Page 56 of Friends to WHAT?!

Wolfe drops on top of me, pinning me and drawing so close that my entire world narrows to nothing but him. His soft, ivory hair dangles, tickling my forehead as it brushes against the skin there.

“I’m going to kiss you again,” he declares before…

Stars.

He sure does kiss me. Thoroughly. Not tender, like before, but hard, possessive, and claiming. This kiss doesn’t say, “I love you.” This kiss says, “You’re mine.”

He parts from me only when we’re both panting for breath.

“Stars,” I whisper.

“I love you,” he rumbles, words harsh as he struggles to fill his lungs. “I love you so much, my starling. I loved you before, but seeing you with Amia last night… this morning…” He groans and kisses me again, hard and fast. “Seeing you with Amia, right in front of my face, has made it so,soclear how very much I love you. I love you so much it’s an ache in my chest—a yawning void, desperately hoping and waiting and yearning and begging for the stars to put you back in my path. You’re sobright. A star in the sky, demanding my orbit, and I give it gladly. Be my sun. Be my moon. Demand better of me for the rest of our lives. Make me a man worthy of you.” He curses. “I love you to distraction. I love you to selfishness. I love you enough to ask for what I want, and I love you enough totake it.” Another kiss, this one a vow, and a promise, and a conquering. “I’m taking you, Leora. I want you. I want your lips beneath mine every morning andevery night. I want your wisdom and your beauty poured into my daughter every day, so casually, as if there were no other option for you than to give her everything you have to give. I want my life to include you. Always. Forever. I want us to beus. And, to stars with my passivity, I’mtaking it.”

Oh. My.Stars.

He kisses the whispered words off my lips, stealing for himself my breaths and heartbeats. I give them to him freely. They’re his to have, anyway.

“You’re mine,” he demands between kisses. “Only mine. Always mine.”

“I’m yours,” I agree, readily. I press my forehead to his, begging a moment to tell him just how much I am his. “I always have been, Wolfe. From that first letter. I’ve loved you. Iloveyou, and I’m so proud of you. You’ve proven every day that my love couldn’t have gone to anyone better. I’d be proud to stand by your side always. I’d be proud to be a part of your family.”

He replies with a kiss.

Or twelve.

Or twenty.

Or…

Well, alotof kisses.

And I kiss him back, every time, heart soaring to the stars, thanking them for all that they’ve blessed us with.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

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Live, laugh, love Amia.

Wolfe

When my parents drop Amia off at Blackwood Brew, they find five blank whiteboards waiting for them. Dad pats me on the back before he loads them into his truck. Mom’s eyes well with tears as she pinches my cheek. They leave us with visibly lighter shoulders.

“Is Miss Leora here?” Amia asks when their taillights round the corner, officially gone.

“She’s not,” I answer. Regrettably. “I told her I needed to talk to you alone, so she went home, but, depending on how our conversation goes, we might be able to go get her when we leave the shop.”

Amia blinks at me. “You’re having a lot of alone talks today, Daddy. First Leora, and now me? What if we all just had a group talk instead?”

A bark of laughter shoots out of my mouth, unbidden, and she frowns. “I’m sorry,” I say. “I’m not laughing at you, I promise. It’s just that sometimes some conversations need to happen one-on-one, but your response makes me think our conversation won’t take very long.”

She sighs, cocks a hip out, and sets her hand on it in a perfect imitation of my mother when she wishes I would justget to the freaking point already. “If we can see Miss Leora after we talk, then I think we should start talking.”

I smile. “Okay,” I agree. “Let’s go to my office.”

She nods and twists on her heel, taking off in the direction of my office in a quick trot.

I follow, admiring my girl. She knows what she wants, and she’s making it happen. I should’ve paid more attention. I could’ve learned my lessons from her years ago.