Page 76 of The Interns

“If I didn’t know any different, maybe that would have been the path for me or maybe I would have come to the realization that it wasn’t the right choice after a few years, but that’s not the way things happened. You were right. I had to see it for myself. And I finally did.”

“Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked quietly, seriously. He stepped in closer to her and leaned down to meet her eyes.

“I am. Today was different. It finally felt right.”

She held a breath in her chest as she blinked back the tears that welled in her eyes. She desperately needed his reaction, but he stood there staring back at her for what seemed like an eternity.

“Well, congratulations,” he said finally. A small grin formed on his lips.

Her eyes blurred with tears as her mouth moved into a smile so wide it caused her full cheeks to make her eyes squint nearly shut. She let out a breath, something between a laugh and cry as he gathered her into his arms and pulled her tightly against him. She buried her face in his chest, knowing but not caring that there would likely be smudges of her mascara on his t-shirt whenever they finally let go.

She never imagined that she, of all people, would meet the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with at twenty-four years old. It had always seemed too soon. How could she make a commitment to someone else when she barely knew herself? The answer was that she found someone who truly wanted the best for her. Someone who shared her values. Someone she could continue to grow with for years to come. Someone she trusted and believed in with all of her heart. She had found her partner.

“Welcome home,” he murmured into the tear-streaked skin of her cheek.

42

Reed

“It’s all yours.”

“I can’t.” She groaned and put her hand over her stomach. “I’m so full.”

He made a face at her refusal but went ahead and picked up the plate with the remains of a slice of chocolate cake that sat on the room service tray between them on the bed. She leaned her head back against the headboard, and briefly closed her eyes as she sighed, probably hoping he would finish off the dessert since they had definitely overordered in the haze of their celebratory mood.

And even though she had made his day—hell, his life—it was still her day, so it was only right that she had the last bite. He scooped it up and brought it to her lips, and the sensation made her eyes fly open. He nudged it closer to her lips and she pressed them shut, shaking her head and voicing her disapproval by way of a muffled mmm mmm. He kept pushing, though, until she erupted into laughter, giving him the opening he needed to push the final bite into her mouth, but not without scattering the dark brown crumbs across her shirt and leaving a smear of frosting on her upper lip.

“Reed,” she cried, laughing through the scowl she tried to maintain.

He couldn’t keep himself from laughing at her as he set the plate back down on the tray and watched her lick the last traces of frosting off her lips. “Now you’re done.”

He hoisted the tray off the bed and set it on the nightstand, then leaned back against the headboard with her. A smile crept onto her face and she reached across the empty space between them to cover his hand with hers.

“This is the best day I’ve had in a long time.”

He smiled back at her admission which was equally true for him. The last time he’d laughed like this was also the last time they had shared a bed.

“I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to pick up the phone just to say hi or text you because something reminded me of you,” she admitted.

“Like what?” He turned his body towards her. “I want to know everything I missed.”

She looked far off, biting her bottom lip as she tried to remember. “Oh, I’ve got a good one,” she said softly. “I was on a tour of this one firm, and in their cafe area, they had this coffee machine.” She held out her free hand to illustrate the shape. “It was at least three times the size of King and Associates’ machine with so many buttons and options. It was ridiculous,” she said, shaking her head as she started to crack herself up a little bit. “I could just imagine your head kind of exploding if you saw it, never mind tried to operate it,” she finished, her giggle turning into a laugh.

“I’d have walked out of the interview for that reason alone.”

“I should have because it ended up telling me all I needed to know about the place.”

“How so?”

“It was just over the top,” she said, crinkling her nose in disgust at the memory. “Pretentious. Simple things should be simple.”

He let out a laugh as she used his words. Words she always teased him for saying, but he stood by that sentiment. “You know, there’s something I always wondered that I guess I can finally ask now that you made your decision.”

She tilted her head curiously at him.

“How do they convince all of you top grads to join these big firms where you just become another cog in the machine?”

She smiled as she considered his question. “I guess it’s like carrying a Louis Vuitton bag or driving a Range Rover. It’s a status symbol. I get it. I bought into that dream for a while.”

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