Page 64 of The Corner of Heartbreak and Forever
He brushed her hair over her shoulders, the anger and tension she’d seen replaced with that serious, loving look that made her insides dip and flip.
“In the long run, you did what was best for both of us. If I’d stayed here I never would have made enough money to buy the theater. Let it go, babe. We both made mistakes, but you ending our relationship when you went to college wasn’t one of them.”
She nodded, afraid if she opened her mouth, she might ask him why he was so willing to forgive her but not willing to even speak to his father. But she knew the answer. Their decision had been mutual, but Frank’s was one-sided, and what reason could be valid enough to warrant walking away from his own child? Maybe some wounds really were too deep to ever heal.
She grabbed the bakery bag while Reed collected the blanket and spread it on the grass. As she watched him, she wondered how he fought his curiosity. She wanted to know Frank’s reasons—for closure for Reed as much as to find out the answers herself. And she couldn’t stop thinking about what his uncle had asked him about his future children. That was something she hadn’t thought about, but Roy was right. How did a parent handle such a touchy situation? Was there a right way to do it? She knew Reed wasn’t ready to talk about any of that yet, so she tried to move past it for now.
She tugged off her boots, pointed to the blanket, and said, “Sit.”
The heated look in Reed’s eyes made her all kinds of glad she’d tabled the heavier topic. He sank down to his butt, and she pulled off his boots, aware of his watching her every move.
“The night we broke up…” She straddled his hips and reached for the bakery bag. “I went to Pastry Palace and bought every éclair they had. All seven of them. Then I drove out here, but when I got to the top of the hill, I saw your truck by the water. I sat for the longest time watching you. You were pacing, and then you sat, your knees pulled up, arms crossed over them, head down. A few minutes later you paced again. I cried a river that night and ate every single one of the pastries. And when I got home, you texted me and said you could feel me all around you.”
“You were here…? All that time?”
She took a pastry from the bag. “Yes, but I knew if I came down, we’d end up in each other’s arms, and that would have been even harder. I don’t know what you’re thinking about Frank, or Roy, or any of it, and I don’t need to know until you’re ready to talk about it. But this”—she broke the éclair in half and set half on the bag—“will certainly help.”
She dipped her finger into the creamy center. His gaze blazed through her as he grabbed her wrist and sucked her finger into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it. She made a seductive show of licking more cream from the pastry.
“Mm. Try…” She held the éclair by his lips.
He chomped off a hunk, and in the next second he had her pinned to the blanket, devouring her with creamy, chocolate kisses.
“Forget the sweets. You’re all I ever need,” he rasped against her as he drove her out of her blessed mind.
THEIR SHIRTS FLEW through the air. Grace sat on the blanket and wiggled out of her jeans as Reed stepped from his and kicked them to the side. She reached for him, her body bathed in moonlight. He took her hand and sank down to his knees, riveted by the love in her eyes.
He lowered himself down slowly, drinking in her smooth warmth. Her fingers trailed lightly along his back as their chests melded together. She didn’t close her eyes or look away. She held his gaze, just as she had the very first night they’d made love, looking a little nervous and truly, utterly,captivatinglybeautiful. He cradled her within his arms, his fingers curling around her shoulders, and brushed his lips over hers.
“I want to tell you everything.” He kissed her softly. “After…”
Their mouths and bodies came together heavy and urgent and somehow also weightless and easy. She glanced down at their connected bodies, her eyes hazy with desire.
“Goreallyslow,” she whispered.
They weren’t good at slow, but she was well aware of how every kiss made them crave each other even more. Driving him wild used to be her favorite game.
Long after their breathing calmed, they lay on their sides, braided together beneath the starry sky.
“Maybe I should have come down to the river that night after all,” she said with the sated voice of a satisfied lover. “That wassomuch better than éclairs.”
He kissed her flushed cheeks. “I’m madly in love with your distraction techniques.”
“Oh yeah?” She glanced at the river and squirmed free from his arms.
“Grace…?”
With a mischievous look in her eyes, she pushed to her feet and sprinted into the water. Reed ran after her, catching her around the waist. She shrieked and clung to him, kissing and smiling.
“How was I ever stupid enough to let you go, Gracie?”
“You weren’t stupid. We both needed to get out there and find ourselves. Now I know exactly where I belong.”
Then staywas on the tip of his tongue. But that request would be unfair. “In my arms, babe. That’s where you’ve always belonged.”
Much later, full on éclairs and drunk on love, they made their way home.
“Do you want to put the shoe box away for now?” Grace asked.
