Page 202 of Heartless

“I just got offered the writing fellowship.”His lips caressed my temple again, and I leaned into the tender touch.“Mom wanted me to go, and when I told her I was staying with her, we had a huge fight.And Mom could yell the house down when she was angry.”

His chest shook with the low drum of his chortle.“That must have been something, her yelling while you went deadly quiet.”He nuzzled the back of my ear.“She just wanted you to have the best in life.”

The memory was bittersweet, so my smile was wobbly when I twisted to tilt it to him.

“I know, but all I needed was her.”

He cupped my cheek, and his voice was thick.“Yeah.”

After a breathtakingly soft kiss, I returned to my previous position.The last picture made the back of my eyes burn.Mom and I were in our favorite Indian restaurant, seated side by side and laughing.

My breath hitched, and I burrowed deeper into Jake.“The week after that, we went to the hairdresser to have her hair shaved before chemo.”

He gently pulled the pictures from my fingers and placed them on the arm of the sofa before shifting us, so I was lying under him.

Hooking his forearms under my shoulders, he grazed the pad of his thumbs along my temples.

“Tomorrow, we’ll get some frames and put Caitlin on the mantel with the rest of the family.”

I brushed my fingertips on the corner of his mouth.

“The first time I met you, I told her I’d met a man with the sexiest name, and that I knew he was going to be important.”

His gaze grew intense, which sent my heartbeat into a gallop.“It’s yours when you want it.”

“What is?”

The gravel of his low voice enwrapped me in us.“My name.”

My heart jolted, and I blinked at him.“Wh-what?”

“We’ll travel the world.I’ll take you to all the games, concerts, and matches you can bear.I’ll eat every Indian dish you make, and I’ll buy you a horse.I’ll be in the first row when you dance, and when your books become best sellers.”More emotion weighed in his tone, making his voice husky.“And when you’re ready, we’ll have beautiful children because they’ll have their mother’s eyes.”

The tears I could no longer hold drifted down my temples.

“Sienna Rhodes?”I murmured.

There was a growl in his voice I felt everywhere.“Now, that’s the fucking sexiest name.”

Then he kissed me.