Her lips curved. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
“Maybe not. But it is if in any way I trampled all over your independence. I know how important that is to you, and for that, I’m sorry. Because if anyone has earned the right to be independent, it’s you. So if you and the kids don’t want to move to St. Louis, then you don’t have to.”
“Thank you.”
“So I’ll move to New York.”
Her gaze shot to his. “What?”
He took a few steps toward her and picked up her hand. “I love you, Katrina. I need to know if the feeling is mutual.”
She shuddered in an inhale. She had been so worried that she’d lost him. Hearing those words made relief fall over her like a heavy rainstorm. “Yes. The feeling is mutual. I love you, too.”
His entire expression changed, from guarded to happy. “You don’t know how happy that makes me.”
“I’ll have to live in St. Louis during football season, but I can sell the house and buy a condo there. Then during off-season, I can live in New York with you and the kids.”
She realized the sacrifices he was willing to make to be with her.
“Why would you do that?”
“Move?”
She nodded. “You would give up your amazing house in St. Louis to come live in New York with me?”
“That’s what you do when you love someone, Kat. Home is a place you live with your family. And you, Anya, and Leo are my family. So it can be any place where you and the kids feel safe and happy. And I will always support you emotionally, because you’re important to me.”
“You wouldn’t be happy in New York.”
“I’ll be happy being with you. Wherever that is.”
Tears pricked her eyes and she tried to swipe them, but they just kept coming.
For so long she had it wrong. So very wrong.
Home wasn’t a place, it was a state of mind, a place in the heart.
Grant was in her heart. He had been from that zing she felt in Barbados during their first photo shoot when their eyes met and their bodies touched. It didn’t matter where she lived, because as long as they were together, she’d be happy.
She laid her palm on his chest over his heart. “This is home to me. No matter where we live, geography doesn’t matter, this is always going to be home. And the kids want to be with us, so as long as we’re together, they’ll be happy.
“I love the house in St. Louis. I can sell this place and keep a smaller apartment here for when I need to work here, and I can continue to fly all over to do my job. Neither of us has to give up anything, Grant. But we can have everything we both want—each other.”
He gathered her close. “All I want is you. All I need to be happy is you.”
“That’s all I want. You.”
He kissed her, and all her fears and uncertainties dissolved.
She had everything she’d ever wanted right here, sheltered in the arms of the man she loved. A man who would never abandon her, who would never ask her to give up anything.
Because he would always be everything she needed.
He kissed her, and warmth turned to passion. His lips were everywhere. On hers, on her neck, her shoulder, and she pulled off her shirt so she could feel the burn of his kisses everywhere. She tunneled her fingers under his shirt to feel the heat of his skin under her hands.
He drew his shirt off, and they kissed and walked their way into the bedroom, clothes flying as they did. She fell onto the bed with Grant following on top of her. His mouth came down on hers as he gathered her close, his hand cradling the side of her neck.
“I was meant to be with you,” she said.
“Yes.”
And those were the only words they said as passion took over. She pulled a condom out of her bedside drawer and he put it on, then slid inside her.
Perfect. How could she ever think she could live without this man, when he made her feel so much? When he moved inside of her and shook her very world on its axis every single time.
He clasped his fingers with hers and took every stroke, every thrust with his gaze locked in hers. And when she shattered, they were looking at each other in the most intimate way. It was heady and it made her cry.
After, he held her and kissed her, neither of them moving for a very long time.
She loved him. She trusted him and she’d never let him go.
Finally, he rolled to the side to dispose of the condom, but came right back to gather her in his arms. It was an idyllic, perfect day. She swept her hand over his chest, then looked up at him and smiled.
“One thing we need to get straight, though,” she said. “It’s pretty serious.”
He looked down at her. “What’s that?”
“I don’t think I’m ever going to learn to love hot dogs.”
He laughed. “I can probably live with that.”
She affected a huge sigh of relief. “So glad to hear it.”
They got dressed and Katrina fixed them glasses of iced tea, then they settled in the living room.
“So, when can we tell Leo and Anya?”
She looked over at him, so happy that he’d think of her brother and sister. It was one of the reasons she loved him so much. “I’ll call them tomorrow. Tonight, you’re all mine.”
He leaned over and pulled her onto his lap. “No, Kat. I’m all yours forever.”
Yes, he was.