Page 64 of Bourbon & Bonfires

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for making my mom happy and for loving her. And, me.”

“Ah, man, you don’t have to thank me. I love both you and your mom very much. You’re my family. Family sticks together, right?” I swear I see his eyes glisten, and if this kid cries, I’ll cry, and neither of us needs that moment in our life so I’m grateful when he nods and quickly turns toward his door.

Following suit, I walk into Addison’s bedroom and close the door behind me. The light of a small lamp fills the room, and I take in Addison lying in bed on her side, e-reader in her hands. She looks up from her book and smiles at me, and right now, standing before her, this is what I’ve waited for. Not only this woman but this life.

I take my place in bed as Addison reaches over and turns out the light. Rolling onto my side, my body supported by my elbow, I allow my free hand to linger on Addison’s hip. She lets out a noise that reminds me of a cat’s purr as she snuggles into her pillow, both hands resting under her cheek.

“We didn’t talk about earlier,” she whispers.

“Which part?” I ask. It’s been an eventful day, she could be talking about anything.

“When I said I love you.”

“Ah yes, the single best part of the day,” I say, nudging her closer with my hand on her hip. As she scoots closer, my hand slides to cup her ass.

“I didn’t plan to tell you like that.”

“How did you plan it?” I ask, moving my body closer to hers, placing my lips on her bare shoulder.

“Truthfully, there was no plan. I just wanted to tell you when we were home.”

“Home. I like that.”

Addison moves her head, exposing her neck to me as I make a trail of light kisses up to her earlobe. When I suck it between my teeth she shivers and I smile. “Tell me again,” I say.

“I love you. I’m sorry I didn’t say it earlier. And I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to say it to you in the first place. I think I fell a little in love the night you took me to your parents’ house for dinner.”

Her words take me by surprise, and I pull back to look at her. “That was our first date,” I say, the confusion evident in my tone.

“It was.”

“I can one up you on that,” I tease as I roll her onto her back. Her brow rises as she smirks. “I think I fell in love with you on New Year’s Eve.”

Instead of a response, Addison laces her fingers through my hair and tugs me to her. Her legs spread slightly, allowing me to settle between them, and I kiss her until kissing isn’t enough. Tugging her tank top down, I watch as her perfect breasts pop out and her nipples pucker. Sucking one then the other into my mouth, her purrs and moans encourage me to continue as I worship her body.

Like the words we shared, each stroke and touch is full of promise. A promise to love her forever, a promise to never let her go.

“I’m scared, Landon.” Her words are a whisper, and I pull back to look her in her eyes.

“Baby, there’s nothing to be scared of.”

“What if I’m not enough?” she asks as a tear glides down her cheek. I capture it with my thumb, my hand cupping her face.

“If I know anything, Addison, it’s that you were put here for me. You are the one I’m meant to be with. Your heart is so big and open. Open to love but not open to hurt. I’m not perfect, babe, but I can promise I will never let a day go by that you don’t know what you mean to me, and I will do everything in my power to make sure you never hurt again.”

Another tear falls, but this time the expression on Addison’s face isn’t one of distress and fear, it’s one of hope and love.

When I went to Lexington last fall to be my brother’s date to a wedding, I never expected to meet a man who would completely turn my life upside down. But I did. I met Landon Montgomery, and that moment set forth a series of decisions that have brought me here.

Standing in our kitchen, trying to figure out why three people need this many glasses and wonder why we didn’t donate half of this stuff. Do people really use this mandolin thing? I don’t even know where it came from, yet it’s in my must-keep box.

Since the day we both said the words “I love you,” life picked up at a rapid pace for Landon and me. His dad came back to work at the family business, taking over the office end of things, leaving Landon more time to be in the field and finish a lot of the furniture orders he’d postponed while he adjusted to being a business owner.

Dan held up his end of the bargain to call Mason more, and their relationship is better than it has been for years. There hasn’t been another mention of Mason spending the summer with him, but now that Dan and Lolly are expecting, I’m waiting for Mason to ask to visit his dad. That’s not a bridge I’m looking forward to crossing.

I still love my job and working for Doc Burning. He’s struggling to understand why Landon and I aren’t getting married and only living together but has accepted it. Sometimes I feel as if I have half a dozen parents in this town with double the amount of opinions. The Montgomerys have welcomed both Mason and me into their family and he’s even taken to calling Willa Grandma.

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