Page 103 of Too Far

I love it when she’s feisty. I love it even more that she’s so unconditionally supportive.

“Come here.” I grin and wave both hands until she’s biting back her own smile and waltzing back into my arms. “I love you,” I murmur into her hair. “I promise not to apologize for my arthritis again, but can I at least say thank you?”

With a drawn-out sigh, she snakes her arms around my waist and melts into me. “Yes. That, I can accept.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much, Joey. For loving me. For sticking it out on the bad days. For making me tea and forcing me to sleep.” My chest gets tight, and I have to clear my throat before I can continue. “For just being present and doing everything in your power to support me.”

She sniffles against my chest. “Always, Nicky. I’ll always be here for you. On the good days. But especially on the hard days.”

I smooth my hand over her hair, savoring just how incredible it is to have her back in my arms.

“There’ll be more hard days in the future,” I warn. “Weeks. Hell, maybe even months or years.” I pull in a breath and let it out slowly. Fuck, I hate the inevitable truth of chronic illness. “I’ll have flare-ups for the rest of my life.”

My girl tips her head back and rests her chin on my sternum. Her smile is soft and sincere when she says, “We’ll face every hard day together.”

I’m damn near teary eyed as I bow low to kiss her. It’s one thing to stick with a person through the good days. It’s hard for me to accept that this woman loves me enough to slog through my lowest lows, especially knowing there’s no limit to how low I’ll go or how long that low will last.

“I love you, Hot Girl. I know it’s been awful for you these last few weeks. Maybe the fresh mountain air is what you need, too. I love this place. I think you will, too.” Pulling back, I take her hand. “Come on. I want to show you around.”

“Wait.” She doesn’t budge when I tug on her hand. “You’ve been here before?”

“Been here?” I tease. Just the thought of this place makes me feel lighter. “This is one of my top five favorite places in the world.”She grins and turns to retrieve her bag from the car. I take it from her, grasp her hand once more, and start up the incline toward the house, following the stone path that leads to the wraparound porch.

“What are your other top favorite places?” she asks, squeezing my hand.

“Beach. Pantry. My bed.”

I side-eye her and waggle my brows.

“And buried inside you.”

Chapter 48

Kylian

Forgetthegod-forsakenbeachand the sand that’s impossible to leave behind when it’s time to leave; give me a cabin built into the side of a snow-crested mountain any day.

The visible puffs of our exhalations create a cloud of hazy carbon dioxide that drifts over the ledge of the porch as it evaporates into the atmosphere.

Jo sits up and reaches toward the planks of the heated deck. I wrap one arm around her legs to hold her steady as the hammock sways gently.

She takes a sip of her hot toddy—courtesy of Mrs. Lansbury, who’s been at the cabin since yesterday when we finalized our evacuation plans—then sets it on the ground, lies back against my arm, and sighs.

“You good, Mama?” Kendrick asks from the other end of the deck.

He’s helping Jade and Emilia do their school assignments for the week. Standing between them, he looks on and offers corrections as needed. Except he’s messed up two equations so far. Maybe he’s trying to make it appear as if a fourth-grader really did complete the assignment.

“Better than good,” our girl replies. She stretches. Leans over the edge again. Makes the fabric of her thin black leggings pull tight around her ass as she bends to take another sip of her drink.

I can’t see her face, but based on the hungry look Kendrick’s sporting, I would guess she’s eye-fucking him right back.

One of the twins asks a question, and Kendrick turns away, breaking their spell.

Jo relaxes back into the hammock between us.

“I can see why you love it here,” she murmurs to Nicky as she snuggles closer.

With a relaxed hum, he smooths one hand down her body so his tattooed knuckles rest between her thighs.