Page 157 of At First Catch

“Seems inconveniently specific.”

Her fingers slide into mine, then she steps closer. Close enough that the whole world narrows.

I don’t just want a future anymore. I want one specifically with her.

All of it only matters if Hadley’s in it too.

Hadley kisses me softly beneath the evening sky. And standing there on the dock with her hand in mine and the possibility of forever stretching ahead of us—for the first time in my life, the future stops feeling like something I have to survive alone.

Chapter Twenty

HADLEY

The first time Nolan leaves a toothbrush at my cottage intentionally, I nearly have an emotional breakdown in the middle of brushing my teeth.

Not because it’s dramatic, but because it’s so unbelievably ordinary.

Two toothbrushes sit side by side in the ceramic holder near my sink while soft morning light spills across the bathroom counter.

And without warning, I’m staring at them like they personally revealed state secrets.

“You okay in there?”

Nolan’s voice drifts down the hallway, warm and rough with sleep.

“I’m having a crisis,” I call back.

A quiet laugh reaches me from the kitchen.

“Should I be concerned?”

“Yes.”

“Scale of one to Holt finding out we slept together?”

I choke.

“Why would you even say that out loud?”

Another laugh.

I walk into the kitchen a minute later, wearing leggings and one of Nolan’s marina hoodies, while he stands barefoot at the stove making breakfast like he belongs in my cottage permanently.

Sunlight spills gold through the windows while coffee brews nearby and Rook lies sprawled dramatically across the rug near Nolan’s feet.

The whole scene feels warm enough to ache.

Nolan glances over his shoulder when I enter and smiles.

I move toward him until I’m close enough to slide both arms around his waist from behind.

Nolan stills, then melts. The reaction remains one of my favorite discoveries about him.

This big, emotionally guarded man turns soft every time I touch him affectionately.

He reaches back, hooking one arm around me loosely while keeping the other on the pan.

“Good morning.”