Page 13 of The Autumn We Fell in Love

“The way you looked that first night of class, standing at the classroom door — you stole a piece of my heart. And then I saw how you love poetry, and writing, and learning, and you stole a bit more. You’ve shared, through your poems, about your failed marriage and your hunger for more. You’ve shown your heart courageously, and it’s made me fall for you again and again.”

Rowan is breathless and talking too loud, but he doesn’t seem to care. And hell, neither do I.

“Are you serious?” I whisper, sudden tears blurring my vision.

The corners of his mouth twitch into something like a smile. “I’m a poet. I’m always serious.”

And god help me, I start laughing again — and this time, I can’t stop. Laughter is bubbling up from my belly and tears are squeezing their way from my crinkled up eyes and I’m reaching for Rowan for support, for the love he’s professing, for everything I’ve ever wanted.

And when I finally catch my breath, I find myself still in my chair, but scooted around next to him, my head on his shoulder and his head on mine, our fingers tangling gently, and it feels so damn right.

I tighten my grip on his hand and he responds in kind. I hear his heartbeat beneath my ear that’s touching his body, and it is steady and true.

I am home, I find myself thinking.

No, not just thinking — believing.

I am home.

I shutter my eyes and let myself just be.

And Rowan? He lets me, never moving, never flinching. He lets me rest on him, our bodies united, until I feel ready for whatever comes next.

Rowan

This is not how I planned for it to go, how I thought I’d profess my feelings for Hollis.

But when I saw her sitting there in the coffee shop with her nose in a dog-eared copy of my book, I couldn’t resist going over. And once we got talking, there was suddenly nothing else for me to do.

I spilled the contents of my heart out before her.

She’d laughed.

It was the single most terrifying moment of my life.

But then she’d reached for me, moving her chair to my side, and I’d helped her, accepting her touch, aching for more.

Now we’re sitting here in the coffee shop like we’ve been lovers for a lifetime, and it feels like the most natural thing in the world. If the college fires me for this indiscretion, it will have been worth it.

Because Hollis? She’s no indiscretion, no mistake.

What’s more, she read my words and saw the real meaning behind the so-called love poems I’m famous for. Which means that she saw the real me, not the man the public mistook me to be.

After years of agonizing over my perceived deception, I finally feel free, and it’s all thanks to Hollis.

She’s everything I’ve longed for and thought I might never find.

I’ll trade anything to keep moments like this one — our first real moment together — coming for the rest of my life.

I could sit like this with Hollis forever. But I know that I can’t. No, if I want us to have a future, I need to make the next move toward it.

With a trembling hand, hoping I’m not about to wreck this or my career needlessly, I reach for Hollis. I take her chin in my hands and, gently, turn her face to mine.

She does not resist, but tips her head back, eyes traveling my face.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you since the first moment I saw you, Hollis Watson,” I murmur. “Can I kiss you now?”

Conflict darkens those beautiful hazel eyes. Her mouth tightens, her jaw flexes, and my heart contracts — I’m sure she’s about to say no.

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