickly, she then wiped her face.
“Oh, honey, I’m going to be thanking you every morning and every night and maybe at lunchtime, if I can manage it.”
“Is that with or without ribbons?”
“Both. This is a big house and we’ve got two acres. I imagine we’re going to find a lot of places to show each other how much we love each other.”
Pushing him back, she laughed. “You’d better finish eating, then, because we have a new king-sized bed to christen.”
He grabbed her and laid a kiss on her that left no doubt what she was in for. “And a big jar of ribbons to go through.”
Watching him stand and then adjust his jeans made her laugh. “Everything okay?”
“Sure, honey. Now quit talking and start eating, ’cause we have things to do.”
When he sat down and winked, she knew the boy she’d met when she was seven had turned into the very best sort of man there was. Honorable, smart, courageous, and…irresistible.
EPILOGUE
One Year Later
Brock set down the manuscript and grinned. His wife was a genius. Laughing to himself, he realized he said wife both silently and out loud as often as he could. They’d been married for a month, and he was happier than he’d ever been. He told her he’d wait a year before asking her, but he’d lasted only six months. Turned out six months was enough for both of them to be sure they could make it sixty years. The wedding they had was one for the record books. They had filled the church to overflowing and then had a blowout party here in their backyard.
The last year had blessed them both in a hundred ways. His career at TRG was more satisfying than he’d ever imagined, and Lilly had written two books that were well received. No one was suing them, stalking them, or harassing them in any way, and that was the biggest blessing. The quiet. They had a calm, easy life together and got along more often than they didn’t. Turned out all that bickering they did growing up got most of their arguments out of the way. The only hot spot in their union was their sex lives. Which, as far as he could tell, was off the damn charts. Speaking of charts, he had something to discuss with her…
He heaved himself out of his chair, strode up the stairs, and burst into Lilly’s office. “Honey, this one is my favorite.” Seeing her sprawled out on her couch surrounded by papers made him realize that he never gave himself enough credit for getting her to fall in love with him. Her long hair was tied up in a knot on her head and her dress was falling off one shoulder. She was a delicious, sexy mess. And she was his. He’d made damn sure of that.
“You like it?”
“I love it. It’s different from anything you’ve ever written, and it might be my favorite. But you need to look at chapter four, pages forty-seven through fifty-five. I’m not sure the scene is realistic, so we should reenact it to make sure. After all, you’re known for your accuracy, and I’d hate for people to think that you skimped on research.”
Tipping her head, she gave him a quizzical look. “Page forty-seven?”
He opened the manuscript and thumbed through the pages. “Honey, I’m surprised you can’t remember. I highlighted the parts that I thought might need some real attention.” He handed it to her and grinned. “By the way, the front door is locked, so we can get started on the research right away.”
Pulling the pages out of his hands, she let out a breath. “I worked really hard on this one. What did I miss?”
He watched her eyes fall to the page and a smile cross her face. “Oh, I see your point. Maybe we should run through it and see if it’s even possible.”
Putting his hands on his hips, he smirked. “Oh, it’s possible.”
“Well, if you’re so sure, then the scene is fine.”
“Did I say possible? I meant to say probable.” Holding out his hands, he waited for her to put hers inside. When she did, he lifted her out of her pile of papers and wrapped her legs around his waist. “Let’s go work on our love language. I figure we might have three of four covered. I’m showing an interest in your work, supporting your efforts, keeping you as close as I can, and making sure you’re as satisfied as I can make you.”
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him. “How am I doing in that area? Am I covering them all?”
“Hell, yes. Every single one of them. You are letting me love you, protect you and take care of you. You are giving me a reason to get up every morning and do my best. Can’t ask for more than that.”
“I love you,” she said breathlessly as he carried her out of the room.
“Love you more,” he said as he bounded down the steps. “Did I tell you how much I love being married to a writer?”
“No, but I’m sure you can show me.”
“Plan on it. More than once.” When her laughter filled the house, he knew he was the luckiest man in the world. He’d found his destiny when he was ten and somehow managed to hold onto it.
THE END
INSPIRATION
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