Page 24 of The Bodyguard's Innocent Obsession
“I’m so fucking glad you’re okay, princess.”
“Me too.”
She leans back, resting her head against my chest, and we just stay like that, holding each other under the hot spray.
And for the first time since she walked out of the door earlier today, the panic subsides and the weight lifts from my chest.
Because I have her.
And that’s all that matters.
Epilogue
Arabella
One year later:
The smell of warm cinnamon and vanilla sugar curls through the air like a hug, thick and sweet and impossible to resist. Sunlight slants in through the tall front windows of Prescott & Flour, painting golden stripes across the floor and turning the flour dust in the air into soft-glowing magic.
I exhale slowly, one hand resting on the swell of my belly as I pipe a swirl of honey buttercream onto a batch of apple spice cupcakes. My lower back aches. My feet are killing me. My hair is vaguely sticky from steam and powdered sugar. But for the first time in a long, long time, I feel whole.
My life isn’t just mine anymore. It’s mine, and his. And soon, it will be theirs, too.
The bell above the door jingles. And even without looking up, I know it’s him. I’d know that quiet command in his stride anywhere.
Lachlan.
He walks in like he belongs here, because he does. Like he owns the air I breathe, because in a way, he kind of does that too. He’s still in workout clothes, his dark T-shirt clinging to his chest and shoulders in a way that makes me forget I’m in polite company. A light sheen of post-shower damp clings to the ends of his hair. His eyes find mine instantly, and that stupid, smug grin spreads across his face.
“I swear,” I say before he even opens his mouth, “if you’re here to steal the last cinnamon roll again, I’m throwing you out.”
He saunters up to the counter, eyes glinting. “You make it sound like I’m not doing the public a favor. Pretty sure I’m saving lives. Those things are so addictive they’re dangerous.”
“Dangerous is what happens when a paying customer comes in and finds out the owner’s greedy boyfriend has eaten the entire tray.”
He leans over the counter and kisses the tip of my nose. “Correction: the owner’s devastatingly handsome bodyguard fiancé.”
I roll my eyes and try not to melt when he says it like that. “Still greedy.”
“You love it.”
And he’s right.
He makes his way behind the counter and slides his hand around my waist, pulling me gently toward him with all the reverence and care he’s learned to navigate my very pregnant body with. I let myself sink into him for a second, breathing him in. Safety. Warmth. Everything.
“Have I told you today that you’re glowing?” he murmurs, brushing a kiss against my cheek. “Like actual golden light radiating off you. You’re carrying two babies inside you and you’re still the sexiest woman on the planet.”
“You’re just saying that because you want another cinnamon roll.”
“Not true,” he says, voice low and teasing. “I want two.”
I laugh. “If you eat two more, we’re going to have to roll you out of here.”
“That’s why I’m here,” he counters, moving to stand behind me, so I can feel the hard outline of his erection pressing against my back. “Gotta work off the sugar somehow. And I know a way that’s a lot more fun than the gym.”
“Lachlan,” I warn, feeling my face grow hot while a matching heat blossoms between my thighs. “We’re in public.”
He hums. “Doesn’t look like anyone’s watching.”
