Page 94 of Love You Truly

He smiles for real this time, and I just look at him. I think about how lucky I am that he’s here for me to look at. And to kiss, because now that’s what we’re doing. I feel exactly the way I felt that day at Sunshine Foods, only more. Better.

“God, I love you. And now I have a confession to make.”

“Okay, spill it,” I say.

“You said you asked me on a date because you just wanted a hookup. I knew you were lying.”

“Yet you fucked me anyway.”

“You better believe I did.”

“Why?” I ask.

“Because I could tell you didn’t see me that way. I knew it might take a while to gain your confidence so you’ll tell me the real reason you asked me out. And I decided I was fine with that. I wanted to get to know you better because my heart was already so far ahead of my head. I needed to know you more because I think I already loved you, even then. And now…best decision of my life.”

He pulls me close until our foreheads touch and whispers, “Best decision ever.”

CHAPTER 37

Dash

One Month Later

“I am a spa convert,” I say, tipping back on a lounge chair next to our private pool at the Green Meadow Spa.

Next to me, Mallory lounges in a fluffy white robe and sips a blackberry mojito. “Good to know because I will come with you to any spa you want, any time.”

It probably doesn’t hurt that I kept her up most of the first night of our honeymoon reminding her of all the reasons she loves me. She told me repeatedly, but many of them seemed related to the various orgasms I delivered. I’m going to need clarification on that at some point.

“Gonna hold you to it.”

“We honeymoon well. I think we’re pros.”

“We are. We’re pros.”

The spa is nestled at the base of the mountains that ring Napa Valley, and it’s well equipped with a pickleball court, swimming pool, full service spa and library. But what we like best is our private villa, with its own patio, pool, and outdoor firepit. We’ve barely left, except to go for spa services and dinner at the restaurant.

Other than that, we’ve spent two days going between the pool, the lounges, and the bed, not necessarily in that order of importance.

We spend another hour lounging by the pool before shedding our robes and taking a naked dip in the accompanying spa. This place does vacationing right.

Our little villa is a Spanish-styled one-room bungalow with a king bed under fluffy down bedding and a living room with a wood-burning fireplace, where we spent two hours last night drinking wine and doing a tiny bit of a one-thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle of various cereal boxes. Mallory bought it, claiming its connection to the cereal aisle where her cart went awry at the store all those months ago.

I’ll do any sort of activity with her, whether or not it’s connected to Sunshine Foods or pickles, but she still looks for throwbacks any chance she gets. It’s adorable and just one of the many reasons I love her.

Later, I booked us each massage appointments similar to the hot stone massages we had yesterday, only this time they use salt and dry brushes. We’re going to walk out of this place smelling like lavender and mint and glowing for days.

The best thing about this resort is the food garden according to Mallory. She’s taken about a hundred photos of every fruit and herb growing in it and vows to model Autumn Lake’s budding food garden in its image.

“Do you want me to order lunch?” Mallory asks with her eyes closed, sunlight bouncing off the apples of her cheeks.

“In a bit. No rush.”

“Okay.”

She looks relaxed and content, and I vow to myself that I will do everything in my power to keep her feeling like this for the rest of her life. It’s one of many vows that I consider amendments to our wedding vows, much like the Constitution. I keep a list of them on my phone and consider them binding in all fifty states and territories.

When we travel abroad, I supposed I can reassess.

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