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Then, with one potent plunge, he growls out my name and grips my thighs. “Oh, Summer… Fuck, Summer.”
He topples onto me, and I pull him into my arms, wrapping my legs once more around his waist, holding him so close. I listen to his harsh breathing, feeling the warmth of that breath against my neck as he groans against my skin. His hips roll forward twice more, offering me the last few sparks of his pleasure and mine, before he stills and collapses, scooping me into a tight hug.
“Still thinking of kicking me out?” he mumbles, smiling against my shoulder as he presses a row of kisses.
I run my hand through his hair and kiss the slight hollow of his temple. “Not even a little bit.”
“That’s a relief.” He chuckles, his chest juddering against mine.
“Yeah, I’d say that was.”
He lifts his head and arches an eyebrow at me. “Making jokes after sex. My kind of woman.”
“I thought we’d already established that.” I can’t wipe this grin off my face. After two years of being a fleshy ghost, I feel alive again. I’m not loitering at the end of the line anymore, waiting out the years. Instead, it’s like I’ve just realized that the end of one line leads straight into another, and now I’m at the beginning of something again. What that something is, I don’t know, but I’m looking forward to finding out.
He bends his head to kiss me, slow and soft and perfect. “You’re right—we did. I just wasn’t sure if I was your kind of man.”
“Did that make things clearer?” I hold his face in my hands, smiling up at him with all the happiness swelling in my heart.
He nods shyly. “Jury’s still out, but the verdict is looking promising.”
“Verypromising,” I whisper, kissing him.
There’s a part of me that’s still waiting for this to feel wrong, waiting for the guilt to kick in and the sting of betrayal to jab at my heart, deflating it. But as I kiss Rowan and rest my head on his chest, safe and secure in his arms, all of those feelings stay where they’re supposed to be—out at sea, belonging to a woman who has let go of it all and is ready for more with someone.
A second chance.
I’d be an idiot to let it pass me by.
24
ROWAN
“Have you seen this place?” I turn my phone around in a circle, capturing the beautiful, misty morning. “I swear the fog has a mind of its own. I mean, it should be creepy, but it’s just… really peaceful. This is legitimately paradise, but don’t tell Summer ‘cause she’s selling it. No, gifting it. That’s cool, too. I’m glad I get to spend some time here before it goes to a deserving recipient—that’s what I should’ve said.”
I’m sitting on this amazing little beach, drinking in the dawn while Summer is asleep. Normally, I would stay in bed until noon without a care in the world, but not here. Missing this would feel like a waste, so I snuck out to explore… and put another entry in my little video diary. After all, for once, I’ve got a lot to say.
“This is probably inappropriate, but… last night was the best night of my life. I don’t think I’ve slept more than a couple of hours, and I’m not even tired.” I sigh, listening to the rush of the tiny waves on the sand. “I know you’ve been waiting for the ramblings of a madman, but you’re not going to get any. I’m very Zen this morning. And, boy, am I glad I didn’t pull over on my way to the cottage yesterday. There was a reason I was so determined to keep driving.”
I grin out at the water, watching in awe as a heron lands in the reeds opposite and starts to wade for its breakfast. I’m so captivated that I don’t bother going into detail about last night. It’s probably written all over my face, anyway.
“I think this is going to be good for me. For us,” I carry on absently. “Sure, I’m crapping my pants about telling Lyndsey. She’s literally going to kill me, after every warning she shoved down my throat, but… if Summer is happy and I’m happy, that’s got to be okay in my sister’s book, right? I mean, no one gets into something like this, thinking that it’s going to end, and I’m not planning on screwing anything up, so… Maybe, youaregetting the ramblings of a madman, after all. All I know is, I want to see where this goes, and now that I’m on the train, so to speak, I’m not hopping off until the end of the line—wherever and whenever that might be.
“Madame Therapist, I’m thirty-two and I’ve never had sex like that before,” I whisper shyly, scrunching my bare toes in the sand. “I know it sounds corny as hell, but I think that’s what ‘making love’ is. It wasn’t just sex, you know? It was… a spiritual experience. I mean, I’d say that I’ve probably been with all the wrong women, and there are a lot of people who’d agree, but it’s more than that. I don’t know how to explain it, but I felt… really connected to her. Like I didn’t know where I ended and she began, kind of thing. See, this is why I’d be a terrible writer—I’m better at describing with images, but those wouldn’t be suitable for any eyes but mine and Summer’s.”
I laugh, feeling a little stupid, talking to my phone while being eavesdropped on by a heron who just wants to eat his breakfast in peace.
Just then, I hear her, calling from the magical, life-changing cottage by the water. “Rowan?” It’s a nervous voice. “Rowan, are you out here?”
“I’ve got to go,” I tell my recording. “Just wanted to let you know that things are coming up roses. Wish me luck because I really,reallydon’t plan on fucking this one up.”
I end the recording and jump up, running up the shallow slope that leads from the beach to the strip of dirt path that Summer says is a driveway, but no car could possibly get down.
“I’m here!” I wave a hand as I reach the gate, and the look of relief on Summer’s face breaks my heart a little bit.
“I thought you’d dined and dashed.”
I shake my head, grinning. “Not a chance. I haven’t eaten enough yet. Thought I might order a few more helpings.”
