Seven
Seven
Noah closed the door behind Emily and went to find Grace. The meeting wasn’t exactly what he’d thought it would be, but overall, he still saw huge benefits for all of them.
He found Gracie in his favorite room of the house—the one she’d designed for him. She was curled up on the couch, remote pointed at the TV guide, scrolling, a blanket tucked around her. He sat down, pulled her close, and took the remote from her hand, tossing it on the coffee table.
“We don’t have to do it like this, babe. It’s a cool opportunity for a lot of reasons but planning our wedding, even just living our lives, isn’t about an opportunity. It’s about an amazing kickoff to getting to spend our lives together.” He maneuvered them so he was lying with his head on the arm of the couch and Grace was lying over him, her hands folded on his chest, her pretty face pensive as she stared down at him.
“Emily’s changed a bit. She’s more… Hollywood.”
Noah grinned, delighted by her, clasping his fingers together on her lower back. “Yeah? What do you know about Hollywood? I bet Hailey has shared some stories.”
Hailey had run food trucks on the sets of several movies and television shows. She’d come to San Verde to escape that life and start fresh.
“She has. Mostly, she’s talked about how there’s such a drive to be the most seen, she says it can be hard to know who’s real and who’s playing a role. Even if they aren’t on camera.” She scrunched her nose up, making it impossible for Noah not to kiss her there. Gracie grinned and his heartstrings tangled. Fuck, he loved this woman.
“I’m sure that’s true of all environments, but it’s more pronounced, I think, when you’re going for views or likes. Hailey has a few friends from those days but most of them are behind-the-scenes friends. Actually, a good friend of hers, Maisie, is a photographer. Hailey said we could look her up if we needed a wedding photographer, but she moved and I figure there’s enough choices around here; we don’t have to fly someone in.”
Not that she would, Noah thought. Something all three of the women he and his brothers had fallen for was they never took the opportunity to recklessly spend the Jansen money. If anything, for all three of them, the fact that the brothers were wealthy was a deterrent more than a positive. The women constantly proved that the money didn’t matter. Even when Grace had needed money, she’d wanted nothing to do with his. It’d taken some work to get her to understand that, regardless of the zeros in their bank accounts, what was his was hers. After dating women for several years who he couldn’t be sure felt the same, it mattered a hell of a lot to Noah. And his brothers.
Noah leaned up enough to kiss Grace’s cheek. “I mean it when I say this, Grace. All I want is to spend my life with you. We should steer clear of August out of respect for Everly and Chris’s wedding, but other than that, I’m down for anything. I don’t care if we have a full-blown circus of an event or a quiet, backyard gathering. I just want to end the day as your husband.”
The look in her eyes, the sweet way her gaze softened, told him she felt the same. Grace lowered her mouth to his, slowly brushing her lips over his before pushing herself closer, telling him all the things she didn’t need to say out loud. Because he knew her; they knew each other. More than anyone.
Her body shifted against his, the blanket tanging in their legs as his hands roamed over the gentle curves he’d memorized. Grace deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue against his, making everything inside of him tighten like an overwound instrument, ready to snap. As so often happened with the two of them, soft and sweet turned to something just short of desperation. Noah always felt like no matter how much of Gracie he had, it would never be enough. Grace widened her legs, pressing her knees to either side of his hips, then rocked against him and levered up to discard her shirt.
A low growl left the back of Noah’s throat as lust and desire created a tornado of need inside of him. Angling up, he pulled his own shirt off, tossed it on the floor, then kissed along her collarbone, along the slope of her breasts, and his hands stroked up and down her sides. Gracie pushed him back, a sinfully sweet smile on her lips as she followed him down.
“I love you,” she whispered.
Noah’s hands moved up, tangled in her gorgeously soft tresses. Right before she kissed him again, he met her gaze. “I love you, Gracie. So much. You’re everything. My best friend, my partner, my lover, the person I want by my side for everything.” His lips twitched. “The good, the bad, and the ugly.”
Gracie laughed and fused her mouth, her hands restless, driving him mad as they roamed over his chest and down. Her lips on his heated skin were almost too much, and she knew just how to steal his breath and make him promise her the moon if she’d just keep touching him.
His thoughts went hazy as Grace continued to profess her love, her need for him as they shed the rest of their clothes and came together. He was lost in her and never wanted to find his way out.