Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

June was nervous. She’d slept like crap the night before. Partly because she was keenly aware she was alone in the house, and partly because she was nervous about talking to Cal when he got home today.

She felt restless, not knowing what to do with a full day off. She’d already vacuumed, swept, dusted, and started a load of dirty clothes. Not sure when Cal would be home, all she could do was try to keep busy until he arrived.

June supposed she should be relaxing—reading a book or watching a movie—but she couldn’t. So she went through the house and gathered all the trash. She bundled it up and headed outside to the trash cans, which were inside the detached garage. Cal had told her he kept the bins in there to protect them from the wildlife in the area.

June was halfway across the yard to the garage when she heard something to her right. Turning, she froze in her tracks.

There was a large black bear moseying along, headed in the same direction she was going.

It wasn’t paying any attention to her, but June still couldn’t move. If she went back to the house, it would see her and charge. If she tried to make it to the garage, it would also see her and would definitely be able to get to her before she made it to safety.

And, to make matters worse, she was holding a bag full of smelly leftovers and other food scraps that would certainly interest the animal.

As soon as she had the thought, the bear picked up his head and sniffed, clearly catching a scent of either her fear or the food, she couldn’t be sure. But the animal turned toward her regardless. He went up on his hind legs—she just assumed it was male, because it was so huge—and sniffed the air again.

Forgetting everything she’d ever learned about what to do when confronted with a bear—run? Play dead? Back away slowly? Yell and wave her arms?—June dropped the garbage bag and fled back the way she’d come.

At any second, she expected to be tackled and find herself facedown in the dirt and grass with a million-pound bear mauling her back. But that didn’t happen. She ran at the door full tilt, smacking her nose against the hard wood, before scrambling for the handle.

“Please, please, please!” she pleaded as she tried to get inside. Her hands were shaking, and she felt as uncoordinated as a baby.

The relief she felt when the door slammed shut behind her was so intense, she immediately fell to her knees. “Holy crap,” she whispered.

After a few minutes, she pulled herself to her feet and peered out the window next to the door. The bear was still there. It had found the garbage bag and torn it open. He was sitting happily in the yard, munching on the old food inside.

June shivered. He could be feasting on her body right about now. Moose, she could handle. Elk? No problem. Mountain lions, bobcats, feral hogs . . . easy peasy. Hell, she could even handle Bigfoot, would probably want to have a conversation with the elusive creature. But bears?

No. Just no.

As she stood at the window and watched the bear consume the garbage, a flash of doubt flew through her brain. What was she doing? Maine was full of bears. Did she really want to live here? Permanently?

Just when she was considering packing up her suitcases and calling Bob to come get her and drop her off at the nearest bus station—which she had a feeling wasn’t anywhere near Newton—she heard another sound from outside.

A vehicle.

“No!” she whispered, then spun and ran toward the front door.

Cal was home, and he was going to be eaten by a bear if she didn’t warn him!

She barreled toward the front door and almost hit her nose once more but stopped herself just in time. She opened the door a crack, and when she didn’t see the bear, she bolted outside. Cal usually parked in front of the porch while he unloaded his SUV, then drove to the garage. But the bear was between the garage and the house, and it would surely attack if Cal drove down there, right?

“Cal!” she whisper-yelled as she ran down the stairs of the porch. Her heart was beating a million miles a minute. She expected the bear to charge them any second now.

“What’s wrong?” Cal asked as he turned toward her.

“Come on, come on, come on!” she ordered, grabbing his arm and frantically pulling him toward the house.

Thankfully, he followed her without protest, allowing her to drag him behind her. It wasn’t until they were behind the closed door that June allowed herself to breathe out a sigh of relief.

“Talk to me,” Cal ordered. “What’s wrong?” He grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. “You have two seconds to tell me what’s wrong before I call Chief Rutkey.”

“Bear!” she managed to squeak out.

“What?”

“There’s a bear out there. Huge! With claws the size of my head. It’s by the garage. It would’ve eaten you!”

To her utter disbelief, Cal smiled.

“This isn’t funny!” she shouted.

“Yes, it is.”

“Cal! It would’ve eaten you! It got the trash I was taking out, and I thought I was going to die!”

Without a word, he turned, taking her hand in his and walking to the back door. He looked out the window at the bear, who was still sitting exactly where June had last seen him. He seemed perfectly content to hang out and chow down on the unexpected treat he’d been given.

“It’s an adolescent. Probably just came out of hibernation,” Cal said calmly.

“What? No way. It’s huge!” June protested.

Cal turned to her, the smile still on his face. “This is a side of you I haven’t seen,” he said.

“How can you be so calm about this?” June cried.

But he went on as if she hadn’t spoken. “If asked, I would’ve said that you weren’t afraid of anything. You’ve met all the recent changes in your life head on. But apparently, bears are your weakness.”

“They’re deadly. They’ll freakin’ kill you! They have huge claws and fangs, what’s not to be scared of?”

“They’re generally more afraid of you than you are of them,” he told her.

June snorted. “That’s what they want you to think. It’s their plan—get humans to let down their guard, and that’s when they’ll strike.”

Cal laughed.

For the first time, June took in his appearance. His clothes were dirty, he had a five-o’clock shadow on his jaw, there was a streak of dirt on his cheek, and his hair was in disarray. He looked about as far from a prince at this moment as she’d ever seen him. But he also looked more relaxed than he’d been for the past several days. Being out in the wilderness suited him.

His smile slowly dimmed as he studied her as well. He raised his hand and brushed his fingers against her cheek. “You’re really scared, aren’t you?”

“Um . . . duh!” she said.

“It’s kind of cute,” he told her.

June shook her head in exasperation, but she couldn’t help loving how close he was standing to her, how he was touching her again. It had been a long week since he’d touched her like this.

“I need to shower,” he said, but he didn’t move away.

“Did you get done what you needed to get done?” she asked.

He nodded.

June took a deep breath. “Can we talk? I mean, when you’re done? I’m sure you’re hungry. I can make you waffles while you’re in the shower,” she suggested, knowing they were one of his favorites.

The distance she’d gotten used to seeing in his eyes returned, and she once again mourned the loss of the Cal she’d grown to love.

“Yeah, we should talk,” he agreed. He turned and headed toward the stairs, but he stopped at the bottom and turned back toward her. “If you’re so scared of that bear, why’d you come outside?”

June frowned. “Because I didn’t want it to hurt you. Haven’t you figured it out yet, Cal? I’d do anything to keep you safe. To make sure no one and nothing puts one more scar on your body, ever again.”

He stared at her for so long, June wanted to look away. But she forced herself to hold his gaze. Then, rather anticlimactically, he turned and went upstairs without another word.

June let out her breath in a long whoosh. She couldn’t stop herself from looking out the window once more, swallowing hard when there was no sign of the bear, only the garbage bag ripped to shreds with trash strewn about the yard. It was almost worse not knowing where the bear was. He could be hiding behind the corner of the garage, waiting to rush out and eat Cal when he went back out to move his SUV.

If she had her way, he wouldn’t be going out anytime soon. She had a breakfast to make that he needed to eat; then they’d talk. She was dreading it, but Bob was right. It had to happen.

If Cal didn’t want her there anymore, if she was stifling him, she’d go. Without making a fuss. She never wanted to be one of those women who couldn’t take a hint. If she’d outstayed her welcome, she’d leave immediately. She’d lived enough of her life as an unwanted poor relation; she wasn’t going to do it again.

Cal took his time in the shower. The hot water felt good on his sore muscles. He admitted to himself that he was spoiled, that he much preferred his soft bed to the hard ground along the Appalachian Trail. He put his hands against the tile and let the water beat down on his shoulders, forcing himself to stand there. To not rush through his shower and back downstairs so he could see June.

This last week had been torture. All he wanted was to hold her. Talk to her. Listen to her stories about the residents at Hill’s House who she was getting to know. But he’d forced himself to keep his distance. To try to reduce his obsession with her.

But it was no use. He loved her more now than he did a week ago. Even though she was sleeping in the guest room again, he could still smell her on his sheets. It was literal torture to walk past her room at night and not barge in, pick her up, and carry her to his bed.

The knives his captors had used were excruciating . . . but not like this. It felt as if he was ripping his own heart out of his chest, second by second. Seeing how worried she was for him, even if he’d thought it was cute, had brought the point home that no matter how much of an arsehole he was, she would always be the beautiful soul he’d fallen for. She’d still care about him, still worry about him . . . just from a distance.

A distance that he was creating.

He’d gone out on the AT to get some real separation. It hadn’t worked. He was miserable being away from her, even if they’d barely spoken for the past week. And the second he returned, she’d gone and shown him once more why there’d never be anyone else like her.

He had a decision to make, and he instinctively knew when he went downstairs, it would be time. He either needed to stop trying to push June away, accept the fact she’d eventually want more than he or Newton could give her, and deal with the heartbreak when that happened. Or he could pretend she meant nothing to him and end things here and now.

The thought of doing the latter hurt so badly, Cal put a hand to his chest, over his fast-beating heart.

He was still just as conflicted when he stepped out of the shower five minutes later. He changed into sweats and a long-sleeved T-shirt, needing the protection the cotton would provide. It was as if he was putting on armor.

His cell phone, which was on the bed, alerted him to an incoming text. Grateful for anything that would put off the inevitable talk he needed to have with June, Cal picked it up and looked down at the message. It was from Bob.

Bob: Did June tell you about the brownies?

Cal frowned and quickly typed a response.

Cal: No. What brownies?

Bob: Right, to make a long story short, Tim, the janitor at HH, made her brownies as a welcome to town thing. She won’t eat them because her bitch of a stepsister once gave her cookies laced with pot and laughed when she had a bad trip.

Cal’s hand tightened around the phone so hard, he was actually surprised when it didn’t break into a hundred pieces.

Bob: I’m just giving you a heads-up so you don’t freak if she does tell you. What’s the word on Elaine and Carla? Have you heard from them? We need to step things up because I’m not feeling warm and fuzzy about her having anything to do with them ever again.

Bob wasn’t the only one. Cal pressed his lips together and did his best to gain control over his rioting emotions, then he pressed Bob’s name. He wasn’t going to text about this shit. It would take too long, and he needed to get downstairs.

“Yo,” Bob said as he answered.

“I talked to Karl, my cousin, just this morning. Carla’s been trying to get hold of him every day. He finally answered the last video chat when she called, and she was wearing a bikini top, her tits overflowing the damn thing. Karl said he could see her damn nipples. Anyway, she was crying and saying that she was scared to death and that she’d been getting more threatening notes. I’d already talked to Karl shortly after returning from DC. Told him what the real situation was. He’s decided to play along with her for a while longer, see what he can learn . . . but more likely because he’s a sucker for blondes. Regardless, he’s also promised to keep in touch.”

“So she hasn’t given up,” Bob said.

“Doesn’t look like it,” Cal agreed.

“You know what would make her shut the hell up fast?” Bob asked.

“What?”

“You getting married.”

In the past, Cal would’ve told his friend to bugger off, that there was no way he was marrying someone in order to get some too-eager bitch off his back. But now? The thought of making June his princess for real shot a pang of longing through him.

“Think about it,” Bob said, not giving Cal a chance to respond. “Just knowing she’s still sticking to the stalker story is worrisome. We need to nip this in the bud. Get her to understand once and for all that you won’t be manipulated and that if she really wants help with some mythical stalker, she needs to go to the police and let them sort it out.”

“Yeah, well, any ideas short of marriage? Because I’ve already told both Carla and her mother pretty much all of that,” Cal told his friend.

“Well, I know JJ thought keeping the cousin involved was a good idea. But I’m having doubts. If your cousin cut her off, if she doesn’t have an audience and a way to get to you, she might give up this crackpot story.”

“And if she doesn’t?” Cal asked. “The last thing I want is for her or her mother to show up in Newton.”

“I think we talk to Chief Rutkey. See if he has any connections down in DC.”

Cal sighed. “Right. I got nowhere with the detective I spoke to, but I’ll still do that tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.”

“Thanks for telling me about the brownies,” Cal told his friend.

“I wasn’t sure June would tell you, because I warned her you wouldn’t be happy. Not because another man gave her a present, but because of what her stepsister did to her.”

Honestly, Cal wasn’t happy about either. The only person who should be giving her gifts was him. Though he’d done a shite job of that so far. “I gotta go,” he told his friend.

“Right. If you need me to give June a ride again, just let me know. She’s an amazing woman, and Newton is damn lucky to have her. Oh, and heads up, April’s chomping at the bit to get us all together so she can talk about the schedule. People want to book guides for their AT hikes, and thanks to that last snowstorm, locals are eager to get their trees pruned before they fall on their houses. I’m thinking later this week we can sit down and hash it all out.”

“Right, thanks.”

“Talk to you tomorrow.”

Cal hung up and stood in the middle of his room for a long moment. His gaze went to the bed, where he’d spent a very restless week sleeping by himself.

And suddenly, like a flash, he realized what a colossal idiot he’d been.

Spinning on his heel, he strode toward the door. He practically ran down the stairs, for some reason terrified that in the twenty minutes or so he’d been away from her, June would’ve decided she was done. That she didn’t want to talk, and she was leaving.

To his relief, she was sitting on the couch with a book in her lap when he practically burst into the room. Cal went to the sofa and took a seat on the other end. The four feet between them suddenly felt like twenty. Even more so when she straightened and leaned against the arm of the couch, as if to increase the distance.

And he’d done that. He’d made her feel uncomfortable around him. He felt like a complete arsehole.

“Feel better?” she asked tentatively.

“No,” Cal told her honestly.

She blinked in surprise.

“I’ve been a dick to you,” he blurted. He wasn’t surprised when she shook her head to deny his words.

“You’ve been busy. And stressed,” she said, letting him off the hook. But Cal wouldn’t let her.

“You got brownies yesterday from the janitor?” he asked.

She frowned in confusion at the change of topic and shrugged. “Yeah.”

“But you didn’t eat them.”

June shook her head.

“I’d ask why, but I just talked to Bob,” Cal said. “Were you going to tell me about them? About what happened to you?”

“No,” she said. “Bob said you wouldn’t be happy.”

“I’m not happy,” Cal agreed. “But it’s not because some arsehole gave you brownies when I’ve done nothing but give you grief for the last week. It’s because you had that horrible experience with Carla, and I had to learn about it from someone else.”

“You haven’t exactly been around much lately,” she hedged.

“No. I haven’t. Do you know why?”

“Because you aren’t used to sharing your house. Because you’re having second thoughts about me being here. Because after we had sex, it wasn’t what you were expecting, and you didn’t know how to tell me that you weren’t interested anymore.” June’s hands were clenched in her lap as she spoke, and her face had practically no color.

Cal felt a thousand times worse for hurting her. For letting her think for one second that his confusing behavior was because of anything she’d done. He shook his head. “No, that’s not why.”

“I get it,” she said in a rush before he could explain. “I haven’t been with many guys—okay, it’s only been three, including you—and things between us happened really fast. I practically threw myself at you like some whore, and I’m sure the sex wasn’t that great. And after Carla, you’re probably thinking I’m only here because I want your money or have some fantasy about being a royal, but that’s not why I slept with you. Not at all.”

Cal couldn’t stand it anymore. He scooted closer, lifted his hand, and covered her mouth, stopping her from saying another awful thing about herself.

“No, listen to me, June. Are you listening?”

She nodded.

Cal moved his hand, spearing his fingers into her hair, his thumb resting on her cheek. “I haven’t been avoiding you because the sex wasn’t good. It was actually because it was too good.

“Being with you is nothing like I imagined it would be. It was so much better. I swear I saw stars and fireworks and little birds and all the other cheesy things people claim they see when they make love—and it freaked me out. I started second-guessing myself. You can do so much better than me, June. You’re good down to your core, and I’m . . . not.

“You haven’t dated much. You’ve lived in the same house your entire life. I don’t want to be the one to hold you back. Don’t want to be the reason you don’t find what you were always meant to do. You should share your kindness and grace and huge heart with others. Have the chance to meet other men. And being here with me, in Newton, won’t allow you to do that.”

“Who says?” she asked, sounding completely serious.

“You’ve seen this place. There’s not even a stoplight. We don’t have a mall, the most exciting thing that happens is when someone has too much to drink at the Honky Tonk, and the police chief has to take them to the station to sober up for the night.”

“So . . . let me get this straight. You want me to leave? You want me to date other people?”

“No!” Cal practically roared. Then he took a deep, calming breath. “I just . . . I’m broken inside, June. And scarred outside. And I don’t want to hold you back from living your life.”

She sat up straighter, and Cal let his hand drop from her face.

“First of all, I don’t want to meet other men elsewhere. I want you. Second, it’s almost laughable that you don’t think you’re a good man. Cal, you drove down to Washington, DC, to protect a complete stranger simply because your family asked you to. You let another stranger—me—come with you to Newton because you felt bad about my situation. Then you let me live with you. Your actions speak so much louder than your words, Cal. And I also see how your friends are with you, how the people in Newton interact with you. All of them can see the goodness in you, even if you can’t.

“And . . . I don’t want to change the world,” she admitted softly. “I may have lived in the same place my entire life, but I’ve seen more than my share of evil . . . starting with the people who call themselves my family. I love it here. I love everything about this small town. The fresh air, how people say good morning even when they don’t know you, how they actually stop to let you cross the street instead of giving you the finger when you’re in a crosswalk and have the right of way. I love working at Hill’s House. Jara, Banks, Scott . . . all the residents . . . they’re amazing. I could talk with them every day for thirty years and still never hear all their stories.”

She stopped and looked at him with tears in her eyes. Tears that tore Cal’s heart out when he saw them.

“Then there’s you, Cal. You make me feel as if I’m truly living for the first time ever . . . and I love you.”

His heart nearly stopped at her confession.

“But this last week has been the hardest of my life. Harder than anything I endured with Carla and Elaine. Seeing you every day but not being able to touch you, knowing that you’re actively avoiding me . . . it’s the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced.

“So if you don’t want me here, I just need you to tell me. And I’d understand. I know I’m not worldly. I’m not beautiful. I’m awkward and sheltered. Then there’s your family. I understand your reluctance to get involved with someone who’s probably unacceptable to royals. Can you imagine introducing me to the king and queen of Liechtenstein?” She let out a self-deprecating huff of laughter.

“Yes,” Cal said without hesitation. “They’d love you, because every big emotion you feel is on your face for all to see. You’re real—and trust me, they’re used to dealing with conniving and deceitful people twenty-four hours a day.

“I’m so sorry, June. I’m sorry I freaked out. You were already everything I’ve ever wanted in a partner, and when the sex was so good, and I found myself craving it, craving you, every minute of every damn day, I panicked. I’m terrified of losing you. So I pushed you away to protect myself. It was a bloody awful thing to do . . . and it didn’t work anyway. The harder I pushed you away, the more desperately I wanted you.”

June sighed and licked her lips. “So where do we go from here? I can’t handle you pushing me away one minute and apologizing and wanting to be with me the next.”

“I’m done keeping my distance. I love you, Juniper Rose. I want you with me. By my side. In my bed, in my life. I won’t be a bloody fool again. If you forgive me, I’ll be the best boyfriend you’ve ever had. I’ll make sure you don’t want anyone else, ever.”

The tears he’d seen in her eyes finally overflowed and streamed down her cheeks. He had a split second to worry she’d reject him this time, before she threw herself into his arms.

“I love you, Cal. So much! I’ll make a horrible princess, but I’ll love you more than anyone ever has or ever could.”

Cal held her tightly against his chest and buried his face in her hair, inhaling deeply, bringing her essence into his soul.

He’d had a close call, and he knew it. He’d been such an arse, and his June had found it in her heart to forgive him. He’d never give her another reason to doubt him. Not ever again.

He stood, taking her with him. Then he leaned over and picked her up. She shrieked a little and clutched his shoulders as he strode toward the stairs.

“Cal! Put me down! The food—”

“I’m hungry for something other than waffles,” he told her.

“I’m too heavy!” she protested.

“Like hell you are,” he told her. “The day I can’t carry my woman is the day I get a walker and call myself over the hill,” he said with a growl.

“No one’s ever carried me before,” she said, sounding awestruck as they went up the stairs.

Truthfully, she wasn’t light for most men, but Cal had lifted too many trees and worn too many heavy rucksacks throughout his military career for her to feel like anything more than the perfect handful.

He brought her straight to his bedroom and to his bed, where he let her bounce to the surface before joining her. He caged her in with his body and said, “I need you, June. I need to be inside you right now, to feel your pussy clinging to my cock. I was a massive idiot, and I’ve missed you so much. I don’t think I’ve slept more than two hours a night since I made up those stupid excuses to keep my distance.”

He stared down at her, his mouth watering to taste her once again. But he wasn’t going to make one move until she let him know she wanted him just as much. He’d screwed up, bad. He was lucky she’d forgiven him, but he wasn’t going to mistake her forgiveness for consent. If he had to work harder to find his way back into her bed, he’d do whatever it took.

But Cal should’ve known his June . . . his tenderhearted, kind June . . . wouldn’t make him grovel.

She squirmed under him, pushing her leggings down and kicking them off.

“I’m yours, Cal. I’ve always been yours. Make love to me. Please.”

Relief swam through his veins . . . along with lust. “This is going to be fast,” he warned as he began to strip off his own clothes. He seemed to say that to her a lot. Too often. He had no control around this woman.

“Good. We can get it over with and then go slow the second time.”

More proof that she was made to be his. He grinned as they raced to see who could get naked first.

June lay against Cal’s sweaty chest and absently traced a finger over one of the multitude of scars. She felt boneless. Their first time had indeed been fast. Cal had taken her hard, almost brutally, and she’d loved every second. After they’d both come within minutes of him getting inside her, he’d taken his time and caressed every inch of her body. He’d made her come with his mouth, then his fingers, and she played with his cock and balls but not enough to make him climax. He was too eager to get inside her again at that point.

He’d taken her from behind. Switched and put her on top, facing his feet. Then they’d ended up in missionary style as he ever so slowly made sweet love to her, until she’d begged him to move faster.

She’d come then, and he’d joined her soon after. They were both sweaty, the covers were strewn all over the bed and half on the floor, and the overhead light was shining bright. But June didn’t even think about moving, about covering up. She was with the man she loved more than life.

“The light’s on,” Cal said quietly, as if he could read her mind.

“Yeah,” she agreed, coming up on an elbow. “Want me to grab the sheet?”

He shook his head. “I used to think the most horrifying thing in the world would be to expose myself to a woman, to a potential bedmate. It was bad enough when I had to take my shirt or pants off to be examined by a doctor. But letting a woman I wanted to make love to see my scars wasn’t something I ever thought I’d be able to do. You made it doable. You made it all right, June.”

“There’s nothing wrong with your body, Cal,” June told him fiercely. “You’re in better shape than probably eighty-five percent of the men in the world. You chop down trees, you work out, you hike.” She ran a hand down his chest, feeling the bumps and ridges as she went. “But I wouldn’t care if you had a beer belly and saggy boobs. You’d still be the man I love.”

She felt him tense up, and she prayed he wouldn’t shut down on her.

“I love you,” he whispered. “I have no idea how I got through each day of the last few years without you to look forward to coming home to. I promise I’ll never give you a reason to doubt my love for you ever again. In the morning, we’ll move your stuff into this room, and you’ll sleep here, in my arms, our bed, every night going forward. Anything you want changed in the room, the house, the yard, we’ll do. We’ll get you a car, go shopping for clothes, upgrade the furniture if you want.”

“Easy there, tiger,” June said with a laugh. “I don’t want or need anything.”

“You have to want something,” Cal said with a frown.

“I do. You,” she said.

He stared at her for a beat before shaking his head. “Of all the women in the world, I managed to fall in love with the one who doesn’t care one whit about my money.”

“You could be broke, and I’d still be head over heels for you,” she told him.

Amazingly, she felt her lust returning. She smiled down at him and moved so she was straddling his thighs. “You haven’t let me taste you yet,” she said, feeling her face warm with a blush.

“I’m always too desperate to get inside you,” he replied. “And if I come in your mouth, I won’t be able to get it up for a while to do just that.”

“I’m sure you can get creative,” she told him, moving backward.

“Feck.” He gasped as she began to stroke his cock. “I’m putty in your hands,” he told her. “You aren’t disgusted with . . . I mean . . . I’m disfigured,” he finished softly.

“Here?” she asked, licking him from base to tip. “Not as far as I’m concerned.”

Cal shook his head in disbelief. “Perfect for me,” he murmured.

“Yup. I am,” June agreed happily, then lowered her head, determined to show her man what he’d been missing for the last week. She wanted to experience something she instinctively knew she’d never share with another man ever again.

Thirty minutes later, after they were once again sweaty and satisfied, June lay in Cal’s arms, almost comatose. The week of worry had finally caught up with her, and she was half-asleep. This time, he’d gotten up after he’d given her another orgasm and covered them both with the comforter.

“June?” he said.

“Hmm?” she murmured.

“No more presents from other men.”

She smiled against him. “I threw the brownies away.”

“Good. Because you’re mine. And I plan to give you so many gifts, you’ll be buried in them.”

She sighed. “You’re going to go overboard, aren’t you?”

“Definitely,” he answered.

“All I want is you, Cal. You’re the best present I’ve ever gotten.”

She felt more than heard a low, satisfied rumble come from his chest. “Sleep, princess. Tomorrow’s a new day. The start of the rest of our lives.”

She liked that. A lot. Turning, she kissed his chest, right above his nipple, then lay her head back down. With his arm tight around her, his scent in her nostrils and all over her skin, she slept better than she had in a week, secure in the knowledge that everything was right in her world for once.