Page 37 of Our Bay Will Come

When we part, I see something in his eyes—a certainty, a promise—that both thrills and terrifies me. Cedar Bay stretches around us, picturesque and inviting, and for the first time, I allow myself to imagine what it might be like to call it home.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

PRUE

TEN MONTHS LATER

Ican't remember the last time I felt this way—completely exposed yet utterly safe.

Fox's body is warm against mine, our limbs tangled in my wrinkled sheets as Seattle rain taps gently against the bedroom window. His fingers trace idle patterns on my bare shoulder, and I study his face in the dim light, memorizing the slight crinkles at the corners of his eyes and the shadow of stubble along his jaw.

"I can't do this anymore," I whisper, and his hand stills.

"Do what?" His voice is carefully neutral, but I feel the sudden tension in his muscles. “Talk to me, baby. Whatever is wrong, we can fix it.”

I prop myself up on one elbow, letting the sheet fall away. "This. Pretending. Acting like I'm not completely stupidly in love with you every time we're back in Cedar Bay. Hiding whatever this is." I gesture between us. "I'm tired of it, Fox."

He watches me for a long moment, and my stomach twists. Maybe I've misread everything. What if I'm just the sex-starved designer he hooks up with when he's in the city? God, I'm an idiot.

"I want to move to Cedar Bay," I blurt out before I can stop myself. "Permanently."

His eyes widen, and the most beautiful smile spreads across his face. "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious. I want the whole small-town, gossip-mill, everyone-in-your-business package deal. I want to wake up with you every morning without checking if someone might see my car parked outside your place."

Fox pulls me on top of him, his hands sliding down to my hips. "I'll build you a house," he says against my lips. "Whatever you want. Modern, traditional, something in between?—"

I laugh, cutting him off with a kiss. "You better build me an office and showroom too. I’ll need a place to open up the Cedar Bay branch of Griffin Designs." I've been thinking about this for weeks and even crunched numbers during whatever time I can find.

"Done," he says, rolling us over so he's hovering above me. "I know the perfect spot. That piece of land overlooking the bay?—"

"With the big maple trees?" I gasp, arching against him as his mouth finds my neck.

"Mmm-hmm," he murmurs against my skin. "Already bought it last month."

I freeze beneath him. "You what?"

He lifts his head, looking slightly sheepish. "I may have been hoping you'd want to stay."

Something warm and overwhelming floods my chest. "Fox Carmichael, you sneaky, presumptuous?—"

He silences me with another kiss, deeper this time, his body pressing into mine in all the right places. When we finally break apart, breathless, I can't help but laugh.

"We should put this place on the market," I say, glancing around my Seattle bungalow, which suddenly feels cold and impersonal compared to the future I imagine.

"Tomorrow," Fox agrees, his hands already wandering again. "Right now, I think we should celebrate our decision."

As his mouth moves down my body, I close my eyes and thread my fingers through his hair, anchoring myself as sensation washes over me. How did I get here? Prudence Griffin—the woman who swore off serious relationships after Alan left me with nothing but a broken engagement and trust issues that could fill a book.

"You're overthinking," Fox murmurs against my inner thigh, his breath hot against my skin.

"Sorry," I gasp as his mouth finds its target. "Professional hazard."

For a while, there's no more talking, just the sound of rain and our breathing, growing more ragged by the second. Fox knows exactly how to touch me and has memorized every curve and sensitive spot of my body with the same precision he applies to his construction projects. Builder's hands—that's what I thought the first time I saw him, callused and strong. Now I know just how gentle they can be.

When I come apart beneath him, crying out his name, he moves back up my body with a satisfied grin.

"That's more like it," he says, and I smack his shoulder playfully.

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