Page 118 of One Life to Loathe

“What?” I asked breathlessly. All I wanted was to be wrapped around him. I didn’t care that Miles was likely loitering in the cemetery or that there was lobster getting cold. All I cared about was this moment.

“I’m going to kiss you. If you want me to stop, tell me now.”

“I don’t want you to ever stop.”

His hands were on my waist, and he was already boosting me up. “Is this the part where you climb me like a tree again?”

“Are you actually complaining about that?” Our mouths were hovering a mere inch apart.

“Nope. I was just checking.”

“I can’t believe I almost called in sick to this,” I complained.

He chuckled. “I would’ve gone to you no matter what. I know what I want. I’m not letting it go.”

“You should probably say yes to that movie before we get distracted.”

“No.” He exhaled into my mouth. “I’ll get to it as soon as I kiss you.”

“Okay. Good. You’re right. I like that order better.”

The sparks were there when our lips touched. I was no longer worried about it being the last time, though. We had a lot of first times in front of us. That’s what I was going to look forward to.

EPILOGUE

FOUR MONTHS LATER

Iwas sweaty when I finished my final shots of the movie. It had all come together perfectly, though, so I was also elated. For once, I’d gotten along with everybody, kept my mouth from getting away from me, and actually made friends on the set.

Apparently, I didn’t have to burn everything down after all. I was a decent guy when I was happy. Who knew?

I let myself into the hotel room I’d been sharing with Sam for the past two months. She wasn’t on the bed as I was expecting, but I could hear her in the shower. That meant I had time to make the call I’d been holding off from making for days.

Jax picked up on the first ring.

“You know, I almost think you miss me,” he said by way of greeting. “Why else would you call with such alarming regularity?”

I rolled my eyes, which he couldn’t see, and kept my voice low. “Is everything set?”

“Does the crow fly at midnight?” he replied.

“What?”

“I’m just pointing out that your greetings need work. You could’ve said ‘hello’ first.”

“You didn’t say hello.”

“Good point. As for what we talked about, it’s done. We arranged for you to rent Jennifer’s condo for two months. At that time, you either need to make her a good offer to buy it or vacate it so she can list it.”

We’d already been over this information. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ve seen photos. The condo is great.” It wasn’t going to be our forever home anyway. We just needed something for a few years. Then we would find the home of Sam’s dreams. “I was talking about the other stuff.”

“Oh, you mean the stuff for the big proposal,” Jax teased.

“I believe that’s what I was talking about.” I darted a look toward the bathroom door. I could still hear the shower running. The second it shut off, though, I would have to end this conversation. “Are we good?”

“We’re good on everything but the ring.”

“I have the ring.”

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