Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87904 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87904 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
I felt Red’s hand squeeze against the side of my body. “I think that’s the right decision.”
I nodded. “All the house is now is a place Colin goes to do drugs, anyway,” I said.
Red rolled his eyes. “I’m glad that asshole is finally starting to move on,” he said. “I had half a mind to fly out to LA and do something about him myself.”
“Move on?” I asked. “What do you mean?”
“He was tweeting about being with another person,” Red said.
I froze for a moment. “Wait,” I said. “You were checking Twitter?”
“Only a little.”
“Hell really has frozen over.”
Red took a deep breath, bringing me close again. “I don’t care about that kind of shit, but when it has to do with you, I… can’t help it, sometimes,” he said. “I needed to make sure he wasn’t making any plans to waltz back into this town.”
“So Colin’s with someone else?”
He nodded once. “I think he found a new person to bother.”
I pulled in a deep breath. I felt like a ten-ton weight was finally starting to ease off of me.
“You have no idea how good that is to hear,” I said.
“What feels even better is hearing you say you might stay,” Red said, kissing the side of my forehead.
I puffed out a small laugh. “You must have known I was going to,” I said.
He shook his head. “I didn’t,” he told me. “You could go anywhere, Liam.”
“Not without you.”
Red held me tight, breathing deep.
“Amberfield isn’t a place to hide anymore,” I said. “It’s a place to grow.”
He hummed near my ear. “You really do live your life like one of your roses, don’t you?”
I laughed. “I think I could learn a lot from my own damn flowers, yes,” I said.
“Like how to be happy in the sunshine.”
“Or like how to drink down things that are good for me like water, instead of poisoning myself,” I said.
“Well, you’re a little thorny sometimes, but you also smell fucking amazing,” Red said, giving me a lopsided smile.
“Naturally,” I said.
“And when you let yourself grow, you’re the most beautiful fucking thing I’ve ever seen,” he said.
I swallowed hard. “I love you,” I said, pulling in a deep breath.
For once the words felt real, and so much more powerful.
I didn’t mean I love you because I don’t love myself enough.
I didn’t mean I love you, but only when you enable my behaviors.
And I definitely didn’t mean I love you, but I’m hurting you.
All I meant was exactly what I said.
The slow song ended, and I glanced over to see Sam at the jukebox, looking at me and Red and winking.
“Oh no,” Red mumbled.
The first few notes of “Pour Some Sugar on Me” came on, and Red got a glimmer in his eye.
“I love you, Liam,” he said. “And this dance is going to be all for you.”
I smiled like a madman as I watched half the bar erupt into whooping and clapping. Red started to dance as he made his way toward the bar, grabbing my hand and leading me toward a stool. I sat down right as he tugged off his shirt, making more of the bar start shouting excitedly.
He tipped his red cowboy hat toward me before jumping up on the bar, twisting his hips to the music.
And I may have been the porn star in the relationship, but I could have sworn every time Red moved his hips, he was showing off just like I used to in videos. The man was so fucking sexy it hurt. The whole bar knew it, and he must have known it too, looking down into my eyes like he was going to eat me right up.
I wasn’t going to cry. I definitely wasn’t going to cry while Red—my boyfriend, Red—danced for me on top of a bar.
So I tried to swallow past the tightness in my throat and focus on my pounding heart instead. Red was mine, and I had the rest of my life to show him exactly how much he meant to me.
The crowd went nuts as the song finished and Red jumped down, pulling me into a deep kiss.
“You’re coming home with me tonight,” he murmured in my ear.
“Nowhere else in the fucking world I’d rather be.”
Epilogue
Red, 6 Months Later
“Here, we’ve got Betty, Gertrude, Mildred, and E.T.”
I looked at Liam, furrowing my brow, as he stood proudly in front of the four new white poplar trees he’d just planted in my backyard.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Say that again?”
“Betty’s the runt of the bunch,” Liam said, brushing his gloved hand over the small leaves. “Gertie and Mildred are both pretty sturdy, and should get through the season just fine. E.T. is a wild card.”
“One of these things is not like the other,” I said. “Why are three of the trees named after old ladies and one of them is named after an alien?”