Page 55 of Don’t Fall For Your Ex-Boyfriend's Brother

Before I can even utter them, Tripp says, “I love you, Millie.” His eyes are locked on mine, and I can see the sincerity behind his green irises. “I love you so fucking much.”

Tingles erupt down my spine as my body grows closer toward my orgasm. “I love you too,” I tell him.

His lips crash against mine with a fierce urgency, each kiss searing and hungry as he continues pumping deep inside me. Our bodies move in perfect rhythm, the intensity of the moment making everything else disappear. The kiss is all-consuming, a fiery connection that binds us together, and it feels like it could last forever. The world around us fades into a blur, leaving only the heat of our passion and the overwhelming need to stay this close to him. I never want to stop kissing him, to lose this electric connection that seems to go on and on, making me feel like I could melt into him completely.

I love this man. I want forever with him. And I think it’s what he wants too.

My heart warms to the idea, and I can’t stop smiling as he breaks the kiss.

“I love you,” he whispers as his body picks up.

“I love you, Tripp,” I say as my body explodes, my orgasm crashing down all around me. The sensations keep going, spreading through my body, lighting me up from the inside out.

Tripp isn’t far behind me as his own release finds him. His body tenses briefly, and then he’s exploding deep inside me.

Thank god I’m on the pill, but the thought of being pregnant with Tripp’s child doesn’t frighten me.

Maybe one day.

No, I know it’ll happen one day.

A future with Tripp takes root, blossoming like a family tree of possibilities. I’m back to smiling as Tripp pulls out of me.

He heads to the bathroom to clean up, and brings back a cloth for me.

“I love you,” he reminds me, wanting to make sure I know he wasn’t just caught up in the moment of sex.

“I mean it too. I love you,” I tell him and the smile that spreads across his face is enough to melt even the coldest of hearts.

It turns me into a puddle of tears.

“Why are you crying?” he asks me, cupping my face with his hands.

“I’m just so happy,” I tell him, not even realizing this is everything I’ve ever wanted. “I have everything. A successful shop, and now I’m in love. My life is perfect.”

He smiles, and kisses me on the lips briefly. “I love you,” he whispers, and then together we cuddle on my bed.

He holds me tight, his fingers brushing along my arm as he spoons my body. “Tell me about your family.”

I stiffen when I’m reminded of them. “Not much to tell,” I say, wishing more than anything I had a big family like he does. “My father left my mother when he found out she was pregnant. My mother moved in with her mother. My grandmother is the one who opened Book, Spine, and Sinker. My grandmother died when I was eleven, and my mother and I ran the shop together.”

“So, you’ve always been a reader?”

I nod, my smile widening at the thought of books. “Yeah. My mother used to read to me every night. She died when I turned eighteen.”

“Millie, I’m so sorry.” He squeezes me closer to him.

“It’s okay,” I say, my go-to answer whenever anyone ever mentions my mother’s death. “She’s buried in Saint Pierce.”

“Why?”

“That’s where I was born, and my mother loved it there. The big city. She always said it was so exciting. She told me when she got cancer that she wanted to be buried in the cemetery at St. Paul’s cemetery.”

“Why?”

I shrug. “She said it reminded her of better days.” A tear grazes my cheek. “I think it’s where she met my father, and a small part of me thinks she never fully got over him.”

Tripp presses a kiss to the top of my head. “At least she’s happy now. Did she ever tell you who your father is?”

“No,” I whisper, wanting to change the subject more than anything. “That reminds me,” I say to him. “I got the invite to Anya’s engagement party this Friday at Atta Boy.”

He tenses briefly, but then I can feel him squeeze me tighter to his chest. “Maybe we should tell everyone that night that we’re an item.”

I can’t stop the silly smile that erupts across my face. “Yes. I’d like that.”

He kisses my hair and after a little while we fall asleep, wrapped in each other’s arms.