“FUCK,” HE CURSED under his breath the moment I opened the door, and I swallowed all the emotions I was feeling. His gaze roamed from the tips of my open-toed heels to the top of my head before it met my eyes. “You’re beautiful.” His voice sounded scratchy, and I smiled.
“Thanks,” I whispered. “Those mine?” I pointed to the small bouquet of wildflowers.
“Yes. Here.” He handed them to me, taking a step forward, and in his smooth Brandon manner, with one gentle but firm hand on my hip, he pulled me in and kissed me.
Soft.
Sweet.
Perfect.
“I don’t usually kiss on the first date,” I mumbled against his lips
“Liar.” He winked, and I laughed. We’d kissed before we’d made it to the movie we’d gone to see on our first first date.
“You ready, my niña linda?” I loved how he called me his lovely girl. Those first days that first summer, he’d done his best to learn Spanish. I’d asked why, and he’d said he liked the idea of being able to talk to my family. I was too impressed by him to break his heart and tell him they all spoke great English.
“Nina? You ready?” he asked again, his eyes curious, probably knowing my mind was wedged in a memory.
“For you?”
“For us,” he said, and I exhaled a shuttered breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.
This was it.
The start of us.
Our road might have hit a bump and we had been on a standstill, but we were ready. Ready for our journey to continue. I couldn’t wait.
“Always,” I mumbled against his lips before kissing him one more time and leaving the apartment.
_______________
“You didn’t!”
“I did.” He grinned, sitting back in his chair, taking a sip of the bourbon he’d ordered. Such a difference from the guy who drank old Bud Lights his older brother had hooked him up with. “I’ve jumped about eight times on leave.”
“You skydive for fun and sip bourbon now.” I smiled, resting my chin on my hand as I leaned closer to him, my free hand in his.
“And you paint and know all sorts of things about wines.”
“We grew up.”
“Maybe.”
“Do you think we’re crazy?” I asked cautiously.
“In what way?”
“I mean, doing this. Jumping back in, just, headfirst into this, after so long?”
“What’s the alternative?” he asked, curiosity in his voice, not an ounce of anger. That was new too. He was patient and a better listener than he’d been before. A million times over.
“Getting to know one another. Taking things slow.”
“Slow?” he repeated in a low tone, and his gaze went into an instant smolder. God, Brandon’s eyes were definitely the window to his soul and his libido. They drifted down to my neck and collarbone then back up to meet my own. Jesus, he was sexy. One look from Brandon was all it ever took to get me in the mood. I knew exactly what was running through his mind, because I was thinking the same. He was picturing us making sweet, slow love. So slow and tender, he’d make me lose my mind and beg for him to fuck me hard. He smirked, and I shook my head knowing my face was turning red. How can we be on the same page after being apart for so long?
“Because we know one another,” he said as if reading my thoughts. I took a long gulp of my water. His thumb grazed over mine, and I glanced up through my lashes. “I’ll go whatever speed you need it to be, Nina. I won’t rush you. But I will tell you exactly where I want you and me to end up, relationship wise,” he said, and there was something incredibly sexy about the way he was talking to me.
Taking charge, being honest and understanding. I was getting to see a whole new side of him. One that had matured and could compromise when he wasn’t getting his way.
“And where is that?” I bravely asked, my heart picking up speed, hoping it was exactly what I wanted. What we had once both wanted.
“Sleep deprived,” he said, and I felt my brows knit together as his lips twitched, his thumb still grazing mine. “Raising four kids but deliriously happy with the family and life we’ve created.”
Talk about a mic drop.
Brandon
“Four kids?” she repeated, the shock obvious on her face. I brought her hand to my mouth and kissed it.
“Four kids. But I’m willing to compromise. Two minimum. Kids deserve siblings,” I shared, not able to take my eyes off her, especially when they softened sweetly. We’d both agreed a long time ago, even though siblings could be a pain in the ass, they were great to have.
I thought I would have been a cluster of nerves saying all this shit to her, but I wasn’t. I was calm. It felt like a weight off my shoulders, pouring all of this out. By the look in her eyes, I knew maybe, just maybe, she would give me a chance at making this dream a reality.
“This is crazy,” she finally said, shaking her head, pulling her hand away from mine, and everything inside of me froze. Maybe I’d counted my chickens too quickly. She wound one arm around herself, and touched her lips with the tips of her fingers on her other hand before looking up at me.
“Are we really doing this?” she asked, and I could see it all in her eyes and hear it in her voice. Hope. Fear. Love.
“Are you going to give me a chance?” I asked, standing up and moving closer to her. She was my entire focus, the only thing I could see. I didn’t give a shit about being in anyone’s way or if we were attracting attention to ourselves. I kneeled in front of her, a small box in my hand.
“Brandon?” Her eyes widened. “Baby, I don’t think I’m ready for all that—”
“Trust me?”
“Of course, but baby—”
“Nina Montenegro, you take my breath away,” I said honestly, our eyes pinned on one another as everything around us faded away. “Every time I look at you, it’s like I’m seeing you for the first time.”
“Brandon—“ I opened the box, and she looked at what was inside and shut her eyes tight and looked away. I knew what she was seeing.
What she was remembering.
#
“You have my heart,” I’d said, and she’d smiled brighter than the fucking sun. I took the heart-shaped diamond pendant necklace from its box, and she lifted her hair.
It had been the first piece of jewelry I had ever purchased. It wasn’t anything expensive. She was coming for a visit the week after Valentine’s Day, and I’d been saving. Silver with tiny little diamonds framing the heart, it wasn’t fancy, but when I’d seen it, I knew it was meant for my beautiful girl. By the look on her face, I hadn’t fucked up. I clicked the clasp in place, and she let her pretty hair fall before turning to look up at me. “What do you think?”
I looked at that heart around her neck, and it was like I was some kind of caveman. It wasn’t huge, just a small mark of my claim on her. Mine.
“You look like you’re mine.”
“I like that.” She grinned before kissing me. “You think we can stay in bed a little longer?” Her eyes glittered mischievously, and I loved that about her. She never hid how much she wanted me.
“Five more minutes?” I winked, leaning in closer, the urge to taste the skin at her bare shoulder too great. We’d stayed there longer than five, but it had been worth the time.
_______________
“Will you be mine again?” I rasped, nerves suddenly striking. She looked down at the necklace again, a stray tear rolling down her face. I wiped it away when she looked at me.
“What took you so long?”
And just like that, I could breathe once again.
