Page 261 of Dance the Tide


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She bit her bottom lip and then licked it. “Sorry.”

His eyes never left her mouth. “You're trying to tempt me into talking.”

She shook her head. “Not true.”

He looked into her eyes, their brilliant green color reflected in the moonlight shining through the French doors, and decided that this was it. He wanted her here to stay, and there was only one way that was going to happen.

“Okay, I do have something on my mind.” He swallowed nervously. “I don't want you to leave. I want you to stay here.”

Her eyes widened. “For–for how long?”

“For good. I want us to live together. I just…I like having you here. Ilovehaving you here. I love you, I love this,” he said, gesturing with his arms. “And I don't just mean the sex. I mean, I love that too, I love that alot, but it's being with you like this, holding you every night, falling asleep with you in my arms… Waking up with you in the morning, watching you walk in the door after work, the two of us talking, sharing things with each other… Honestly, Lizzy, there's nothing better.”

She remained silent, staring at him for what felt like forever, and his confidence began to slip.

“I know we’ve only been back together for a few weeks, so if–if it's too soon, if you need time—”

She kissed him quiet, then smiled. “Okay.”

His eyebrows rose. “Okay?”

“Yes, okay. I want to live with you. I want to be with you as much as possible. So, yes, I'll move in. I'll shack up with you.”

His eyes never left hers, and it was quiet for a moment before he spoke again, his voice soft. “Are you teasing me?”

She grinned. “No, of course not. I would never tease you about this. I'm completely serious. All those things you just said about being together at night and in the morning, and sharing moments, big and not-so-big with each other… I feel the same way.”

A burst of pure joy surged through him and he smiled widely. She lowered her mouth to his and they kissed for a long while, a small celebration of the next step in their relationship that they were about to take together.

She nuzzled his nose contentedly and kissed his cheek. “You know, for someone who claims they never know the right things to say, you certainly have a way with words.”

* * *

Will satin his office on Friday night, finishing up some paperwork. He heard a high-pitched squeal followed by another and smiled as he rose from his desk and slowly walked down the hall. When he entered the living room, his eyes lit on Jane and Elizabeth sharing a hug, laughing and smiling and probably crying. He made his way over to Charles, who was standing back and watching the women with a smile.

“There's the old married man,” Will said, grasping Charles's hand firmly. “How was the honeymoon?”

Charles smiled. “Man, it was unbelievable. What a gorgeous place.”

“You look pretty relaxed.”

Charles laughed. “I am. I think I left my brain in the Maldives.” He nodded at Will’s leg. “You limping?”

Will nodded. “It’s a long story. We'll talk later.”

They all got comfortable in the living room and talked for a while about the honeymoon, and then Will and Elizabeth filled them in on their trip to California, telling them about Richard and Lauren’s surprise wedding and the opening of FRD Designs.

“Have you talked to Mom and Dad? Or Lydia?” Jane asked Elizabeth.

“I haven’t spoken to Mom and Dad since the wedding, but I talked to Lydia last week. She's moving home, and signed up for classes at the community college.”

Jane’s jaw dropped. “Wow. Really?”

Elizabeth nodded. “I was supposed to call her this week, but some things came up…”

She turned to Will, whose eyebrows rose. “Um, there was a little excitement while you were gone,” he said. “Involving Bill Collins.”

Will and Elizabeth took turns giving the details of what had happened with Collins, starting with the flowers and ending with their trip to the courthouse on Tuesday.

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