Page 83 of Counterfeit Connection

“Well, then you should give her all the attention she deserves.” I push off the wall and cross the room to place a kiss on her lips. “What did you want to do today?”

“Honestly? Let’s just be bums and stay in? Is that okay?”

“What about the London Eye, Big Ben, Parliament, and all that?”

“We can still do that. I don’t know. I just feel like maybe we should be alone.”

I set my glasses on the large coffee table before I curl up beside her. “I think being alone is fine with me. We could stroll in the park. I know you haven’t seen it yet, but I am quite good in the kitchen. I could woo you with more food if you like. I have a craving for one of my mother’s comfort meals. Have you ever had authentic pastina before?”

The wheels of Kaitlyn’s mind start turning. “Wait, isn’t that Italian penicillin?”

“It can be, yes. I will swear by it, but it can also be very effective in rejuvenating the spirit. I think we might need a bit of that after yesterday.”Kaitlyn maneuvers her curled up body so she’s facing me. “Besides the initial confession to your mother, I enjoyed every second of being there. I really love her.”

Those words. They trigger something in my mind. Delicate nails stroking up and down my forearms, a cheek pressed firmly against my chest, the vibration of the words I love you tumble through the dark. She said it. I’m certain of it.

I rest my head on the back of the lounge, mirroring her position, staring into her steely blue eyes. “Is she the only one you love?”

Her face flushes red and she licks her lips. I catch her chin in my grasp before she turns to look away from me.

“Don’t hide from me,” I continue.

“Griffin, I…”

She’s nervous. I swear I can hear her heart racing from here. If I slide my hand down to the side of her throat, I’ll feel it pounding under my touch. I’ll make this easier for her.

“I really hope she isn’t, because I’ve fallen in love with you, Kaitlyn.”

Time slows down. I’ve laid my cards on the table, hoping that I wasn’t hallucinating when I heard her say the words last night. Her eyes begin to water, and I can’t tell if it’s sadness or happiness… until she smiles.

“I love you too, Griffin. I think I have for much longer than I realized.”

I can’t have the space between us anymore. I grasp her hips and pull her over so she’s straddling my waist. I want her as close as possible.

“Christ, Kaitlyn, how did this happen?” I say between kisses I’m laying on her neck, jaw, and cheek.

Her fingers weave gently through the hair at the base of my neck. “Does it really matter?”

I stop to press my forehead to hers, then softly chuckle. “No, it doesn’t.” I gently hold her face in my hands. “I want to know everything about you. Not the things we were expecting people to know. I want to know how you got the scar behind your ear I noticed when you put your hair in a towel after you showered. I want to hear about your high school crushes and how you decided to become a lawyer. I want to hear your take on politics, if you want to have children…”

“Whoa,” she laughs. “That’s a lot of information at once. Let’s just make some food and let the conversation flow. I will tell you anything you want to know as long as we’re not more than five feet apart all day and night.”

“Sweet girl, that’s a promise.”

Kaitlyn

I feel like I’m floating on a cloud.

Is this what real love is supposed to feel like? I would have sworn on my life that I’d truly been in love before, but this is unlike anything I’ve experienced until now.

He’s working away on the pastina, and I’m perched on his counter simply drinking him in. His hands move smoothly as he chops the onions and carrots. He’ll look my way every once in a while and say something to me and I think I fall deeper each time.

How is it possible this man loves me? I have to be the luckiest woman on the planet.

“Right, baby?” he asks and it snaps me out of my thoughts.

“Hmm? What?”

He laughs and pours the pasta into the boiling chicken stock. “Where were you just then?”

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