“Come for me, sweetheart.”
So I do. I cry out his name a second time, but I’m not alone. He’s there with me, gasping and shaking as he whispers my name. The moment he stops moving, his body sags against mine. I welcome the weight of his body, the heat of his skin, the tenderness of his touch. Colton rolls to the side, taking me with him. I’m tucked securely against his chest, our legs intertwined.
“I was thinking,” I start, sighing against his skin.
“If you’re thinking, Hollis, I don’t think I did a very good job.” He chuckles.
I snort. “No, you did that perfectly. I was thinking about something else.”
“Let me hear it.”
“After the wedding, I’d love to go somewhere warm and tropical for our honeymoon.”
“Yeah?”
“Maybe Costa Rica or Tahiti. I’ve always wanted to go to both of those countries, but never really had a reason.”
“I think a honeymoon would be the best reason of all,” he sighs, his thick fingers lazily stroking my back.
I know we should get up and take care of our mess, but I don’t really feel like moving, and I can assume Colton’s in the same boat. We lie together for several minutes, just breathing. I’m not sure how my life went from chaos to absolute perfection, but it did. In a matter of weeks, I found the person I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with.
And his son.
The most spectacular little boy, who just so happens to call me mama. How did I get so lucky?
Snuggling in even closer, I whisper, “I’m ready.”
“Ready for what?” he asks through a yawn, even though it’s still fairly early in the evening.
I glance up and meet his gaze. “To spend the rest of my life with you.”
The smile says it all. “That actually works out perfectly because I’m so fucking ready too.” His lips graze softly over mine. “From the moment I saw you, I knew. Every day, I feel it, my love for you. I can’t fight it.”
“Me either.”
After a few more minutes, we finally get up off the floor. Colton takes care of securing the screen in front of the fire while I take all our dirty dishes to the sink. I try to blot the spilled wine and am grateful it was white. At least it won’t leave too horrible a stain.
“Leave it until morning,” he says, extending his hand toward me.
I can’t help but smile. We’re both naked. At some point, he got rid of the used protection, but we’re both in need of a shower. Taking his offered hand, he leads me up the stairs, flipping off the remaining lights as we go. When we reach the loft, he pulls me toward the tiny bathroom, a mischievous grin on his face.
“You know, when I was younger, I always wondered what it would be like to sneak a girl up here,” he whispers, as if his parents downstairs can hear him.
“Oh, really?” I reply, whispering to play along.
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure Chase did when he was eighteen and dating this girl from high school. I was off in the military, and when I called Mom, she told me there was a lot of noise coming from the loft the night before. She thought he was working out up there or something, so she left him alone.”
I snort. “Working out. Sure.”
“Right? I didn’t want to be the one to tell her he was working out all right, but not the way she was thinking. That’s not exactly something you want to discuss with your mom, even when you’re two thousand miles away.”
Sobering, I run my fingers along his hairline. “I know I’ve said this before, but thank you, Colt, for your service.” Then, I go up on my toes and kiss his lips, the slightest burn of his scruff tickling my cheek.
“Have a thing for military men, do ya?” he teases, much like how I teased him downstairs earlier.
“I have a thing for Colton Callahan,” I confess, reaching for the knob in the tiny shower stall. When the water is as hot as the man standing beside me, I pull back the curtain and step inside. “Now, let’s get back to this whole sneaking a girl in here fantasy.”
“You’re my fantasy come true.”
With a smile on his face and my heart in his hands, he follows me into the shower and proceeds to show me exactly how mind-blowing that fantasy is when brought to life.EpilogueColtonI’ve always loved this place. This cabin holds so many childhood memories for me, and I love that Milo, and now Ella, get to have those same experiences. As our family has grown, we need to talk to Mom and Dad about adding on a couple of bedrooms. I plan on making this place a big part of my son’s childhood, and I know that Chase feels the same way about Ella. She might only be a few weeks old, but I know my brother.