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Rebecca gulped but didn’t reply.
“People love a comeback. And we can make it work.” I touched my forehead to hers. “I have ideas, Rebecca.”
She pulled away and looked me in the eyes. “I’m not interested in this being a one-time thing. I want this to be more; if I’m going to do this, I am going to do it full-on.”
“Me too.” Then I took another deep breath and leapt, saying words that had been on the tip of my tongue for a few days, but ones I’d never said to any woman in my life. “I’m falling in love with you, Rebecca.”
Her eyes widened, her jaw slackened, and the remaining color drained from her face. “You are?”
“I am” I spread a hand. “I’m falling for you. I don’t have any expectations about your feelings for me, but...I...I want you to give me the chance to prove our time together hasn’t been a fluke, hasn’t been a fling, at least not for me.” I put my free hand on her arm. “Will you do that? Will you open your heart to me?”
A long moment passed.
“Yes,” she finally said, and it felt like she was saying yes to so much more than just a chance. It felt like she was saying yes to a future, to the unknown, to the crazy moment we found ourselves in at that second. “I will.”
“Thank God.”
I pulled her close and my lips found hers. It was soft and gentle, but while it wasn’t as rough or needy as the first time we kissed, it was somehow deeper and more satisfying. This was a kiss filled with promise, filled with happiness and hope.
And this was a kiss telling me I was the luckiest man in the world.
EPILOGUE
ONE YEAR LATER
REBECCA
What a difference ayear makes.I mulled over that thought as I surveyed the large crowd littering the backyard of Landon’s Palm Beach estate. Nearly one hundred people had gathered on the grass overlooking the ocean, and they stood in small groups, enjoying the sounds of a cover band from Miami playing yacht rock tunes. It was nearly one year to the day since the last time the manicured grass and breezy palm trees hosted a party, but unlike the previous one, this one was much simpler, much easier.
And much happier.
“See?” Landon asked as he handed me a glass of champagne. We were over an hour into the event, and I’d hardly stopped to catch my breath. He placed his free hand on the small part of my back, right underneath the draped opening of my dress. “I told you people would come. This town loves nothing more than a great party, and this is one.”
“You were right,” I admitted, and sipped the fizzy alcohol.
And it wasn’t a smattering of Palm Beach elite who had shown up for the party. Olivia was near the bandstand, dancing with a man Landon said was one of the largest Sparks Innovation investors. When I invited her, she’d insisted on taking the weekend off from the coffee shop so she could make her way to South Florida. And she was one of several people from mybeforelife who’d made it to the party. Landon’s mother stood next to her, and when my gaze locked with hers, she winked.
