Page 34 of Sweet Spot
He smiled, those dimples pressing deeper into his cheeks than I’d seen in days. “Ah, I see what’s wrong.”
I lifted my brows high on my forehead. “You do? Please, clue me in then, because I feel like I’m losing my mind.”
“It’s the Grandma Buttons effect. She comes off sweet and unassuming, but really, the woman’s more cunning than a fox. She manages to work you like a piece on a chess board until you end up giving her what she wants without even knowing you’re doing it. Once the realization sinks in, it can throw you off balance. You’ll need a couple days to get your sea legs back.”
I reached up to grasp his wrists, not to push him away, but to hold on to him. “But... this is a lot, right? I mean, moving in together?” My chest started to get tight and my lungs felt like they were being squeezed and twisted into balloons.
His fingers pressed deeper into my skin. “Hey, just breathe, babe. It’s all going to be okay.”
I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath until he coaxed me to breathe. My chest rattled on the shaky inhale, and I turned all my focus on him, pushing the panic to the back of my mind. It was easy enough to do when he was looking at me the way he was. The deep, stormy gray of his eyes was flashing silver, glittering in the sunlight. They danced and glinted with affection so strong my toes curled inside my shoes.
“I know this wasn’t what we planned, but you’ve always gone on about how much you love my house, right?”
He might have a point there. His kitchen was the stuff of dreams for anyone who liked to cook as much as I did. And his bathroom...God. It was a thing of beauty. I would have been lying if I said I hadn’t fantasized more than once about drawing a nice, hot bubble bath and lying in there for hours with a book and a glass of wine.
I pursed my lips in consideration. “Does this mean...” I trailed off, knowing he’d understand exactly where I was going.
“My bathroom’s yours as often as you want.”
I squealed and did a little hop in place that drew a chuckle from deep in his chest as his hands glided down my neck and shoulders until they eventually stopped at my hands. The way he threaded his fingers through mine and held on set off a riot of butterflies deep in my belly. I was quickly becoming addicted to how he touched me.
“Thank you,” I said softly, pouring every ounce of sincerity I felt into those two words in the hope he heard it.
“For what?”
“For talking me down. You always manage to do that, you know. Every time I see that ledge coming into sight, you’re right there to pull me back from it.”
He used his hold on my hands to pull me closer, bringing us chest to chest. My nipples tightened as they pressed against the hard, rigid planes of his chest. He was so... big. I never felt safer than when he held me like this. Like I was precious.
“There won’t ever come a time when I won’t pull you back, Wynn. No matter how, no matter when. Even without all this, it’s you and me. I will always have your back.”
I was two seconds away from lifting up and slamming my lips against his in the kiss I’d been craving like a junkie in need of a fix since that little tease he gave me the evening his mom and grandmother arrived. I was so desperate for more of that—or justmore—it was like a living, growing thing beneath my skin, crawling and itching and niggling at me until I could barely stand it.
However, as I was about to act, the door was thrown open and the moment was shattered.
A harried Farah popped her head out. “Uh, Gage. I think you should get in here. Jensen and Laeth are betting on who can lift the heaviest box, and I’m worried someone’s going to rupture a spleen or pop a hernia.”
It was quiet, but I didn’t miss the low, frustrated growl that rumbled deep in his chest as he dropped his head back. “Goddamn it,” he grumbled up at the sky. “All right. Be right there. Make sure they don’t kill themselves in the meantime.”
Farah threw him a sassy salute and closed the door. His focus returned to me and all the frustration melted away. His gaze went soft, downright tender, as he took me in.
“You good?” he asked, determined to make sure I was back to one hundred percent before walking away. Even if it meant a potential hospital trip for one of his partners.
A smile stretched my lips as I took a step closer, unable to help myself. “I’m good, honey,” I said softly, the words pouring out. That was an endearment I’d never used with him before, but with the way his entire face lit up, those dimples in their full glory, I could see he really freaking liked it.
He headed back inside after rocking my world in the most unexpected way. And as I took a moment for myself out on the porch, I realized there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do to make him look at me like that again.
ChapterEighteen
WYNN
I let outa sigh and closed my eyes as I slid farther into the tub. The air in the bathroom was thick with humidity and the tips of my fingers were wrinkled worse than a silk blouse that had been sitting in the dryer for a week. But the water was still warm and the bubbles that filled the tub were still at least an inch thick, thanks to how much of my bubble bath Gage had squeezed into the water.
It had been a long, exhausting day, but thanks to all my friends and Gage’s authoritarian family, I was officially moved in. The furniture and kitchen appliances that didn’t fit in his house had been put in storage. Drawers had been emptied for my clothes and the minimal items Gage had hanging in his closet had been shoved into one tiny corner, making room for my more extensive wardrobe. The art and photos that had been hanging in my old place were currently resting propped against walls, waiting for me to decide where I wanted to put them. Same with my decorations.
My dishes and silverware mingled with his, which worked, seeing as he only had place settings for four people. We managed to find a place for nearly everything, which was good on one hand, but on the other, it was going to be a pain in the ass to separate everything again once this was over and it was time for me to find my own place.
It was on that thought that the serenity I’d found in Gage’s show-stopper of a bathroom faded, leaving an unpleasant feeling in its wake. It happened every time I thought about this ruse finally coming to an end. Like a dark cloud that popped up out of nowhere to ruin a perfectly sunny day.