Page 140 of Playing for Keeps

Yes, we were. Finally. It finally felt like Ethan and I were at the place where we were always supposed to be.

I closed my eyes and lay there enjoying the feel of Ethan, the warmth of him pressed against me.

When I’d come home from Japan, I’d been so determined that Ethan wouldn’t be an influence on my life or my decisions anymore.

How ridiculous was that?

From now on, Ethan would be at the core of every decision I made.

He shifted off my chest and I opened my eyes as he propped himself up on one elbow. His green eyes caught mine, his face as serious as I’d ever seen it.

“Do you want to move in with me?” he asked.

My heart clanged in my chest. Oh holy hell. Happiness surged through me, but I forced myself to tamp it down. “Are you sure that’s for the best? It might be easier on Theo if we take that part slow.”

Ethan bit his lip. When he released it, I couldn’t help leaning forward to kiss the indentation he’d left behind. We kissed slowly, sweetly. When he pulled back, his expression was thoughtful. “I actually think the more certainty we provide in this situation for Theo, the better,” he said.

“How do you mean?”

“If we’re going to tell him about us, then I want him to know exactly what it’s going to look like going forward. That’s what I hated the most when I was a kid, not knowing what was going to happen.”

“I get that,” I said quietly.

“And you’re already part of his family. It’s not like you’re a stranger.” He blew out a breath and gave me an uncertain smile. “That is, if you want to live with us.”

“Of course I want to live with you.”

Getting to wake up every day with Ethan? I couldn’t think of anything better.

His expression morphed into a cheeky grin. “I think we know each other well enough that there’s not going to be any nasty surprises, right?”

I huffed out a laugh. “I should hope not.”

Ethan’s smile faded. “I’m going to have to work out what to say to Theo though. How to explain to him we’re sharing the same bed.”

“You could put it in terms of monkeys,” I suggested.

He laughed loudly. “Because you did such a great job of that.”

“I believe I began with two monkeys loving each other,” I said. “I got that part right, didn’t I?”

Ethan’s eyes heated and he leaned forward to kiss me again. “Yeah, you definitely did.”

Chapter37

Ethan

Shit. I felt like I was going to throw up.

Luke tried to give me a reassuring smile but it was shaky. I knew he was freaking out too.

He was here so we could tell Theo that his uncle was moving in with me. We’d talked about it a lot in the last few weeks and agreed that now was the right time. Char was home and settled, and Theo was used to seeing Luke practically every day anyway.

However, I couldn’t help thinking about the times my mum had told me she was moving some new guy into the house. The first time, with Merv, I’d been excited about getting a new dad. But after that experience, a horrible feeling of fear would wrap itself around my throat every time she made an announcement.

And now I was about to do the same to Theo. Tell him that everything was about to change.

At least I had Char’s blessing. After her release from the treatment center, the first thing she’d tried to do was apologize to me. Luckily I’d been forewarned by Luke, so I’d cut her off and told her Theo was the best thing in my life and I wasn’t interested in hearing any kind of apology for the fact he existed.