Page 39 of Holidate Pursuit

Seven…

Six…

Five…

Four…

Three…

Two…

My drink is suddenly lifted from my hands.

One…

I’m engulfed in two large, strong arms.

“Happy New Year, Lucy.” And then I’m kissed—kissed as if the man is dying of starvation, and my lips are the onlysustenance that will save him. I’m completely and utterly ravaged.

His lips move down my jaw and neck to nip my ear. “I’m so sorry, baby. You were right. I was a coward, an ass, an idiot, and everything in between. But most of all, I was scared.” His mouth returns to mine, kissing me again before moving to my other ear. “I’ve decided I’d rather be scared with you than miserable without you. I didn’t realize how empty life was until you came along. I’ve been a shell of a man. And Lucy…?” He looks at me intensely. “With you, I’m whole.”

My mind is a jumbled mess. Between his kisses and words, I’m practically incoherent. “Justin… how… when did you get here?”

“I’ve been here all night, watching you, waiting for a sign to tell me the right thing to do, and it came. You’re meant for me, and I’m meant for you, fuck all the consequences. I’ll grovel as much as it takes for one last chance.” He places his hands on my face, his pleading eyes boring into mine. “Please say yes to coming home with me so I can tell you how wrong I was and show you how right we are together.”

“Yes,” I reply simply, and all I can think is… my wish came true.

Justin

Lucy must’ve been too shell-shocked on the way here to say anything because the entire ride was silent, which is fine by me since there was less chance for her to change her mind before we arrived. I’m unlocking the front door quicker than ever, anxious to get her inside. The need to have Lucy in my space consumes me. Once she’s within my four walls, she’ll be mine. Irrational, I know, but my mind likes to play tricks on me.

Shutting the door, I take her coat and hang it on the coat rack.

“Come on, we can sit in the living room with the fire. Would you like water or wine? I have your favorite white.” I stopped at the store earlier today to get everything Lucy liked. You could say I was hopeful.

“As much as I’d like the wine, I better stick with water for now,” she says as she sits on the couch.

“Be right back.” I flick the switch for the fire before heading towards the kitchen. Just before turning the corner, I stop and look back. “Lucy, thank you for coming. I’m glad you’re here.” Then I continue, not giving her the chance to respond.

After putting two glasses of water on the table and sitting beside her, I take the opportunity to start things off. “Even though I’m dying to have you in my arms again, you deserve to have your questions answered and lay into me all you want for how I ended things… again. I’ll give you as much time as you need—or until my willpower snaps, whichever comes first. And I make no guarantees how long that will take, so you better get going.”

She takes a deep breath and dives right in. “What happened to our different backgrounds being a problem for you? And I thought myidealswere too far off from yours. What changed your mind?”

I release my breath slowly, considering the best way to answer. Honesty is usually the best policy, but I don’t want to throw her dad under the bus simply for my benefit at the risk of making her feel bad. Instead, I start by explaining my behavior from the first time around, all while deliberating what to say about the more recent events.

When I finish explaining where my mind was at after Lily’s kidnapping, she doesn’t hesitate to chime in. “Why didn’t you tell me this right away, or even last week? What if something bad happens at work again, and you end up in a similar situation?I don’t want to be constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for you to disappear.” Her response is warranted.

I can’t resist reaching for her hand. “That’s fair. To answer your question, I didn’t say anything last week because I wanted you to take me back with no excuses. If you gave me a second chance after handling things so poorly, I wanted it to be of your own free will. Look… what both situations boil down to is communication and feelings. I’m not great with either. From the military to owning a security firm, my world has always been black and white.”

“So, how will you be in a relationship that might add some color to your world?”

“The company I’ve built thrives on my leadership, organization, and training. The action was fun for a while, but trust me baby, you’re more fun, I promise. I’ll still take the occasional small job or low-security gig, but I’ll assign my team the rest. That’s what they’re trained for, and I’ll focus more on the business end of things.”

“And my family? Our different upbringings? You insisted that was a deal-breaker a few days ago. That seems pretty black and white to me. What changed?” She’s not making this easy.

“There are differences between us, but they don’t matter to me. I only said those things because you shouldn’t have to choose between me and your family, so I chose for you. I had good intentions but went about it the wrong way again. My good intentions were thrown out the window after enduring this past week without you. I realize your choices shouldn’t be made for you, but it’s important you understand what you’d be giving up.” This is the part I’m absolutely dreading.

“My dad told you, didn’t he? About my trust fund?” She looks down, shaking her head and pulls her hand from mine. “So that’s why they didn’t sound surprised when I told them we broke up. Did you not believe me when I said I don’t want it?”

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