Sweet Spot by Stella Rhys
34
LIA
I nappedon the couch and woke up to the smell of lemon, chorizo and chicken. I smiled in my sleep because my subconscious had been listening for hours to Lukas cooking me dinner.
“Mmm,” I sighed as I finally stirred, rolling onto my back and grinning as I stretched because I could already hear him coming to me.
“’Morning,” he murmured even though it was night. I kept my eyes closed as he lowered himself onto me, kissing my neck, my shoulders, the tops of my breasts. “Hey. Wake up.”
“Mm.” I whined, pulling my blanket up over my head. I laughed when Lukas yanked it back down, pulling it clean off my body and tossing it onto the floor. Pulling me up, he lifted me swiftly off the couch, holding me against his naked chest and kissing my grin as he carried me across the floor to the kitchen. Setting me down on the counter stool, he placed a polished wine glass in front of me.
“Say when,” he said, pouring a deep red wine high over my glass. When he reached nearly the top without me saying when, he laughed. “Are you still asleep?”
“No. I just need a drink.”
“Why?” Lukas frowned.
“No reason. Just been a crazy week. Still haven’t heard about the lease. Still got a lot of work to do, more samples to run.” My lips wiggled into a smile. “Also, apparently I’ve got a boyfriend now, so… yeah, it’s been a little crazy.”
Lukas laughed. “I know you don’t like to mix business with pleasure, but I hope you know your boyfriend is going to make sure no one fucks with you. Ever.”
“Mmm, is that so?” I sipped my wine. “How?”
Lukas smirked. “Well, aside from being physically intimidating himself, your boyfriend’s got a friend named Julian who knows… a lot of interesting people.”
“Is Julian in the mafia?” I asked with wide eyes. Lukas snorted.
“No. But he knows people who’ll take care of things if Cam tries anything despite the restraining orders I’m about to file on his ass.”
“Huh,” I nodded with satisfaction as I watched Lukas turn around and check on the roasted chicken in the oven, crispy and brown and almost perfectly done. I grinned at the view of his backside as he referred to the cook time on the recipe once more, adorably determined to get this dinner perfect for me.
So far, he was killing it on his first official day as my boyfriend – for various reasons but especially because he was cooking dinner shirtless for me, filling my head with vivid fantasies about drinking this view in every morning. God, I want to get used to this, I thought with a faraway grin that only fell from my face when I spotted Lukas grabbing an extra box of my truffles off his counter and popping one in my mouth. He smirked as he turned around and reached for a drink of my wine.
“Excellent pairing,” he winked.
“I’m sure it is, but I’m not sure why you’re not sharing with me. That’s not very nice!”
“I figured you’d be sick of seeing these but go for it,” Lukas laughed, sliding the chocolates across the counter for me. I rolled my eyes at him and lifted the lid of the box.
But my entire body stilled when I saw a string of sparkling stones wrapped around the only truffle left inside. My pulse jumped into my throat and I held my breath as I lifted the precious stones off the truffle. When I realized I was holding an elegant, stunningly beautiful diamond necklace, I looked breathlessly to Lukas for explanation.
“I wanted to book you a trip to Spain,” he smiled, "but I don’t know when you’ll have your next day off. I wanted to buy you your dream storefront but I know you don’t like me butting into your business. And I’ll say it – I would’ve bought you a ring and proposed, Lia, but I had a feeling you’d be a little freaked out and I don’t think I can handle you running off on me again,” he laughed softly, coming to my side of the counter. “So this,” he lifted the diamonds off my fingers, “is just my way of promising you that I’m all yours. I’m in your corner every second, every day. I want to be your rock. And you don’t have to rely on me because you’re stronger than anyone I know, so I know you don’t need to lean on me. But if you ever want to, I’m here.”
He turned my head gently and kissed my lips as he stood behind me, fastening the fine chain around my neck. My tears made a strong return as Lukas turned me in my chair to face him.
“I love you, Lia,” he said, his eyes following the slow curve of my lips as I smiled wider and wider, unable to stop. “You surprise me every day with how fucking beautiful you are. Inside and out. You make me feel better and you make me want to be better. I don’t care if you think what I’m about to say is crazy, but I’m going to marry you someday. You’re going to be Lia Hendricks. I’ll make sure of it,” he said, laughing as he kissed away my tears. “Well. At least in our house you will. Outside, you’ll be Lia Pope because Pope Chocolates is going to be too famous, and we don’t want to confuse your customers.”
“Shut up,” I giggled, pulling him back to my lips. “I don’t care,” I kissed him. “The chocolates are going to be famous and I’m going to be yours. It’s all going to work out. I believe it a hundred and ten percent.”
“You do?” Lukas held my chin as he looked into my eyes. When I nodded to answer his question, he shook his head. “Ah, ah. No more of that. Say the words for me, Lia.”
I giggled, remembering how I’d once hated him for making me say things out loud, just to force me out of my comfort zone. It wasn’t too long ago, but it couldn’t be more different now.
“I do,” I finally murmured in reply to Lukas, watching him close his eyes, as if to savor my words. When he opened them again, he looked at me with what I could only describe as love and satisfaction.
“Can’t wait,” he whispered.
“For what?”
“The day I hear those words again,” he said before closing his mouth over mine in a kiss. Licking his lips, I felt myself practically float off on a cloud.
Right here, in this kitchen, in Lukas’s arms, I had everything I wanted and – busy days at work followed by lazy nights with the man I loved. It was mundane, borderline boring, but it was my perfect balance. My sweet spot.
And with both hands, I was going to hold on tight.
