Maverick gave her a quick, hard kiss. “Good. So we’re agreed. You’re going off the birth control. When are you due for the next shot?”
“September. But I’m pretty sure that’s not what we just agreed to.”
“That’s okay. I have the whole month of August to convince you.” Maverick stood up, water sluicing down his muscular frame. Ella remained where she was, admiring the view as he stepped out of the tub and dried off. Even after just coming, his dick was still riding at half-mast.
Once he was dry, he grabbed another towel and held it open for her, and it occurred to her the cabin—despite being a rental—was very homey and comfortable.
“Soft,” she said, when Maverick wrapped her up in the large towel and started drying her body.
“They’re new. Bought them for us.”
He’d made several comments so far about this house being theirs, but those words hadn’t truly sunk in until that moment. “For us?”
“The major renovations were finished just last week. There are still things left to do outside, like installing the hot tub, setting up the outdoor furniture and getting the firepit, but as for the interior, the place is ready for us to move in immediately. I’ve even stocked the fridge.”
“Thought you were giving me until tomorrow to decide?” she asked, slightly overwhelmed, but also wildly excited about the idea of them living together.
“Oh, I am. And as soon as you agree, we’re going to drive down to Edith’s to pack your suitcase and bring it here. Then, we’ll box up all my stuff at the farmhouse. After that, you and I are flying to Idaho to deal with your family. Do you want to keep your Gigi’s house?”
Ella shook her head. She’d made the decision to sell it last week, when she was sneaking cookies at midnight with Edith. “No. To be honest, Gigi encouraged me to sell it before she died. Said I should take the money and make a fresh start somewhere far, far away from my family.”
“A wise woman,” Maverick said, as they walked into the master bedroom.
“The wisest,” she agreed.
He pulled back the duvet, encouraging her to crawl in. It was late afternoon, and far too early to go to bed, but when Maverickfollowed her into the bed, climbing over her and caging her beneath him, she realized sleep wasn’t on either of their minds.
“I can fly home on my own,” she said. “I’m not sure how long it will take to sell the house and pack it up, and I know you have work.”
Maverick shook his head. “Nope. We’re doing that together. I’m not about to send you into the lion’s den alone. In fact, I have a few things I’d like to say to your dad. And your mom and sister.”
Ella liked the sound of that more than she should. “I have a few things to say myself.”
Maverick chuckled. “They won’t know what hit ’em.”
With that decided, words were no longer necessary.
Ella parted her legs, Maverick slipped back inside—holy recovery time—and they spent the rest of the afternoon and evening wrapped up together, dreaming, dozing, and planning their future.
This time, she wasn’t afraid of what it held.
Only excited.
And ready.
Chapter Thirteen
“We can’t hide out here forever,” Ella said, not bothering to lift her head from Maverick’s bare chest. “We both have jobs.”
It had been three days since Maverick whisked Ella away from the winery and dragged her to Hideaway cabin. Three days of nonstop, marathon sex, talking, cuddling, pigging out—because damn, they were burning off some calories—and getting reacquainted.
Ella had gone down to Edith’s briefly on Sunday to tell her she’d be spending a few more nights at Stormy Weather Farm. Maverick had been curious about Edith’s complete lack of surprise or questions, until Ella confessed that she’d told the older woman about their secret high school romance. Then she shared that Edith also believed in the Storm family legend, and she’d been the first to insist that Ella was Maverick’s true love.
Maverick would have to thank Edith the next time he saw her for paving the way on the family lore. He figured that must have helped him not sound like a complete lunatic when he insisted she was his.
He’d always found it easy to be with Ella, even when they were younger. With her, he was an open book, and there wasnothing he wouldn’t talk to her about. He’d known when they were in school that Ella played her cards close to her chest, but he never realized just how much she’d been holding back. If he’d known how cold and cruel her father was, he would have…
His brain always got stuck at that part. Because Ella was right. They’d both been seventeen at the time, and their options were severely limited.