Page 73 of Make Me Whole

Epilogue

BRADLEY

"Hmmm, I don'tknow what looks more delicious; you in that dress or the cake you're so carefully decorating."

Hailey paused to look at me over her shoulder. That smile. The freckles on her nose. And the love shining in her green eyes. How did I even get so lucky? I pushed off the frame, and she immediately started shaking her head. "Oh no, I know that look," she said, licking her lips. "There's no time for that."

The second I reached her, I wrapped my arms around her from behind and dropped my mouth to her ear. "No time for what?" And just because I could, I pushed my hips forward.

One of those sexy little sounds filled the air as I sucked her lobe into my mouth and rolled it between my teeth. "Bradley." My name came out all breathy and had all sorts of elicit thoughts running through my brain.

"Yes, sweetness?" My hand moved to her hip and down her thigh until I could slip it beneath the hem of her dress. I dragged my palm up, marveling in how silky her skin felt. A moment after the piping bag plopped to the counter, Hailey's palms connected with the smooth surface.

My hand continued its journey upward while I peppered her skin with kisses. When I finally slipped past the lace barrier and felt her silkiness beneath my fingers, her head fell back.

Hailey's lips parted as her breathing picked up. Her eyes were screwed shut; lost to whatever sensations were taking over her body. Still, I wanted to see her. "Look at me, sweetness."

Her lids were slow to part but when I locked onto her pretty gaze, that place in my heart that only she owned filled with warmth. I pushed my hips forward, pulled back and did it again. What I really wanted to do was carry her back to our bedroom and make good use of the jacuzzi bath in the en suite.

Since we had guests arriving in a short while, I couldn't do that. It'd seemed like a great idea to invite everyone over for dinner to celebrate us finally moving into our home. Now, I was wondering if it would be rude to simply ignore them when they arrived and ravish my girlfriend instead.

Yeah, we hadn't moved past that stage yet. Not that I didn't want to. I'd marry this woman in a hot second without even thinking twice about it. But I knew Hailey wanted to take things slow. Besides, I'd know when the time was right to give her the diamond band that'd been hiding in my closet for the last four months.

A shudder ran through her body before my name reverberated off the walls. A look of pure satisfaction crossed her face, and I felt fan-freaking-tastic for putting it there. "You're so bad."

"You love it," I countered.

Her lips stretched into a wide smile. "I do."

I pressed a soft kiss to the tip of her nose before heading to the sink to wash my hands. Tilting my head, I glance at Hailey. Her shiny curls tumbled over her shoulder as she smoothed her hands down her dress.

The distinctding-dongof the doorbell filled the air, followed by Bandit's loud bark and the sound of his nails clicking against the wood. Hailey's gaze shot to mine, her cheeks already turning a deep shade of red.

"They're early." Her eyes widened. "I don't even have time to clean up." She scanned the counter and the floor beneath her sandal-covered feet. In an instant, her hand shot to her mouth. "They are going to know what we've been doing in here."

Grabbing a dishtowel from the hook, I dried my hands before stalking toward Hailey. Taking her face in my hands, I stared deep into her eyes. "We're grownups and in love, of course, I'm going to love on you whenever I get a chance. No one is going to fault us for that."

A soft laugh blew over her lips. "Surely, we could've waited until later. You know, like normal people would have done."

I shook my head and pressed my mouth to hers in a slow deep kiss, not even caring that the doorbell was ringing again. Maybe we didn't always do things the right way around, but as Hailey so often liked to remind me: there was no right or wrong way; just our way.