Page 105 of I Love My Mistake

My eyebrows fly up. I lean back like a gust of wind knocked me down. “Wow.” I jump up and start pacing again, excited. “That might work! I have his email. I can tell him I’m sorry and that if he wants to date Nicole, I give him my blessing.”

“Her exhibit reception is coming up. He’ll be in town for that, right?”

I stop and stare, completely confused. “How did you know that?”

“You mumbled something about it when you were getting ready one morning.”

I blink. “I did?”

“Yes. You were thinking out loud.”

“Great. So I’m not just an idiot, I’m an insensitive idiot. This whole thing must have been so odd for you. I’m so sorry.”

He laughs. “I have a soft spot for idiots.”

This drags a huge grin from my heart. I walk to him, bend over and put both my hands on his legs so that I’m eye-level with him. He looks back at me, amused. I look to his lips and back to his soft brown eyes, watch them shift and become more intimate and sensual. My Mr. Natural. So ruggedly handsome and so terribly kind.

“Chris…you wanna know something?”

He leans in a bit toward me. “What?”

I pause for a sweet moment. I lean forward and give him one small kiss, coming back to whisper, for the very first time, “I love you.”

A beautiful smile lights up his face. “I love you, too, Jessica.”

My eyes well up and I give my head a shake against the onset of happy tears. He pulls me onto his lap and kisses me lovingly. The soft tips of our tongues touch and I feel like melting with him all the way into the bedroom. But I pull away suddenly as a thought slams into my mind.

Chris tilts his head to the side. “What’d you just realize?”

“Nicole needs to have this feeling.” I look at him, emotions welling up in my chest. Dammit, Amber, you were right again. I have to make this right. This is on me, and what am I waiting for? “Everyone needs to be loved. I have to tell her I’m sorry! And I have to make this right, right now!”

Chris nods and a warm glow lights his eyes. “That’s my girl.”

For the past few weeks since Mark left town, Chris had been waiting for me to wake up and do the right thing, but he’s said nothing. His is a quiet patience. Somehow he knows to wait until I’m ready and when I am, he asks a question or two that will guide me to finding the answer for myself. I hug him tightly. “Thank you so much for being the way you are. I’m sorry for making you worry.”

He kisses my shoulder once. “I wasn’t worried, Jess. I just don’t like seeing you all screwed sideways.”

I pull back and look at him. “Then what was last night?” I cock my head to the side, one corner of my mouth turning up.

His lips twist in a sexy smile. “Oh, yeah I do, don’t I?”

I laugh, remembering. “Yeah, you really do.” Embracing him, I bury my face in his soft, light brown hair, and tenderly kiss his earlobe to whisper in it, “Guess what?”

“What?” he murmurs back, nuzzling into my neck.

“We just said I love you for the very first time.”

His smile spreads against my soft skin. “We did, but I’ve felt it since the train ride.”

My heart feels like it’s on a cloud, carried up with gratitude for him. “I’m never letting you go.”

His arms tighten around my body. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

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