Page 87 of Broken Hearts

I’ll be seeing you,

Mitch

“Fuck,” I breathe out, and this time it’s me sobbing like a baby as Sage now wraps me in her arms. I have no idea if she read the letter too, I wasn’t trying to hide it from her, but fuck me, that was not what I was expecting.

“You okay?” Sage asks.

I let out a laugh, shaking my head as I tighten my arms around her. “No, yeah,” I say. “Fuck, I don’t know. I just… Shit, I don’t know what I expected to find in that envelope.”

She smiles, wiping at my cheeks. “If it was anything like mine, I’m guessing it was exactly what you needed.”

I smile, shaking my head as I scrub a hand down my face. “Yeah, something like that,” I say, exhaling. “You can read it,” I tell her.

“It’s yours,” she says softly.

“I know,” I say. “I don’t know, I kinda want you to read it, I guess. But you don’t have to.”

Sage smiles, leaning up to brush her lips against mine. “I will, and you can read mine too.”

I smile against her mouth. “I can’t believe your dad left us the shop when we’d never even met each other, never even knew the other existed.”

She laughs, shaking her head a little as she says, “I guess he just knew.”

“Yeah,” I say. “You think he’d be happy if he knew about this…us?” I ask, circling a finger in the space between us.

She smiles up at me, her beautiful ocean blue eyes sparkling with happiness and love, and all the things I want to see for the rest of my life. “Yeah,” she whispers. “I really do.”

It’s only beena day since we read the letters from my dad on the beach, but Nate and I have fallen into a comfortable routine, calm washing over both of us at the realization that our lives will forever be entwined. Even if we hadn’t fallen in love, we’d be running the shop together, forever linked.

I love the way it played out, almost like my dad set it up knowing Nate and I would fall for each other. Now I can carry on, keeping my dad’s hard work alive despite his passing, and having Nate onboard makes it even better.

He knows the ins and outs of the shop, and I told him I’d like to be a silent partner rather than all involved. I plan to still finish school and get a teaching job out here. It’s what I’ve worked for all this time and I’m not just giving up on it since I’m relocating to Hawaii.

I roll over in bed, the sun streaming through the windows, something I’ve grown used to, and I smile when I find the spot next to me empty.

He’s out surfing.

Something he’s done alone since my dad passed. Something he finds comfort in. Something that allows him to start his day doing something he loves.

I stretch my arms above my head. The guilt I once felt has slowly been easing up, and I don’t know if it’s because of my decision to stay or the letter or falling in love with Nate or keeping the shop, or maybe it’s all of those things.

I hear the outside shower start up, the old pipes making this funny rumbling noise before it fully heats up.

I scramble from the bed, wearing just a tank and a pair of panties, knowing Nate won’t open the shop for at least another hour or so. I head out the door, peeking down the stairs and out into the openness of the yard, and when I find no one, I quickly tread down the stairs, beaming as I surprise Nate in the shower.

“Good morning,” I whisper, coming up behind him, my arms sliding over his wet torso, feeling the hard ripple of his muscles under my fingers.

He whips around so we’re now face to face. “Holy shit, Sage,” he yells, and I let out a giggle. “You scared the hell out of me.” Again, I laugh, my smile widening.

“I thought I’d surprise you down here,” I say, pulling my bottom lip between my teeth. “You ever…” I trail off, winking at him to see if he catches what I’m thinking.

“No. Never.” His response is abrupt, his eyes wide. “It’s kinda not really all that…private.” He pushes up on his toes, leaning forward to look out the open side of the shower.

It literally faces nothing but open land, dotted with palm trees and greenery, and with it being on the side of the shop, no one comes around the side anyway. Well, except me that first day I arrived. Good thing I only caught Nate shirtless and showering rather than more. I could even say it was what started my attraction to him in the first place.

“Might be a little hot,” I whisper, my tongue slipping out to trace a path along his lips, and he lets out a hard gasp of air when I run my hand over the bulge in his boardshorts.

I pull back, waiting for his answer, and his eyes rake over my body. My tank is wet, my nipples hard and he stops for a second, focusing on them before leaning down and taking my nipple between his teeth.

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