“I’m sure that Taylor and her terrible friends didn’t take it well,” Mom says and I grin.
“Not at all.”
“Good,” my mom says, giving me one last hug before I head over to the Beetle.
We drive across town to his parents’ house and spend the rest of the night with them. They surprise me by taking the news just as well as my mom did. I think they’re just thrilled that he settled down with a local girl and therefore know he’ll be moving back here soon.
We promise to visit again before Declan has to leave for his NFL summer camp.
“Turn here,” Declan says as I drive us over to my apartment downtown.
I turn, slowing down as we pass by the Austen estate. It’s this big white house with a wraparound porch and a picket fence. It’s right on the water, too, and has always been my dream home.
“I’ve always liked this house,” Declan says and I look over to see him watching my face.
“Me, too. It’s my dream house, but there’s no way I could ever afford it,” I admit, stopping out front to stare up at the place.
“I was thinking about putting in an offer on it. I heard they want to sell. Miss Jane wants to move down south, closer to her sister.”
“Yeah?” I ask, growing excited.
“Yeah, if you want to live here with me, that is.”
“I do,” I say and Declan grins at me.
“Then it will be ours.”
He leans over in his seat and brushes his lips against mine.
“Love you, Emma.”
“Love you more, Declan.”
We drive back to my apartment, talking about his last year in the NFL and how we’re going to navigate living in two separate states. We work out a plan. It will involve a lot of time on planes, but I know it’ll be worth it and it will only be for a year.
“We can do this,” I assure him and he grins, brushing some of my hair out of my face as I turn off the car outside my apartment building.
“Yeah, we can.”
I lead him inside and up to my apartment, unlocking the door and letting him step inside.
“It’s cool in here,” Declan says, staring around at all of my secondhand furniture and decorations.
Kids’ drawings are pinned to the fridge and I point out my favorites before I show him some of the furniture that I repurposed or refinished. He tells me a bit about his place and how it’s always felt a bit impersonal, but he’s rarely there, so he never tried to do anything with it.
We wind up in the bedroom and I can feel myself growing wet as his eyes darken and lock on me.
He falls down on top of me, his thick arms caging me in as he starts to trail kisses up my neck, along my jaw, my cheek, and finally, to my lips.
I can feel that Declan is trying to take this slow, but I don’t want that.
Not tonight.
I want him to lose control with me. I want to see how badly he wants me.
“Declan,” I pant as he licks a trail between my breasts. “I need you.”
“I know, baby. I’m going to give it to you.”