Page 145 of When We Were Young

“Yeah?” He’s smiling. He surprises me when he puts his hands on my waist and lifts me onto the island. Then he moves between my legs and kisses me.

“I like when we’re face to face like this,” he whispers.

If eyes could smile, that’s what I’d describe his as doing right this moment. I feel warm inside.

“Me, too.”

He trails the pad of his thumb along my lower lip and then leans down and places a soft kiss on the side of my mouth.

“Tell me why it’s your favorite place to eat.”

How does this man make anything he says sound sexy?

“Because we spent a lot of time together here, and it helped us fall back in love.” My words are hushed. I’m not embarrassed. I feel exposed.

“That’s only sort of true.” He leans in again and plants a kiss on my neck near my ear. “Because I never stopped loving you. I just needed to remember how much.”

Before I realize I’m doing it, my hands are in his hair, and I stretch my neck to give him better access to my skin.

He covers the sensitive flesh of my throat with soft kisses, and by the time he makes it back to my lips, I’m desperate with need.

“Holden.” His name comes out somewhere between a whisper and a moan, and it must do something to him because, in a second, we become wrapped up in the hottest, yet most emotionally charged kiss I’ve ever experienced.

“I love you. So much that sometimes when I look at you, or even think about you, I forget to breathe.”

His words are a balm for my heart and soul.

“I love you, too. When I think about how much, it scares me.”

He pulls back and brushes my loose hair behind my ear. His eyes search my face.

“Scares you?”

I bite my lower lip and nod. “I’m afraid of how exposed I feel. What if Landon finds a way to ruin this again? I’d be devastated. And Simon, God, he already⁠—”

He kisses me, then pulls back. “Sorry, I had to stop you from going further down that path. I need you to hear this.”

He cups both sides of my face. “I promise that you don’t need to worry about Landon Carter now, or ever again. I’m taking care of that.”

“How?”

“I’ll explain in a couple of minutes. First, I don’t want you to be afraid of anything. You’re wrapped as tightly around my heart as I am yours. I’m all in.” He kisses me. “I’m not leaving.” One more kiss. “For as long as you’ll have me, I’m yours.” And another. “Trust me on this, okay?”

“Okay,” I whisper. “I’ll try. Just be patient with me, please.”

“I will. If you need me to remind you every day for the rest of our lives what you mean to me, I’ll happily do it.”

Holden glances to the side for a few seconds, then peers at me again.

“Simon, God, now he scares me.”

He pauses and tilts his head upward, staring at the ceiling. He blows out a long breath, then returns his gaze to me. His eyes are glassy.

“I love that little boy, Lizette.”

My heart races.

“I don’t even know when it happened. And today, when he asked if I wanted to be a dad, my heart pounded in my chest, and I had to stop myself from telling him how much I want to be his dad.”