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I’d discovered my girl was a naturally bubbly morning person. She was bright eyed and ready to go. The girls were coming home tomorrow.One more day,a voice whispered.
She was mine.
I was done trying to fight the attraction and the pull. It was greater than me. Than her. Than us. I’d come to terms with that over the last couple of days. I just had to figure out how to make it happen. I’d somehow talked her into staying with me on what was supposed to be her days off. We’d been inseparable. I hadn’t gone into the office once, much to my assistant’s surprise.
“Happy—" she started to say, but I stopped her with a kiss. One she willingly gave herself over to as I rolled us over in bed, pinning her body under mine. I had only meant to take her off guard, but somehow, I had forgotten that kissing her had become an addiction. There was no stealing a small taste when it came to her. She was so damn irresistible. Especially when she made those sweet little sounds of hers. A cross between a purr and a breathy moan. Fuck, the sound made me harder than I ever knew was possible.
“Give me a second.” I forced myself to hop out of bed.
“Where are you going?” she whined, and I chuckled.
“One sec. Stay there, beautiful!” I pointed at her and ran out to the living room. I’d woken up at three in the morning when she had been sound asleep to get everything ready.
Just like I had guessed she would, she stepped out of the room the moment I had a birthday cake in my hands. Thankfully, she had given me enough time to get the candle lit. Her eyes shined from afar with unshed tears and surprise. Aria was gorgeous, but never more so than when she wore my shirts. This one was white, only the three middle buttons done. Just enough to close it, but not enough to hide her body from me.
“How… When…”
“Happy Birthday.” I smiled as I lifted the cake with the candle lit in the center.
I glanced down at the cake. It was wonky. A couple of colorful sprinkles I found in the pantry added color to the frosting I had covered it up in. “I probably should have bought a cake,” I muttered under my breath, rubbing the back of my head as my eyes met hers. “I can buy you a better one.”
She didn’t say a word. She just stood there. Perfectly still with the most beautiful soft smile on her face. “You made me a cake?”
“I did. I, umm…” I cleared my throat. “I just wanted you to wake up to some sweetness on your birthday.”
“But, Aiden, it’s your birthday, too.”
“Yours is the one that matters,” I commented. She shook her head a nanosecond before she moved.
Fast.
She ran toward me so fast, I had just enough time to set the cake on the table next to me a moment before she jumped and I caught her in my arms. “Thank you,” she whispered into the crook of my neck, and I felt wetness there. From her tears.
“Ari baby, why you crying?”
“This… you… this means so much more than you can imagine.” She sniffled with a bright smile. I wiped her tears away with the pad of my thumb, hating how helpless I felt.
“I don’t like seeing you cry,” I mumbled, and she giggled through her tears.
“I’m just happy. That happens sometimes.”
“Humph,” I grunted.
“What kind of cake is it?”
“You said you liked chocolate with vanilla frosting. It’s just from box mix and already made frost—" I didn’t say another word as her lips touched mine. She kissed me to shut me up, and I let her.
“That’s my favorite,” she whispered breathlessly a couple of minutes later. “Let’s have a piece!”
“Okay,” I laughed, nuzzling my nose against hers before setting her on the ground. I turned to grab the cake, and when I looked for her, she was sitting under the Christmas tree we had decorated. The plush white throw set on the ground, she sat with her legs under her.
Under my tree she looked like the best gift. The most perfect one.Mine. The voice in the back of my head was no longer whispering that damn word. It was confident. Steady. Louder and louder.
And I didn’t mind it.
It had taken me thirty-five years to find my woman. The woman who would help me raise my girls like her own. I knew she would. Aria already loved River and Lake like they were hers. Hell, she loved them more than their own mother had.
“What’s that look about?” she asked. I cleared my throat.
