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Until him.
But who knows that, after just a few days? How can he be so certain he wants a future with me, when I don’t even know what I want for dinner tonight?
“How would it even work?” I gulp. “Long distance, traveling back and forth?—”
“If that’s what works for you.” Josh doesn’t seem put off by my general terror. Which only makes my panic grow.
“But, I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You haven’t.” He smiles. “I’m offering it.”
“Why?” I ask, reeling from his certainty.
“You really don’t see it yet?”
Josh looks at me for a moment, then leans in, cupping my face in his hands as he kisses me.
AndGod, what a kiss.
Slow, and tender, and so deep, I have to clutch his shirt to keep my knees from buckling. The chemistry is electric, just like it has been from the start with him. My heart pounds, and my head spins, as his lips ease mine open, and his tongue slides, sensual against mine. It’s a promise and an invitation all in one. The kind of kiss you could spend a lifetime waiting for.
The kind of kiss you never want to end.
But something in me is still holding back. I’m not twenty-five anymore – like Anna, ready to hurl herself at whatever adventure comes her way. I’m older, and more jaded, and the idea oflove… I may have been longing for it in theory, but right now, it suddenly feels like stepping off the edge of a cliff, with nothing but a painful fall all the way down.
And I’m not the only one who would be hurt, if we tried, and failed, and this all fell apart.
Josh finally releases me, and I take a shaky breath. I open my mouth, trying to find a way to explain it to him, but he stops me. “Take your time,” he says softly, brushing hair back from my cheek. “Think about it all you want. And when you’re ready for what’s next… I’ll be waiting.”
I stare at him, still stunned at his certainty. “You really are the optimist,” I manage.
“Maybe.” Josh gives me a quiet smile. “But you, Hazel Donavan… You’re inevitable.”
I’m still reeling from that comment when suddenly, cheers and laughter sound behind us. I turn. A cloud of butterflies is billowing up, dancing and fluttering on the ocean breeze. They fill the sky, bright and glorious, as a crowd of straggling guests looks on.
It’s beautiful and perfect, the symbol of hope and possibilities that the happy couple wanted. And even though they’re not a couple anymore, it seems strangely fitting now. That the future can look entirely different to how you thought.
“The big finale.”
I turn back. Josh gives me a final wink. “I’ll see you soon,” he says, still so confident.
And then he strolls away.
I watch him go, torn inside. A tiny voice in my head is telling me I’m being sensible here: that it’s for the best to let what happened on vacation stay on vacation, rather than risk ruining these incredible memories with the dull, underwhelming stain of real life.
But my heart…
My heart is telling me to believe in him.In us.
“Wait!” I call, before I can stop myself. I hurry to catch up with him, my beaded wedding flats sinking into the sand. Josh turns, and my heart is pounding as I reach him.
“If I said ‘yes’, to dinner…” I swallow hard, feeling like I’m standing at the edge of that cliff. “What would it mean?”
Josh breaks into a smile. “It means you, me, and pizza. Friday night.”
“That’s all?” I check, still anxious.
“That’s all, baby,” he smiles, reassuring. “At least, until you realize I’m the man of your dreams and you can’t live without me.”
