Page 62 of Forgettable in Every Way

Simon was mature about the entire thing and was more than cordial to Sean, asking him about himself and talking sports. All the while, Penelope draped herself all over the man while shooting daggers at me. She even laughed when Sean didn’t remember me. Fine by me. I didn’t need to be remembered by a guy who called himself the Dream Machine.

I acted unaffected by Penelope’s immature and callous behavior, doing my best not to give her what she wanted. Which was a sad reaction from me. It was hard to watch a grown woman get her kicks off hurting others.

“Well, think about it,” Mom said before she flitted off. “Have fun today.”

I always did when I was with Simon. I walked across the house and into the foyer. There I found Simon, looking dashing in his dress shorts and a short-sleeved button-up, Ray-Bans on his head, looking at the watercolor my mom had commissioned hanging above the entryway table. I leaned against the wall and wondered how I got so lucky. “Hi.”

Simon turned and immediately took me in with his eyes. “Hello, gorgeous; you look absolutely smashing.”

“Thank you. So do you.” I tiptoed over to him.

He wasted no time taking me into his arms and pressing a kiss to my lips. He lingered and breathed me in as if it gave him life, while I basked in the pure bliss of belonging.

“Are you ready to go?” he spoke against my lips.

“I am, but I was wondering if you would like to see Aspen Lake from my Vespa.”

His gorgeous green eyes lit up. “I would love to, darling.”

“Do you want to drive or should I?”

“Definitely you. That way, I can hold you and ravage your neck anytime I desire.”

“I do enjoy that.” I grinned.

He pulled me flush against him. “Then I shall make sure I do a thorough job.”

“I knew I liked you for some reason,” I teased. “You might be the best boyfriend ever.” My hand flew to my mouth, breaking us apart. “Sorry,” I mumbled through my hand. “We never discussed titles.” I felt a rush of hot embarrassment coursing through my veins.

His entire countenance danced with amusement. He pulled me right back to him. “Jules,” he said my name tenderly. “There is no need for you to be embarrassed. If I haven’t said it yet, I think of you as the best girlfriend I have ever had.”

My racing heart calmed. “Really?”

“Without a doubt. If you had social media, I would make it Facebook official,” he teased.

“That’s unnecessary.”

“Which is one of the reasons I absolutely adore you.”

“I adore you too.” You know, or love you. I wasn’t going to say it until he did. I’d learned my lesson from the photo album I was too chicken to ask him about. Obviously, he’d discarded it. Maybe I just didn’t want to hear that. To me, it was like discarding my heart, and I didn’t need to know that he had.

“I’m glad to hear it.” He kissed my nose.

“I’ll go grab my gift for Calista and then we can be off on our Roman Holiday adventure.”

A thoughtfulness washed over him. “I’m sorry it took us so long to take this adventure. I’ll make sure it was worth the wait.”

I suppose in the end, that was all that really mattered. Not when our story began, only that it was worth it. So far, so, so good.

Simon

SIMON KNEW HE WAS SUPPOSED to be paying attention to Jules’s tour of her hometown as they made their way to the country club along the scenic route skirting the lake, but all he could think about was the fact he was falling in love with Jules. Hell, he’d almost told her as much when she called him her boyfriend. He stopped himself, not wishing to rush her or their relationship. They had plenty of time. Besides, they still had things to iron out. The biggest being that they lived in different states. Simon had no idea how things would play out once she went back to LA. Of course, he would try to see her as often as possible. But it wouldn’t be long before Jack started school. Between that and his work, it wouldn’t leave much time for traveling back and forth. And he still had no idea what she did for a living. So, he didn’t know what her schedule would be like once real life came into play.

“We need to take Jack to this toy store,” Jules said loudly over the hum of her Vespa as they made their way down Main Street. “They curate toys from all around the world.”

Simon loved how much Jules adored Jack and thought of him. He even appreciated the quaintness of Aspen Lake. It reminded him of home with its brick buildings and old gas lamps.

He squeezed her tighter and breathed her in. He couldn’t get enough of her coconut-oil smell. It always made him feel as if he were on a tropical vacation with her. “We’ll take him on Monday.” Simon was eager for Jack’s return. Jules’s company helped lessen the blow, but it still pained him.

---