He crushed his mouth to mine, wrapping an arm around my body, tugging me against him. I closed my eyes, savoring in everything this man had become to me. I didn’t think I’d ever crave a man with the kind of intensity I had for Lachlan. Didn’t think it was possible.
But Lachlan proved all my preconceived notions wrong.
He’d become such a big part of my life in only a few weeks. I thought of him every waking hour. Hell, there were times he’d even managed to find his way into my dreams. Maybe this was the fun phase of a relationship I’d always heard people talk about. That time when you couldn’t get enough of each other. When you wanted to spend every possible minute together.
I’d never experienced something like this. I’d lived most of my life on the defensive, waiting for it all to fall apart.
But with Lachlan, I refused to assume that was going to happen. Refused to continue to live in survival mode.
For once, I was going to allow myself to be happy without fear of when the bottom would drop.
“If you don’t stop kissing me, your breakfast will get cold,” I warned, pushing against him and returning to the stove.
Feeling Lachlan’s stare on me, I looked in his direction, my pulse increasing at the heat in his gaze as he stalked toward me.
“I’ll gladly suffer those consequences if it means I can have you one more time.” He stopped behind me, a hand going to my hip, fingers grazing the skin.
“But your car will be here soon.”
When his unshaven jawline scratched against my neck, it took every ounce of resolve I possessed to not spread my legs so I could feel him one last time before he left.
“Are you turning me down, Julia?”
“Never. But someone has to be the responsible one. You don’t want to get oil spotted, do you?”
He buried his head in my neck. Then he groaned, releasing his hold. “I guess you’re right.”
“I usually am.” I glanced behind me and winked before returning my attention to the skillet. When Lachlan smacked my ass, I yelped and flung my gaze to his. My heart fluttered at the playful smirk tugging on that sinful mouth.
“Sorry, love.” He pressed a kiss to my neck. “Couldn’t resist.” He cupped my backside. “I bloody love this arse.” After nipping my skin, he pulled back, making his way toward his gourmet espresso machine.
I faced forward, cutting through the frittata and plating two portions, adding potatoes to both. I couldn’t help but smile at how normal and easy things were with Lachlan. It almost seemed too good to be true. I refused to go down that road, though. Wasn’t going to sabotage this because I wasn’t used to good things happening to me. After everything I’d been through, I deserved to be happy.
And there was no doubt. Lachlan made me deliriously happy.
Once I finished, I scooted around to the other side of the massive island and set the dishes down. Always the gentleman, Lachlan pulled out a barstool, helping me into it before sitting beside me.
“Thanks for this,” he said as he placed a napkin across his lap.
“I figured it was my turn to finally make you breakfast, since that seems to have become your thing.”
“I like cooking for you. I can’t make much, but I can handle eggs.” He looked at his plate. “I doubt I’ll ever be able to make something like this, though.” He grabbed his fork and sliced into the frittata. When he took a bite, he moaned in appreciation, chewing for a few minutes before swallowing. “Correction. I know I won’t be able to make something like this. It’s bloody delicious, Julia.”
I shrugged. “It’s just eggs, spinach, and mushrooms. Oh, and feta cheese. If you ask me, feta makes everything better.”
“Well, it’s fantastic. A man could get used to this.”
I held his gaze. “So could a woman.”
“Good.” He placed a chaste kiss on my cheek before digging back into his breakfast.
After a moment, he looked at me. “Are you nervous about today?”
“A little,” I answered around a bite of potatoes. “I’m excited to see Imogene after three weeks. But that also means telling her everything that’s happened. And, honestly, I’m not quite sure what I’m going to tell her.”
“What do you mean?” He lowered his voice. “You’re not having second thoughts about this, are you?”
I darted my wide eyes to his. “What?! Of course not. I just…” I blew out a breath. “I’m going to tell her about you. About us. But teenagers are a tough breed. Especially girls. This could be difficult for her. It’s a lot of change all at once. Not only is she about to learn her mom’s dating someone again after refusing to even entertain the notion for years, but I have to tell her that person is thirteen years younger…and is her favorite player from her favorite team. There’s no telling how she’ll handle that.”