Last night was by far one of my hardest nights. But having Drew know my past, having him understand my darkest times makes me feel free. There will be no more hiding behind the image I’ve since created. I can be weak in his presence and know that he understands. I can be distant, and he’ll understand the need for my alone time.

But it also makes the fact that I need him so much more evident. He grounds me, and he gives me hope. He gives me purpose.

When I wake up the next morning, I reach over and notice Drew's not next to me. Slowly, I get up, and walk out of the bedroom and hurry downstairs when I smell pancakes and bacon.

As I walk from the bedroom toward Drew’s kitchen, the aroma only intensifies, and my stomach growls without warning. Without announcing my arrival, I stay hidden in the entryway and watch Dawson and Drew make breakfast together. The radio plays a melody that’s familiar to me, but the words are something I’m not sure of. I smile uncontrollably when I hear the both of them singing softly to the music—something about loving someone so deep that you feel like you can’t breathe without them.

I love watching Dawson with his father, the way he looks at him as if he’s his hero. I swear it always makes my ovaries feel as if they could explode. Complete and total swoon each and every time.

When I can’t stay away any longer, I move in closer, and as if they can feel me, they both look back over their shoulders, wearing matching smiles.

“Good morning,” Drew is the first to speak.

“We made breakfast,” Dawson says happily as he spins around with a pancake on a spatula. It whips outward, spinning like a mini Frisbee just before splatting to the floor near the chair he is standing on.

For a moment, Drew and I just stare at the pancake on the floor, waiting for Dawson to throw some type of fit or something. But, when his laughter fills the room, Drew and I join him.

“Did you see that fly?” he asks as he turns to lift another pancake from the pan.

The moment Drew realizes he’s about to purposely toss it across the kitchen, he quickly snatches the spatula, pancake and all, from him.

“No way, bud. Once is enough,” Drew says with a chuckle before placing the half-cooked mound of batter back on the griddle.

When he turns back to face me, I can see that look in his eyes. You know, the one someone gives you when they really have no idea what to say. I feel nauseous because it’s one thing I never wanted from Drew. My heart aches, and suddenly, I can’t look at him.

“Is there something I can help with?” I ask as I bend down to lift the pancake off the ceramic tile. I move across the kitchen, toward the garbage can. I continue to occupy myself, making it easier to avoid Drew.

That is, until he steps up behind me and wraps his arms around me, caging me against the sink where I am currently washing my hands.

“What you shared with me…” he whispers.

I close my eyes as my heart begins to race.

“It changes nothing.”

“Then, why do I feel as if it has changed everything?”

Drew quickly grips my hips and twists me around to face him. He places his hand beneath my chin, forcing my eyes to meet his. “I love you,” he states with intensity. “You are the strongest person I know, and if anything has changed, it’s that my love for you now is only stronger.”

Tears spring to my eyes, and I tightly close them in an attempt to fight against them.

I feel the wetness run over my cheeks just before Drew’s thumb swipes it away. That’s quickly followed by a gentle kiss against the small place his finger just was.

“I love you, Reagan—so much, it makes my knees weak.” I hear his deep intake of breath. “Nothing will ever change that.”

I move forward, burying my face in his chest, as his arms circle me, holding me. His muscular arms keep me safe and I love how it feels around my body. I’m taking every single moment of it and etching it to memory. I love this man more than I have ever in my life loved another. He is my rock, my heart, my salvation.

“I love you,” I tell him in return, simply breathing him in, allowing him to calm me.

* * *

I can hear the laughter in Drew’s voice before I even enter his office. The door is ajar, and his obvious excitement is hard to miss. The strangest thing is that, when Dawson and Drew are happy, it makes me happy. It doesn’t matter how bad of a day I might be having or how down I might feel, their happiness is infectious.

I stand just outside his office door, listening to his deep chuckle filter out the small opening, and I can’t help but smile myself. My love for this man still overwhelms me at times because I never imagined I’d feel anything even close to this.

“It was great hearing from you, Fin,” I hear Drew say. “Get in touch with me when you arrive in the city in a couple of weeks, and we’ll get together for drinks. It’s been a long time, and I look forward to seeing you again. Catch up on old times and all that.” There’s a pause, followed by him saying sounds good before Drew says good-bye.

I carefully press my palm to his office door and begin to move inside just as he places his phone on his desk. His gaze shifts to meet mine, and almost instantaneously, he offers that look that always seems to make me feel completely grounded. His eyes soften, a genuine smile covers his lips, and his head tilts to the side just slightly.

Then, my heart races with pure elation.

“Good morning, gorgeous,” he coos, standing from his chair. He moves around his desk.

Once he’s around the front, he leans back and holds out his hand to me, and I waste no further time before going to him.

“Good morning to you, too,” I say just before he pulls me in close and presses a chaste kiss on my lips.

It’s for the best because had it been any more, then it might have been hard to refrain from it going further. Drew’s addictive, which I have quickly found out. With him, I’m like a raging teen, as I can’t get enough.

“I missed you last night,” he adds as he reaches up to tuck a stray hair behind my ear. “You’ve spoiled me, allowing me to feel your body against mine for so many nights. It’s never easy when you decide to stay at your place.”

“If it’s any consolation, I never sleep as well without you as I do with you holding me,” I tell him as I smooth his tie in order to busy my hands.

Being this close to Drew is never easy because I can’t keep my hands off of him.

“There’s nothing better than you holding me through the night.”

“I agree,” he adds without pause. “It’s one of my very favorite things.”

My body warms as I think of our last time together. The way he crawled over me in the early hours of the morning and made slow, torturous love to me. No words spoken, just the message our bodies relayed, as he looked deep into my eyes, as if he could see straight through to my soul.

I look away, trying my best to rein in my hormonal rage that’s threatening all types of nasty things that I shouldn’t be thinking of while at work.

“So, who were you talking to?” I ask, hoping to alleviate the hunger inside me and distract myself with thoughts of something other than Drew and his ultimate bedroom skills. Not to mention the way he possesses the key to my heart with even the smallest of touches. Hell, with a simple look, I melt for this man.

“An old college buddy,” he says. The silly grin I imagined him wearing before I entered returns. “Fin, or Finley, was one of my best friends throughout those years. He was wild, and I swear the guy had no fear. I have a lot of memories that involve him. He ended up transferring to a different college his junior year, but during the weekend we hung out and partied.” I can almost feel his happiness. “He’s taken on a new position with his company, and it seems he’ll be relocating to Chicago.”

“So, this wild, ill-behaved friend won’t trigger a hidden side of you to resurface, will he?” I ask playfully.

“Absolutely not, baby,” he says as his hands trail along my sides before coming to rest on my hips. “I’m completely content with my life, and no one is going to change what my main focuses are.”

I smile sweetly at him, knowing that he’s referring to me as one of those focuses, but he reminds me anyway.

“You and Dawson are my top priorities, now and always.” He leans in and presses his lips to mine.

For a moment, we get lost in one another, forgetting about where we are or who could walk in.

I’m so very deeply in love with this man that, sometimes, it feels like a dream. A dream I never want to wake up from.