Page 30 of Making Home with You

“Yes, sir!”

“I’ll be home by six,” I tell her before we say our goodbyes.

The rest of the day goes smoothly.I don’t hear from Carla again and while Sam is no closer to finding out who vandalized her shop, I’m hoping it’s the end of her bothering me with her bullshit.

I end up clocking off early, so by the time Sarah shows up, I’m home, showered, changed, and ready to take her out.

“Hey,” she says, smiling up at me when I open the front door.

“Mmmm,” I say, pulling her close and planting a hard kiss on her lips.When I pull back, I spy the overnight bag in her hand and I grin, taking it from her.“Staying the night?”

Sarah bites her bottom lip.“If that’s okay?”

I pull her inside, closing the front door and backing her up against it.“It’s definitely okay,” I say, dropping her bag and sliding my arms around her waist.“Stay the whole weekend,” I add before kissing her again, deeper this time.

Sarah groans, her hands slipping around my waist and pulling me closer.

“I thought you wanted a night on the town,” I murmur.

“Mmmm,” she says, smiling against my mouth.

I chuckle.“Come on,” I say, stepping backward.Sarah stares up at me, a look on her face that says she isn’t happy I stopped things.“I promise we’ll finish this later,” I tell her, grabbing her hand and leading her outside to my car.

“You better,” she mutters.

We end up at O’Loughlin’s, partly because it’s one of the few places that’s open in the winter months and partly because ever since Ryan came on board, the food has improved considerably.It had been a good move getting him involved and I know as soon as summer hits and the tourists arrive, we’ll be raking it in.

I hold open the door, ushering Sarah inside.The place is half full and I immediately feel every set of eyes on us as I step in behind her, my hand resting on her hip.

“Oh, so I guess this explains why you never showed up last night,” comes my brother’s voice as we head over to the bar and take a seat, Beck’s eyes flicking from me to Sarah and back again.

“Hey,” I say to him.“Sorry about that, had other plans.”

“Clearly,” he says, raising an eyebrow at me.

“So, yeah, Sarah and I are…well, you know,” I say, shrugging as I glance at Sarah.

She smiles back at me before turning to Beck.“Dating,” she adds.

Beck smiles at her, giving a nod as he says, “So Ryan finally knows, huh?”

Sarah rolls her eyes.“Shit, you guys knew too?”she asks.

Beck laughs.“You do know Erin and Kels are best friends, right?”he says.“And that Erin has a big mouth.”

“God, is there anyone who didn’t know?”I ask.

Beck glances around the room.“Not anymore,” he says, grinning.“You guys eating?”

I nod, just as Kelsey walks up, smiling at us.“Hi,” she says, kissing me on the cheek before hugging Sarah.“Where were you last night?”she asks me.

Sarah glances at me again, a questioning look on her face.“Family dinner,” I tell her, before looking at Kelsey.“Sorry, had other plans.”

Kelsey gives me a wry smile.“So next time, bring your plans with you,” she says, glancing at Sarah.

“Okay, okay, message received,” I say, standing.“We’re going to grab a table and have some dinner.”

Sarah stands and I put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.“Do you guys want to join us?”she asks.