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“We’re a we now, huh?”
He dips to place a chaste kiss on the tip of my nose. “Damn right we are.”
“Okay, second rule is agreed to. We will decide. But I get the final decision.”
“Why are you so stubborn?” He strokes my cheek, gazing at me like it’s a characteristic he admires.
“Because you force me to be.”
He chuckles. “I can still picture you storming into that club in Seattle and dragging me out of there.” He reaches down to squeeze my biceps. “Who knew you were packing so much strength in these little muscles?”
“I might be small,” I say, “but I’m mighty.” I flex my bicep.
“Indeed you are.” His hands slide down until he grabs my butt. His eyes drop to my mouth.
“And no bunnies,” I add.
He looks back up. “You did hear me when I said I only want you, right?”
I stay still, just watching him. Maybe I need to hear him say the words again.
“No other women,” he confirms. I can spot the sincerity in his expression. “And no other men for you either.”
That’s easy to agree to. I’m a one-man woman. And no one compares to Sam anyway.
“Okay.”
“Okay.” He nods once.
We kiss to seal the deal. I pull apart when my stomach starts to growl, walking over to the box of bakery items I brought home.
“What’s that?” Sam asks.
“I bought some goodies on the way home,” I confirm, flipping open the lid. There are some cookies in here—two brownies and two lemon cupcakes.
Sam reaches inside, selecting the cupcake. His tongue darts out to lick the icing. “Lemon,” he murmurs more to himself than me.
“I saw that lemon cupcake you had in the cupboard a few weeks ago, so I bought a couple. Is it your favorite flavor?” I ask.
He looks solemn when he answers, his mind somewhere far away. “I think it might be.” His eyes sharpen as he comes back to the present. “My parents and I eat these twice a year after my mom gets a clean scan, showing her cancer is still in remission.”
“Oh.” My mouth gapes. “I didn’t realize it had meaning.”
“It does,” he confirms. “It means something great. That the cancer is still gone.”
I lift the second cupcake from the box and peel away the paper holder. I take a bite and chew, swallowing the sweet treat before I speak. “It tastes even better, knowing that.”
Sam watches me intently. “Exactly.” He reaches over, tilting his cupcake to smear the frosting across my lip. Then, he follows, licking it off with his tongue ever so slowly. I close my eyes, a soft grin forming. His mouth crashes into mine when the frosting is gone.
In the end, the cupcakes aren’t eaten until the next morning. Because one kiss turns into another. Then, the touching begins. And when Sam carries me into his bedroom, passing by my paintings that he purchased at the auction, where they now hang on the wall, all thoughts of cupcakes are forgotten.
My arrogant hockey player. The lost boy who turned out not to be so lost after all. He just needed someone to have faith in him so he could believe in himself. I never thought I’d be the girl for him or that he would turn out to be the man for me.
But sometimes, the wrong choices get us to the right places.
And put us right where we belong.
EPILOGUE
