Page 39 of Oops I Fell For The Electrician Next Door

My laugh breaks into something close to a sob. Marc sets me on my feet but does not release me.

“I’m here,” he says.

“I can see that.”

“Are you all right?”

“No.” I press both hands against his chest. His heart beats steadily beneath them. “You left me with something yesterday.”

Marc’s expression becomes careful. “I told you there was no deadline.”

“There isn’t. I didn’t need two days. I needed to stop being afraid of saying it first.”

“Saying what?”

The man knows exactly what. I can see hope fighting with restraint in his face, and suddenly I love him even more for making me choose the words myself.

“I love you, Marc.”

His eyes close for one brief second. When they open, the control in them is gone.

“Say it again.”

“I love you. I love that you ask. I love that you came back. I even love how bossy you are when you think I haven’t eaten.”

“You usually haven’t.”

“This is not the time to prove my point.”

“What point?”

“That loving you does not mean surrendering authority.”

“I would never make that mistake.”

He kisses me before I can answer. Marc’s arms close around me with enough force to make my feet leave the ground again, and I hold on while relief, desire, and joy rush through me so quickly I cannot separate one from another.

When the kiss finally slows, he rests his forehead against mine. “I thought I was prepared to wait.”

“You waited almost thirty hours. Very noble.”

“It was hell.”

“Then I should probably show you the compensation package for your unpaid work.”

His hands move lower on my hips. “Now?”

“After you sign your rental agreement.”

Marc groans. “Cruel woman.”

“Strict policies.”

We unload his truck. He signs at the small table in Cabin Seven and transfers the first month’s rent before I can tell him tomorrow would be soon enough. Then he looks around the cabin. Boxes crowd the wall. His shoulders nearly span the narrow kitchen, and the bathroom remains several inches too small for the rest of him.

“This may not work for long,” I admit.

“I can find an apartment in town.”