“Come here.” She draped an arm across Lucy’s waist and pulled her close. Their breasts and tummies aligned as though they were made for each other.

When their kneecaps banged, Kelly smirked. She straightened her leg, letting Lucy fling hers over top.

It was far too hot to be cuddling, but Kelly would burn in hell if it meant never letting go of Lucy.

For a minute, she lost herself in the depths of Lucy’s green-eyed gaze.

“Now, you move in here,” Kelly said. “We take life one day at a time, and place bets on how long you can put up with me.”

When Lucy didn’t so much as crack a smile, Kelly’s stomach plummeted.

Couldn’t she at least appear grateful, rather than look like she’d just been handed a life sentence with no possibility of parole?

“Look, Lucy. I know it’s too soon for us to be moving in together…permanently.” Kelly almost choked on the last word.

In the pit of her stomach, she hoped Lucy was her forever.

“I’m trying to make the best of a bad situation. If you have a better solution, I’m all ears.”

A devilish smile lit up Lucy’s features. Kelly didn’t know whether to feel pissed off or to kiss the stupid grin off her face.

“You done?” Lucy quirked an eyebrow.

Acting her age, twenty-five, Kelly harrumphed.

Chuckling, Lucy swept her foot up the back of Kelly’s legs. It was strangely comforting.

“I have a queen-sized bed, and five-piece bedroom suite.” She glanced around Kelly’s small bedroom. “I’d rather not have to ship them back to New Plymouth, and risk damage during transit. Although, my brothers…”

Having already thought about the issue of space, Kelly silenced Lucy with a chaste kiss.

When they broke apart, the passion burning in Lucy’s eyes robbed Kelly of breath. For the second time that night, Kelly wished she could take away Lucy’s worries.

“It’s getting late.” Kelly tapped Lucy’s temple. “Shut off that brain of yours and get some sleep. Let me take care of it, of you, okay?”

Nodding, Lucy rolled onto her side.

Happy beyond belief, Kelly spooned Lucy from behind. She kissed the nape of her neck. “Goodnight, sweet lady.”

*

The following morning, after seeing Lucy off to work and texting Nicole to give her an update, Kelly did something totally out of character—baked.

The end result made her chuckle. What started out as perfect dollops of cookie dough, morphed into one big cookie.

Smiling, despite her failed attempt, Kelly sliced the mass into edible sized squares. After dividing the batch in half, she put one container in the cupboard and the other in her backpack.