Noah got up, walked around the table, and hugged the hell out of Shay. His voice was deeper than usual, with feeling. “Thanks, Shay. It was your dream and now it’s coming true for all of us.”
Harper got up next, clearing his throat, and hugged Shay. “You’re one of a kind, lady,” he said, his voice muffled against her cheek. “Thank you.” He released her and turned quickly away, wiping his eyes before sitting down at the table once more.
Garret reached out because he sat at her right elbow. Squeezing her hand, he said, “Now who is gonna cook for all of us? Are you kicking us out of your house?”
Shay clung to Garret’s large, scarred hand. “Well, that’s something we need to discuss as a group.” She looked at Reese and said, “I do like the idea of having my kitchen back. Reese and I were thinking that maybe on Sundays, all of us would meet here for midafternoon dinner? Garret? You could cook for all of us then, if you felt like it. If not, I can do the cooking, no problem.”
Garret gave Noah and Harper a look with his eyebrows raised. “Oh, you two are in big trouble. You’ll have to cook for yourselves. That is gonna be interesting to see. Neither of you can boil water.” He snickered. He devoted his attention to Shay. “I’m fine with that. How about you vets?”
Noah said, “Sounds good to me.” His lips lifted. “At least we’ll get one good meal a week.”
Harper groaned. “I’m in deep trouble. But yes, Shay, you deserve to have your house and your kitchen back. I like the idea of a family Sunday dinner together.”
*
Shay snuggled into Reese’s arms, their damp bodies against one another. Her lower body rippled with the glow of orgasm and she sank into the intense satisfaction he had given her. She sighed, nuzzling her face against the hard line of his jaw. Relishing his arms around her, drawing her against him, he pulled up the sheet to their waists. Their hearts were still pounding and she placed her palm over his. “I feel like I’m in a dream,” she confided.
“I do too.” He sighed. “At least,” he said against her hair, caressing her nape and damp shoulder, “there’s been no nightmares since we’ve started sleeping together.”
Shay heard the amazement in Reese’s low, gruff tone. It had been nearly a month since they’d started to test the waters with one another. “Well,” she said, smiling against his neck, “we’re making love nearly every night. That’s enough to make anyone sleep like a baby afterward.” Shay heard him chuckle, felt the rumble through his chest beneath her hand.
“Whatever magic we have together, it is working,” he agreed, kissing her hair, caressing her cheek.
“Are you worried about it as much now, Reese?” she asked, lifting her lashes and moving back enough to engage his gaze.
The changes in him had been nothing short of stunning to Shay. The tension that was always around his eyes, was gone. Reese slept deep and hard every night. She knew because sometimes she’d awaken in the middle of the night, finding him snoring softly, dead to the world. Most of all, he was regaining his confidence in himself in large and small ways. Shay knew it was because they loved one another. Her heart swelled with quiet joy. She couldn’t think of two people who deserved happiness more than they did. It wasn’t a complete antidote to PTSD, but at least they had one another, and it helped them through the rugged moments they still had from time to time.
“No, my worry has been pretty much laid to rest,” he admitted to her quietly, skimming her brow with his index finger. “I guess it’s in my nature to worry a little.”
She saw the love clearly in his eyes. “Good,” she murmured, smoothing her hand across his chest. He was a tall man, built lean, and he’d muscled up, reminding Shay of a boxer in his prime.
Reese eased onto his elbow, settling Shay on her back so he could study her in the moonlight drifting through the lacy curtains at the window. “I want to marry you, Shay.”
Her breath caught for a moment. Lifting her hand, she touched his chest, seeing how serious he’d become. “We’ve only known one another since May.”
Shrugging, he traced her eyebrow with his thumb, continuing to caress her warm, velvet cheek. “It’s long enough for me. What about you?” He gauged her suddenly very serious expression. “I’m okay with waiting, too. It’s whatever you want, Shay. All I want is for you to be happy.”