Page 79 of Free to Dream
“I promise, my love. I will,” he chokes out, his emotions making his voice crack on every word.
I stay wrapped in his arms, clothing everywhere on a freezing cold November night, basking in the warmth of his love.
Phil was right months ago.
You couldn’t plan for love.
You sure as hell couldn’t control it.
But I sure as hell was going to try to hold onto it with everything I had in me.
For the rest of my life if I could.
30
Caleb
My love.
My heart.
My soul.
She stirs slightly in my arms in her bed with a smile on her face. I wonder what she’s dreaming of.
I lean down and brush a soft kiss on her upturned lips.
She settles deeper into my arms and stills.
Maybe it was selfish of me to tell her how I felt before she knows, but I couldn’t hold it in any longer. My love for her has been ready to burst out of me for weeks.
She’s the other half of me.
The dream I didn’t know I was chasing.
The quiet to the storm in my soul.
Besides, I don’t care about what’s in that file.
She has to understand that I only care about what’s in that file because I love her.
I only care because I know it will matter to her.
And I’m petrified she’s going to walk away, no matter how much I love her.
31
Cassidy
One week until the wedding.
As we approach Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for so many things. I figure if I start listing them now, I might be done by the time the wedding is over. I start ticking them off in my head while I’m in New York City the next day.
Caleb. My family. Caleb. Ryan and Jared. Caleb. Being on schedule for the wedding. Caleb. Not meeting Mildred Lockwood yet. Caleb.
I must admit, I’m a more than a little concerned about Mildred Lockwood. With everything I know about the woman’s character, I keep expecting something to happen. The only time I’m sleeping well is when I have Caleb’s arms tight around me. When we talked about it this morning, his face became grim when he said he was concerned about the same thing. Apparently, some part of Hudson was on Mildred watch. Either she was somehow aware and behaving, or she didn’t care and was going to strike out anyway. Sadly, for Ryan and Jared, either was a very real possibility. A discussion about protecting the grooms was the meeting Caleb could not get out of this morning, and why I would be hanging out with Keene next door, so I didn’t need to go through all the security protocols twice to get back onto the executive floor.
I was squirming internally over the hour I’m supposed to spend with Keene. After our last interaction, was it wrong I was kind of hoping he’d get a conference call and I’d have to wait with my planner in the lobby? I’ve been trying to convince myself that whatever happened in my office the last time I saw him were likely due to Keene relating my own circumstance to his missing sister. And it wasn’t like we were real chummy before that.
