Playing Mr. Perfect (The Bradens at Ridgeport #1)

Pepper

After we leave the café, Clay says he wants to see the town through my eyes, which makes me love him even more. I love all the parts of us, but this part, where we can walk hand in hand and conversation comes easily, without awkward silences or the need for entertainment, is one of my favorites. Every now and again, I look at him, trying to figure out how we got here, or we look at each other with incredulous expressions, like we can’t believe we’ve fallen for each other. We don’t say a word. He just pulls me into a kiss, or we both laugh. I love that about us, too.

He lets my overthinking brain come out to play without picking it apart.

I take him to the site of my first kiss, and my competitive guy tries to kiss away those memories. When I show him the tree on the hill by the old church, he takes a picture of us there. I remember how stunned I was when he took that first picture of us in Paris in front of the bookstore. I never would have guessed we’d end up here, and now I can’t imagine my life without him in it.