Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Selena immediately takes both my hands. “Sorry if I worried you. I should have waited to talk to you at the hotel later. That was my plan. But all of a sudden, I couldn’t wait another second to say this to you.” She takes a deep breath. “Grayson McKnight, you’re the best man I’ve ever known. You’re a kind, brilliant, funny, loyal, sincere man, a true partner who makes me feel protected and loved like nobody else.”
Holy fuck. Did Selena just use a form of the word love? She opens her mouth to continue, but I have to get this out first, before whatever words might be on the tip of her tongue. “I’m glad you feel loved,” I choke out, as my heart clangs against my sternum. “Because I love you, Selena Diaz. With all my heart and soul.”
Selena’s face explodes with joy. “I love you, too! That’s what I was about to say! I love you, Grayson McKnight! With all my heart and soul and with zero doubts or reservations!”
Elation floods me. I embrace her and clutch her to me. “I’ve wanted to tell you how much I love you for so long, and, hopefully, hear you say it back to me. This is a dream come true.”
“Oh, honey,” Selena says. “I’m so in love with you, I feel like a love-sick teenager, all the time. I feel physically high on my love for you.”
With a beaming smile on my face, I lean in and kiss her, letting my lips and tongue put an exclamation point on the sacred words we’ve exchanged. When we finally disengage from our embrace, we’re both practically levitating.
Selena bites her lower lip seductively. “Drew is spending the night at a friend’s house tonight. Would you like to spend the night at my place, instead of the hotel?”
I whoop and fist-bump the cold air, making her laugh. But after we kiss again, I feel the need to make sure I haven’t pressured her into this decision. “I only want you to take me home if you’re sure,” I insist. “If I’ve pressured you or—”
“No, not at all. I’ve waited way too long to bring you home. I’m excited.”
“But why now? Only an hour ago on the phone, you said—”
“I know what I said. And I truly thought I meant it. But after we hung up, I discovered Drew eavesdropping on our call, and he set me straight.”
A wave of panic washes over me. “Oh, fuck. Was I on speaker phone when Drew was listening?”
“Thank God, no. But even so, he heard enough of my end of the conversation—comments about you having a ‘black, lace pair’ and you being a ‘naughty boy’ for taking ‘them’—to know our relationship is anything but platonic.” She rolls her eyes. “It’s all for the best, though, because my conversation with Drew made me realize I’ve been a damned fool. Way too careful. Not to mention, dishonest with you and myself.”
“Dishonest? How so?”
Selena exhales. “The truth is I’ve been subconsciously using my son as an excuse not to let down all my walls with you. Not at first. I was right to be careful at first. But these days, I think I’m doing both of us a disservice by being so damned careful all the time.” She shifts her weight. “I think the truth is I’m terrified to let down all my walls all the way, in case things don’t work out for us in the end. I think I’ve convinced myself it’ll hurt a whole lot less, if things go south on us, if I’ve kept a piece of me firmly guarded from heartbreak.”
I touch her cheek. “Things are going to work out for us, my love. Of course, they are. And do you know how I know that? Because you’re my destiny. Do you think it was random coincidence that woman at the bar gave me your number, of all the numbers in the entire world? Hell no. It was fate.”
The look on Selena’s face tells me she’s deeply touched by my romanticism, even if she doesn’t necessarily believe in fate the way I do. Either way, whether she believes in fate or not, when she throws her arms around my neck and kisses me passionately, I know Selena finally believes in us. She’s finally all mine, and I’m all hers. No more doubts. No more fear. No more compartmentalization of her life to keep me separate from all the rest. From here on out, Selena is finally ready to throw caution to the wind and take our relationship to the next level, whatever form that takes.
We kiss and embrace, whispering words of love and adoration to each other as we do, even as people walk past on the busy sidewalk. Suddenly, though, Selena pulls back from our embrace and says, “We should probably head back inside, honey. We’ve been MIA from the dinner party for quite some time.”