It’s not the first time I’ve seen Ethan’s penthouse, but it’s the first time I’ve looked around at its marble walls and luscious décor and known that it’s my home.

All my things are in boxes in the living area. There’s not much, and they look so scruffy against all the polished glass and fine leather. It was a nightmare to get them to the top floor, but Ethan’s moving crew did most of the work.

Ethan comes to me and pulls me into his arms. We sway slightly. He kisses my forehead, a wide grin growing on his face. “This is it, Lily.”

I take a deep breath. “This is it.”

I can hardly believe it. I stroll from room to room, trailing my fingers against the wall and across all the expensive objects, trying to make it seem real.

Ethan stands behind me. “When all your things are unpacked, it’ll seem like home.”

I smile at him over my shoulder, then run to one particular box—a cat carrier. I open the wire door, and Biscuit runs out with a little mewl. I grin. “Now it feels like home.”

Ethan laughs. “You’re right. The décor has always been missing clumps of ginger fur.”

Turning to him, I take his face in both my hands and kiss him. “Thank you for making this happen.”

“Thank you for giving me another chance. I promise you, Lily, we’re going to be very happy together. We can do anything we want, go anywhere, be anything. The whole world is ours.”

I smile. “I only want to paint.”

“Paint what?”

“All of it! The city, the skyscrapers, Broadway, Central Park, the people. I’ve painted Rumsey Park from a hundred different angles. I can’t wait to capture a whole new world.”

“I know a lot of people in the art industry.”

I smile at him teasingly. “You’re going to use your connections to make me big and famous, huh?”

He grins and nibbles playfully at my earlobe as he hugs me from behind. “You don’t need my help. You’re talented.”

I break away from him and cross the room to pick up another item I brought with me, a rectangular package in brown paper. I open the portrait that Ethan painted and turn it toward him, grinning. “You’re not too bad yourself. Where can I hang this?”

Ethan chuckles. “Wherever you want.”

“Let’s swap this one out.” I walk over to the far wall where an original Pollock is hanging. “I never liked him anyway. Too messy.”

“You want to replace Jackson Pollock with Ethan Steele?”

“This one’s got more heart.”

Smiling, Ethan helps me take down the original. “I’ll send it back to the gallery.”

We hang up the portrait Ethan painted. It’s a bit strange to see a picture of myself up on the wall, but I want to see it every day. It’s not because I’m vain, but because I get a happy, fuzzy feeling every time I look at it and know the love that went into painting it.

“What did Jennifer say when you said you were taking time off to move me in?”

“She was thrilled. You know Jennifer loves you, and she thinks it’s about time I stopped being a moody bachelor.”

“How’s she finding the change at work?”

Ethan smiles. “She’s rising to the challenge, as I knew she would. She and Mitchell are a powerful pair. They’ll have the place running better than I ever could.”

“We don’t have to go, you know,” I say carefully. “I don’t need you to prove yourself to me again. I’m here, I’m staying. We don’t have to travel the world.”

“I made you a promise to travel a very long time ago. It’s about time I kept it. Besides, I want to go. For me. There’s a whole world out there, Lily. Let’s go have some adventures.”

I’m so happy I could burst. It was Ethan who brought up the idea of traveling again. This time, there was truly nothing stopping us. Ethan had started stepping back from Steele Industries before I even came to New York. He’d already decided that he wanted to enjoy life a little more.

Ethan is still putting everything in place, but then we are going to plan it all. Two around-the-world tickets and a tin of new watercolors to share.

“I bet it was hard for Chloe to say goodbye.”

I nod. “But she’s excited to come visit. We’ll have to give her the full VIP treatment. She’ll just die.”

“She’s welcome anytime.”

I go to the window and look out over the city. The sun is just starting to set, and it’s beautiful. The skyline has a silhouette made up of hundreds of buildings reaching for the sky. Down below, thousands of people walk quickly toward their dreams, living their own lives. I like to think of their stories, their struggles, their romances. This is a city of a million images, and I want to paint as many as I can.

I can see Ethan’s reflection in the glass, standing behind me. I run my gaze over his relaxed expression and unruly hair. Ethan is somewhere between the boy I once knew and a man I hardly know. I’m looking forward to getting to know this Ethan. Chloe was right when she said that no couple acts like teenagers forever. I wonder what this next stage of life has in store for us, how we’ll love each other differently now that we’re older.

Ethan wraps his arm around my waist. “I was starting to hate this city.”

“And now?”

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” He spins me to face him, his hand slipping into my hair. He kisses me. I hold onto his back, pressing my body against his.

Ethan pulls off his shirt, revealing his firm and toned chest. I run my hands over the length of his broad shoulders, feeling the muscles flex as he reaches down to tear my shirt away, too.

He puts his hands on my waist, catching me in an intense kiss. His mouth parts mine, his tongue searching. I kiss him back hard.

Ethan reaches around and unclasps my bra. It falls to the marble, and I am exposed, my breasts visible before a breathtaking city view. He bows his head to my throat and kisses me from my collarbone to beneath my jaw, one hand pulling back my hair to expose my neck.

He’s so handsome. His hair’s longer now, a little stubble on his face, a smile in his eyes. He’s not the boy I remember; he’s a sexy man, just as kind and real as ever before. All mine.

He lifts me, and I wrap my legs around his waist. He kisses me as he carries me to the bedroom and presses me against the wall.

I trail one hand over his back, the other sinking into his hair. Ethan bows his head to my chest and sucks at a nipple, biting down gently, teasing sharp, sweet sensations from me. I slip down from his hold and fall to my knees on a soft, thick rug. I unzip Ethan’s pants and drop them to the floor along with his boxers.

He’s hard for me. I take hold of his thick, throbbing cock, closing my fingers around the base of his shaft. I close my lips around him, take him deeply into my mouth, and suck.

Ethan groans, his head falling back. I slowly circle my tongue and take more of him into my mouth, sliding back and forth until he starts to shudder on the edge of an orgasm and pull away.

He picks me up like I weigh nothing, carries me to the bed, and throws me down. There is an urgency in how he moves. I’m wet at the naked, hard sight of him, his chest heaving with aroused breaths. He pushes me onto the bed, my shoulders and back on the mattress, my feet still on the ground.

Ethan nudges my knees apart and kneels at the edge of the bed. He presses his tongue against my clit and moves it in hard, eager strokes, holding my legs apart when I squirm with pleasure. He slides two fingers inside me as he sucks and licks at my clit. He teases me until I tense and then shudder into orgasm.

He rises, spins me so my legs are on the bed and moves over me. He kisses me hard; I’m still breathless from coming. His lips are pressed over mine when his cock enters me, and my back arches before my body relaxes against him.

I push my hips up to his hard, thick erection as Ethan thrusts into me. His cock is deep inside me, sending waves of pleasure frissoning through my body each time he moves against me.

We roll. Ethan is beneath me. I slide down, letting his cock fill me, and ride him, leaning forward to kiss him as we move. His hands press down on the base of my spine and urge me to fuck him faster. He thrusts deeper into me.

I lean back as I ride him, my fingers clutching at the black silk sheets. Ethan sits up, wrapping his arms around me, a leg on either side of my body. One arm is around my waist, one hand on the back of my head. He kisses my chest, my throat, my jaw. He kisses my mouth, and I press my lips hard against him, hungry for the taste of him.

He groans; he’s close. Ethan falls back onto the pillow, his hands settling on my hips and guiding me. I grind against him, rocking with him inside me, drawing him closer and closer.

Ethan comes with a low moan. I lean forward to kiss him again. His urgent grip becomes gentle and his arms pull me close.

I roll off him and lay at his side. To my left, the gorgeous Ethan Steele. To my right, New York City.

“That was amazing,” I say.

Ethan raises his head, leaning on one elbow, and smiles at me. “And we get to do it all over again every day.”