Page 160 of The Defender

I laughed. “No. But besides the pancakes, I was also thinking about you.”

“Really?” She raised a playful eyebrow. “Tell me more.”

“I was thinking about how good you look in this shirt…” I ran a hand over her bare thigh. She was wearing a football shirtsimilar to the one she’d worn during our first-everBake Offviewing together, only this one had my name on the back. “And how good you smell…” I kissed the sensitive spot below her ear. A shiver ran through her body. “And how glad I am that you’re here.”

“Are you trying to butter me up for something later?” she teased, but her voice hitched when I trailed another kiss down her neck.

“Maybe. Is it working?”

“Maybe.” Brooklyn pulled back and tilted her head to her left. “But not in front of company.”

Oh, shit.

I glanced over at where Truffle the pig stared at us from his designated armchair. He wore a black and purple shirt withUnofficial Blackcastle Mascotprinted across the front.

Stevens was out of town for the weekend, so I’d volunteered to pet-sit while he was gone.

So far, Truffle had been an exemplary houseguest—cute, polite, and quite clean, no matter what the Angry Boar’s owner said. But right now, he was definitely judging us hard.

“Sorry, buddy,” I said as Brooklyn laughed. “I forgot you were there for a second.”

He oinked his dissatisfaction.

I walked over, picked him up, and set him in my lap as the show resumed onscreen. My late-night plans with Brooklyn would have to wait, but I couldn’t be too upset.

She snuggled up against my side again, and a wave of contentment washed over me.

I’d played in sold-out stadiums across Europe.

I’d launched a record-breaking campaign with Zenith and had more money than I could spend in a lifetime.

They were shining accomplishments in my life, but they weren’t everything. I didn’t need that external validationanymore. I’d even deleted my birth mum’s number from my phone. After everything that had happened over the past year, I realized I couldn’t care less why she gave me up.

She’d never been part of my life, and I’d rather focus on the people who wanted to be here.

I wrapped my arm tighter around Brooklyn and kissed the top of her head. She shifted slightly, settling closer to me with a happy sigh.

Nothing beat moments like this—sitting on the sofa with the woman I loved, watching my favorite show and knowing everything I needed was right here in my arms.

I’d lived in this house for years, but Brooklyn’s presence changed everything.

For the first time in my life, I understood what it meant to be truly home.

He can resist any woman in the world…except for the one he shouldn’t want.