Page 83 of His to Save

“Of course, I did.” I tug on her hand, pulling her into my chest. “I love you.”

“Thank you,” she whispers into my shirt before looking up at me from beneath her lashes. “I love you, too.”

My heart freezes in my chest before kicking into overtime.Holy fuck—my girl loves me.

“Sweetest words I’ve ever heard, Pip,” I murmur before pressing a kiss to the top of her head. I mean it, too, because with those three words, I know all the way to my damn soul that she’s mine every bit as much as I’m hers.

“What do we do first?” She steps out of my embrace, but not completely away from me. “I honestly don’t know where to start.”

“Anywhere you want.” I reach down and interlace our fingers. “Are you hungry?”

Her stomach rumbles before she can reply.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” I guide her toward the tailgate. “It’s not exactly gourmet, but we’ve got all the stuff to make sandwiches, fruit, chips, and a few bottles of water…”

“It’s perfect.” She pops up onto her toes and presses a kiss to my scruffy cheek. “I mean it. I couldn’t think of anything better than this.”

I can’t help the grin that splits my cheeks. For a second, as I was listing our choices, a thread of doubt tried to worm its way in, but here Nora is, effortlessly reassuring me and setting me at ease.

We’re far from conventional, but it’s times like these that I can’t help but think she was made just for me.

“This is just the start.” I pass her a paper plate and nudge her closer to the truck so that she can make her sandwich the way she likes.

“What does that even mean?” she asks, slathering a generous serving of mayo across both slices of bread.

I shrug and then set to work on my own sandwich.

“Atlas!” She huffs in annoyance as she adds ham and muenster cheese. “That’s not fair. Friends don’t keep secrets.”

“Good thing you’re not my friend.” It’s a shit response, but I’m banking on her reaction.

“What?” Outwardly, she’s calm but I hear the slight crack in her voice. “I’m not?”

“Hell no, Pip.” I set my plate on the tailgate, lean into her space, and cup her cheek. “You’re so much more. You’re my everything. My entire reason for being.”

She nibbles her lower lip and I brush my thumb over the apple of her cheek. With anyone else, this would be too much, too soon, but with Nora, it’s perfect.She’s perfect.

“You’re mine, too.” She glances down at her belly. “Well, you and the baby.”

“Can’t forget our jellybean,” I agree.

“But so help me God, if you ever scare me like that again, I’ll… I’ll…” She pauses and glares. “Well, I don’t know what I’ll do, but you won’t like it!”

I press a kiss to her temple, using my affection to hide my smile. She’s about as scary as a field mouse, but honestly, it’s part of her charm.

“Let’s eat and then we can have s’mores.”

She sighs dreamily and then resumes loading up her plate.

I watch like a hawk, noting her every choice. When she first came to stay with us, eating was hard for her after her meals being so scarce. I know I don’t need to worry, because she seems to be doing really well—Scarlet even complimented her weight gain at her last prenatal appointment—but I can’t help it.

The thought of anything taking her or our baby from me is unbearable. If Ellis realized the extent of my fixation with Nora, he’d undoubtedly call me an obsessive son-of-a-bitch, and that’s okay, because I am.

I am absolutely and entirely obsessed with Nora Leigh Morgan.

Once my plate is made, I join her in the center of the blankets.

Nora wastes no time in taking a huge bite of her sandwich. “Oh my God. This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

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