Irresistible Bachelors: Books 1-5 by Landish, Lauren (classic literature books .TXT) 📗

I gave you the keys. It’s yours. Sure, there’s a part of me that’s hoping that I can just move my stuff in with you. If not, I’ll pay rent to Oli on my house until I can find another place. My address isn’t important. You are. I don’t mean to jump ahead of things, but I’ve been thinking long-term with us. Who knows? One day, maybe have a family and a dog. The whole fantasy . . . if that’s what you want. It’s what I’ve always wanted.”

Cassie doesn’t say anything for a moment, and I start feeling nervous until she gives me a smirk, biting her lip. “So, what are you doing tomorrow?”

I give her a look, my heart hammering in my chest. What I said, everything I did—there was always the chance to back out. Now there isn’t, and Wendy Reinhardt’s ghost tugs at me for a half second before I shove it away. This is Cassie, and I love her with all my heart. There’s no reason to hold back. “Uh, tomorrow? Nothing, I guess. Why?”

“Well you said one day. How about we start tomorrow? We can move our things in and it’ll be our house. Our home. I want that fantasy too, house, family, dog, all of it. With you.”

“I think I can add it to my to-do list. Sounds like a plan. Gotta put my truck to work somehow.” Instead of tickles, I attack her with kisses. She screams all the same, but this time, she’s fighting to get closer to me.Cassie

It’s been six months to the day since we moved into our house. It still gives me chills to think of it that way. Our house. The house we tore apart, rebuilt, and created together. Somewhere in there, as we fixed the house, we fixed each other.

Sure, we’ve both had times when our issues have given us challenges. He understood, though, and in a move that might have taken a few extra hours and quite a few people by surprise, Caleb took me on a few visits to Ms. Steele’s friends who wanted to fix him up with their daughters. We even developed an ‘assistant costume’ for me, a sports bra, a low-cut tank top, and coveralls that showed off all of my curves for any who didn’t get the message by my merely showing up on their doorstep.

Actually, it led to one of our funniest incidents when the daughter, rather than getting the message that Caleb was unavailable, decided to hit on me. We both had a laugh after that, along with a night filled with passionate lovemaking where we got to use some of my toy collection in ways that we hadn’t tried before. Exhausting, but fun, and I’m glad we skipped our Sunday run that morning.

Today, we’re celebrating our half-anniversary the same way we do every night, swinging in the porch swing as the sun sets. It’ll be too cold to keep it up soon, but for now, we just wrap up in a blanket in each other’s arms and then head inside to warm up when it gets to be too cold. Caleb’s taken care of it, of course, and we’ve got enough logs split and stacked to keep the brand new woodburning stove in the living room going every night we want.

Getting out of my car, I hurry toward the house, Caleb already waiting for me on the porch, blanket at the ready and a cup of cocoa waiting for me. I give him a quick kiss and run inside, changing hurriedly so I don’t miss it. Dashing back out, he holds the blanket open for me, and I snuggle in next to his body, enjoying the heat he gives off as I try to warm up. As we sit, me curled up with my legs beside me and his arm wrapped around my shoulders so that I can rest my head on his chest to hear his heartbeat, he uses one toe to swing us slowly as the sun drops just below the horizon. Once the sun’s disappeared and the sky is a single blaze of gold and red, he finally speaks. “So how was your day?” he asks.

“Good,” I reply, nestling against him. “We got your old house rented out, by the way. A pair of students from the university. Oh, and that reminds me. He had a question for me today. What would you say about you and me partnering together on another renovation? I had my eye on a tri-plex.”

Caleb raises an eyebrow. “Going into business for yourself?”

“No, I’ll be partnering with Oli. You know I don’t have the money to do it all myself. Yet.”

“Well, that sounds good. But I had another idea,” Caleb says. I smile and look up at him. He’s holding up a ring, and my mouth drops open as I pop up onto my knees. “Really? Caleb? Oh, my God . . . yes!”

Caleb laughs, pushing my scrabbling hands away. “Cass, I haven’t asked you anything yet. You mind if I do that bit traditionally?”

I try to calm down, really I do, but I’m buzzing with electricity inside as he takes my hand. Shrugging off the blanket, he gets off the porch swing and gets down on a knee. He clears his throat, and when he speaks, his voice is quavery, loaded with emotion and thick with feeling. “Cass, I love you so much. I didn’t think I would ever take a chance on love again, but with you, I don’t have a choice. I love you so much that I have to be with you. Cass, will you be my forever fuck buddy?”

The tears that have been pouring from my eyes stop in an instant and I push on his chest a little bit. “Hey, you’d better get serious before I take my biggest dildo to your ass!”

Caleb laughs, and even I have to crack a smile. Face it, that’s just us. We’re not going to have a