Sweet Love - Mia Kayla Page 0,101

blazing.

“Isn’t it too soon?”

He smiled then, biting on his sexy bottom lip. “I’m a firm believer in the saying, When you know, you know.” The smoldering flame behind his eyes was overwhelming.

His words brought me back to weeks ago when we had gone over our original sketches.

He playfully pinched my chin. “We haven’t completed our work here yet. I want to finish the last sketch of that commercial—where it’s thirty years after they got married. They’re at a birthday party of their seventh grandchild. He’s holding the love of his life in his arms, so tightly but with the same excitement as though it were the first time he held her. He’s watching their grandkids play, the whole while thinking of how lucky he is … that this is the life they built—a life they built together.”

I smiled up at him, my heart fluttering and beating a million times a second.

“Can we do that, Charlie? Build a life together?”

I watched the play of emotions on his face—excitement, anticipation, but most of all, love.

I nodded, so choked up that I couldn’t speak.

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes,” I said, finally finding my voice.

He closed the gap between us and kissed me, claiming my lips with the full hardness of his mouth. His kiss was demanding, all-consuming, that I nearly fell over from the contact. It had been so long since he kissed me, and in that moment, I knew that I never wanted to be kissed by another man. For the rest of my life, as long as I was breathing on this earth, my lips, my heart, my soul belonged to Connor.

“What the hell?” It was Alyssa.

“Are you in a diaper?” Casey asked.

We both flipped to face them, and Connor turned all shades of purple.

I stood in front of him to shield him from their eyes, but that was all for nothing because Connor was legitimately twice my size.

“We came to get you for lunch and …” Alyssa shook her head.

“This was Kyle’s stupid idea, wasn’t it?” Casey asked.

Connor groaned, confirming that it was indeed Kyle’s idea.

“Why do you even bet against him when he always wins?” Alyssa deadpanned.

“What was it anyway?”

“He bet me that I wouldn’t be able to stay away from Charlie for two weeks. He called me a baby for leaving … hence”—Connor motioned to his crotch—“the diaper.”

Alyssa laughed.

Casey pushed out her lip in disdain. “Your brother is a jerk.”

“That he is.”

“All you had to do was wait another week, and you would have won,” Alyssa said.

“Yeah”—Connor’s eyes searched my face—“but one week was way too long as it was.” His one arm snaked around my back, bringing me closer. “There was no way I was going to last two.”

“Does that mean you are here for good?” Casey asked, eyes light.

“Yep. Forever until Charlie moves to another state.”

“I’m not moving.”

“Then, I’m here forever,” Connor stated.

Voices sounded from the hall, and Connor dropped to his knees, crawling under my desk.

“How long is this bet supposed to last?” Casey asked, pushing my chair in so Connor couldn’t be seen, more so that he was blocked in.

“Ten minutes. I had to walk in the office and stay here for ten minutes, and it’s been way past ten minutes.”

“Where are your clothes?” Casey asked.

“Kyle has them.”

Alyssa laughed. “Now, we have to find Kyle, who doesn’t work here.”

“He’s here. Just seriously torturing me. Try my office.”

“Come on, Casey. He’s afraid of you.”

Casey stomped after Alyssa on a mission, and a tiny part of me was scared for Kyle because Casey looked like she was out for blood.

After they were out of sight, I ducked down, tucked myself under the desk, and laughed. It was way too close for comfort.

Connor reached for me, pulling me into him, but it was a tad uncomfortable, given that he was massive and his head was crouched over as though he were in a fetal position.

It didn’t stop him from kissing me and making me giggle like a little schoolgirl.

I got on my knees, leaning closer, and palmed his cheeks. “We got interrupted. You didn’t finish the story.” He quirked an eyebrow, and I continued, “There’s another sketch you’re missing, the one where their fingers are intertwined, hands wrinkled from the years, as they sit in matching rocking chairs, watching the sunset in front of them …”

He finished my sentence, as he had done weeks ago when we were brainstorming, “The scene ends when he’s feeding her chocolates … why? Because she can’t feed herself because of her arthritis.”

When