Page 113 of Someone to Have
“Looks like you’re off the hook,” I tell him, forcing a smile.
He glances toward the stage and nods at the band’s lead singer. A moment later, the first strains of a country ballad—the exact kind Chase Calhoun warned us about—fill the air.
“You’re not going to get rid of me that easily, Tinkerbell,” he says as he links our fingers.
I place my other hand on his tie, knees going weak at the heat radiating off his body. I breathe in his clean scent and force myself not to hope too hard. “Did you come from a funeral?” I ask, and he throws back his head and laughs as he draws me closer.
“Woman, I bought a suit to impress you.”
I blink and look up at him. My nose grazes the edge of his jaw, and the rasp of his stubble sends chills through me.
“You didn’t need to?—”
“I need to apologize,” he says, his breath warm against my skin. “For being a damn idiot.”
“My dad tells me some guys are just built to be idiots.”
“Maybe,” he agrees, “But I’m going to try to do better because…” He draws in a shaky breath like he’s nervous. The man who helped me find my confidence is stumbling, which makes his words mean even more when he finally finds them. “Because Ilove you so goddamn much. And maybe I have no right to ask you to pick me, but do it anyway, Tinkerbell.”
The thread of vulnerability in his tone makes my chest expand so much it aches with the love I feel for him.
“Choose me over Limpdick, and I’ll?—”
“I did not choose Limpdick.” I sound breathless, my heart crashing like waves in a storm. “I know you saw him kiss me, but I didn’t want it. I don’t want him. I want you, you big dummy. I love you.”
“Why?” he blurts. “Oh shit. Don’t answer that. I’m not fishing for a compliment. That’s pathetic.”
He looks anything but pathetic with his broad shoulders and strong jaw, his dark eyes searching mine as if I’m the answer to every question he wants to ask.
“Because you are you, and you love me for me. You make me feel special. You make me feel brave.” I brush my lips along the edge of his jaw. “That thing you do with your tongue doesn’t hurt.”
“Sweetheart, I’ve got a whole bag of tricks I’m going to show you, if that’s what it takes.”
“You don’t need that bag of tricks, although I won’t say no,” I tease.
He leans in to kiss me. Slowly. Gently. A promise of more to come.
The fairy lights above us twinkle like stars in the sky. The scent of dried flowers, cookies, and hay hangs in the air. And the world finally feels steady. Like I’ve found my place in it. My person.
“You’re a fucking miracle, Taylor. You brought so much sunshine into my life. I didn’t even know I was living in the dark until you shined your light on me.”
I think of my father’s words about me bringing sunshine to my mother’s life and feel tears stream down my cheeks. “That’s a really good line.”
“It’s the truth, Tinkerbell,” he says, kissing me again. “You’re my own personal jar of beautiful pixie dust. Forever.”
Then we’re swaying to the music like every sappy love song ever written was made for this moment. And I know with bone-deep certainty that I belong in this man’s arms for the rest of my life.
EPILOGUE
ERIC
Two Months Later
“Areyou sure you don't want to go on a more challenging hike?” Taylor asks as I pull into an open parking spot at the Nature Center early Saturday morning. “You know I'm in much better cardio shape than I used to be thanks to my fencing lessons.”
“Tinkerbell, you're crushing my ego.” I reach across the console of the truck to squeeze her thigh. “I thought you got your cardio thanks tomysaber.”
She rolls her eyes but laughs. “Just couldn't resist, could you?”
