Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 135831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
“You are a great listener,” she says. “But I do need to point out that you’re wrong about one thing that you said.”
I furrow my brow. “What’s that?”
“You said your fears and your past have nothing to do with me.” She pauses for a moment. “But they do matter to me because I care about you. Because I love you. And because I want to be your safe space too just like you’ve been for me. You don’t have to be perfect for me to love you. You don’t have to be the perfect man for me to stay with you. Just be you. It’s okay if you feel doubts now and then. It’s okay if you worry. Just talk to me about them like we’re in this together rather than apart, okay?”
I understand now that it wasn’t so much how I felt last night but how I handled those feelings. It was my tone. It was the way my questions came out like accusations. But her willingness to love me with all my flaws just makes me fall even harder. “How do you make me fall more in love with you every single second?”
Her smile is like sunshine. “It’s my special skill.”
“You’re excellent at it. Don’t ever stop.”
“Same to you.”
But then more seriously, I add, “I want to keep earning your love, Everly. Every damn day.”
She rolls her eyes. “Shut up. You had me at London fog latte.”
I relax again, flashing her a grin. “I won you over that day I bought you one in Seattle, didn’t I?”
She plays with the wrinkled collar of my shirt as she says, “I couldn’t stand you, but yes, you also won me over…because, guess what? Two things can be true at once.”
This is officially the best day ever. I don’t even try to act cool. “So I’m really your type. I was right.”
She laughs. “Yes. Maybe even especially because you slept in your car to wait for me and deliver a latte.” She bends to pick it up and takes a drink, then hands it to me—an offering. I down some; it’s not my favorite drink, but I don’t care, especially when she says, “You’ve been so patient with me. And so sweet, and so…” Her voice catches. “Uplifting. The way you tell me I’m beautiful makes me feel…like…like I am living my best life.”
That is all I want for her. Well, not true. I want something else too. “Sunshine, live it with me.”
“I will.” She drops her mouth to mine and kisses me—a tender, London fog kiss as the sun rises on a December morning. It warms not only my heart but my whole entire soul that has come back to life thanks to her.
But even though I could spend all day here, she has a meeting to go to so I break the kiss, hand her the cup, and say, “Let me drive you to work. So we can get you to that meeting on time.” Then I add, “And so I get more time with you.”
Because there’s one more thing I need to tell her.
51
WHEN YOU GOT UNDER
Everly
I open the door and slide in. It feels right to be in his car again. Max must like the sight of me here too, since he hums approvingly then bends down, tugs the seatbelt across me, and gives me one more possessive kiss once I’m buckled in.
He hustles around to the driver’s side, and when he shuts the door, I nod to the stoop—the scene of our very public reunion. “I feel like we got away with something.”
“Me too,” he says, then turns on the car and heads to the Sea Dogs home as I drink my latte. When we arrive, he parks right outside the arena. I still have at least fifteen minutes till my Zoom call. Max must realize that too because he glances at the time on the dashboard then picks up his phone from the console. “I have one more thing for you.”
“What is it?”
He swipes across the screen, then shows me an email. I blink when I see the name. I’ve never met her but it’s the woman who owns the pole studio. “This is from the owner of Upside Down?” I ask, just to be sure I’m reading it right.
His smile is pleased. “Sure is.”
The world slows. I read the short note like it’s a message from another world then look at this man. Searching his eyes for…confirmation. Because this is too much. “Is this for real?” I ask in a hushed voice, like saying it louder might break something.
“It’s not a done deal yet. We haven’t signed any paperwork. We just emailed overnight. But I made her an offer to buy the studio, and she said yes.”
My heart stutters, then beats in double time.
“I know how important that place is to you,” he says, and it’s good he’s talking since I’m not sure I can. “I emailed the owner late last night, and we exchanged a couple more emails this morning while I was waiting on your steps. Apparently, they’re struggling with rent. I wanted you to have something that’s just yours. So you always have a safe space to go to.”