Blame it on the Stars (The Blame Game) by Jamie Hill Page B

you out.”
    “ Steve,” she touched his chest. “Let’s stay in. I don’t care about dinner. I just want to be alone with you.”
    “ We have all night to be alone. David and Dana are spending the night with friends. I’m staying here tonight.”
    She smiled up at him, and hugged his neck tightly. “That sounds good. I missed you, too. But I don’t really want to go out. Can’t we stay in?
    “ I had something I wanted to tell you, over candlelight and dancing.”
    She was loosening his tie. “Something you can’t tell me over pizza and sex?”
    He chuckled as Catlin unbuttoned his shirt and ran her hands over his chest. “No, I guess that might be the perfect time to tell you.” He let Catlin pull him into the bedroom and they were all over each other, clothes flying.
    Catlin worked herself underneath him, and moaned as he entered her. “Oh my God, did I ever miss you…” She clutched at his back.
    Steve slowed to a gentle rhythm and put his mouth next to her ear. “I just wanted to tell you that I love you, Catlin. I love you more than I could have ever thought possible.”
    She grinned at him and whooped , “Thank you, Jesus!”
    Steve laughed and Catlin wrapped her legs tightly around his back. “Well, come on, show me how much you love me.” She rocked her hips back and forth, and he obliged.
     
    Much later, when Catlin was almost asleep in Steve’s arms, he whispered it again. “I love you.”
    She squeezed her arms around him and smiled.
     
    Catlin was making breakfast the next morning when Steve came out of the shower. “Good morning.” He kissed her gently.
    “ Mmm, good morning to you. Last night was great.”
    “ Yeah, it was.” He let her go long enough to slip into his clothes. “Hey, I need to talk to you about something.” He pulled up two chairs to the kitchen table.
    “ Oh God, I can’t stand anymore talking,” she moaned. “I think I’m out of tissue.”
    “ This isn’t bad,” he assured her. “I just want to make sure you understand where things are between us. Because I do love you. And I respect you too much to keep you guessing.”
    “ Okay,” she said slowly.
    He took her hand. “I’d like to continue to see you, with the idea of marriage somewhere down the road.”
    “ Oh Steve.” She kissed him.
    “ But we have a few hurdles to jump between here and there. Namely, my kids and my divorce. I am going ahead with the divorce, by the way, and Barbara has agreed not to fight it.”
    “ That’s wonderful!”
    “ It’s still going to be sticky. We just have to take things slow.”
    She nodded. “I can. I can do whatever it takes to spend my life with you.”
    He kissed the back of her hand. “Does that mean you’re ready to start working on the kids? I mean, Dana is not a big problem. She likes you, she just has, shall we say, issues .”
    She chuckled. “I think Dana and I are going to get along just fine. Now David, he’s another story.”
    “ I talked to David. I talked to them both, in fact, and told them where things stood. David is not happy about the divorce, but what kid would be? He has promised me, though, to try to be nice to you, and get to know you.”
    “ I like the sound of that.”
    Steve shook his head. “Mind you, I said try . He is an ornery little cuss.”
    She moved behind him and started rubbing his shoulders. She spoke softly into his ear “Are you just realizing that?”
    He smiled over his shoulder at her. “I guess maybe I am.”
    Catlin threw her hear back and shouted “Hallelujah! The first step to recovery is realizing you have a problem.”
    Steve laughed, and reached for her hand. He planted a little kiss on it, and then sighed as she continued the massage.
    “ I thought last night would have taken care of this tension!” She rubbed the kinks out of his neck.
    “ That feels great,” he told her. “I’ll do you next.”
    She leaned forward , pressing her breasts into his back. “After you do me, will you give