Page 99 of Fragile Hearts

I pull her into my arms, wrapping them around her as she rests her head on my shoulder. “It was,” I confirm, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. “It’s good to see you smiling too. You looked like you were having a good time.”

Sloane lifts her head, giving me one of her smiles as she says, “I did. I’m happy, Owen, really happy. I just feel so...I don’t know, free.”

I grip the back of her neck, pulling her close so I can kiss her. “Good,” I whisper against her lips. “Also, I have something else for you.”

“Owen!” she says, pulling back, her brow narrowed.

Laughing, I reach over and open the top drawer of the nightstand, pulling out an envelope. I’d gotten this today, which is good because it meant it hadn’t been here when Sloane’s mom broke into our house.

“What?” I tease.

She huffs as she says, “You gotta stop getting me things.”

“Why?”

Sloane rolls her eyes now as she says, “Because you just do!”

I laugh, shaking my head as I say, “Sounds like a lame reason, babe. Anyway, this is technically yours. I’m just giving it back.” I hand her the envelope, smiling at the confused look on her face.

Sloane sits up, pulling the sheet up to her chest as she opens the flap and looks inside. “Um, what is this?” she asks, holding it out to me as though I might not realize what I’ve just given her.

“Looks like money,” I say, tucking an arm behind my head as I watch her adorable confusion.

“Why are you giving me money?”

“Because you’re not paying me rent, babe, and I’m giving back all the rent you’ve already paid me.”

“Why?”

Laughing, I pull her back into my arms, taking the envelope and dropping it on the nightstand before I grab her hips and pull her on top of me. “Because you are my girlfriend and this is your home, our home, and I don’t want you paying rent to stay here.”

“Owen, I can’t just live here for free.”

“Yeah, you can,” I say, smoothing my hands over her ass.

“I can’t.”

Grinning up at her, I run a finger up the crease of her ass, loving the way her eyes darken. “Yeah, babe, you can. You aren’t paying to live in your own home.”

“But—”

“But nothing,” I tell her. “This is our home, yours and mine.”

Sloane blinks at me, that adorable confusion morphing into something that looks like amazement. “But what about Eli? Surely, he’s gonna come back soon?”

I shake my head. “Eli’s staying on Oahu for a while, so it’s just you, me and the fluffball,” I tell her, moving my hands lower so they are splayed half on her ass and half on the top of her thighs.

“Oh,” she says, blinking as my words sink in.

“Yeah, oh,” I repeat, grinning up at her. “Now, enough about that,” I add. “How about you get up here and sit on my face? I wanna end the night with the best fun of all.”

There is no doubt in my mind that Owen Sinclair is perfection. I am wholly and completely his, but in this moment, the calm of our life together washing over me, it feels different. More intimate, intense and all-consuming. It’s something I never thought I would want, but now I can’t live without it.

He’s changed my life. Teaching me to stand up for myself, to advocate for what I need, and to never settle for something that doesn’t feel right.

Owen feels right.

He feels like forever.

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