Page 109 of Simmer Down

I hand him the bottle. “So you’re going with the American version tonight. Interesting.”

He smiles at my teasing tone before tapping his bottle against mine. We take a sip at the same time.

“It’s grown on me,” he says.

We cuddle together, silent and content as we watch. Soon Lemon walks across the couch to his lap. He scratches under her chin.

“Just like old times,” I say, thinking back to our first “pink champagne while watchingThe Office” date when we were hooking up in secret.

Callum twists his head to look at me and wraps his arm around me, pulling me closer. “This is better than old times,” he says.

“Really?”

He nods before slinking his hand over mine, then thumbs the diamond of my ring. “It is. We’re official now. You’re my fiancée andI can be affectionate with you whenever I want. We live together, which means we can do this whenever we want.”

Lulu lets out a squeaky yawn from the other end of the couch.

“And we have double the number of cats we used to, so this is definitely a million times better,” I say.

He lets out a laugh that spooks both Lemon and Lulu from the couch. They scurry down the hall.

Again he pulls me into a kiss that’s so powerful and intoxicating, it leaves me dizzy. When his hazel-green eyes lock with mine, I feel like I’m free-falling into an abyss I never, ever want to climb out of.

“I love everything about this,” he says, his voice that beautiful mix of a growl and a whisper.

“Me too,” I whisper, gazing up at him.

I was wrong before when I said that our playful early mornings were my favorite. Everything I do with Callum is my favorite.

I burrow closer against his body, giddy that I get to call Callum James mine forever. “You. This. Everything. It’s all I ever wanted. You make me the happiest.”

My throat squeezes as I say the last word. But the ache is welcome. It’s every emotion I feel for Callum pulsing inside of me.

He squeezes me tighter, and I sigh in satisfaction.

“Petal,” he says, his own voice full of emotion. “You stole the words right out of mymouth.”