“I’m in love with you.” I stilled, suddenly panicked at what I said. “Sorry, that slipped out. Your kisses scramble my brain. I’m a mess and I have no idea what you see in me. I’m in my gym shorts from this morning and I know I’m not crazy thin and—”

Thatcher cut off my rambling with a finger to my lips. I lifted my gaze to his.

“You say anymore bad things about yourself you’re going to be over my knee on Huck’s front steps.”

I frowned. His brother’s steps?

“Do you think I care, that I want you to be all dolled up and fancy? That the things you seem to hate about yourself are what makes my dick hard? Haven’t you figured out by now that I love you the way you are?”

“But—” I began, then cut myself off. “What?”

“I’m in love with you Astrid. I love your glasses. I love your curves.” To back up those words, he slid his hands down my sides and cupped my ass. “I love your giving nature, your smiles.” His hands came around and cupped my boobs. “And I love these.” His thumbs flicked over my hard nipples.

My nipples believed in mutual attraction.

“I don’t think I know what love really is,” I shared. “It’s not like I had good examples.”

“I do. I did. Can we please go to my house so I can show you how much I want to try with you?”

I looked over my shoulder. “You don’t live here?”

His hands continued to caress me as he spoke. “I grew up in this house but Huck lives here with Claire and Sarah. Alice, too. I converted the old barn.” He moved a hand away to point to his left.

“Yes, show me. Yes, don’t go to Mexico. Yes, to dinner or ATVs or both. But whatever you do—” I grabbed his hand and put it back on my boob. “Don’t stop.”

“I don’t plan to, sweets. For a very long time.”

16

ASTRID

We left my van where it was and Thatcher drove me, and the black puppy, further down the drive. He parked in front of a barn and led us inside through a door on the side. I set the puppy down and it scampered off to investigate.

“Come on, I’ll show you around,” he said, taking my hand. I couldn’t get over the space. It did look like a barn, with the thick beams that went up the walls and arched to create a vaulted ceiling, but that was as far as it went. It was one huge room, a second story loft over half of it. The side we entered had no windows that kept the exterior look of the original barn, but the back had wall to wall windows on the lower floor and skylights the entire length of the roof.