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She moved the breakfast tray to the floor beside the bed so she could sit yoga-style, facing him. Giving him her undivided attention, she listened as he explained how the perfect place landed in his lap.
“We’re trying to move to a place without memories. I know we cleared the air with her, but I’m not sure I want to think of her when I’m in my house.” Even if the house was amazing.
“It doesn’t sound like they even lived there. But even if they did, it’ll be a brand-new unit once it’s finished. New walls. New floors. New appliances. New everything. And you get to pick it all out. And since I’ll be the one doing the work, just think of me in there all sweaty as I do hot construction shit.”
Samantha burst out laughing at that. “Hot construction shit?” she echoed.
“That’s not why you like me? No construction worker fantasies?” he teased.
She snorted with laughter. “While yes, you are hot, I don’t have a construction worker fetish. It’s you I love, not your job. Although, it’ll be nice having someone who can fix up the house and carry out my ideas after too many DIY television shows.”
He laughed briefly before his face grew serious. “So, you want to at least look at it? If you take a look and aren’t into it, then we’ll keep looking. She said she’s willing to price it low since it’s technically a fixer-upper. Priced low enough for someone to hire a contractor…”
“And you would be the contractor. So, it’ll be an even better deal that way,” Samantha said, filling in what he wasn’t saying. “Okay. Let’s look at it.”
“So, you want to buy a place together?” Bryce confirmed.
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she nodded her head. She never expected to be ready to move in with anyone so soon. Even if the paternity test ruled Brandon out as the father, she didn’t think she was ready to move in with anyone. But the two weeks she’d spent at Bryce’s house was the wake-up call she needed. She could either waste time fighting her feelings, or she could accept that it was finally her chance to be happy. She chose happiness.
“Yeah. Let’s do it. Let’s get a place together.”
Before she had the words out of her mouth, Bryce had his hands cupping both sides of her face as his mouth took hers. His kiss was desperate, as though he thought she might disappear. Gripping his shirt, she pulled him closer and kissed him until they were both out of breath, only pulling apart for air.
“Okay,” he said after a moment. “Okay, we’re doing this.”
“Yeah. We are. I guess that would make us really official,” Samantha said slowly.
Bryce placed his hand along the length of her jaw, carefully tilting her head to look at him. “We were official the night we found Asher. After the bathtub, there was no way I could stay away from you. But you were it for me the moment I woke up next to you in the hotel room.”
Samantha looked at him in surprise. She had thought of that morning every day since it happened. Between the first glimpse of him leaving the bathroom freshly showered, to the fact that he hadn’t touched her even though she slept half naked beside him.
“The hotel room? Really?” she asked, recalling how pissed off he’d gotten when she asked if anything had happened between them.
“Yeah. The hotel room. When I woke up with your body pressed up against me, it was all I could do to keep from touching you. That’s why I wasn’t in bed when you woke up. I had to take a shower to get some space between us,” he explained, pausing to flash her a devious grin. “That’s also why I got so pissed when you asked if we’d done anything. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to. But the fact that you even had to ask made me determined to show you what it’s like being with a better man. Even if we didn’t end up together, I needed you to know what better was like.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too. Will you be my girlfriend?” he asked with a teasing grin.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. “Well since you asked so nicely—”
Bryce yanked her into his lap, causing her to squeal with laughter. Before she could say anything else, he covered her mouth in a tender kiss, his firm hold causing her to relax against him. He was it for her, too. There was no denying her feelings.
“I’m ready to do this,” he said, pulling away just enough to break the kiss. “All of this. For as long as you’ll allow me to.”
Epilogue
“Bryson,” Samantha called over her shoulder as she filled the small red backpack with extra clothes and training pants. “Where’d you go, bud? It shouldn’t take you that long to get your shoes on. Auntie Rayelle will be here any minute.”
Once she’d filled the bag with as much as she could possibly fit, she turned to see Bryce walking into the kitchen holding her son by the hand. Looking up at her with brown eyes full of mischief and curls wild, he still didn’t have any shoes on, but Bryce at least had them in his free hand. She felt bad being so anxious for her kid to go, but they hadn’t spent an entire night alone since he was born, and he was going on three years old.
“What do you say we put your shoes on, kid?” Bryce suggested in that easygoing dad manner that never failed to make her swoon. “Don’t you want to go see your auntie? And play with Benny?”
Benny was Rayelle and Dominic’s little boy. He was only six months younger than Bryson and the two were thick as thieves. Even with them living close to thirty minutes apart since they moved into their new place in Bayonne, they spent as much time together as possible. Samantha had decided to take a break after Rent finished because she wanted to spend as much time with her son as she could. Broadway wasn’t going anywhere.
As soon as Samantha heard the knock, Bryson went running to the door, squealing with excitement. His dad may have passed away before he was born, but he had no shortage of people to love him. And they were fortunate enough to have friends who loved him as if he was their own.
Bryce opened the door to let Rayelle in as Samantha finished zipping the bag and made her way over. Benny squirmed from her arms and ran over to Bryson, both boys running toward his bedroom.
