He rose up on his elbows, looking down at her with an expression so tender it stole her breath.
“I know there are rules for all of this, but they just don't apply to us. I love you. I've always loved you. And hell, it's not like I was ever good at hiding it anyway…and it's okay if you don't love me back. Yet. Because you will.”
“You're pretty cocky.”
He rolled off her, onto his side, but tugged her with him, folding his arms around her. “I've got reason to be. Give me a little time to recover and I'll show you.”
Caroline snuggled against him. “You're wrong though. About me not loving you yet. I fell for you so hard at Lucy's wedding. That was the first time I ever looked at you and had to remind myself of all the reasons why I couldn't be with you. I was married to William. You were Lucy's little brother. Then you rescued that kitten the other night and I was just sunk.”
“I'm not a saint.”
“No,” she agreed. “You're not, and you'll never pretend to be. The one thing you'll always be with me is honest. How could I not love you?”
A noise had him turning toward the door. Raising up on his elbow, he looked over the edge of the bed. “I'll be damned. How the hell did she do that?”
“What?”
Boone leaned over the edge of the bed and picked up a purring ball of patchy fur. “Someone has figured out how to get out of her pen.”
Caroline took the kitten from him and placed it on her pillow where it nestled happily into her hair. “She's not a cat. I don't know what she is, but she's probably not a cat…and she needs a name.”
Boone rubbed one of the bald spots just below her ear. “It's clearly not going to be fluffy, but since she made you fall in love with me, why don't we call her Venus?”
Caroline smiled. “I like that. Venus it is.”
Snuggled together in his bed, with the kitten purring loudly and the warmth of his body surrounding her, Caroline wasn't just content. She was happier than she'd ever been. Her old life was gone—the money, the big house—and she didn't miss it at all. Everything she wanted was right there in reach.
“Of course,” Boone began, “you realize Lucy will be unbearable and will take all the credit.”
“She can have it. She can even gloat about it. I'm too happy to care.”
He tugged her closer. “Remember that tomorrow when she's grilling you.”
“I'm not discussing our sex life with your sister. It's just weird.”
“Agreed. But she has boundary issues,” he reminded her. “Not that it's entirely a bad thing. She was sort of instrumental in putting us together.”
Caroline turned onto her back, looking up at him. The kitten mewed in protest as her hair shifted beneath it. “Yeah, but you gave her Charlie, right? You can just call it even.”
He chuckled. “I think I got the better end of the deal…although you did give him a run for his money with the potty mouth earlier tonight. Next time you use the word fuck, it's going to be in a very different context.”
“Oh, really? What context is that?”
Boone picked up the kitten again, placing it on the floor where it promptly yelled its displeasure before settling into Boone’s discarded pants. “Let me show you.”
THE END
The Seraphina Donavan Collection: Contemporary Page 17