Page 16 of Curves and Waves

I cut her off with a gentle kiss. "You're my whole life now. The company, the city, none of it means anything if you're not there."

She bit her lip, and I could see the conflict in her eyes. "I can't ask you to give up everything for me."

"You're not asking. I'm offering." I took a deep breath. "I love you, Zoe. I think I have for years, I was just too scared to admit it. But these past few days, they've shown me what I've been missing. And I don't want to miss another moment."

"I love you too," she whispered. "God, Caleb, I love you so much."

I pulled her close, capturing her lips in a deep, passionate kiss. When we finally broke apart, we were both breathless.

"So," I said, resting my forehead against hers. "What do you say? Ready to give this crazy thing a shot in the real world?"

Zoe smiled, that brilliant, beautiful smile that never failed to make my heart skip a beat. "With you? I'm ready for anything."

As the ship sailed on towards our final port, I held Zoe close, feeling more anchored than I ever had before.

"Hey," Zoe said suddenly, grinning. "Want to go make out in the lifeboat alcove one last time? For old times' sake?"

I laughed, pulling her towards the stairs. "I thought you'd never ask, shortcake."

As we raced through the ship, hand in hand and giggling like teenagers, I knew with absolute certainty that this was the woman for me.

Chapter 8: Zoe

Three months. It had been three months since Caleb and I stepped off that cruise ship, hand in hand. Now, as I stood in my Chicago apartment surrounded by moving boxes, it felt both like no time had passed at all and as if my entire life had changed.

Which, I suppose, it had.

Except for one thing. I still hadn’t told my brother I was moving. I was nervous about being away from my twin for the first time in my life.

I taped up another box, labeling it "Kitchen Stuff" in my messy scrawl and stashed it away in the spare room. The sound of the front door opening made me look up, a smile already forming on my face.

"Honey, I'm home!" Caleb's voice rang out, followed by the thud of his duffel bag hitting the floor.

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't keep the grin off my face. "In here, you dork!"

He appeared in the doorway, looking unfairly handsome in jeans and a t-shirt that hugged his arms in all the right ways. Even after three months, the sight of him still made my heart do a little flip.

"How's the packing going, shortcake?" he asked, crossing the room to plant a kiss on my forehead.

I wrinkled my nose at the nickname. "It's going. How was your flight?"

"Long," he sighed, flopping onto the couch. "But worth it. I missed you."

I settled next to him, curling into his side. "I missed you too. These weekend visits are getting harder and harder."

Caleb's arm tightened around me. "Well, lucky for us, this is the last one. In two weeks, we'll be living together in our swanky New York apartment. No more saying goodbye at airports."

The thought sent a thrill through me, equal parts excitement and nerves. It was a big step, moving in together. Especially considering we'd only been officially dating for three months. But when you know, you know, right? I was the one who wanted to move in the end. I made the decision to start my own graphic design company, so wanted a fresh start away from Chicago to do it, and New York was the perfect location with the perfect man.

Caleb's lips brushed against my ear, his voice dropping to a low rumble that never failed to send shivers down my spine. "Want to take a break from packing? I can think of a few ways to pass the time before Jake gets here."

I pretended to consider it. "I don't know. I still have a lot of boxes to pack."

His hand slid under my shirt, tracing patterns on my lower back. "Come on, shortcake. All work and no play makes Zoe a dull girl."

I turned to face him, draping my arms around his neck. "Well, when you put it that way, I suppose I could be persuaded."

Caleb's grin was triumphant as he stood, scooping me up in his arms. I let out a surprised squeal, wrapping my legs around his waist.

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