Page 97 of The Jilted Lovers Club
But I’m scared to say them. I’ve had enough rejection to last a lifetime. Maybe I’ll just wait a few weeks more, maybe a few months.
“What are you thinking?” He slows, his hips still rocking against me. But he pushes up to see my face. “I can see your wheels turning. What’s going on?”
I shake my head, but the need to tell him is so great. “I love…” I slam my mouth shut, then my eyes, then my whole body.
He stops completely. His hand brushes over my cheek, then to my eyelashes where he catches my tears. I feel the warmth of his breath, and then the soft caress of his lips.
“I love you, Jordan Gallo. I think I loved you the moment you tripped into this town and fell into my heart. I love every part of you. The good. The complicated. The mess. I love all of it, and I love that you love me.”
I open my eyes, searching his. “I couldn’t even get the words out,” I say, feeling like a complete failure. He shakes his head, brushing my hair from my face.
“Then tell me, silly,” he says. His smile is so beautiful. His eyes the color of warm honey as he watches me. Everything about him…
“I love you,” I whisper.
And his mouth crashes onto mine, claiming me as he wraps his arms even tighter around me. I exhale as he pushes deeper inside me, and I match the rhythm of his hips, my hand memorizing the way his muscles ripple as he moves.
I love you.
He squeezes his arms against mine, caging me in as his movements increase. Something about it makes me feel sosecure, completely taken. I feel the beginnings of the orgasms start at the top of my head, travel down my center, then hit my core like a damn eruption. I cry out, clutching him at the sheer intensity of it all. When we’re through, we collapse together, completely spent. He remains inside me as he strokes my body.
“I love you, Jordy,” he whispers, feathering sweet kisses along my sweaty brow as I come down.
“I love you, Ashton,” I murmur, my eyes already growing heavy. I try to stay awake, try to count every one of his breaths as my heart expands within the embrace of the man I love. The man I want to be with forever.
But eventually, my body gives out to exhaustion and sleep finally takes me, safe in his arms.
Epilogue
Jordy
Reader, I married him.
I know. This is so not like me. But when you know, you know.
It was just a small ceremony—Bob, Bec, and Lottie of course, my parents, Nina, Brayden, and Junie, Griffin and Bernie…
And the whole damn town.
I guess when anything happens around here, you can’t leave anyone out. Everything in this town is everyone else’s business.
And I love it.
Married life is nothing like I imagined. I always thought marriage was something that would hold me back, but that was back when I was preparing to marry the wrong person. Things with Ashton are easy and intense. We go hard, from the way we communicate about everything, to how we work together on the farm and at the shop, to how we fall into bed every night, worshipping each other’s bodies until sleep wins. Sure, we have our moments; both of us are strong-willed individuals who are dead set on getting our ways. But god, the make-up sex makes it all worth it. Sometimes I think we fight just so we can fuck the aggression out of each other.
Basically, we make a perfect team.
I spend most of my days with Bec at the People’s Place. I invested just like I promised, but not as much as I’d originally planned. The town pulled together to help the Felixes get back on their feet, and the bank allowed them a low interest loan to make up a portion of it. I tried to talk them out of the loan, but they wouldn’t have it.
“She was our daughter,” Bob explained. “It’s our debt to repay.”
He and Bec finally went public with the reason they needed to sell, knowing they couldn’t protect Sasha’s reputation any longer. In any other town, it would have been nobody’s business, but in Lahoma, we’re family—and family helps each other out.
The town helped Bernie too. Through a few generous investments, Bernie was able to pay off her outstanding debts, and even had enough left over to spruce up the place.
As her designer, I’m proud to say that Bernie not only let me chuck the outdated orange and purple furniture, but redesign the place with a sleek modern look—lots of black and gray with some silver and a few colorful accent pieces. Nina would have hated it. But I love it.
More importantly, Bernie loved it. So did many of the surrounding businesses. I became the official designer of Lahoma Springs. Anytime there’s a need for a redesign, I’m called upon to work my magic. I once thought my dream was to have my name in lights in New York City, to be known by every business in that big city as the one person to make their vision come true. But I learned that being known in this small town is much closer to the core of my heart. Lahoma Springs is my home, and every fiber of my being loves this town. To be the trusted name among the businesses here is a dream come true, and one I can live with all my life.
