Page 57 of Big Girl Panties

"Says the man who makes a million dollars every time he smiles. Us café owners have to be a little more frivolous with our spending."

His arms squeezed around me, and I felt something crack open in my chest, the good kind of crack. "Like I said, you don't have to worry about that when you're with me."

"So," I tried to regain some composure while still wrapped in his arms, "is this the part where you tell me you're actually a prince or something equally ridiculous?"

He laughed, and I yawned. "You ready for bed?"

"Yeah." I was ready to go to bed, but I wasn't ready for sleep.

We each crawled onto our sides of the bed, sliding under the thick comforter and quickly shifting and moving until we were exactly where we wanted to be.

The cool night air stirred against our skin as moonlight spilled through the window. I lay curled against Matt's chest, one of his arms cradling my head while the other pulled me close. My face nestled into the hollow where his shoulder curved into his neck, that perfect space that seemed carved just for me.

"Speaking of traveling," Matt whispered, his chest vibrating against my cheek. The rhythm of his heartbeat had nearly lulled me to sleep.

I hummed acknowledgment, too comfortable to form actual words.

"I have a trip to Ireland coming up."

My eyes snapped open. The drowsy cocoon of contentment dissolved as I processed his words. Ireland. A country, an ocean away from me.

I pulled back just enough to search his face. "Ireland? Like, Emerald Isle, thousand-shades-of-green Ireland?"

"The very same." His smile was soft, but his eyes were serious. "It's for work, but…"

"But?"

"But I'd have plenty of time to watch you discover a place you've never been." His finger traced my collarbone, leaving goosebumps in its wake. "I want you to come with me."

My heart raced ahead while my mind stumbled to catch up. "For how long?"

He hesitated. Just long enough for me to know the answer mattered. "A month."

"A month." The words fell between us like stones in still water. My café. Karen. My responsibilities. All the sensible reasons I couldn't possibly…

"I can see those wheels turning." His thumb brushed across my furrowed brow. "You don't have to answer now. Just… think about it. See if there's a way."

This wasn't just about Ireland. This was about us, about what might be possible, about whether I was brave enough to find out.

He pressed his soft, full lips to my forehead, kissing it. "I don't want to go without you."

I pulled back, looking up at him as his finger played with my hair. I reached up, touching his beard. "Are you saying you'd miss me?"

He pinched my chin between his thumb and finger, tilting my head up to him. "Terribly." The heat of his breath fanned across my lips. "I'm not sure I'd be able to function without you." He pressed his lips to mine in a soft, sweet kiss.

"You should probably show me how much," I murmured against his mouth.

He tugged me closer to him. "I think I can do that." And he kissed me hard and fast, devouring my mouth. His leg slid in between mine as his hand traveled around my hip and grabbed my ass. The kiss was frantic and messy as his tongue slipped in and out of my mouth, tasting and teasing mine, but his hands not so much. His hands said he wanted to savor every moment. Every touch. Like he was storing every curve of my body to memory.

He shifted his weight, and the world tilted with him. His borrowed shirt, my flimsy armor, betrayed me, riding up my thighs as he rolled me to my back. First came the weight of him, solid and certain. Then his thighs eased mine apart. My fingers found his biceps, mapping territory that tensed beneath my touch.

He was big everywhere, and I loved the way he made me feel so small under him.

A slight arch of my spine, it was an invitation. The first slow roll of his hips against mine sent electricity racing up my spine, and the moan that escaped me seemed to belong to someone else entirely. His hand began a journey down my side, each inch of progress marked by my quickening breath, until his fingers found the hem of my shirt. He broke the kiss then, but his eyes held mine, asking a question we both already knew the answer to.

We moved in sync as he lifted, sitting back on his legs, towering over me. His heated gaze followed my shirt as he slid it up, exposing my bare skin. I rose off the bed, lifting my arms as he pulled it over my head before discarding it across the room.

His tongue emerged, tracing a slow path along his bottom lip before he caught it between his teeth. The sharp edge of desire in his expression made me feel powerful and vulnerable in equal measure.