Page 52 of Promise Me, Katie (Bennett Sisters #1)

Three days later, they were wide awake at two a.m.

“Do you think she’s okay?” Katherine whispered in the dark.

“Of course she’s okay,” Matthew whispered back. “You know she’d be fussing if she wasn’t.”

“That’s true.”

As the room fell silent again, Matthew could sense a restlessness in Katherine. “But you still wanna check on her, don’t you?

“No…”

“Tell the truth,” he teased.

“Okay, yes. I wanna go check on Libby. Is that such a bad thing?”

Matthew snickered. “Come on, I’ll go with you.”

Climbing out of bed, they walked carefully down the hallway even though it was no longer necessary. Matthew’s dad had replaced the creaky floorboards two weeks ago, making the sound of their footsteps barely noticeable.

“See…” he said softly when they peeked inside Libby’s bedroom. “That’s three nights in a row. Now, do you believe me when I say she doesn’t wake up in the middle of the night anymore?”

Katherine smiled, watching Libby’s little body rise and fall with each breath. “Yes, I believe you.”

“But you still wanna stand here and watch her sleep?”

“Maybe…”

With a low, rumbling growl from the back of his throat, Matthew leaned down, wrapped his arms around Katherine, and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

“Matthew!” she whispered and squirmed. “You’ll wake the baby!”

“Then tell me to stop, and I’ll stop.”

Turning inside the circle of his arms, she looked up into his beautiful blue eyes. “I missed this.”

“And we missed you.”

“I don’t ever wanna feel that way again.”

“Then marry me.”

“Okay…”

“That’s it?” Matthew’s eyes widened in surprise. “That’s all it takes to convince you?”

“Did you want me to play hard to get?”

“That’s the last thing I wanted you to do.”

“Okay…” Katherine smiled. “Then, yes, Matthew, I will marry you.”

Biting back a laugh, he took her by the hand, led her to his bedroom, and laid her down next to him. As she snuggled against his chest, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I can’t wait to marry you.”

“Ditto.”