Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92136 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92136 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
“I wished for you,” I told him when he was buried to the hilt. “For this, for us.”
“I did too.” He sat up so we were chest to chest, mouth to mouth, arms wrapped around each other. “The very first night when you told me to make a wish, I wished that the next man you fell in love with would love you back the way you deserved. And he does.” We began to move together, our bodies a perfect fit, our rhythm in perfect synch. “I swear to God, he does.”
Eventually, he took over, tipping me onto my back and driving into me harder and faster and deeper—so deep I gasped for air and cried out in shock and arched up desperately beneath him, my body craving both the pleasure and pain he wrought.
But mostly, I craved that elongated moment of shared bliss, the final seconds of the dizzying ascent, the agonizing hover on the edge of the peak, the feverish breath as we took each other over, the exquisite spiral of the pulsing free fall, our bodies entwined, inseparable, one.
“Tell me again,” I whispered breathlessly as our hearts refused to calm down, even after his body and mine were sapped and his chest was heavy on mine.
He picked his head up and looked down at me. Brushed the hair from my face. “I love you. Only you. Always you.”
I smiled. “Told you wishes come true.”
“I can’t believe it,” I said, shaking my head. “So it was Stella who convinced you?” We were lying in bed late Friday morning, Nate on his back, me propped on an elbow on his chest. We’d gotten very little sleep, but I felt energized and refreshed. Alive.
“Kind of. I mean, I knew I was miserable without you and that I’d fucked things up, but if I hadn’t seen her at the grocery store near that house I told you about, I don’t know that we’d be where we are right now.” He tucked my hair behind my ear. “You were right about her. She gets underneath the surface fast.”
“She does,” I agreed. I made a mental note to call her and say thanks, and also to stop being so annoyed by her therapist ways. “And she gave you Mia’s number?”
He nodded. “Yeah. She told me you’d left for the winery, and basically said, ‘If you want her, prove it.’”
I beamed. “I love Stella. Stella is amazing.”
“She is.”
“And what did Mia say?”
“Well, at first I could tell she wasn’t too keen on me. But after I explained myself, she was up for helping me try to win you back.”
I laughed. “I keep thinking about her checking the clock all night as we sat there drinking.”
“Oh yeah.” His eyes widened. “We were totally nervous about it. The timing was tight. I didn’t even get here until almost ten-thirty.”
Something clicked. “So it was Lucas who gave you the key when he went out to make a phone call.” I made little air quotes and rolled my eyes. “What a sneak!”
Nate grinned. “Yep. I texted him when I pulled up at the winery. Then I walked over to the house.”
“I still can’t believe it. Those two knew the whole time!” But I was so happy. I felt like this was a completely fresh start.
Nate glanced at the bedside clock. “I hate to say this, but I have to go soon. I need to pick up Paisley at three.”
“I’ll go too,” I told him, sitting up.
He looked distressed. “What? No, Em, you just got here. You should stay the weekend and relax. Visit with your cousin. Talk about the job. Which you can still take if you want. I mean that. We will make this work, no matter what.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said honestly. “I really was looking forward to it, but I love where I am now, too. Your firm doesn’t have a Traverse City office, does it?”
He shrugged. “No, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t find another job up here. People get divorced everywhere. Every day.”
I groaned as I hopped off the bed. “Naaaaaate.”
He reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me back into bed and hauling me across his lap. “Hey.”
“What?”
“We’re different.”
I raised one brow. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” He kissed me and touched his forehead to mine. “Only you. Always you.”
Somehow, I knew it was the truth.
Three Months Later
NATE
* * *
Normally, I have a superior poker face. I don’t often have to use it outside of work, especially since Emme and I have been together, but every now and again, it comes in handy. Like when I want to surprise her.
Like tonight.
“I’m going to go pick up the food, okay babe?” I grabbed my keys off my new kitchen counter and went over to the couch where she was sitting with a freshly bathed Paisley on her lap. It was my first weekend in the new house—the Dutch Colonial I’d loved on sight—and Emme and I were going to celebrate our favorite way. Some takeout, some cocktails, some Bond.