Chapter 46
The weeks slipped past in a blur, each one brighter than the last.
Clara and Mason’s offer had gone through.
They were moving into their first real home together, and Clara practically glowed every time she talked about it.
While it wasn’t the first house they purchased together, Clara had always said that one never felt like a home and when she walked into this one, she knew right away it was perfect.
The housewarming was already on the calendar.
Their joy was contagious; it seemed as though the air around them hummed.
The whispers in town had shifted as well.
Not about me, not about Andrew. About my book.
People were already talking, asking questions, speculating.
Marin and my publisher were ecstatic, pushing for an early fall release, a whirlwind of PR and a few select signings.
The dreaded words book tour came up more than once.
I’d smiled and nodded, stomach in knots, but inside…
part of me was proud. Excited. The other part? Terrified.
And Brody.
We were good. No... better than good. We were steady, laughing, and kissing until I felt dizzy. But we still hadn’t gone further, and the ache of wanting him only grew more intense with time. It wasn’t that I doubted him, or us. It was that I was ready. I was sure. And I needed him to know that.
So, I planned a night.
The maple tree had seen centuries. Tonight, it was going to see me lay my heart bare.
I’d been planning this since the three words slipped past my lips, since our first fight and our first make-up.
Each sticky August night I’d imagined it, rehearsed what I’d say, second-guessed what I’d wear, what I’d do.
I was done waiting, done hiding. And if love was the slow-burning fire Brody Palmer had promised me, tonight was the night I poured myself into the flames.
I got there early, tent already staked in the meadow’s soft grass.
I marked out spaces like I was showing a client blueprints: a fire pit ringed in stones, with sticks already gathered; a rough circle where my library-slash-office would stand one day, with windows catching the morning light; the slope where an outdoor kitchen and patio could hold summer nights full of laughter.
I marked the spot where his workshop might rise close to his parents' property line and his dad's old barn.
And right where the tent sat now, pressed flat into the earth like a promise, I imagined our bedroom.
Our room.
The idea made me dream in ways I hadn’t let myself before.
Because this didn't feel like some wild fairytale dream, this felt real.
By the time I struck a match and coaxed the fire alive, my nerves were electric.
Sparks drifted upward, and I let myself daydream: mornings tangled in sheets with him, coffee mugs on the porch railing; Brody sanding wood in the shop while I scrawled in the margins of some draft in my office which also had a line of site to his shop: little feet thumping across floorboards someday, a laugh that sounded like both of us carried on the wind.
I shook my head, smiling to myself as the fire caught.
“Planning the rest of our lives without me, Morgan?”
I spun, breath hitching. He stood just beyond the glow, tall and sure, the evening breeze playing with his hair. His grin was half-tease, half-something deeper. My heart swelled.
“Maybe,” I said, voice steadier than I felt. “Come here. I want to show you.”
I took his hand and led him through the meadow like I’d drawn it up myself.
“Here’s where my library goes. Big windows.
Stacks and stacks of books. Over there, the kitchen.
You’ll cook, I’ll drink, we’ll argue about who gets the last glass of wine.
.. but we will end up sharing it anyway.
” He chuckled low, the sound sinking into my bones.
I pointed to the slope where the barn stood in the distance. “Your shop. I figure it’s only fair, since I’ll be your first client.”
“And right here...” I tugged him toward the tent and planted my bare feet firmly in the grass, “This could be the primary bedroom... our bedroom.”
Something flickered across his face, the fire catching in his eyes. He looked at me like he was trying to memorize this moment.
“Cassidy...”
I cut him off before nerves made me choke. “I love you, Brody. You were right. About us. About this.”
His mouth parted, stunned. Then he stepped closer, his hand lifting like it was drawn. “You love me,” he said, reverent, like he needed to taste the words.
“I do,” I whispered.
"Can I say it now?" he teased with a boyish look that had a giggle burst out of me. Because this moment felt like pure joy.
"Please," I whispered.
“I love you, Cassidy Morgan. More than you could ever know.” His voice shook with it, and I realized he wasn’t untouched either; this wasn’t easy for him, it was everything.
Relief and want flooded me at once. “I want you. I don’t want to wait anymore.”
The sound that tore from his chest was part growl, part groan. I laughed, leaping onto him, legs around his waist. He caught me effortlessly, squeezing until I squealed. “Jesus, woman.”
“Lady blue balls are real,” I teased, breathless.
His laugh vibrated against me. “Keep talking like that and see what happens.”
“Promises, promises, Palmer.”
He carried me into the tent, lowering us onto the blankets in a tangle of limbs.
Space was tight, but it didn’t matter; we fit.
He brushed my hair back, the most beautiful hazel eyes locked to mine, unhurried even now.
His fingers traced my jaw, my collarbone, my ribs, like he was memorizing me.
I shivered as clothes slipped away, piece by piece, until I was laid bare under his gaze.
I’d been naked before, but never like this, never with someone who looked at me like I was a gift. My body trembled, heat licking everywhere, but there was no shame in it. Only want.
“God, Cass,” Brody whispered, reverent. “You’re so damn beautiful.”
I laughed, nervous. “You too. If I look too long, I might cum just from looking at you naked.”
His grin went sharp, wicked. “That’s a challenge I’d like to test.”
“Please touch me,” I whispered.
His mouth traced fire across my skin, lips worshipping every inch instead of taking it. My back arched when his tongue dragged along the curve of my hip, down to my thigh. He bit gently, making me moan, not a warning but a promise.
“You’re so beautiful like this, I cannot believe we are finally here. Look at how your body responds to me. Like we meant for each other,” he murmured against me, voice rough but reverent.
“Or.... because you’ve got me on edge,” I gasped.
He chuckled low, hands spreading me wider, thumbs stroking. “Good. I want to see you come undone for me, Cassidy.”
I moaned, incoherent, and then his tongue slid between my folds, slow at first, then firmer, building pressure. The groan that rumbled through him vibrated into me, and my cry broke the air. He licked, sucked, plunged, relentless but never careless. My hips rocked helplessly, chasing him.
“You want to come for me, love?” he rasped, sliding a finger deep, then another, curling just right. “I can’t wait to feel myself inside you.”
“Yes,” I gasped. “God, yes.” Brody was always attractive to me, every part of him. But Brody’s dirty mouth paired with his tenderness felt like something brand new.
He pulled back just enough to curse softly, forehead against my abdomen. “Shit. I didn’t bring condoms.”
“I did,” I panted, tugging his hair, pulling his lips up to mine. “But I’m also on birth control. And I’m clean.”
He groaned, tortured and turned on. “Me too. Are you sure?” His hands shook as he shifted and positioned himself between my legs.
I couldn’t speak, so I just nodded. We stayed like that for a soft moment. Staring into each other's eyes. Being present with each other in this moment, what we were about to do.
“You have no idea how much I want this. Want you,” he whispered. And then he was there, sliding deep, filling me, and I cried out his name like a prayer.
“Cass,” he groaned, forehead pressed to mine. “You feel like... I don't even know how to explain how you feel.” His eyes lit up and he kissed me, then he whispered on my lips, "You feel like home."
I whimpered, overwhelmed, every nerve lit. He rocked into me slowly, grinding his pelvis against my clit with each stroke, his mouth hot at my ear.
He didn’t talk about babies then. He just moved with me, coaxing, praising, “That’s it. Take me. Show me how good it feels.” His words made me burn.
The orgasm tore through me hard, my body spasming around him. “Cassidy,” he snarled, voice breaking, “I love you so fucking much.”
His words pushed me higher, sent me spiralling into another release, and this time he followed me, repeating my name like it was the answer to every question, spilling into me with every ragged thrust.
When we collapsed together, sweat-slick and shaking, he kissed my face everywhere, cheeks, eyelids, jaw, murmuring, “I love you. I love you. I love you.”
I laughed, breathless, crying all at once. My heart felt so full.
He brushed a thumb under my eye, his hair damp against my forehead. His voice came quiet, hesitant, like he was about to hand me something fragile.
“Is it too much if I tell you,” He said, “that if you weren’t on birth control, I wouldn’t care? That I want everything with you, the life, the family, the forever?”
I stared at him, stunned, a little in awe. The words didn’t scare me. And that was terrifying.
He shifted slightly, his hand moving to play with my hair, still searching my face. “I’m not trying to rush you. I just… I’ve never been so sure of anything. Not like this. Not like you.”
My fingers slid along his jaw; he was handing me pieces of his heart. He was being honest and vulnerable, and I wanted to do the same. “I can see it too.”
His lips curved in a brilliant smile. “How many kids do you want?”
I laughed, still breathless. “We’re just skipping asking if I want kids and going right to how many?”
“I’ve known you your whole life,” he said, eyes warm and certain. “You’ll be an incredible mother, Cassidy.”
And then he kissed me again, slow and deep, like the words we had shared were a promise.
Later, I lit the fire again while he slipped out to check the perimeter. My body still hummed, but my mind drifted to the future, our future. I saw books stacked in that library, Brody sanding a crib, a toddler chasing fireflies. My heart clenched so tight I pressed my hand to my chest.
Then, snap. A twig? What was that?
I froze, eyes on the dark edge of the meadow where I could have sworn, I saw movement.
Brody returned from the opposite direction, calm, reassuring. “Nothing out there, Cass. Probably just a deer.” He brushed his lips over my temple, tugging me close. “Come on. Let’s eat before you ravish me again.”
I ran my hands over his chest up over his shoulders, "I love you."
He smiled, "I love you. Thank you for trusting me. Choosing me."
I leaned into him, breathing him in deep, letting the shadows slip back. Because tonight wasn’t about fear. Tonight was about us. About love. About building a life under this maple, with roots sunk deep and branches stretching wide, a future waiting to be claimed.
And I was ready.