Page 51 of Endless Southern Love

I pull my hand out from behind my head and drag my fingers up and down Lemon’s arm. She snuggles deeper into me.

Last night, I told her I loved her before I made love to her. The words came tumbling out before I could stop them. I don’t wish I hadn’t said it but do wish I waited a bit. The thing is, I’ve never stopped loving her. There hasn’t been a day in my life when I’ve woken up feeling like I wasn’t in love with her. I believe wholeheartedly she’s my soulmate.

The other night in my truck—I don’t want to call that a hook-up but that’s what it felt like, almost like she had an itch, and I was the scratching post—was different. That was us, giving into the temptation. This is different. It’s like I can feel we’re on the path to forever.

Being with her is like being home. My memories of our time together didn’t fail me. I remember everything perfectly. Which spots drive her crazy, what positions she likes, and how she likes to take control. Thinking about her, pushing me onto her bed after we had a late-night snack, brings a smile to my face.

“What’s so funny?” she asks.

I hadn’t realized I laughed a little.

“Nothing,” I tell her. “Just thinking about us. Last night, throughout the night, this morning. All of it.”

“Are you happy?”

Her question catches me off guard, and I don’t like it. I readjust so we’re both on our sides and brush her hair away from her face.

“Lemon, the day you stomped through the school yard to ask me what the hell I’m doing on the grounds made me happy because you were talking to me. I knew, deep down, if I could get you to just talk to me then we’d find ways to be in each other’s paths again.”

“I’ve done everything I could to avoid you.”

“I know and I’ve given you the space. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you or put you in an uncomfortable situation.”

She smiles kindly.

“Can I ask you something?”

Lemon nods.

“Why did you come back to Magnolia Grove when you could’ve gone anywhere with your degree?”

Her shoulder starts to lift and then drops immediately. “I’ve often asked myself the same thing and depending on my mood, the answer changes. At the beginning of the last couple of school years, I questioned my decision each time the school board awarded you the landscaping contract. Jean would remind me they weren’t going to give it to anyone else, regardless, so why did I put myself through the drama of caring.

“Then I wouldn’t see you for months, not even a glimpse and I’d find myself driving by places where I’d know you be like River’s End or the hardware store because I freak out when I thought you had moved, even though that was always in the back of my mind.

“But then, come summer, I would leave because I couldn’t see you with your daughter . . .” she pauses and inhales. “With Goldie. Seeing her here reminded me of what I lost and at times that pain was crippling. So, I’d travel and come back in time to get things ready for the upcoming school year.

“To get back to your question though, I think I came back because this is where I was the happiest. Call me naïve but my time with you was the happiest I’ve ever been. I know we were young, but I feel like we were perfect together and part of me needed to have those memories in order to feel alive again.”

This wasn’t the answer I was expecting, but one I can fully appreciate. I lean forward and kiss her softly. “Thank you for telling me all of this.”

Lemon nods and smiles again. “Ever since the other night I feel like a weight has been lifted off me and it opened my heart up to love again.”

“As long as it’s me you’re loving,” I tell her.

“It is, which just seems crazy to me.”

“Should I question all of this?”

She shakes her head and bites her lower lip before moving closer to me. “Not at all, Wade. I’m right where I want to be. Where I should’ve been this entire time had I not listened to people I called friends.”

“And Marigold? Does she fit in as well?”

Lemon nods. “She does. She’s innocent in all of this, and I should’ve seen it from the beginning. I was just so hurt. I didn’t know how to cope or manage my feelings.”

“I hope you believe me when I tell you I didn’t mean for any of that to happen.”

She nods again. “I do. My heart does.”

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