Love All The Way

16| Worth the wait

The next twenty-four hours are like something from a movie. Maybe it's the optimist in me, the hopeless romantic I've tried to suppress since being dumped by Lucas, but for once, the future looks bright. My future with Milo is bright.

It feels absurd to think it, but it's true. Somewhere along the line, I have fallen for the man with the deep-set frowns and the vampire coats. The man who wears brightly colored ties to rebel. The man who hates Christmas. I've fallen for the man I despised and who I thought despised me. 

I've fallen, period.

I don't know how long we lie like this, but it's a while. Mulan joins us at one point, burying herself into the folds of the blankets between us. Milo reaches down, half asleep, and scratches her ear with one hand while pulling me closer with the other. The skin beneath his touch tingles, a slight simmer that travels from my arms to my toes. If I could have this every morning, I'll die happy.

Outside, the blizzard has settled into a gentle snowfall. I turn in Milo's arms until I'm facing him properly and study the curves of his face. He looks vulnerable when sleeping, a younger, carefree version of himself. My lack of self-control forces me to lean in and gently kiss his nose.

He shifts a little. His mouth curls upward as his eyes flutter open, dark and hazy with sleep. Unable to resist, he gives a curled-up Mulan another head scratch before pressing his lips to my neck.

"Merry Christmas," he murmurs.

I shiver at the affection in his voice. His lips feel soft and warm against my neck, as if they've always belonged there. As if I've never known anything different. "Merry Christmas," I say, and he kisses me again.

His hand starts to roam toward my thighs when my stomach grumbles. Laughing, we peel ourselves from our fort of blankets and head upstairs to shower. Ever the gentleman, Milo lets me use the main bathroom while he uses the smaller one, which means I get the rainfall shower all to myself. I turn on the faucet and wait for it to warm before stepping inside.

It's so heavenly that I spend a little too long under the water. When I'm dried and ready, I head to the kitchen and find Milo busy cooking breakfast. I hover in the doorway while his back is turned and watch him gracefully flipping pancakes. For the briefest of moments, there's this pang in my chest as I realize that this - waking up to someone I love with pancakes and cats - is all I've ever wanted.

The growl of my stomach betrays me. Milo looks over his shoulder, sees me standing under the archway, and smiles. "Right on time," he says, and he gently scoops up the pancakes and shimmers them onto my plate. "Power is back on, so we don't have to freeze tonight."

I sit at the table and say, "I didn't freeze last night either. Luckily, I had someone to keep me warm."

He passes the syrup. "Oh, Mulan?"

"Yes," I say as I dig in. "She's got all that fur, you see."

He walks around the table before standing behind me. Voice low, he says, "It couldn't possibly have had something to do with me."

I shiver at the warmth of his breath. His voice is so sultry, so inviting, that it's impossible to think straight. "Of course not."

He laughs and moves his mouth to my neck, where he kisses me gently. "Eat your pancakes. I've got something for you."

"Well, in that case." I wolf down the rest of my pancakes like I haven't eaten in weeks, and he laughs again. Before all this happened, I don't think I'd ever seen so much as a smile, let alone a laugh, and now I can't imagine a world without it.

As soon as I finish breakfast, he takes my hand and leads me into a second living room I hadn't known existed. It's different from the first one, more rustic with its old leather sofas and vintage coffee table, but I like it. In the corner is a floor-to-ceiling Christmas tree, under which Mulan sits dressed as a snowman as she attacks the bottom needles. Sitting beside her, perfectly wrapped with a big red bow, is a present.