She’d been right when she said we had a long way to go, and I had a few things I needed to get sorted out before I saw her later. I was ready to treat her the way she deserved to be treated and take her on a real date, but there were things I wanted to be able to tell her on said date to prove my commitment.
I needed those things to be true when I said them, so I spent the morning on the phone making sure my ducks were in a row, in between helping her move out. Grinning when I hung up after my last call, I pumped my fist in the air and went to get ready for my big date.
Anna was nervous when I arrived to pick her up from the cottage on the other end of the garden from mine. She was sitting in a wicker chair on the front porch, waiting for me with her purse in her lap. Her hands were clamped together on top of it, and she swiped at her lips with the tip of her tongue when she saw me and stood up.
“All moved in?” I asked, leaning in to brush a kiss against her cheek when I went to stand in front of her.
She wrapped her arms around my waist, hugging me with her ear against my heart before she pulled away. “I’m not unpacked yet, but you guys were amazing in helping me get everything over here so fast.”
“All in a day’s work.” I smiled and reached out a hand toward her as I took a step back off the porch. “Are you ready? I thought we could go for a walk along the lakeside before we go get something to eat.”
“I like that plan.” She put her hand in my outstretched one, finally seeming to relax a little as she glanced at our joined fingers. “I wasn’t sure I’d ever hold your hand again.”
“I wasn’t sure you’d want to,” I said as we strolled away from her new home.
The grass was green and lush beneath our feet, birds swooping overhead in the cloudless blue sky. It was a beautiful day with spring in full swing, the air fragrant from the blossoming flowers in the tended gardens.
Our hands swung between us as we walked, pausing after we’d crossed the road to take our shoes off. We left them next to the bench, then headed down to the shore to walk with our feet in the chilly water.
The sapphire and diamond ring I’d bought for Anna in Traverse City was smooth against my fingertips when I slid my free hand into my pocket to play with it. When the time was right, I hoped she’d accept it for real.
As long as everything went smoothly, of course.
I’d played with the idea of giving it back to her today, asking her if she’d wear it as part of my promise to her. But then I’d remembered that we weren’t kids anymore, and a promise ring felt like it was decidedly high school.
“Do you still have that plastic ring I gave you?” I asked, a grin tugging at the corners of my lips when I thought back to how happy it’d made me to see it on her finger.
She chuckled, her cheeks flushing before she nodded. “I tried a few times to throw it out, but I just couldn’t do it.”
“I’d like to see it sometime,” I said quietly. “I really meant it back then when I asked you if you’d like to spend the rest of our lives together.”
“I really meant it when I said yes.” She rested her head against my bicep as we walked, her eyes on the water. “I’m sorry for pushing you away and for lying about there being another guy. Jessie told me she told you the truth.”
“I understand why you did it. I should thank you actually. If you hadn’t done what you had, I never would’ve left. Not without you anyway.”
“It wasn’t a pleasure, but you’re welcome.” Anna drew to a sudden stop, her green-gold gaze searching when it met mine. Tendrils of her blonde hair blew across her face in the light breeze, and she broke eye contact when she tucked it behind her ears. “A lot of things have changed over the years, but the one thing that hasn’t is that I still don’t want to leave Mackinac. I’m not trying to be stubborn or difficult. I just wanted you to know. I’m willing to give LA a try for the sake of giving our relationship a real shot, but I’ve already told Jessie I wouldn’t relocate permanently and leave her in the lurch.”
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about that.” I lifted my hands and ran the backs of my fingers along her cheeks before holding them gently in my palms. “I’m not going back. I need room to breathe, and I can always work from here if I want to.”
“Here?” Bright, brilliant hope sparked in those eyes as she brought her hands to my hips. “You’re moving back?”
I nodded, smiling before pressing a kiss to her forehead and breathing her in. “I spent the morning getting it all worked out. A realtor will be going to take pictures so he can list my house for sale. Dave has a set of keys, and he’s meeting him there early next week. I’ll have to go back to pack once the house gets sold, but it shouldn’t take more than a few days.”
“You’re serious?” Her tone dripped with disbelief. “After making it out there, which is all you’ve ever wanted, you’re selling your house to move back here?”
I shook my head before pulling it back to look into her eyes. “I thought that was all I ever wanted. Turns out, all I really want is you. Besides, I’ve been there and done that now. It’s not some big what-if that I’ll regret not having pursued. I’m choosing Mackinac, Anna. I’m choosing you.”
“What happens if you get bored here in another month or two? Or if you have to produce another series?”
“I won’t get bored because I’ll still be working, albeit remotely. I want to take a step back from producing for now. If, in the future, I want to do it actively or if I get an offer we can’t refuse, then you and I can decide how to do it. We could split our time for a few months between the two places, or I can commute.”
“It sounds like you’ve put a lot of thought into this. You came up with that answer way too fast.”
I grinned and speared my fingers into her loose hair, tugging it gently to get her to tilt her face all the way up. “Nah, I had it ready. I knew we’d have to talk about this, and I wanted to be sure when I gave you my answer.”
“So this is really what you want?” She flicked a finger from her to me and back again. “Mackinac, me, and the quiet life?”
“There’s nothing I want more.” My fingers slid through her thick, soft hair when I held her head in both hands, bending my knees to be looking her in the eyes. “I’ve been to more parties than I can count. I drank my way through the equivalent of several large distilleries, danced with rock stars and royalty, and gotten into more than my fair share of shit because of it all. I feel like I’ve lived several lifetimes of that life, and I’m ready to put it behind me. With you.”
“And Angelina?” she asked in the barest of whispers. “Are you really ready to put her behind you too? I know you were still talking to her last time you were here. When I overheard you two, I figured it out.”
“I spoke to her but only once. It was that night after we, uh, were together. She called, and I knew she’d just keep trying if I didn’t take it. I should’ve known then already that it wasn’t her I wanted. I think I did know. For the record, I told her that night not to call you a bimbo. We got into it and I didn’t speak to her again until she showed up in Traverse City.”
“Did you ever find out how she found us?”
I shrugged, pulling her into my arms and crushing her to my chest. “No, but she won’t show up again. I’m assuming she was on her way here and then headed over there when the press found us at that bar. I don’t know how she found the hotel. I didn’t ask. At first, I was too out of it after you left, and then I was too confused and conflicted to put too much thought into it.”
“Do you really think she’s out of your life for good?”
“Yes,” I replied firmly, and she sank into my chest. “It wouldn’t matter if she shows up again anyway. I love you, Anna. You’re the one I want to be with. My endgame. It’s always been you.”
I saw the tattoo on my arm when I glanced down, and grinned into her hair. “You are my heart, my home, and my love. I know it’s going to take you some time to trust me again, but I’m not going anywhe
re ever again, not unless you’re coming with me.”
She held me tighter, then lifted her head and pushed up on her toes to kiss me. Deep and slow, destroying my good intentions and making me really want to drag her back to my bed and keep her there until morning.
“We’d better go to lunch,” she whispered against my lips once the kiss slowed. “Otherwise, I’m taking you back to my room to have my way with you.”
“My thoughts exactly.” I pressed one last kiss to her mouth, then took a step back and bounced on the balls of my feet in an attempt to get the blood flowing to someplace other than my dick.
Anna’s gaze dropped to the bulge in my pants. Her face flushed as she smiled and brought her eyes back up to mine. “Later?”
“Later,” I agreed, taking her hand and leading her along the shore toward town.
We ended up at the burger shack again, talking more about my plans for work and moving. I kept looking at her lips, remembering how they’d felt against mine and trying to ignore the way she constantly glanced at my mouth like she was thinking the same thing.
She flashed me sexy, secret smiles every time it happened, her teeth sinking into her lower lip in a way that drove me nuts. All the while, she also managed to keep the conversation going in a much more innocent direction than my thoughts.
“Have you been thinking about taking a break from producing for a while?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Not really, but I have more money than I know what to do with, so I can afford the time off. There aren’t any projects in the works right now anyway. This is the perfect time to start planning for my future.”
Anna smiled at me and rested her chin in her hands. “And what do you see in that future?”
“A blonde-haired bimbo I can’t live without,” I said, grinning as I sat back in my chair.
Laughing, she tossed a French fry at me and reached for my hand across the table. “Well, as long as you know this bimbo is all yours. She can’t live without you either, but she’ll kill you herself if you ever do anything like that again.”
Chapter 38
ANNA
Will stopped outside my door when we got home after spending hours talking, laughing, and walking around. We’d cleared the air, and I felt like a thousand-ton weight had been lifted off my chest. Unless I was very much mistaken, Will was really in this for the long haul. He wouldn’t leave again. I was sure of it.
It would take me some time to get used to the idea, and probably even longer before I really believed it, but something told me we had time. Unlike when we’d been kids, it didn’t feel like there was a clock ticking down to the end of our relationship anymore. Graduation had always been looming since we’d had such different ideas of what we wanted out of life after it, and a part of me had always felt like I needed to make the most of every moment because he wouldn’t be here forever.
In a way, it’d been the same when we’d been fake dating. I’d known he would be going back to LA and that he would inevitably leave again. Now, however, there was none of that.
William was moving back to the island, we were all grown up, and we had the rest of our lives together if we wanted. It was everything I’d ever wanted, even though it’d been years since I’d last admitted it to myself.
There was just one problem. “Do you want to come in?”
He gave a tight smile with a shake of his head. “I’d better not.”
“Why not?” He’d said the same thing last night, and while I’d let him get away with it then, I planned on refusing to do the same tonight.
“Because I want to do this right, and that means taking it slow. If I get you anywhere near a bed right now, slow won’t be happening.”
And there’s the problem.
I arched a brow at him, looping my arms around his neck and pressing my body flush against his. “What if I don’t want you to take it slow? We’ve known each other forever, and I don’t think doing it right means not doing it at all.”
He let out a low groan, his fingers flexing on my hips. “I know what reputation I’ve built over the years and I don’t want you to think this is all about sex for me.”
“Really? Because it’s all about sex for me.” I dragged my lips along the stubble on the underside of his jaw while I spoke. “On a more serious note, I love you, William. I want you to make love to me. I want you to want to make love to me.”
He rolled his hips against my stomach, letting me feel the hardness between his legs. “Trust me when I say you’ve already gotten what you want then. I want you more than I want my next breath, but I don’t want to mess this up again.”
“We won’t mess this up again. We’re talking, we’re being open and honest with each other, and we’re both committed to this. To each other.”
“That, we are.” He lowered his head to claim my lips in a kiss that left me breathless and wanting more. “But are you sure you’re ready?”
“I’ve been ready since the first time we had this discussion when we were teenagers. I’m always ready for you. Only for you.”
His eyes grew wide before they narrowed on mine. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that I’ve been made love to once in the last dozen years, and I’m tired of waiting. I want you, William. I want to celebrate the fact that we found our way back to each other after so long. I want to join my body with yours as surely as my soul and heart have been fused to yours since the first day of first grade.”
“Are you saying you haven’t been with anyone else ever?” He swallowed heavily, screwing his eyes shut as he muttered a curse.
When he looked at me again, I shot him what I hoped was a flirty smile and nodded. “Unless you haven’t noticed, this town isn’t exactly crawling with eligible bachelors. I went on a few dates, but there was never anyone I wanted to give myself to that way.”
An almost possessive growl ripped from his throat before he pinned me against the door, keeping me caged there with one of his powerful arms on either side of my head. “I wish I could say the same thing, but I can’t. I went looking for you under a lot of skirts after I left. I know you probably don’t want to hear it, but I didn’t handle our breakup very well, and for a while there, I tried to fuck you out of my system.”
I winced at his words, but although they hurt, it wasn’t exactly news to me. His conquests had been splashed over the actual news—of the entertainment variety—for years. It was one of the reasons why I stopped following any of the stories about him. One of the reasons I hadn’t known about Angelina cheating on him until Jessie had shown me that article on her phone.
He took my hand and wedged it between us to press it down over his racing heart. “I can’t say my body is untouched, but this has always belonged to you and only you. Other than the scars you and I put there, my heart is in pristine condition and it’s all yours.”
Tears filled my eyes, but I bit them back and forged ahead. “I can’t say that it doesn’t hurt to know you’ve been with other people, but I don’t care. It’s in the past. It doesn’t change what we have. I’m sorry that my actions led you down that path, but I’m not sorry that you never managed to get me out of your system because you are my system. Always have been and always will be.”
“Talk to me about birth control.” His voice was all growly again, his eyes darkening as his pupils dilated.
“I never went on anything because it was never necessary.” Although I would definitely look into it now. William and I had always been careful, but feeling him without anything between us was something I really wanted. “I’ll call the doc in the morning and make an appointment for next week.”
“Good,” he breathed, reaching around me to twist the knob on the door. It swung open and he kissed me hard as he walked me backward until we were inside. I heard it slam shut but his lips didn’t leave mine until we toppled onto the bed. “But I don’t have any condoms on me. Ceremoniously dumped them all in the trash when I came up with the plan to go slow to prove my dedication to y
ou.”
“Are you clean?” I murmured between kisses, wrapping my legs around his hips as we sank into the mattress.
“Yes. I got tested at a sexual health awareness thing on set a couple of months ago. I haven’t been with anyone but you since then.”
“But Angelina—”
He shushed me by kissing me again, then pulled back to look into my eyes. “She was in New York to shoot her movie at the time. I found out she was cheating on me before she got back, and I never touched her again.”
Maybe it was stupid of me to trust that he was telling the truth, but I did. I could see it in his eyes, feel it radiating out of him and into me. “I’m pretty sure we’re in a safe time of the month, but if you’d rather not risk it, I understand.”
“I’ll happily lay down my life for you. Getting you pregnant doesn’t seem nearly as dramatic. In fact, I think we’d make cute babies. I can’t wait for us to actually start trying.”
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head, but I couldn’t say I disagreed with him. “I’ve always wanted to carry your babies, so I think we’re good then.”
“Good.” He brought his mouth back to mine, and it stayed there except for the brief moments when we had to separate to get out of our clothes.
Once there was nothing between us, I was panting and so ready for him that I was leaving a wet spot on the bed. Smiling wickedly, he kissed a path down my throat and over my chest, raising goosebumps on my heated skin after every brush of his lips.
His hot mouth closed over my nipple, and I moaned as I arched my back and threaded my fingers into his hair. I held him to me as he teased my chest with his mouth and hands, my hips bucking as I tried to get him to sink into me.
The Billionaire’s Second Chance: A Small Town Romance Page 23
