She laughed at the silliness of it all, even as she had to admit his thoughts weren’t too far off the mark. “I was trying to calculate how long a person could stay in bed having sex without needing food or water.”
“And miss out on the decadence of having food in bed after sex?”
“You’re hungry?”
“For you, always.” He bent down and pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “For pizza?” A wry smile lit his face. “Always.”
Sera laughed again, pure, simple joy roaring through her in a flood. For the magic of being together again. And the warm, wonderful reassurance of his body covering hers.
“Now that you mention pizza, I am a bit hungry.” She tickled his side, the motion enough to have him moving slightly, giving her the opportunity to slide out from beneath him and neatly flip their position.
And while she was hungry for pizza—and would dial up her favorite neighborhood delivery in a bit—she was more interested in exploring the man in her bed a bit longer.
Or forever.
The thought whispered through her, beating in time with the heavy pumping of her blood.
Where that would have scared her even a week before, now...it didn’t. And wasn’t that a miracle in and of itself? The belief she wasn’t worthy of something good and lasting—or worse, that she was incapable of it—had faded. What was actually fear, way down deep, that she’d held to so tightly for so long had been upended by this man.
By his patience. His insistence. And by the amazing fact that he showed up, fully present. Hadn’t that been something of a revelation? From the first moments of knowing about the pregnancy, he’d made it clear he wasn’t going anywhere. He was a part of his child’s life, and nothing about that had wavered, not for one single instant.
And maybe, if she took the leap and voiced what she wanted, he’d stay for her, too.
It was a risk, Sera knew. But the reward was so very great.
Bending down from where she straddled his hips, she kissed him. And in the sweetness of meeting lips and the responsive male beneath her, Sera finally knew what she needed.
To be happy.
To feel safe.
To find her future.
All of it was more important—even more than sex or food or the safe cocoon she locked herself in—if she wanted to find the pathway to a future for her and her child.
And it all rested with Gavin.
“I love you.”
The words she’d never spoken as an adult felt right. Perfect, actually.
His dark eyes never wavered from hers, but the hands that had settled on her lower back while they’d kissed moved to gently cup her cheeks.
“I love you, Sera. I want to build a future with you. For our child, yes, but with you. Somehow, someway, I sensed that from the very first moments.”
“Me, too.” She closed her eyes before allowing them to pop back open. Here. With him. There was nothing to hide from. “I ran out on New Year’s Day because I didn’t believe this could be real. That you couldn’t actually feel this way about someone so quickly. But I was wrong.”
He lifted to meet her halfway for a kiss, their love for each other wrapping around them. And as she sank into him, the two of them falling back to the bed, it was a long while later before either of them thought about anything but each other.
“I have to hand it to you, Gavin Hayes. Sex pizza is pretty great.”
“Sex pizza?” Gavin asked, still floating on a satisfied mix of outrageously good sex, perfect pizza dough and the woman beside him in bed.
The woman he loved.
“I can’t say I’ve had all that much sex pizza.” She eyed him as she took a small bite of her cheese slice. “Or any sex pizza since I assume it requires sticking around and sharing a meal. But I have to say, it’s an inspired choice.”
If he were honest, he couldn’t say he’d had all that much “sex pizza,” either. He’d had pizza after sex, standing alone in his kitchen, and he’d had it before, grabbing a slice somewhere before going out. But never in his life could he remember eating it naked in bed with a woman. “Me, either.”
“I wonder why that is. It’s pretty great.”
He leaned in and licked a small drop of sauce at the corner of her mouth she hadn’t yet gotten with her napkin. “It’s awesome with the right person. Which you most definitely are.” He reached for another slice from the heavy cardboard box they’d laid out in the middle of the bed. “But I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted this sort of intimacy with another person.”
“Sex is intimacy.”
“So’s eating food. And sharing stories. And talking. I never had that before you, Sera.”
“I’ve never had that, either.” The smile that filled her face dimmed, the carefree light seeming to fade from her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t help but think of Jayden. Of all he’s lost. I found you over these past few weeks, and he’s lost the same beautiful life.”
“I know.”
And he did know. The loss his friend was facing was the pain none of them could forget. The stark counterpoint to the sheer joy he felt in finding Sera again and preparing for their baby’s arrival.
Sera set down her pizza and turned, laying a hand on his arm. “He’s not alone. You, Kerrigan, all of you, really. You’ll see to that. But for him now? The future must feel like an endless stretch in front of him. Something to be dreaded instead of embraced.”
