Page 43 of Slow Kind of Love

Chapter Fifteen

The morning before the Mayor’s Gala/Grand Opening of the sports complex dawned sharp and bright. Elise was up early—she had a lot to do—and quietly slipped out of Link’s bed. He immediately rolled over and grabbed the pillow she’d given up, snuggling into it with a soft groan. The room was full of shadows, but what light there was slid across his muscular shoulders, dipping between the blades, creating definition and mystery. She reached down and smoothed away some hair off his forehead, then stood back, disappearing into the gloom surrounding the bed.

Something held her still and wouldn’t let her leave just yet. That same something moved inside her. It was big and warm and brought tears to her eyes.

“I love you.”

His voice whispered through her mind as she held her fingers to her lips and remembered all the things he’d done to her. God. And the things she’d done to him. When he’d said those three words that changed everything, she wasn’t sure she’d heard them correctly on account of the fact he was buried deep inside her and she was breaking apart in his arms.

Those three words had invaded her dreams. They’d lingered around the edges of her conscience, leaving her more confused than ever. Which, on some level, felt ridiculous considering her age, but still, how many times did people say they loved someone without really thinking about what it meant? For some folks, it was habit. A way to say goodbye or let’s touch base later in the week.

But when Link had whispered those words against her hot skin, it wasn’t casual or without meaning. And that made her head spin, because those three words changed everything.

Elise decided she’d think about all of it later, and, on soft feet, she backed out of Link’s bedroom. She closed the door behind her and found Pepper sprawled on her back on the sofa, legs up in the air and parted wide like a floozy. Pancake wagged his tail from his perch on the chair next to the sofa, and she let the dog outside. She topped up Pepper’s water and food, then slipped outside into the quiet morning. Pancake nipped at her heels, eager to get home to his own food and water bowls.

She climbed into her vehicle and, with one last look at the stone cottage, backed out of Link’s driveway and headed to town. Two hours later, she was at the salon, sitting in a chair beside Heather as the two of them got pedicures and manicures, which would be followed by root touch-up and color for both.

It was good to see her friend in a better place, not so weighed down by the situation with her husband. He’d apologized, owned up to a terrible mistake, but still, considering his mistake involved dipping his wick in someone else’s pot, it was a big hurdle to overcome.

“What’s going on with you and Link these days?” Heather asked as Elise came back to her chair from the hair-washing station.

“He said he loved me.”

“And you’re just telling me this now?” Heather leaned forward, incredulous. “I want all the tea. Right now. What was your reply?”

“I didn’t…” God, why had she blurted that out? “I was shocked, and it was unexpected and, well….” Her voice trailed away to nothing, and she heaved a sigh, mad that she’d lost her mind and brought it up.

“Link Major told you he loved you, and you said nothing? Are you kidding me?”

Elise winced as Heather’s voice shot up.

“Wasn’t that awkward?”

“Can you tone it down?” Elise settled in her chair, grabbed the magazine she’d left there, and took a few seconds to answer. She waited for Arlene, her stylist who followed her from the wash basin, to move out of earshot, then whispered. “We were having sex at the time, and I don’t even know if he knows he said it.”

“A man does not say those words unless he means to. Trust me, Elle, he knows. The question is, why didn’t you respond? He’s not just a fling. From what I can tell, he’s never been that. And I know you well enough to know if he was your transition piece of ass, you would have ended things last summer.” She paused. “Are you afraid to tell him how you feel?”

“I just…I don’t know. It’s like I’m afraid because I can’t take the words back once I say them,” she said softly, staring over her magazine at Heather.

“Why in hell would you want to take them back? He’s crazy about you, and you’re in love with him.”

“I’m not—” she denied hotly, though the look in her friend’s eyes dried up the rest of her words faster than a Serengeti wind across the desert.

I love him. Dumfounded, she let that sink in.

I love everything about him, she thought, closing her eyes. “I’m in trouble.”

“That’s a good kind of trouble to be in. I know quite a few women who’d trade places with you in a heartbeat.”

She slowly shook her head. “I love how he bites his bottom lip when he’s concentrating on something,” she whispered. “I love that he loves reading romance novels and that Titanic is his favorite movie. I love the smell of his body wash and the shampoo he uses and that he talks in his sleep and loved his grandfather with such reverence. I even love how he picks out the pink and blue marshmallows in his cereal and tosses them onto the counter, leaving the green and yellow ones behind.” Her eyes flew open, and she turned to face Heather again. “You know how anal I am about food and mess in the kitchen. I’ve never felt this way about a man. Ever. What I had with Ben doesn’t come close, and I made a life with him. We had a child and a mortgage and…”

“That stuff doesn’t equate to real love. You can spend your entire life with someone and love them, but not be in love.” She looked pointedly at Elise. “You can even spend your life with someone you don’t love and pretend it’s all good for the sake of a kid.”

“I know.” Elise sat back as that sank in. “This is next level, and it’s scary as hell because...”

“Because?” Heather prompted.

“Because we shouldn’t work for a lot of reasons.”

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