I wake up before Kacee, but only by a few minutes. Those couple of minutes are enough for me to take her in while she sleeps so peacefully. She's wrapped in my blankets with one arm bent and tucked behind her head, fingers curling near her ear. The other hand is against her chest, her muscles loose with sleep. Her head is tipped, surrounded by golden hair, like a halo. At this moment, I can't think of any reason why being with Kacee could be wrong because it feels too right. I haven't had a woman in my bed for years and hadn't realized how badly I've missed it.

Kacee's face crinkles, her brow pulling together before she blinks her eyes open. She seems confused for a moment, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling before she turns to look at me. Her face breaks open into a smile, and I think how lucky I am.

“Good morning,” she says, stretching her arms. She settles and looks up at me, happy and stunning as ever.

I lean down to kiss her before I know I have to get up and start breakfast.

“Good morning, beautiful,” I reply, smiling as I caress her cheek and pull her in for a quick kiss. She smells like vanilla and musk. Our scents mixed together are my new favorite. “We should probably make ourselves presentable before the kids wake up,” I mumble against her swollen lips. “Though I'd much rather stay under these warm covers with you.” I wink.

“Yes…” She groans. “Let's do that.”

“Nice try. Get dressed. I'll make coffee.”

She rolls her eyes. “Should've known you wouldn't want to sleep in, even now.” Her cheeks go red, and I wonder if she's reliving the events of last night because I can't stop thinking about it.

“Of course not,” I tell her, smiling to let her know I’m half-joking. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”

True to my word, I brew a pot a coffee. Eventually, she emerges in new clothes with her hair braided to the side; exactly how it was the first day I laid eyes on her. But now she’s mine. Oh, how things have changed so quickly.

I make her a mug of coffee how she likes it and pass it to her before starting breakfast. We're happily in a routine and have been for some time. The understanding brings me a sense of satisfaction, and we move around each other to make omelets and bacon like it's always been this way and I hope it will be from now on.

I want her to stay here, with us forever, but I’m going to have to open up. I know that.

“I want to tell you about her,” I say nervously over the sizzling bacon. She glances up at me from the egg she was cracking with a small smile. “Rebecca. My…late wife.”

“I’d like that,” she says, putting the eggshell down.

She watches me intently and listens as I tell her everything I can think of, every little detail about Becca. I describe the way she looked in the morning, how happy she was when we finally got pregnant, and how she was with Evie and Jackson when they were babies. Then I tell her the hurt I felt when I lost her and how I scared I was to raise the kids as a single dad.

Kacee takes it all in, and when Evie and Jackson come out, they listen too. So much of it they haven't heard before, because I've been so afraid of opening it up to them, but they listen with rapt attention, eating their omelets Kacee finished making while I speak. I tell them how much their mother loved them, and their little faces crumple, and I hug them both. Kacee lets them sit in her lap while I keep talking.

I feel like I've said everything I can say in one morning—especially after so long without saying anything. Kacee looks at me with so much emotion, like I've made her proud. Without even realizing it, she's helped me open up when I thought I'd never be able to.

Evie and Jackson won't leave my side, and, God, it feels good, to let all those built up feelings go, to just be for once without worrying about holding back or keeping it all in. My walls have officially crumbled to rubble, and I know it's all because of Kacee. She's truly helped transform me in such a short amount of time; I didn't even see it coming.

By the time the kids are done and busy themselves with a game, I feel emotionally worn-out. Kacee glances at me with those big green eyes of hers, like she understands what I'm feeling. I want her to know I appreciate her and everything she does for us, but I've had a hard time verbalizing everything.

Instead, I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. “We kind of did this backward, didn't we?”

Her brow creases, but she smiles, leaning against the table in the breakfast nook. “What do you mean?”

“You’re already all moved in,” I tell her. She smiles all the way, then laughs, leaning back.

“You're absolutely right. I guess we did.” She giggles and puts her chin in her hands. “I'm glad you gave me a chance though.”

“Me too,” I say with a wink. She glances over her shoulder at the kids who are playing a loud game in Evie’s room, and every now and then we both hear a thump, though luckily nothing catastrophic happens yet.

“I just remembered. I haven't showered yet.” She lifts an eyebrow and tugs at her bottom lip with her teeth.

I look at her and immediately get the hint—she wants me to go with her, and it's exhilarating to feel this way again after feeling numb for so damn long.

Before entering the bathroom, I inform the kids that I'm taking a shower and that Kacee is busy. They turn and smile and could care less that I'm even talking.

I walk into the bathroom where Kacee turns on the water. She stands there for a second and looks at me. I take the lead, pulling off her T-shirt and letting it fall to the floor. It all moves quickly from there. Her hands swiftly move under my shirt, tugging it over my head, and then she unbuttons my pants and yanks them down.

“I can’t get enough of you,” she says, grinning, as she finishes undressing me. She turns her attention back to herself and wrenches the rest of her clothes off. I chuckle feeling the same way.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” I tell her. “Just you.”

She looks at me over her shoulder, teasing me with her perfect, perky ass. I follow after her, and the whole situation escalates rapidly. Instead of grabbing the soap, she abandons it and drags me down to the floor of the bathtub, climbing over me and kissing me deeply. It doesn't take long before I'm hard, and I can feel how eager she is for me.

Judging by the way she keeps rolling her hips down onto mine, almost like she's not aware of her own aching need. Our desires match, and I pull her closer, the spray of the shower hitting her back and running down over us. Somehow, it's hotter than our skin.

Without seeking permission, she sinks down onto me. I have to bite back a groan, but my self-control quickly dissipates once she takes me in, moving her hips and body, allowing me to go in and out in long slides. She ducks her head down to kiss me, then down further to nip at my neck. It's carefree and lighthearted, but when she takes control, it's sexy as hell.

I reach down between her legs to circle her clit, and I can tell she's already getting close, so I snap my hips up to fill her with my length entirely. She lets out a muffled moan and her eyes open like she’s surprised by her own self, and it startles me into hushed laughter. She grins at that and tosses her head back, the spray now traveling down from her neck over her bare chest, down to where our bodies meet.

“Shh,” I remind her, and she laughs again into her hands. I pick up speed, but I know she'll need more than this based on last night. I shift, rising and shifting our positions so she's on her back in the bathtub and I'm over her. Damn, I'm happy I upgraded to a garden tub a couple summers ago.

I raise her up a bit and duck my head down, so my mouth seals over her, and I can't see her face, but I can hear her soft moans. The water streams over us both, hitting the back of my neck and rolling down my back in waves as she gasps and writhes under me. Her fingers tangle in my wet hair, and I let her guide me through what feels right for her before she's unraveling under my mouth and touch.

She tries to catch her breath, but it's clear she won't any time soon. I'm still hard as a rock against my stomach, so I scoop her up and press her into the shower wall. My size and strength play to my advantage, because I can hold her up with one hand and line myself up to her entrance with the other. She looks back at me, chest heaving, and nods, and I enter her swiftly. She touches herself, a greedy little thing, and seeks another release as I chase the feeling, pounding into her as she reaches another ledge and goes over it. The quiet sounds she makes are delicious, pushing me into my own release, and I fall, shuddering, over her, trying not to crush her with my body weight.

“You're like an untamed animal,” I tease, cupping her face as I bring our lips together.

“I can't get enough of you,” she says, panting into my wet shoulder before she lets out a hushed laugh. The sound of her voice settles me.

I finish washing her, and she does the same to me. I'm gentle with her, and the more I touch her, the more I know this is more than sex. I enjoy spending time with her, even when I didn't want to admit it to myself. I swallow hard thinking how easily Kacee has planted herself in my life and could potentially be the one. Some are only lucky enough to find their person once in a lifetime; I’ve been lucky enough to find that twice.

After we're finished with our shower, we hurry and get dressed and go our separate ways, so the kids don't suspect anything.

I check on Evie and Jackson, and luckily, they're still engulfed in their game, none the wiser of what happened.

The day quickly turns into night, and I'm hyper-aware of how close we are and each time our bodies touch as we prepare dinner. While I'm mashing potatoes, she's cooking the fresh fish I caught. I watch her as she seasons it for the kids, then switching to a different fish and seasoning it how I like it. It's little things like that, the way she knows me, the understanding we have of each other, that settles in nicely inside me. I'm more than content right now, and though it's new and exciting, it scares the shit out of me.

We glide through dinner in practiced motions, then get through the kids' bedtime routines like clockwork. The night before, she put Jackson to bed, and I took Evie, so tonight we switch like we do every other night. Evie likes having the chapters read to her at night still, but with Kacee, Jackson's been learning to read all on his own, so he picks out a comic book for us to read together.

I’m always so surprised by how well he’s doing now since Kacee arrived, by how little help he needs from me. I watch him follow the words on the page with his finger.

“What do you think?” I ask once we’re finished with half of it.

He looks up at me. “About what, Daddy?”

“About Kacee,” I clarify. He nods knowingly, with all the gravity of a young child.

“She's nice and pretty,” Jackson says simply. “I like that she's teaching me how to read, count and do math problems, and how to draw stick people. Plus, I like her cooking.”

“Better than mine?” I joke, making him laugh. “But do you like her?” I ask straightforwardly. Jackson closes his comic book and thinks it over. He’s a quiet boy, a deep thinker, and he chooses his words carefully, whereas Evie’s more of a first-thought, best-thought kind of kid.

“I do,” Jackson says, eventually. “She's really nice, and I want her to stay here with us forever.” He peers up at me, then picks the comic book up again. “Can she?”

“What?” I say, but he keeps looking up at me, so I reply, “Maybe.”

“Cool,” he replies, opening his comic book back up. “Can we keep reading?”

And it's that easy. For Evie and Jackson, she's their friend, their teacher, their confidant, their playmate. All they know is that they like having her around. They prefer it this way. They don't remember any other way, it seems. Somehow, she's become an intricate, valuable part of not only my life but of theirs, too.

Once Evie and Jackson are asleep, Kacee takes me by the hand, leading me to the sofa in the living room to sit with her. I'm worried she'll want to talk about us, to define whatever this means between us when I'm not sure I have the right words for it quite yet, but she doesn't bring it up. Instead, she puts on a movie, comes close to me, and nestles her head on my chest. I wrap my arm around her and hold her.

I like being with her, but even more, I love how she is with my kids and how she makes me feel when I watch her with them. I'm not really paying attention to the movie, mainly just lost in my thoughts, but I can't stop looking at her and thinking about us. It's hard for me to express my feelings, but I know I have to say something.

“I don't want this to end,” I tell her, probably interrupting a critical scene in the movie. She tips her head up to look at me, blonde hair spilling down her back. She smiles.

“I don't either,” she says. It's a simple life, but a good one. We could be happy together, just like this.

Rebecca flashes through my mind again, and I force the thought away, but I remind myself she'd want me to be happy. I know she wouldn't want me to be alone. I should try and let myself be happy again even though it's a hard concept for me to grasp fully.

“I want to be with you,” I admit. “I'm not always an easy person to read, but I just wanted to put that out in there in case you're wondering.”

She smiles wider, happy. There's some sort of chase scene happening on the TV, with tires going out and chaos and screaming. It all seems like it's happening far away, even though Kacee was just invested in it.

“I want to be with you, too.” She lifts herself up, sliding onto my lap, and wraps her arms around my neck, tugging me in. I go willingly, allowing her to kiss me, letting her closer than I've let anyone be in years. It feels terrifying, but in the best possible way, so I'm trying to reveal my feelings and just be in the moment with her right now. I just hope I can be the man she deserves.