Page 13 of Worth Every Moment

“Oh no, you don’t.” Before she can object, I scoop her up in my arms and carry her down the corridor.

“Oof. Are you going to carry me everywhere today?”

“If you’ll let me.”

I take a few more steps, but I’ve already carried her a lot today and this corridor is long. The urge to forcibly exhale creeps up on me, but I hold those fuckers in.I will not pant.

“You sound like you’re straining.”

“I’m not,” I reply through gritted teeth.

She sighs. “I get it. I’m tall. I’m heavy. You can put me down.”

Absolutely not.“You,” I say, summoning a burst of Herculean strength as I hike her up and over my shoulder in a movement so smooth it would make the London Fire Brigade jealous, “are perfect.” Making sure there’s no danger of hurting her ankle, I secure her in place with one forearm over her thighs, the upper half of her body hanging down my back. “I could do this all day.”

She squeals, her hands thumping against my shoulder blades. “Oh, my God. Put me down.”

“Nope.” I take the last few strides towards her front door. “I’m carrying you over the threshold.” I chuckle at the bad married couple joke, but Erica doesn’t laugh.Awkward. “Where are your keys?”

I take another step and a huffing pant escapes me.Nearly there.

Erica prods my lats. “Are these muscles just for show, big guy?”

I deliberately jerk her against my shoulder, and she puffs like it shunted air from her lungs. “Fuck off, Lefroy. My muscles are decorativeandfunctional. Where are the keys?”

“Pocket,” she says, shifting awkwardly against my shoulder.

I hold her tighter. “Which pocket?”

“Put me down, I’ll get them.”

“Nuh-uh.” Trying to avoid grabbing her arse, I shift my free hand on her hip until I hear the jangle of her keys, hidden in a pocket of her grey tracksuit bottoms. I tap them with one finger. “I’m going in. Any objections? Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

Ah, fuck. Stop dropping wedding shit into normal conversation. If I don’t watch it, I’ll start accidentally humming the wedding march.

“You are so bad,” she says on a laugh. “Do not put your hand in my pocket.”

I try and slide a finger in, but given how she’s pinned against my shoulder, it’s impossible to gain access. “Fuck. I gotta put you down after all.”

“Damn,” she laments, thumping my back one more time. “I’m just starting to get comfy up here.”

“Shit, really?” I spin and start walking back the way we came. “Because I can keep going.”

She giggles. “Stop, Seb. Put me down. I get it. You're very big and very strong. Big man Seb can carry woman all day.”

“And?” I say, prompting her for more.

“And you're my best friend in the whole world.”

My grin splits wide. “Good girl.” Turning back to her door, I set her gently on her feet and she offers me the beautiful smile she rarely reveals in public. We must look crazy, standing here grinning at one another. She laughs, I laugh, andfuckI love this woman. “Really wanted to carry you over that threshold though.”

Her eyes gleam a little. “Oh, yeah? Why?”

I ruffle a hand in my hair, and that strange, awkward feeling washes over me again. The silence stretches a bit too long before I answer. “Because I’ll probably never get married, so this is as close as I’ll ever get.”

Erica frowns, takes the keys from me, unlocks her front door, and pushes it open. “Why do you think you won’t get married?”

Because you’ll never have me.“Because then I’d have to give up all the women.”