Page 106 of The Last Time

“How did you drive this boat with her here?” I ask, curious about the logistics.

He smiles. “She sat on my lap. I don’t trust her to be out of my sight on here. But she seems a lot happier now that you’re here.”

We both just smile at each other.

Since it hasn’t warmed up for the day yet, we don’t go too fast while he scouts out a place to drop anchor.

Once he finds his favorite spot, we get everything settled, and he pulls out a thermos with two cups.

“Please tell me there’s coffee in there,” I plead.

“Of course, there’s coffee. There’s also probably every pastry you can think of in this box.” He pulls out a large pink box from some kind of bakery. “I hate that I don’t know your favorites yet, so I got one of everything. But I promise, I will be spending the rest of my life learning everything you like and spoiling you with it.”

Swoon. This man. Who would’ve thought the grumpy, angry man that I reconnected with months ago would turn out to be so sweet and thoughtful?

The rest of the day is perfect. We spent hours out on the boat. Brie took a nap in my arms while we headed back to my dock. Snuggling with her while I watched the sexiest man alive steer the boat with his flexed muscles, it was like a fairytale.

A dirty fairytale where the heroine has very dirty thoughts about the hero.

I haven’t felt that man’s lips on mine in months, so of course, I’m feeling all kinds of charged up around him.

He did just profess his love for me, too.

Some would say after what we went through, he didn’t do enough. I say it was perfect. Bringing along his daughter, meeting me at my favorite spot, sharing his thoughts about watching me when we were younger, it was all I needed.

The truth is, he was always going to have my heart. I trusted and believed him when he said he would work on himself for me.

I know he wanted to get help so he could be better. To me, that’s the biggest grand gesture a woman can ask for. A man who is willing to work on himself to be the best man he can be for the woman he loves.

That’s a real man. I don’t need a flashy moment in front of a crowd. Anybody can do that.

We spend the evening together, making s’mores in his backyard over the firepit. Brie’s eyes are nearly rolling in the back of her head as she tries to take down her s’more.

“She is exhausted,” I say as we both watch her with amusement. When her face hits her s’more, instead of going into her mouth, I decide it’s time to get her in bed. “Alright, I’m taking her to bed. I think she gets a bath tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah,” he smiles. “I think she’d have a meltdown if we put her in water right now. I can take her, though, if you want to hang by the fire.”

“Not at all,” I say as she rests her head on my shoulder. “I want to put her to bed.”

As I lie with her and read her a story, my heart feels so full. Her little hand is playing with my hair as her eyelids begin to flutter until they remain closed. I kiss her forehead and tiptoe out of the room, back outside, until I spot Asher outside, still sitting by the fire.

When I open the sliding door, he looks up at me with a smile that makes me feel like the luckiest damn woman in the world.

“Hey, you,” he says. “Come here.”

He opens his arms, and I don’t hesitate to beeline it right into them. In an instant, our lips are on each other’s.

The kiss is urgent. It’s been months, and it feels like all of the ups and downs are being expressed through this hungry kiss.

He pulls me onto his lap, and we kiss for what feels like an hour. Neither willing to stop. When he finally pulls away, my lips are swollen.

“Damn, I missed you baby,” he whispers.

“I missed you.”

“Thank you so much for taking me back. I swear, that was last time I will ever need space, from now on, I’m yours. Forever.”

The End

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