I’ve always loved living here, but having her with me now makes coming home all the better. I’ve redone the whole upstairs area, the kitchen, bathroom, everything. At this stage it only has one bedroom, but the old man that owns the adjoining building is only months off retiring and I’m already in negotiations for buying him out.

When I do, I have plans of knocking down the wall between my apartment and the one above his shop and extending my living space, as well as adding two more bedrooms. I’ll probably rent out the shop below with plans of expanding my parlour when I have more cash flow.

“Wow, look at the view from up here,” Indi says when I usher her inside. When I moved in, I had the pissy little windows on the far wall replaced with floor to ceiling ones. The view of the ocean from up here is spectacular. I only wish I could’ve added a balcony out here, but council regulations forbid it. Fuckers.

You can see all the way to the horizon, and the sunset is really something. I can’t wait to share that with Indi while she’s here. “The view looks mighty fine from in here, too,” I tell her as I wrap my arms around her from behind, resting my chin on her shoulder. I can see her smile reflecting in the glass in front of us. Fuck I’m so stoked to have her here.

Turning, she snakes her arms around my neck. “Thank you for inviting me to come stay with you. It’s so surreal to be here in your place. I’m so happy, Carter.” For some reason, her words bring a lump to my throat. I can’t even reply, so instead I tighten my embrace and savour the feeling of having her in my arms.

••••

“I love your apartment,” she says when we sit down to eat. I ran her a bath after showing her around, which took all of three minutes. There really isn’t much to see. My living area is open-plan. My kitchen and dining table is off to the left when you walk in the front door. I have an L-shaped black leather sofa over on the far side of the room, facing my large flat screen TV that’s mounted on the feature wall. To the left of the sofa, I have a full-size pool table and bar area. Behind that is the door that leads to my bedroom and the bathroom. “It’s the perfect bachelor pad,” she says with humour in her voice. “And so tidy. Do you have a cleaner or something?”

“Or something,” I reply flatly, suppressing my eye roll. I’ve always been pretty anal when it comes to things like that. Men are capable of keeping a clean house, despite what most people think. “Eat before it gets cold.”

I called Justine, my receptionist, before I left Sydney and asked her to pick up the ingredients I needed to make Fettucine Boscaiola. I knew it would be late by the time we arrived here, so I wouldn’t have time to shop.

“I can’t believe you cooked this,” she says twirling her pasta around her fork and popping it in her mouth. “It’s delicious.” I smile at her.

“Well I’ve lived alone for the past five years. It was learn how to cook or starve, I guess,” I reply chuckling.

“You’re a man of many talents.” I don’t miss the underlying meaning to her words. You better believe I am, sweetheart.

My dick stirs as I watch her lips slide over the metal utensil. If I wasn’t so worried about her keeping up her strength, I’d say to hell with dinner and throw her over my shoulder and take her straight to bed.

After we’ve eaten and the dishes are done, I wrap her in my arms. “I’m gonna take a quick shower. Why don’t you give your dad a call and let him know we arrived safely?” I say kissing the top of her head, inhaling her sweet vanilla scent at the same time. She smells delicious—good enough to eat, and that’s exactly what I plan to do as soon as I get her into my bed. She looks cute in the pyjamas she’s put on after her bath, but they need to go. She won’t be needing those while she’s staying here.

••••

I wake feeling the happiest I’ve been since moving here. I know it’s because I have Indi beside me. Now that I have her up here, I don’t want her to ever leave. It may be too soon to want her to move in, but I already know that’s what I want. Hopefully in time, she’ll feel that way as well. Now that I have her back, I have no intentions of letting her go. She’s a keeper. Mine.

Rolling onto my side, I feel my lips curve into a smile as I watch her sleep. I do this often. Crazy I know, but I love having her next to me. Her long lashes are splayed out, resting on her cheeks. Her perfect lips are parted slightly. Her dark hair is fanned out over the pillow. Reaching up, I lightly brush back the few strands that have fallen over her face. I never knew it was possible to love someone so completely as I do her.

It brings all my worries to the forefront. A slight panic rises within me. What if her treatment isn’t successful? What if she decides she no longer wants to be with me? What if she doesn’t want me forever, like I do her? I’m not sure how I’d cope without her now.

The last five years have been hell. I lived in denial for too long, fighting my feelings every step of the way. I can’t do that anymore. She owns my heart and my soul. She’s my air. I’m nothing without her. I suddenly have this overwhelming compulsion to crush her against me, begging her to never leave me.

Fuck. I’m pathetic.

Maybe I should just wake her up and ask for my balls back. I’m pulled from my thoughts when LJ whimpers beside the bed. “Hey, buddy,” I whisper, carefully rolling over and looking over the side of the bed. He’s been locked inside all night. I guess he needs to take a piss. “Hold on,” I say getting out of bed and throwing on a pair of sweats.

“Hey, come back,” I hear Indi call out as I tiptoe across the room. My head swings in her direction as she sits up rubbing her eyes. She’s so damn sweet when she first wakes. The sheet covering her drops down around her waist, revealing her spectacular tits. It makes my dick twitch. I love that she makes no effort to cover them back up.

Turning, I quickly head back towards her. “Don’t move. I’ll be back in a minute,” I order, placing my lips on hers and groping one of her tits with my hand. “I’m just gonna let LJ out.”

“Okay,” she smiles slinking her arms around my neck. “Morning.”

“Morning, beautiful,” I reply brushing the hair off her face. “How’s your head this morning?” She shrugs. I hate that she’s in constant pain from this damn tumour. I’d give anything to be able to take it away. The sooner this treatment is over, the better. “I’ll grab you some headache tablets on my way back.”

“Thanks.” I kiss her forehead before gently laying her back down. Pushing myself off the bed, I stand and whistle for LJ to follow. It’s gonna be a bitch having to go to work today knowing she’s up here all alone.

••••

Indi was asleep by the time I made it back upstairs. Not long after slipping in beside her and wrapping her in my arms, she wakes again. “Your tablets are on the bedside table,” I say pulling her into me and kissing her forehead.

We stayed wrapped in each other for another hour or so, before I finally had to drag my arse out of bed. I could easily get used to waking up to her every morning. When I headed for the shower so I could get ready for work, she insisted on having one with me. Of course I had to take her up against the tiles. I can’t seem to keep my damn hands off her. I think we’re both going to be exhausted by the time the end of the week rolls around. I’m not complaining.

After dressing, we had breakfast and went down to the shop together. She wanted to meet my guys, and to be honest I was looking forward to showing her off.

“Oh my God,” Justine says as soon as she walks through the door and sees Indi standing beside me. “You’re the girl from the picture.” I’d forgotten about that damn thing. It’s been a talking point around here for years. My eyes drift to Indiana, and I’m surprised to find her blushing.