Page 56 of Sawyer
She hummed the first bars of “New York, New York” before responding, “I’m heading across the pond to spend it with my dad and meet up with some friends starting the twenty-third. I get back on the thirtieth. I was meaning to ask you… Do you have plans for New Year’s?”
Nothing could stop his smile from spreading across his face. Thea’s wedding was out, but he couldn’t imagine anything sweeter than starting the New Year with Phoebe.
“Dean and Jacqueline are hosting a party,” he told her. “I know you met some of my roommates under strange circumstances, but I’d like you to meet everyone when the time’s right. When you feel comfortable?—”
“You talk to them about it and let me know.” She loopedher fingers through a curl on his forehead, tugging it playfully. “I’m amenable. I’ll even bring a white flag of truce if you feel it’s necessary, although by now, I’d hope they would know how supportive I am of you.”
She was talking personally as much as professionally, which made his heart beat a little faster. “They do, and we’re all happy about it.”
He leaned in and kissed her softly again, until he heard her breath catch.
“Have we just taken things to another level, Dr. Jackson?” she asked, fervently pressing her cheek against his.
“I believe so,” he responded, caressing the back of her neck as her red tresses moved like silk against his hand.
She edged back and fingered the collar of his coat, running her hands down his chest. “What do you think about taking things to an even higher level by coming home with me tonight?”
His heart went from a delighted racing to a happy gallop. He only smiled as he stroked her cheek. “Would I mess up the romance if I asked how soon we can leave?”
Her gusty laugh echoed in the empty room. “Does takeout sound good? I have this incredible Lebanese place I order from.”
“Perfect.” He held her hand as they walked to the exit, colored lights from the stone displays dancing across her face, making him feel as if he were in Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland.
As they reached her building, he smiled at the sign for her gallery. She noted it, waggling her brows, before drawing him in and up the stairs with a cheeky smile.
He learned her bold style wasn’t only for her clothing and that she liked to listen to Django Reinhardt in Paris when it was raining like he did.
Takeout came and went, and that’s when the real magic began. Their minds had come to know each other well. Now their bodies answered the questions that had lain unspokenbetween them in the exquisite mysteries of man and woman coming together. Much later, after he lay with her in his arms, their sweat mingling and trickling down his chest, he whispered into her hair a piece of Shakespeare pulsing in his mind along with his body.
No sooner met but they looked;
No sooner looked but they loved;
No sooner loved but they sighed…
She clutched him to her with all her heart, and he felt himself ascending to another plane of existence, the ones mystics speak of—the union of the body and soul with another—as he recited the lines of a poem that sprung up to the forefront of his mind.
Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
but never doubt thy love.
A smile spread across his face as he inhaled her fully, her scent of woman and spice one he never wished to be without. He didn’t need CliffsNotes to know that she got what he was saying and replied in kind.
They were in love.
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
Formally introducing Phoebe to his roommates turned out to be easier than he’d imagined.
His life might as well be gliding around on a happy Ferris wheel. When word got around that he’d spent the night with her, not only once but two nights in a row, Brooke had suggested a rendezvous to top off the weekend. A casual night of Drink and Divulge after they’d finished Sunday family dinner and her dad and Nanine had gone home.
“You guys promise to behave, right?” He still felt compelled to ask as he waited for Phoebe to ring the street call button announcing her arrival.
