Page 82

The baby monitor crackles on the coffee table. We both go still as reality rushes back in all at once. Tilly lets out another sleepy little sigh through the speaker before settling again, reminding us exactly where we are.

“You've got to be kidding me. Not again,” I say and let out a disappointed groan, dropping my forehead against his shoulder.

Ollie exhales a defeated laugh, his hands tightening briefly at my waist. “Worst possible timing.”

“We were so close.”

“Trust me,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to my hair, “I noticed.”

The frustration is still there, humming beneath my skin, but it doesn't feel all-consuming anymore. Not with his arms around me. I stay curled in his lap, neither of us making any move to put distance between us. Even with barely an inch separating us, it doesn't feel close enough.

After a while, Ollie glances down at me. “You okay?” he asks, searching my face with the same care he puts into everything.

“More than okay,” I assure him.

His thumb brushes across my cheek like it has so many times before. I love the caring gesture.

“I want our first time to be right. No rushing. No worrying about getting interrupted. No babies around. Nothing except you and your pleasure,” he tells me.

Emotion catches unexpectedly in my throat. It's not just what he says. It's that I believe him. Every promise he's made since walking into my life, he's kept.

“I can’t wait.”

A smile spreads across his face, making my chest ache for him in every way possible. “Neither can I.” He presses one lingering, soft kiss to my mouth before brushing another to my temple. “Soon.”

“Soon,” I echo.

The next afternoon, I come home from a walk to find the apartment quiet. Too quiet. “Ollie?” I call, slipping off my shoes.

“Bathroom,” he answers, the sound muffled by the door.

My brow furrows. “Everything okay?”

“Better than okay. Come in.”

Curiosity nudges me forward. I reach for the handle, pushing the door open, and stop short in the doorway.

Steam curls through the air and the room smells like a luxury spa, a blend of jasmine and vanilla. Candles flicker along the edge of a bubble-filled tub, their warm glow dancing across the tiles. Soft music plays from the speaker he must’ve brought in here. My shoulders loosen at the mere thought of sinking into the warm water.

Ollie rocks back on his heels, looking nervous despite the obvious effort he'd put into everything around us. “I dropped Tilly at Eli and Rose’s place. They insisted you needed a break,” he says.

My heart does a slow, soft flip. “You did all this…for me?”

He shrugs, almost sheepishly. “I just wanted to take care of you for a change.”

“That’s really sweet.”

Relief flickers across his face, but it only lasts a moment before he takes a small step toward the door. “I'll let you enjoy your alone time.”

“Stay,” I whisper, my fingers catching the hem of his T-shirt.

Ollie glances down at my hand, then back at me. “You sure?”

I nod before I reach for the zipper of my dress. It slides down, the fabric slipping from my shoulders until it pools around my feet. Only then does he move. Ollie unbuttons his shirt one button at a time, never taking his eyes off me. He takes me in with unmistakable admiration, making me feel beautiful rather than exposed as I stand before him in nothing but my lacy bra and matching thong.

“God, you’re stunning,” he breathes.

My stomach dips, heat spreading through me. I let my gaze wander over him, taking in every detail. His broad shoulders. The inked artwork I’ll admire closer later. The faint scar near his collarbone that has me wondering about the story behind it. I want to learn every inch of him.