Page 95 of Love on the Vine
She let out a ragged sob. But now that I’d finally said the words, I couldn’t stop. “I love you so much I don’t know what to do with it. And maybe you don’t feel the same . . .” It was hard to speak past the lump in my throat.
“Jake.” She ran her hand through my hair, stilling me, and forcing me to meet her eyes. “I love you too.”
I let out a shuddering breath and sealed her lips with mine, as if I could swallow the words, catch them on my tongue, and make them part of me.
“Tell me again,” I said against her lips.
“I love you. I love you,” she repeated as I rained kisses all over her face until her tears had turned to laughter that warmedme through. “I love you. I should have told you sooner, but I was afraid you’d never love me back. And then when you panicked when you thought we might have . . .”
I shook my head. “No, it wasn’t about that. I didn’t want to fuck up your plans or your future. I wasn’t panicked by the idea of having a baby with you.”
“You weren’t? Does that mean…?”
“It means if you want one someday, I’ll be more than happy to give you one. Or more. As many as you want.” I laced my fingers with hers and lowered my mouth to hers again, unable to let her go.
I bent my lips to her throat, felt her pulse flutter under her warm skin. “Come home with me.”
She shivered and nodded. “Let me tell Levi.”
* * *
We lay together in the bedroom of my Paris apartment, her cheek pressed to my chest where my heart still beat like a drum. I caressed the soft skin of her arm as she drew lazy circles with her finger over my chest.
“It’s not as big as I was expecting,” she said.
“You know that’s not something a man wants to hear right after sex, right?” I teased, tweaking her nose.
She laughed. “I mean your apartment, silly. I wasn’t expecting a studio. But I like it. I can help you decorate it.”
“I’m sure you will.” I glanced around at the sparse furnishings—a big bed, a couch, and table. It definitely needed a personality. “You could stay here if you want.”
“No, I told you I’m doing this on my own. Callie is stuck with me as a roommate. Even though I am tempted by this incredible view.” She waved her hand at the atelier windows that faced out toward Notre Dame and the Seine.
I admired her determination to work toward her goal on her own, but I couldn’t help wanting to take care of her. And I would—one day. I was already looking forward to a lifetime doing just that.
“So are you ever going to tell me about what you were doing in Shanghai?” she asked.
“Something tells me you already know.”
Raising up on her elbow, she studied me before responding. “I know that you sold your business. Why?”
“Because I no longer felt invested in it. And I realized I was using it as an excuse. I hid in my job, so I wouldn’t see how empty my life was. Like this apartment.”
She smiled and fell back down against my chest, pressing her lips to my sternum. If I were a cat, I’d be purring right about now. “Does that mean you’ll be here more often? In France, anyway?”
“That’s the idea.” I was tempted to reveal my new plan to her, but wanted to surprise her when she came back to Moustiers next weekend.
“What I want even more, however,” I said, pulling her back up my body, already hard and aching. She draped her leg over my hip and moaned as I slid inside her. “Is to make up for lost time.”
Chapter 33
OLIVIA
This time when I arrived at the train station, Jake was waiting for me.
Leaning against the Aston Martin, his hair slightly disheveled, shirt open at the collar and rolled up over his forearms, he made my knees wobble. I almost had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.
But I wasn’t dreaming. I was home.
