I was gonna be dead on my feet tomorrow. I just couldn’t find it in me to care.

At four AM, Camden was asleep in my bed, wearing a pair of Deadpool pajama bottoms and one of my T-shirts, and I was showing August my rooftop terrace.

“We could make cooking tutorials up here in the summer.” He eyed the plants I’d killed.

I didn’t have much space up here. In fact, it was tiny. There was just enough room for a small seating area and a grill. I’d tried but failed miserably at keeping avocado, tomatoes, herbs, and lemon alive. I thought I’d been smart; I’d made my own concrete flower beds, solid and heavy, thinking they could stand on the brick edge where they’d get more sunlight, but maybe it was too windy there.

“This would make a beautiful little garden,” August murmured to himself.

“Consider it yours,” I replied. “I always wanted a bunch of plants up here, but I might be better at cooking than gardening.” I continued, telling him about the concrete pots and installing the heater above the creaking wicker sofa I’d found at a yard sale. I guessed my vision was bigger than my abilities.

“You’re a handyman,” he noted. “Nicky told me you’re always runnin’ around fixing things. If something breaks at the Initiative, you try to repair it yourself first. Apparently, you’re often fixin’ your father’s radiator and the sink at your grandmother’s place.”

I chuckled. “Exactly how much did my brother tell you about me?”

He grinned faintly and pulled me close. “He’s been keepin’ tabs for me. He told me you had a damn Twizzler for lunch.”

For fuck’s sake.

“That’s not what we agreed upon, darlin’,” he whispered, his lips ghosting so close to mine.

I wet my bottom lip and waited for him to kiss me. “I guess it’s good you’re here. You can keep me in line.”

“You can count on it.”

I shuddered with want and finally felt his lips claim mine in a slow, deep, hungry kiss. I locked my arms around his neck and pressed myself closer, and I angled my head to go deeper. To taste him properly.

“I don’t wanna be apart from you,” I admitted. “It hurt.”

“We’ll find a way. I promise.” He rested his forehead against mine and just held me. “I foresee an everyday life right here, with weekend getaways and holiday breaks at the ranch.”

“I want more time than that in Nashville.” I brushed my fingers across his silver scruff, then back into his hair. “We’re gonna make changes to our schedule. Here and there, I’ll have a couple months away from the school to produce online material for an expansion.”