Page 80 of The Promises We Broke
Finally, after eleven years of running, I was home.
Chapter 28
Gage
The cottage was quiet when I got home from my evening walk with Billie, but my mind was anything but peaceful. We'd been official for a week now. A week of stolen kisses and held hands and the kind of domestic intimacy that made my chest tight with happiness. But underneath it all was a growing tension, a need that was becoming harder and harder to ignore.
I wanted her. Not just the sweet kisses goodnight or the careful embraces when we thought no one was looking. I wanted all of her. Her body, her heart, her trust, her future. I wanted to wake up next to her and fall asleep holding her and spend lazy Sunday mornings learning every inch of her skin.
But we'd agreed to take things slowly, and I was determined to honor that even if it killed me. And right now, it was definitely killing me.
My phone buzzed with a text: Can't sleep. Are you awake? - B
I smiled despite my restless mood. Wide awake. What's wrong?
My phone buzzed with a text: Outside in my car. Can you come out? - B
I looked out the cottage window and saw her Honda parked by the gate, headlights still on in the darkness. My heart started racing as I grabbed a jacket and headed outside.
She rolled down her window as I approached, and I could see she was still wearing the dress from dinner, her hair slightly mussed like she'd been running her hands through it.
"Hey," I said, leaning down to the window. "Everything okay?"
"I've been sitting in my aunt's driveway for twenty minutes," she said, her voice quiet but determined. "Thinking about tonight, about what you said earlier."
"About being yours?"
"About not pretending anymore." She looked up at me, and there was something different in her eyes. A decision, maybe, or a kind of surrender. "I don't want to go home and lie in bed thinking about what-ifs. I don't want to wake up tomorrow wondering if I was brave enough."
"Brave enough for what?"
"To tell you that I don't want to take things slowly anymore." She took a shaky breath. "I want to stop protecting myself from something I actually want. I want you, Gage. All of you. Tonight."
My chest went tight with emotion and desire and disbelief all tangled together. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure." She opened the car door. "Your place or mine?"
"Mine," I said immediately. The cottage might be small and temporary, but at least we'd have privacy without worrying about waking her aunt.
"Good," she said, getting out of the car. "Because I've been thinking about this for weeks, and I don't want to wait anymore."
When she kissed me there in the moonlight beside her car, it wasn't with the careful sweetness we'd been sharing. This washungry and desperate and full of weeks of suppressed longing. I groaned against her mouth and pulled her closer, my hands tangling in her hair as I deepened the kiss.
She tasted like wine from dinner and promises, and when she pressed her body against mine, I felt something fundamental shift in my chest. This wasn't just desire, though there was plenty of that. This was recognition. This was coming home.
"Are you absolutely sure?" I asked when we broke apart, both of us breathing hard. "Because once we do this..."
"Once we do this, we'll finally stop torturing ourselves with what-ifs," she finished. "Yes, I'm sure. Are you?"
Instead of answering with words, I swept her up in my arms, making her laugh with surprise and delight as I carried her toward the cottage. She wrapped her arms around my neck, her face buried in my shoulder, and I could feel her smile against my skin.
Inside the cottage, everything felt different. The small space that had become my sanctuary suddenly thrummed with possibility, with the weight of what we were finally allowing ourselves to have. I set Billie down gently beside my bed, my hands settling on her waist as I searched her face for any sign of doubt.
"Are you absolutely sure?" I asked, my voice rougher than I'd intended. "Because once we cross this line..."
"We can't go back," she finished, her voice steady. "I know. And I don't want to go back, Gage. I want to go forward. With you."
I cupped her face in my hands, my thumbs brushing over her cheekbones, marveling at how soft her skin was. "I love you so much it terrifies me."
