He was panting into my hair, and I could feel his heart hammering against my chest.
“So I need some water before we do it again,” I teased him.
His soft chuckle made me smile as I turned and kissed his cheek.
We made the mistake of passing out when he finally lifted up off me. He fell down onto his back, I rolled into his arms, he clutched me to him, and that was it. At some point in the night, he must have gotten cold because I woke up under the covers with him. Only when I tried to move them did I realize they were stuck to me.
“Oh dear God,” I groaned, and there was a snort of laughter into my shoulder before he kissed me there. “We’re cemented into this bed.”
More laughter as I was hugged tight.
“I can’t wait to do that again,” I confessed, savoring the feel of his skin plastered to mine.
“Me too,” he husked. “And more and less. It only matters that it’s us.”
“Yes,” I agreed, my voice rough with emotion.
“I love you,” he ground out, like it was hard, like he had to take a gulp of air in the middle. “Thank you for choosing me.”
“Thank you for taking a leap of faith.” I lifted his hand so I could kiss his palm. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. I love you like crazy.”
“Crazy’s good,” he clarified, before he turned me in his arms so he could kiss me, morning breath and all.
As expected, breakfast was being prepared when we arrived. It was just us, my parents, my brother and sister, and the people my brother and sister loved. My mother made homemade biscuits and her signature gravy with bacon grease, and Jeremiah went in and helped, making hash browns from scratch, peeling and shredding potatoes faster than I thought humanly possible.
“How?” I peeked over his shoulder as he flipped them in a skillet.
“To be a good manager, you have to be able to step into any position,” he explained. “I can cook all the things on the Kingman’s menu.”
“Holy crap!”
A short time later, I watched my dad’s reaction as Jeremiah set a plate of something on the table in front of him. Dad eyed it suspiciously.
“What is this?”
“That, sir, is an avocado, spinach, mozzarella, and egg white omelet, with pico de gallo and sliced jalapeños on top, that I made especially for you.”
“I want biscuits and gravy.”
He nodded. “I know, but that’s bacon grease and whole eggs, and that’s not so great for your heart.”
My father stared at him, leaned forward and smelled the omelet, and eased slowly back. Looking over at my mother with her crossed arms and death stare, he quickly cleared his throat, thanked Jeremiah, and started to eat.
After the rest of us sat down, she took a bite of my father’s meal and turned to my boyfriend. “That’s very good, Jeremiah. You’ll have to teach me how to make it.”
“I’m an okay cook, but Lance is great.”
He told her all about the restaurant then, and I realized, after taking a quick glance around the table, that everyone was listening and smiling and laughing as he hit the highlight reel of insane customers. It was fun to listen to him, and I wasn’t too surprised when, after breakfast, my mother asked him to walk the dogs with her.
“That’s it,” my father announced, smiling at me as the rest of us did the dishes. “She’s got him now. You’ll never see him again.”
“Nah,” Cody corrected him, grinning as he dried the plates. “I got Makayla back. Eventually.”
His wife beamed at him and shrugged. “What can I say, people she likes, she wants to know every little thing about.”
“She does,” Seth agreed, smiling as Courtney leaned in and kissed his cheek. “And I loved having all her attention while she drilled into my brain.”
Courtney cackled at that and shook her head.
“You did good, Cam,” Cody declared with a nod. “You finally found somebody we all like. And more importantly, Dad, I watched Jeremiah throw the small football for the dogs yesterday, and I think we got ourselves a ringer.”
“No,” my father gasped.
“Seriously?” Seth asked, stepping in front of my brother, sounding hopeful and scared at the same time. “Are you screwing with us?”
He shook his head slowly.
“This is exciting,” my father announced. “I’m about to be very happy.”
Makayla was shaking her head. “Honestly. It’s a football game.”