Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70180 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70180 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
“It’s just … hard to see that as true after everything.”
“Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “I won’t lie and say I didn’t think about it. Not because I still want to be with her. I didn’t want them to end up together. Which I know how that sounds.”
“Considering what happened at your wedding, it’s reasonable, Ash.”
“Yeah, but you were right last year. If I loved her like I said I did, then I should want her to be happy. And I do. I just don’t want her to be happy with him.”
I laughed. “That seems like a long way from the place you were in last year.”
He took my hand in his. “So much of that is because of you.”
“Nah. I was there all along. You finally came to your senses.”
“Maybe I did.”
“So, can we go away?” I asked gently.
“We can. But we’re not running. Today is for us.”
“Okay,” I agreed as he brought his lips to mine.
We ate the pastries and coffee. All the adrenaline had left my body, and in its place was relief. I hadn’t realized how much fear I’d been holding, even as I told everyone else that it would be fine. Inside, I’d been slowly waiting for the end.
But this wasn’t the end.
This was just the beginning.
Ash and I put on our bathing suits, packed a change of clothes, and headed out to the Savannah Yacht Club. While his boat was nowhere near as ostentatious as Nolan Holden’s, it was still plenty impressive. He must have made some calls while we were getting ready because staff and crew were already waiting for us when we arrived. They took our bags, offered us drinks, and let us know that we’d be leaving within the hour.
We spent the day on the water, far from our phones and the reality of what our friends were doing that day. Maybe Ash didn’t need to escape, but he seemed happier for the opportunity. It was just us in the sun and heated pool and even a very chilly drop into the Atlantic.
The sun was setting on the horizon as the yacht headed back into the dock. I snuggled into Ash’s side in the hot tub as we watched the reds, pinks, and yellows burst across the ocean.
“This was a perfect day,” he told me.
“It was.”
“Thank you for suggesting it.”
“Well, I had ulterior motives.”
He laughed. “True. It did help me forget what the day was.”
“Just made me realize that I want this to be my life.”
His eyes slid to mine. “Oh yeah?”
I flushed as I realized how the words could be construed. “I just mean … I want to be with you.”
“That’s not what you said,” he teased. He wrapped an arm around my middle and pulled me into his lap. My legs straddled his hips. “You said you want this to be your life.”
“You know how I feel about you. How I’ve always felt about you.”
“Yes, but this already is your life, my Mia.”
I leaned forward against him, letting our wet skin meet. “I suppose it is, but I might be moving to Charleston. Things will be more complicated.”
“That’s not going to change this.”
“How do you know?”
He pulled me tighter against him, brushing his lips to mine. “Because I love you.”
My heart stopped beating. Everything froze in place. I couldn’t move or breathe or think. There was nothing but those words ringing in my ears.
“You … love me?”
“I thought it was obvious.” His hand slid up into my wet hair. “Of course I love you.”
“I love you too,” I whispered.
And the words felt truer than they ever had. All those years of wanting him slipped away. They hadn’t been real. This was real. This right here.
“Tell me again.”
I grinned. “I love you, Ash Talmadge.”
His lips crashed down on mine, capturing those words forever. Our kissing turned frantic and desperate. As if finally admitting our feelings changed everything. Made us want to express it in every way we could. Through hands and mouths and bodies grinding against each other in the water.
“Ash,” I gasped.
His cock was long and hard as I rocked my hips back and forth against it. We had bathing suits between us. So little clothing left that it would be so easy to have him inside of me. His hands were on my ass, pushing me hard down against him. As if the heat between us could boil the water, and still, it wouldn’t be hot enough.
“I need you, Mia.”
“Take me,” I begged.
“I wanted this that first night in the hot tub.”
“Show me what you wanted.”
He lifted me out of the water as if I weighed nothing. My feet touched the seat we’d been sitting on, and he turned me to face away from him. Then, he bent me forward at the waist so that my ass was in the air.