Page 89 of His Surrender

I wake up with a smile on my face. Not because of the sunlight spilling through the curtains or because I actually managed to sleep the entire night for the first time in what feels like weeks.

Because the moment I open my eyes … I remember.

Dean kissed me. It wasn’t a dream.

I stare up at the ceiling, replaying every second of it. The way he looked at me right before his lips touched mine.

The tenderness in his touch before it turned rough and demanding.

The warmth of his hand against my cheek.

The embrace before he sent me back to bed, like he knew if either of us stayed in that kitchen another minute, we’d never make it to our rooms.

A laugh escapes me before I can stop it.

I bury my face in my pillow. “Oh my gosh …”

I sound like a fifteen-year-old with her first crush.

Maybe because, in some ways … I still am.

A loud squeal echoes through the penthouse.

Liana—followed by Sydney laughing.

Curious, I throw on a pair of shorts under the oversize T-shirt I slept in and wander into the hallway.

The smell of bacon and coffee meets me before I even reach the family room.

Liana is lying on the floor as Sydney leans over her, making funny faces.

“I think she thinks I’m weird,” Sydney says as I walk in.

“Good morning.” I laugh.

Liana answers with an excited shriek.

“There she is,” Sydney says. “I’ve been trying to get her to laugh for ten minutes.”

I bend down and scoop Liana into my arms, kissing her soft little cheek.

“Who’s been giving Sydney a hard time?”

I’m rewarded with an immediate smile. Only then do I look up.

Dean is standing at the stove.

He’s wearing nothing but a pair of black sweatpants that hang low on his hips, one hand stirring scrambled eggs while the other flips bacon in a skillet like this is something he does every Saturday.

Morning light pours through the windows behind him, outlining his broad shoulders in a soft golden glow.

For one ridiculous second, I forget how to breathe.

It’s exactly the same feeling that hit me when I was fifteen and walked into my parents’ kitchen to find him there, talking to my dad.

Back then, he barely noticed me.

I stood frozen in the doorway, convinced no one had ever looked more handsome.