Page 127 of Heartbeats & Highways

“I get it, Willa, I really do. Considering who Savage is, it would’ve been a hard pill to swallow if I’d been normal and this wasn’t so fast. But I’m pregnant with twins and it’s all so recent. So, not only is he in a relationship with me, but he’s also suddenly deciding to be a father to babies that aren’t even his.”

I set the glasses of milk on the counter and then pulled out two forks and handed her one.

“You’re taking this all too well,” Willa said, removing the foil on top of the pie.

“You, Savage, Duke and Waverly . . . you’re a family. You have your own ecosystem. And now you’re about to add your own baby to the mix. I came along andboom. The entire dynamic has changed.”

“There’s room for you in our family, Evie. You and the babies.”

Tears gathered in my eyes.

“I mean it. Just don’t judge Duke by a conversation you were never supposed to hear.”

“I may never have been supposed to hear it, but it was said all the same. Anyway, I told Savage not to hold it against Duke. It comes from a place of love, that’s all.”

She smiled. “I get it now.”

“Get what?”

“Why he fell in love with you so fast. You understand people. You understand Savage, too, don’t you?”

“Yes.” I sighed. “I fell in love with him before I knew what was good for me.”

She laughed. “Yeah, he has that effect.”

“The Savage effect.”

She held up her fork and I clinked mine against hers. “To the Savage effect.”

Chapter 33

“Evie. Evie, wake up.”

“No.” I snuggled deeper into the pillows. “Dreaming. Nice dream.”

“I know, you’re dreaming of me.”

My eyes flipped open, and my heart soared in happiness. And then I leapt at Savage who was sitting on the edge of the bed. I could only see the faintest outline of him because he’d left the bedroom light off, but the nightlight in the hallway was lit.

His mouth sought mine.

“Missed you so fucking much,” he said against my lips.

“Not as much as I missed you,” I whispered.

“Not possible.”

His hands skated up and down my body. Shivers of desire erupted along my skin. He’d already taken off his cut and shirt and my hands traced his shoulders and then my finger sank into his hair.

Savage laid me back against the pillows, refusing to remove his mouth from mine.

He undressed me slowly, peeling my clothes from me like he had all the time in the world.

“Savage,” I whispered.

His mouth moved from my lips to my cheek down my neck to my collar bone. He paid homage to my breasts and nipples, taking them into his mouth. He lavished them with focused attention until they strained into peaks. But eventually, he drifted lower and his tongue slipped between my thighs.

“Missed this, too, babe.”

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