Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 59849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
“Mira?” Mason looks up from his desk. “Is everything okay?” He gets up and my god, he looks good in that navy blue suit. He’s wearing his gun in a holster on his hip and I can feel his big cock inside me with each step I take.
“I…I don’t know why I’m here,” I confess, not sure why I thought driving to the FBI field office was a good idea. It took forever to get signed in and lead back to Mason’s office. “I suppose it could have waited until tonight but I…I don’t think I can go and I wanted to congratulate you on the promotion.”
“Promotion?” He raises his eyebrows. “I didn’t take it.”
“What?”
He strides over and closes the door behind me. “I didn’t take it.”
I slowly shake my head back and forth. “But being in charge of the Moretti case is all you ever wanted.”
“It was…until I met you.”
“Are you saying that you’re staying in Chicago for me?” Tears fill my eyes and I don’t quite believe anything that’s happening right now.
“I’m saying I’m staying here for us.”
“But…but why?” I blink back tears. “Why would you want that?”
He takes my hands. “Because I have fallen for you.” His caramel eyes met mine and I’m hit with emotion. I feel so much for him and it terrifies me that I’m going to fall as well but right as I’m about to land in his arms, he’ll jump out of the way and I’ll hit the ground, breaking every single bone in my body. Yet it won't hurt as much as another broken heart.
I don’t think I could survive that.
There’s a part of me that’s always waiting for the other shoe to drop…a constant knot in my stomach that I read down and tighten with what-ifs as soon as the binds start to loosen. And there is a chance things could fall apart. There’s a chance I could get hurt.
But there’s a chance I won’t.
There’s a chance things could work out.
I could fall in love and never have to go on a first date again.
We could live happily ever after.
It hits me that I’ve been wrong about love this whole time, and as a couple’s therapist, I don’t know if I should admit that. Falling into anything is dangerous and scary and usually isn’t done on purpose. But taking someone’s hand and walking into love—together—that’s what I want.
And that’s what I’ve done.
I have fallen for Mason, but it wasn’t a scary free-fall where hitting the ground was inevitable. It was a soft and gentle fall with subtle reassurance along the way. It was so natural I didn’t even notice. Everything I ever wanted in a person is standing right here in front of me, but with Mason, I didn’t look for what I could get from him.
And that’s what love really is.
It’s about what you can give the other person. How you can grow together.
“You are the most incredible woman I have ever met,” he says, voice low. “You’re a little crazy at times and I can’t get enough of that. I love you, Mira Martin.”
A tear rolls down my cheek and he wipes it away with his thumb. “I love you, too, Mason Harris.”
Epilogue
MIRA
THREE MONTHS LATER…
“And today we have a very special surprise guest joining us on the podcast.” I press the mute button and do a little happy dance. Thankfully, I’m not recording live. “I think a lot of you might know her name and probably a lot of her characters. I’m so, so so excited to introduce you to Chloe Fisher!”
“Hi, Mira! Thank you so much for having me! I’m so excited to be here too, talking about sex in real life versus romance novels. Which is hilarious in a way because I was just having this talk with my husband yesterday.”
“Ohhh really?”
“Yeah. I tried making a joke about vampires having a lot of stamina and it didn’t go over well.”
I laugh. “Ouch. But even though he is a mere mortal human, you have some pretty spicy scenes that we all assume you draw from real life inspiration.”
“Sorry, Sam, if you’re listening,” Chloe goes on and we both laugh. “But yes and I might have ordered wings off Amazon for him to wear one night so I could make sure I was describing certain movements correctly.”
“Ah! I love it,” I say. “The dedication you have for your readers.”
“The things I do. Or the things I make my husband do. But speaking of him, does everyone know that your new man is my brother in law?”
“Shhh, I wasn’t going to tell them yet. I’m pretending you’re here because you think I’m cool and nothing else.”
Chloe laughs. “You are cool and I would be here without the family connection.”
We continue the podcast, laughing and having so much fun with this episode. Mason is out with Sam, and we meet them for drinks after we finish recording. It’s a hot late summer day in Chicago, perfect for sitting outside and enjoying the weather.