Page 147 of Falling for the Grumpy Bad Boy

I stared at the key, my heart doing complicated things in my chest.

“I’ll make you cappuccinos in the morning,” he continued, the words coming faster now, like he was afraid I might say no. “And martinis in the evening. I’ll rub your feet after long days, and we can cook dinner together, and you can fall asleep in my bed every night if you want to.”

I looked up at him, this man who had somehow become everything to me in such a short time. “What happens if I get into the culinary program in Vegas?”

The question had been weighing on me for weeks. I had applied to the Culinary Institute’s Vegas campus on a whim, but as the weeks had passed and our relationship had deepened, I started to worry about what would happen if I actually got in.

“Then I’ll get a place there,” he said without hesitation. “And I’ll make you another key.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.” He cupped my face in his hands. “Clem, I meant what I said. I’m not going anywhere. Whatever comes next, wherever you need to be, I want to be there with you.”

Tears pricked my eyes. “You’d really do that? Move to Vegas?”

“For you? I’d move to Mars.”

I laughed through my tears, holding the key tight against my chest. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said, leaning down to kiss me again. “So what do you say? Want to make this official? Not marriage official,” he added quickly, making me laugh again. “Just a drawer official.”

Instead of answering with words, I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him, pouring all my yes into the press of my lips against his. He responded immediately, his arms coming around me, pulling me closer until there was no space left between us.

“I take that as a yes,” he murmured against my mouth.

“That’s a yes,” I confirmed, then kissed him again, deeper this time.

The Christmas movie was forgotten as we lost ourselves in each other. I helped him pull my goofy Santa pajama top over my head, shivering as the cool air hit my skin.

He groaned, capturing my mouth in another searing kiss as his hands roamed over my newly exposed skin. I felt like I was melting under his touch, every nerve ending alive and singing.

“Bedroom?” he suggested breathlessly.

“Bedroom,” I agreed.

He swept me up in his arms like I weighed nothing. I laughed, feeling giddy and wild and completely, utterly happy. This was it—this was what I’d been searching for without even knowing it. This feeling of finding the person who saw all of me and loved what they found.

Tonight was ours. Just ours.

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