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She is incredible.

Truly.

In every way.

My refrigerator is filled with all the items we need to make our Thanksgiving dinner a total success, the guest bedrooms are ready for occupancy, and I’m lying back in total relaxation after she just swallowed my come, my own breath hot with the tang of her pussy.

And it’s not just that we finished a round of top-notch sex a minute ago, but it’s the fact that all the small tasks that I needed to accomplish before my family came to visit got done…and we had fun doing them.

That’s part of what I’ve found with Gabby: fun.

My last relationship was never fun. It was a chore. It was avoidance and dread, and the more I’m able to look at it with the ability of hindsight, the more I see how wrong Stacy and I always were for each other.

With Gabby, it’s light and easy. We’ve had our hard times, and certainly there will be even harder times ahead, but I feel so free when we’re together—ironic since I’m not free at all but instead I’m wrapped around her finger.

She just has this way about her that’s fucking addictive.

“When does their flight get in again?” she asks on a yawn. She’s settled into my side, her head on the nook of my shoulder and my arm around her.

My fingers flex on her arm, and I lean up to glance at the clock. “About an hour. We have maybe twenty minutes before we need to get dressed and head out the door.”

“K. I’m just gonna take a quick nap.”

She’s asleep maybe twelve seconds later, and I thought she was just kidding.

Moving as little as possible so as not to disturb her, I lean back so I can look at her. My view is from an odd angle—the slide of her nose, the tops of her lashes—and somehow even from here there’s a simple beauty about her. It’s in the way she can just be. Whatever we’re doing doesn’t have to be loud and flashy. Instead, she knows how to be quiet and understated, a quality the women in my previous relationships just didn’t have. A quality I’ve fallen for in a way that terrifies me.

I let her sleep until we have to get dressed, and I spend the time studying her as the overwhelming feelings rush through my chest. I didn’t know something like this could exist, and it would be absolutely perfect if we just didn’t have to keep hiding.

But we do.

And the tragedy in that slices through me.

I order a car big enough to carry my entire family back to my place, and she comes with me.

On the way to the airport, she reaches over and grabs my hand in the backseat. “You’re quiet.”

I look over at her, one side of my mouth tipping up in a smile. “Just thinking about how much I love you.”

Her eyes soften and even get a little misty, and she squeezes my hand where she holds it. “I love you, too.”

It’s only been two and a half months, yet it’s been enough time for me to know I want forever. I want to tell her that, but how can I when we haven’t even told her father?

I think about Mike’s words about not telling Troy until we’re about to walk down the aisle. It’s not like we’re going to get married before the season starts, and with Troy’s recovery, actually telling him seems to keep getting pushed further and further down the road.

I squeeze her hand back. It’s okay. As long as her hand is in mine, I guess we’ll figure out the rest when we need to.

The flight is on time, and I spot Connor first. He’s six-five, so he tends to stand out in the crowd, and his boisterous laughter announces his arrival as my family makes their way down the escalator toward baggage claim, where the two of us are standing.

Marissa holds Jacob’s hand like he’s still five and not nine, Ethan is talking to his dad, and my mom looks all around before her eyes land on me with Gabby by my side.

I’m semi-incognito with my baseball hat on, doing my best to blend into the crowd, but the moment my mother spots me, her face breaks out into a wide smile.

This is going to be a fun weekend.

And I’m not wrong. My mom practically runs across the airport to grab me up in a hug. Gabby’s next, and everyone seems excited to be here.

“When can we hit the tables?” Connor asks as he pounds my back, and I chuckle.

“You’re the one toting around two underage boys, so you tell me.”

He shoots his wife a pleading look, and I can’t help but laugh when she glares at him.

“We just landed, Connor!” Marissa says, total exasperation in her voice. “Give it a break. Besides, don’t you think the tables will cause your blood pressure to spike?”

Connor rolls his eyes. “I’m fine. We’re in Vegas, baby! You gotta let me have some fun while we’re here!”

My mom squishes his cheeks between her fingers. “We’ll have lots of fun. Family fun.”

He huffs out a sigh that’s mostly for show.

I lean into his side and tell him not very quietly, “Don’t worry. We’ll find some time for brotherly bonding.”

He fist bumps me, and then we head toward baggage claim to grab their luggage before we hop back into the car waiting for us and travel toward home.

The car is filled with warmth and laughter. My hand clutches Gabby’s, and I take a minute to sort of mentally step back and just enjoy the moment. It feels perfect—Gabby laughing and joking with my mom, the boys in awe of the huge backseat we’re sharing, my brother with his arm tossed around his wife, whispering something to her as she giggles.

This weekend will be filled with these warm feelings, and it all starts now. I just can’t wait to keep them going for, say…the rest of our lives.