“Rule number one,” Brooke’s voice came from down the hallway. “Shirts are entirely optional when we’re in the same room.” Then she laughed, the sound so full of delight that I smiled broadly from where I was sitting on the edge of her bed. “Except when the kids are around, because I’m a really good influence on them.”

I tucked my chin down into my chest to smother my laugh.

A few steps further, and she picked up another piece of paper, unfolding it slowly. Far more slowly than I expected her to.

“Rule number two.” She hummed when she saw the rest. “Daily kisses are not optional. Punishment for missed kisses will be corporal in nature.”

Then she scoffed as she read the next sentence. “I know what spanking is, Michael. You didn’t have to explain it to me.”

The need to go to her was almost too much to ignore, but if I messed up the first grand gesture I’d ever attempted in my life, I’d kick my own ass. The fact that she was actually going along with it, and not kicking me out of the house was a very good sign.

“Rule number three. You are required to share meals with me at least four nights a week, because I’m very needy and I also eat a lot.”

Her footsteps got closer and I sat up straight, fixed the collar on my shirt.

“Rule number four. Whenever you sit by me, holding hands is required for ultimate television watching experience.”

Her fingers fit perfectly in mine. They were slender and pale, occasionally dotted with hair color from one of her clients.

“Rule number five.” Her voice was deeper, quieter now and I let out a slow breath. “Weekly sleepovers, occurring anywhere from one to three nights per week, will be up for mutual discussion. Your bed is preferable because it’s bigger.”

“Rule number six.” Now Brooke let out a deep breath, and I swallowed against a suddenly dry mouth. Not seeing her look at these was much harder than I’d expected. “Telling me when I do something stupid is not only allowed, but it’s highly encouraged, because I’ll need to be taught how to be a boyfriend. But I assure you, I’m entirely trainable.”

She sniffed, and I curled my hands into fists when I stood from the bed.

“Rule number seven. I am always going to be there for you, in any capacity that you’ll allow me. See also- Wine-bringer, hug-giver, kiss-recipient, willing sex slave and partner in life.” Her voice trailed off at the end, and she sniffed again. I had to look up at the ceiling to blink rapidly.

“Where are you, Michael?” she asked quietly, and I heard her pick up the last piece of paper and unfold it with painstaking slowness. She was right outside the bedroom door, and I could hear every single inhale from her perfect lips.

“Rule number eight.” Her swallow was audible, and she sucked in a shaky breath. “Guard each other’s hearts. Respect them, protect them, and cherish them over anyone else’s. Never, ever break them.”

She turned the corner, eyes on the floor for more papers, when she saw me standing there.

“Hi.”

Her smile was slow, and her face was wet with tears. “Hi.”

She didn’t move at first and I swallowed roughly. “I’m really glad you didn’t kill me for doing this.”

Brooke laughed and folded her hands primly in front of her. “Me too.” Then she lifted an eyebrow. “Though it really was presumptuous of you. What if I hadn’t sent you that text?” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “What if I’d told you to get the hell out?”

I took a step closer and then it was her turn to swallow. “I would’ve kept trying. I never would’ve given up.”

“How stalker-ish of you.”

Maybe I would’ve believed her, if a tear hadn’t slipped down her face. Or if her eyes weren’t looking up at me the way they were, so full of relief. No one had ever looked at me the way Brooke was right now: like she’d never get enough of me. Of us.

Slowly, I walked the rest of the way to her and cupped her face in my hands, brushing away her tears with my thumbs until there was nothing on her skin that didn’t deserve to be there. Her hands slid around my waist, and she tucked her fingers into the waistband of my jeans.

“You know what’s weird?” I asked, fully aware that I was probably messing it up.

“What?”

“Falling in love with you was easy.”

She blinked rapidly, and her deep brown eyes filled all over again. Her smile spread quickly though. “That’s weird, huh?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I always thought falling in love would be scary. That it would be hard. But it wasn’t with you. I was there before I even knew what happened to me. And I think … I think it’s because I was always meant to do this. I’m in a thousand percent, Brooke. With you, and the kids. I was meant to be right here with you.”

“You were,” she said immediately, without a moment’s hesitation. She pushed up on tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to my mouth. We held like that for a second before she pulled back and met my eyes. “Because I was meant to love you too. And I do.”

I wrapped her in my arms, breathed in the sweet, clean scent of her hair where I pressed my nose. We pulled away at the same time, and I kissed her deeply, sweeping my tongue into her mouth and groaning at the taste of her. It was glorious. Her hands dug into my hair and she tilted her head, taking me even further into her, into us. I lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist.

Turning us, I braced one hand on the bed so she didn’t have to let go of me when I laid her down. We kissed and kissed and kissed. Soft, small ones. Deep, writhing kisses that made her whimper. Our hands never left each other’s bodies, but neither of us moved to take it further than the kisses.

I could’ve kissed her forever. I wanted to kiss her forever.

When I leaned up on one elbow so I could see her face, she smiled up at me so sweetly that my heart skipped a beat. A manly sort of skip. Full of testosterone.

“Do you know when I realized that I might actually have a chance with you after all the shit that happened?”

“Hmm.” She traced the edge of my lips with her fingertip, and I pressed a small kiss to the fleshy pad. “When?”

I swallowed, praying I wasn’t making a mistake by bringing it up, even though we’d both texted our apologies. I needed to look into her eyes, say the things that scared me. “When you were so mad at me. That night at my house.” Her face registered surprise, but she didn’t interrupt, merely burrowed deeper into my arms. “If I’d seen a man walk out of your place so soon after we fought, I would’ve gone crazy,” I admitted.

“Because you were mine.” She kissed me again, wrapped her arms around my neck and spoke against my mouth. “I went crazy because you were mine. I just hadn’t admitted to myself yet.”

Carefully, I unhooked her arm from around my neck so I could see her face. “Nothing happened, Brooke. I swear it. The second I let her in, I knew it was stupid to have her there, when the only woman I wanted was you.”

She looked into my eyes and gave me a tiny smile. “I think I believed you right away, I just needed my heart to catch up with what I’d just seen. That can take a little longer sometimes.”

I smoothed a hand up her back, underneath the thin layer of her sweater. “It can. But either way, if you’d been disgusted, or annoyed, I don’t think I would’ve felt so optimistic about my little plan here.”

“Yeah,” she said on a laugh. “Speaking of that. Did you come up with it all by yourself?”

I blew air through my lips. “Hell yeah, I did. I’m really creative.”

Brooke laughed so hard that the bed shook, and I joined her. Then she rolled over me and straddled my lap. My hands settled in the curve of her hips and I sat up so I could kiss her. Her eyes focused on the nightstand clock.

“We’ve got about forty-five minutes before Julia brings the twins back.”

“Oh yeah?”

She nodded, her bottom lip pinned between her teeth, and then she pulled her sweater off. My hands left her hips so that I could trace a line starting at the bottom of her throat, down between her breasts, and onto the soft skin of her stomach.

“Rule number nine,” she said in a husky voice. “Taking off my bra is always your job.”

“Ooh. I like that rule.” My fingers slid behind her back so I could unhook the clasp. Brooke leaned down to kiss across my chest and I sucked in a breath when she bit down on the muscle in my shoulder.

“Don’t you think we should have an even ten?” she asked while her fingers worked on my belt buckle.

“I don’t think I can think at all right now,” I said while I stared at her above me. She laughed, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders to cover her chest.

“Come on.” She pouted. “You can think of something.”

I sat up and weaved my fingers into her hair, cupping the back of her head before I kissed her. When I pulled back, her eyes were hazy and her lips swollen.

“Rule number ten,” I said, memorizing every part of her in that moment. “Love me forever.”

She smiled. “I can do that.”

“Good.” I rolled us and stretched out over her. “Let’s start now.”