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“I know we both have a past. I want to tell you this, and then I want us to forget about anything before this moment and move forward. I personally don’t care to ever talk about Luke again… okay?”
He swallows and nods.
“Luke wasn’t supposed to be there this weekend. I think he felt me pulling away from him this summer. From the excitement I always felt when I was about to see you, and the ummm…greedythoughts I was still having about you, I knew it was time to end it with him. Once I snapped out of my shock from his proposal, I said no. I tried to let him down as gently as I could. But he made the breakup much easier for me when he completely freaked out, yelling that I was a waste of time, and it was all because I was in love with you.”
A cocky smirk graces Eli’s face. I roll my eyes, secretly loving it.
“I kinda felt bad that he was partially right. But at the end of the day, even if my heart didn’t belong to someone else, I could never put up with his controlling, critical jealousy any longer than I already had.”
“I hope I never see his punk-ass again. I hated how he tried changing you. Never again,” he growls, shaking his head and pressing his lips to mine.
“Never again.”
“I can’t believe this is real… you really want me? All of me?” I say in between kisses.
“More than you will ever know. You see, when we crossed hearts all those years ago. I think it was more than just a promise… I think the other half of my heart was destined to be yours.”
Tears threaten to spill from my eyes again, overwhelmed with pure glee.
“Can you just hold me tonight? You have no idea how badly I want you right now, but over the years, I have longed to be in your arms this way.” His thumb rubs the little dimple in my chin as he listens intently. “Not as the woman you just had sex with, not as your best friend, but as yours… wholeheartedly and completely yours.”
Eli doesn’t answer with words. He tugs me in even closer and kisses the top of my head. A while later, I fall asleep in his arms to the relaxed pounding of his heart and the stroke of his fingers through my hair.
Content.
Peaceful.
Cherished.
Entirely his.
Thirteen
Two months later
The feel of Quinn’s small hand resting against my thigh has me reaching for her immediately. Loving the way a single touch from her makes me weak, I lace my fingers through hers, giving them a gentle squeeze.
We’re sitting side by side in a booth at my favorite Italian restaurant in Little Italy. It’s a quiet spot with a home-style Italian feel. I swear the current chef has his grandmother squirreled away back there somewhere. The food is that good.
The waiter is opening our second bottle of wine while I stare like the love-sick fool I am at the gorgeous woman sitting beside me. She must catch me staring, because a slight blush creeps onto her cheeks.
“Have I mentioned how stunning you look tonight?”
She smiles at me in response, taking a sip of her newly filled wineglass.
“I’m serious, Quinn. You’re practically glowing right now.” The desire to kiss her takes over, and I place a searing kiss on her lips, pulling away before causing a scene.
“God, I love you,” she says while catching her breath.
Raising my hand, that’s still laced with hers, I place a kiss on her knuckles. “Till the end of times.” And I mean it. Knowing that I get to fall asleep with her in my arms and wake up to her wild and messy hair every day makes me the happiest man alive. Looking back, I was a fool not to see what was right in front of me. Too focused on baseball and thinking I couldn’t manage a girlfriend on top of my schedule. When in all actuality, having Quinn by my side feels so natural. She completes me.
I have always loved listening to Quinn talk, but now I see everything she does in a new light. Back then, I was a boy who loved hearing his best friend’s stories, but now I’m a man in love with his favorite human being. She’s so animated when she speaks. Right now, she’s explaining how Connor, the young boy she watches, got his head stuck in between the stair railings and how she had to use Crisco to free him from the spindles. Then the copious amount of washing his hair to remove said Crisco. I can't help but chuckle. The family she nannies for currently has two angelic little girls, and a rambunctious seven-year-old boy, who gives Quinn a run for her money.
“I swear, that boy is going to cause premature graying. So, I hope you like silver foxes… wait, what is the female equivalent of a silver fox?”
“I’m not sure. Whatever it’s called, you’d be the sexiest one.”
“Mmhmm, whatever you say. I just hope our kids are not as crazy.”
