Page 70 of Love Letter Lost
“Livvy? But how…?” And then it hit me. I had left the notebook in the kitchen during the reception. She’d read those few pages before I’d snatched it back, but she must have taken it when I’d been outside talking to Ridge. “Oh, that meddling cousin of mine.” I shook my head, wishing I was surprised by her actions.
“It came with quite the talking down, too. You can imagine my surprise when I answered the door earlier today to find Livvy on my doorstep, notebook in hand, ready to chew me out. She called me the biggest idiot in the world for letting you go.”
I could picture the moment all too clearly.
“After she gave me a piece of her mind, she threw the notebook at me and stormed away to catch her flight.” He shook his head with a chuckle. “I’ve never been so grateful for a notebook before in my life.”
I stood, waiting to hear what would come next. I needed to know that Livvy sharing my heart through that notebook hadn’t been in vain.
“I called things off with Amber after the wedding, needing space to think. She was furious, promising me I’d come crawling back, but the second I read your letters…” He trailed off, swallowing before forging ahead. “I knew I could never go back to her.”
I gave a sharp intake of breath, and the weight I’d been carrying seemed to lift from my heart as I watched his face, searching for the truth in his eyes.
“So, I’ll ask you again, is what you wrote true? Did you mean it?”
I licked my lips, took a deep breath, and jumped into a future with no regrets. “And if it is?”
“Then I owe you this.”
Ridge stepped forward, wrapping an arm around my waist while his other hand lifted my chin to look up at him. He paused a moment, giving me time to back away, and, when I didn’t, he pressed his lips to mine.
His kiss was even better than I remembered. His lips were gentle but firm, causing electricity to zing throughout my whole body as he toyed with first my top lip and then my bottom lip before deepening the kiss. I melted into him, returning his embrace as my world collided and fused with his. And though we weren’t in the park under the stars, somehow this time was also fireworks and magic.
When we broke apart, we were both breathing heavily, his forehead resting against mine.
“I think I love you,” Ridge said, running his finger along my bottom lip. My skin tingled at the contact.
“That’s good, because I think I love you too.”
EPILOGUE
One Year Later
I tried notto pace in front of my door, wondering what was taking Ridge so long. For a guy who regularly showed up early, he was very late today. I glanced at the clock on my phone one more time. Where was he?
A year ago, he’d shown up on my doorstep, asking me to take a chance on loving him. Since then, we’d had a summer spent almost constantly together, a school year of long-distance dating, and now, with him moving back to Utah permanently, we were looking forward to even more time together.
A knock sounded on the door, and I jerked it open. There, in all his tall, blue-eyed glory, stood Ridge. My breath caught as it hit me again that he was there for me.
“Hi.” He ducked his head and reached for my hand as he stepped into my apartment, closing the door behind him. “Sorry I’m late.”
“You can make it up to me.” I moved in close, tipping my face towards his.
“How’s that?” He leaned in closer.
“You could—”
The front door swung open, and we jumped apart, Ridge narrowly avoiding being hit.
“Oops! Sorry.” Chloe pushed into the entryway loaded down with groceries.
“It’s okay, we need to get going anyway.” Ridge grabbed my hand again and tugged me towards the door.
“Do you mind checking the mail on your way out?” Chloe called after us. “I was going to, but my hands are full.”
“Sure.” I shrugged and grabbed the mail key. “It’ll only take a couple of minutes,” I promised Ridge at the look he threw my way. “Besides, if you were so worried about time, you wouldn’t have been late.”
“Ouch. I blame it on construction. Now that a new developer has taken over the apartments down the street, the road’s a mess.” Ridge gave a shrug.
