Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
“I’m here,” he confirmed, his voice rough with emotion. “There was no question. The meeting, the shareholders—doesn’t matter. When you need me, I will drop everything to be with you. I need you to know that. Always.”
I pulled back just enough to look at his face, to convince myself this was really happening. Kit’s eyes were bright with unshed tears, and there were new lines of strain around them that made my heart ache.
“I thought I’d have to wait days,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.
“No, baby,” he admitted, reaching up to cup my face with one large hand. “I’ve spent a lot of years giving you space you never asked for. I don’t want to waste another minute.”
The honesty in his voice, the raw vulnerability, made something flutter in my chest. This wasn’t the controlled Kit who ran a billion-dollar company and made decisions that affected thousands of people. This was just a man who loved me enough to cancel everything and fly back because I’d asked him to.
“At the risk of sounding desperate and foolish… um, if you’ll have me… I’m all in,” I said, the words coming out regardless of the consequences. “Whatever this is, whatever it becomes—you’re it for me, Kit. I don’t want anyone else. I’ve never wanted anyone else. You have to know that.”
His thumb brushed across my cheekbone, wiping away a tear I couldn’t hold back. “Are you sure? Because once we do this, I’m not letting you go again. I’m too selfish, and I love you too much.”
“Good,” I said fiercely. “Don’t let me go. I want to belong to you.”
And then we were kissing, hungry and urgent, pouring months of separation and years of wanting into the connection between us. Kit’s hands fisted in my hair, holding me exactly where he wanted me, and I could taste the salt air on his lips, along with something that was purely him.
When we finally broke apart, both breathing hard, the sun had nearly disappeared behind the horizon. The beach around us was painted in shades of purple and gold, and the first stars were beginning to appear in the darkening sky.
“Come home with me,” I said, linking our fingers together. “I don’t think I’m going to believe this is real for a little while. I need you to hold me and stay with me.”
Kit’s smile was soft and genuine, the first truly relaxed expression I’d seen on his face in a long time, if ever. “I can’t imagine anything better than that. Let’s go.”
We walked back along the beach hand in hand, not talking much but not needing to. There would be time for words later—time to hash out the details of how this would work, time to talk about the future. Right now, it was enough to have him here beside me, his warm hand wrapped around mine like an anchor.
The cottage felt different when we walked through the front door together. Smaller, maybe, but also more complete. Like it had been waiting for him to fill the empty spaces I hadn’t even realized were there.
“It’s perfect,” Kit said, looking around at my small living room with its comfortable furniture and stacks of books. “I can tell it’s yours. There’s even an hourglass for your meditation.”
I felt heat rise in my cheeks. Jake had thought my using an hourglass to mark my yoga time was delightfully old-fashioned and kitschy. He’d never understood I’d used it for its meditative and calming properties, no matter how many times I’d tried to explain. “The cottage is kind of small, and it’s not on the beach.”
“It’s home,” he said simply, and the way he said it made my heart skip. “Your home. Which makes it the only place I want to be right now.”
I moved closer to him, suddenly nervous despite everything that had happened between us. “Kit… what I said on the beach. About being all in. I meant it. But I also want…” I swallowed hard, trying to find the courage to ask for what I needed. “I want to show you. How much I love you. How much I’ve missed you.”
Understanding dawned in his eyes, followed quickly by heat. “Robbie.”
“Not like before,” I said quickly. “Not angry or frantic or trying to prove a point. I want…”
His hands came up to frame my face, and the tenderness in his touch made my knees weak. “We’re not in a hurry.”
“I am.” I turned my head to press a kiss to his palm. “I’ve imagined you in my bed, and I’m desperate to see if the reality lives up to my imagination.”
He laughed and backed me toward the hallway, kissing me again—softer this time, but no less consuming.
“An audition, huh?” Kit murmured against my lips. “I need to be at the top of my game.”