Page 119 of Other Side Of Never
“Kian…” I shook my head, then stepped back.“I’m going to take Jake home.I think we just need to decompress.”
Lifting my hand to his mouth, Kian held my gaze.“I’m going to walk you home, but I’ll be back in the morning.”
At the door, Jake thanked Kian once more and went inside.
As soon as the door closed on his back, Kian drew me into his arms, tipped back my chin, and pressed his lips firmly against mine.
Fisting his hand in my hair, he tilted my head to the side and deepened the kiss, almost bruising in its intensity.
Pulling away just long enough to tuck me under his chin, he sighed.“I don’t want to leave you.”
“I’m okay,” I breathed.
And I was.Here?In his embrace?This was home.
Moving his hands to cup either side of my face, he dipped his chin and pressed his forehead to mine.“We’ll talk tomorrow.”
I covered his hands with mine and closed my eyes.“I’m glad you were here.”
“So am I.”
Pulling me close once more, he dropped a sweet kiss to the top of my head and let me go.“Go up.I’ll be back in the morning.”
It took hours for Jake to relax enough to even think about going to bed, but once his head hit the pillow, he immediately passed out.
I wandered around the living room, dimming the lights and turning off the television before making myself a cup of vanilla Earl Grey tea.
Curling up on the couch, I closed my eyes and inhaled the steamy fragrance.
My town.
My people.
My friends.
My man.
My home.And home was no longer a place.
Even in those moments I doubted Kian, it was because of my history with Gary.Seeing them side-by-side, there was no comparison between them.
There never had been.
I’d spent the better part of two years running from Gary, but I had shut down long before I ever left him.I hid from myself, burying my heart in hopes of resurrecting a broken dream.
Looking back over the past two years, the truth became clear.This whole time I thought I’d been running away from Gary, but it turned out I was running toward myself.
Moving to Sage Ridge, slowly defusing the bombs littering the landscape of my heart, I leaned in to every bit of me.
Making my heart, my home.
A heart that was whole.
And willing to take a chance.
I divorced a man who stole my dreams and found a man who encapsulated them.A man who accepted every piece of me I gave him.
It was never a choice between family and career, I just needed to choose the right partner.One who supported me and knew how to love.One who was a best friend as well as a lover.
