Page 157 of The Woman Left Behind

His brows went up.

“Just to say, she came up with it because I was over waiting,” I pointed out the obvious.

He chuckled, and man, I loved to feel when he did that. “I didn’t miss that.”

“I sense you like control, but you know, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”

“Was I complaining?” he asked.

“No,” I answered.

I didn’t think it was physically possible for him to pull me closer, but he did.

And he said quietly, “You were ready. I was ready. It happened. It was phenomenal. It’s gonna happen again, soon, and go a lot slower, and I know that’ll be phenomenal too. So it’s not all good. It’s more than good. In other words, don’t worry about it, sweetheart.”

“’Kay,” I mumbled, feeling like preening not only at his use of the word phenomenal, but also that it was going to happen again…soon.

That said.

“You hungry?” I queried.

“I honest to God couldn’t face another casserole.”

I laughed and snuggled against him. “I’ve got some finger foods planned. If you open the champagne, I’ll go get them.”

“I’ll go get them.”

Of course he’d offer.

New thermostat.

Doorbell camera.

Drawing me a bath.

So Harry.

I gave him a kiss and said softly, “There are a few finishing touches. Five minutes. Okay?”

He nodded, but he kissed me, and since it was a good one (like all of them), it lasted awhile before he let me go.

I slid out of bed, found my nightie (pink, with a stretchy lace bodice, a short scarf-hemmed, see-through skirt and matching string bikini panties—I’d bought it ages ago with the thought of using it on Stormy in a last-ditch effort to keep him, something I didn’t do, so now it was all Harry’s). I pulled it on, found the panties and slid them on too.

“The panties are moot at this juncture, baby,” Harry noted in a gruff voice from the bed.

I turned to him to see him watching me, his eyes again molten chocolate.

So…

Yeah.

My man could be naughty, what with thinking his woman would wander around the kitchen commando in a nightie with a see-through skirt.

“A girl shouldn’t be too easy,” I kidded, which of course made him burst out laughing, since obviously I was bottom-line easy, considering I essentially threw myself at him, without the throwing part, but adding rose petals.

I loved the sound of his laugh, so I was smiling as I went to the kitchen.

The dogs followed me around (I was preparing food, so they would, but I’d learned Harry’s pups liked company, if he hadn’t tired them out and they weren’t sleeping it off).

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