I tore it off of him and he chuckled at my enthusiasm. His shirt fell to the floor somewhere and I relished in the feel of his smooth, tanned skin beneath the palms of my hands.
“I love you.” The words came out as a breathless gasp and I reveled in the feel of being able to say them with no restraints.
“Fuck, I love you too.” He ran his thumb over my bottom lip. “So much. Don’t ever doubt that.”
With all the drawings of our best moments lying around us, there was only one answer. “I won’t.” I couldn’t doubt his love for me anymore, not when he’d gone to this much trouble to literally illustrate how much I meant to him.
He kissed me again. The kind of kiss that stole your breath and maybe your soul too.
He took his time peeling off of my clothes, like he was unwrapping the most precious gift he’d ever received.
He kissed every inch of my skin that he uncovered and my heart raced impossibly faster. Surely, eventually, it would stop beating all together. At least I would die happy and knowing what it felt like to have Ezra love me.
His lips skimmed between my breasts, over my stomach, and stopped when he reached my underwear. His hands slid up my thighs and hooked into the sides. All the while his eyes stayed on mine. He pulled them down and tossed them behind him and he finally let his eyes drop to feast on my bare skin.
“You’re so beautiful.” The words were a whispered rasp that covered my body in Goosebumps. He said the words with such conviction that I could never doubt them. Even as his eyes fluttered over my body I didn’t feel a desire to cover myself. I wanted him to see me, all of me, and the love I had to give.
He sucked his bottom lip between his teeth and his eyes finally met mine once more. “I love you,” he said, ducking his head to kiss the space where my neck met my shoulder. “I love you.” A kiss to my collarbone. “I love you.” He kissed my chest, over my heart. “I love everything about you.”
“Everything?” I questioned with a giggle when he kissed my side, his stubble brushing against a ticklish spot.
“Everything,” he repeated.
He removed the rest of his clothes and grabbed my hips, easing inside of me. We both sighed in relief at the feeling.
My hands roamed down his back, grabbing his ass. “Harder,” I pleaded desperately.
He grabbed my hands, entwining our fingers together. We fit together seamlessly, another reminder of why we were so perfect for each other.
“I never want you to walk away from me ever again,” he confessed.
“Then don’t give me a reason.” I breathed against his lips.
“I won’t,” he vowed.
With the amount of love and truth swimming in his gaze I had to believe him.
His thrusts sped up and my fingernails dug into his back.
My body tightened all over and I gasped, “I’m close.”
“Me too.” His hold on my hips tightened and his forehead creased.
We came together, both confessing our love for the entire world to hear.
When he fell asleep I crept out of the bed, wrapping my robe around me, as I padded around the apartment, collecting every single drawing. I sat down on the bed once more, beside his sleeping body. He was lying on his stomach, with his arms hugging the pillow. His dark hair was wild and unruly and perfectly him.
I giggled at the first drawing.
Paint twister. That had been fun.
Next was a drawing of the two of us getting milkshakes at this cute little diner in town. I remember the day well. It was before we really knew each other that well, and my crush had been raging in full force that day. I’d spent a good two hours picking out my outfit, only to spill milkshake on myself. I’d been upset at first, but then Ezra took his glass, spilled his own milkshake on his jeans, and shrugged, saying, “Now we match.” Laughing, I’d scolded him for wasting a perfectly good milkshake. He told me it was worth it to see me laugh and ordered two more.
I set that drawing aside as well and looked down at the next one. I couldn’t figure out what it was at first, but then realized it was a picture of me sleeping peacefully in his bed. Scrawled in the corner he’d written, You belong here.
I laughed at that, but my laugh didn’t sound right. It was more like a choked sob and I realized I’d started crying again. But these were happy tears and I was thankful for them. Just like I was thankful for the drawings and the boy sleeping in my bed.
I thought I’d never have this.
This soul-stirring, intense, all-consuming, once in a lifetime kind of love.
But I got it.
With my best friend.
And you didn’t get any luckier than that.
“I CAN’T BELIEVE I LET YOU TALK ME INTO THIS,” I mumbled, carrying the second to last box inside the house. Ezra was behind me, carrying the final box—the one that marked the fact that this was my home now too, not just his. I was here to stay. “You know my lease wasn’t up yet.”
He set the final box down on the floor along with the others.
He cracked a smile and leaned his hip against the kitchen counter. “This is your home. This is where you belong.”
“With you?” I smiled widely.
“Yes.” He framed my face, kissing me deeply. “And Toby of course.” He nodded towards the fishbowl. “Toby has really missed you. He cries every night. I have to rock him to sleep.”
I busted out in laughter. “Oh I’m sure, seeing as how rocking a fish would kill him.”
He mock winced. “Yeah, that’s why that’s Toby 2.0.”
I gasped. “What? You killed our baby!”
He laughed so hard that he was bent over at the stomach. “You should’ve seen your face!” Straightening, he sobered. “That’s the original Toby, I assure you.”
“It better be,” I muttered, fighting a smile.
I stepped forward, wrapping my arms around him. His lips brushed against the top of my head.
“So, what do you say Westbrook, are you ready to try out this love thing with me forever?”
“I don’t know,” I hedged, clucking my tongue, “forever is an awfully long time.”
“I’m good company, I promise.” He grinned down at me. The kind of smile that made him seem boyish and young.
“Hmm, sounds tempting.”
“Do I need to do more convincing?” He asked, his fingers gliding beneath my sweater.
“A lot more.” I whispered breathily in his ear. “Preferably naked.”
“I can do that.” A mischievous glint sparkled in his eyes.
I squealed when he grabbed me, tossing me over his shoulder as he ran up the steps.
Instead of stripping me naked and making love to me for the rest of the day and night we ended up jumping on the bed like two little kids.
Because that was us.
Our relationship was intense, passionate, and full of fun.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Interviewer: Good afternoon, Ezra. Sadie. Thanks for sitting down with us.
Ezra: Thanks for having us.
Interviewer: Of course I have to ask you if Willow Creek is working on any new music? Can we expect a new release any time soon?
Ezra: I’m not really allowed to say, but we’re working on it.
Interviewer: Good, good. So it’s recently come out that you two are indeed a couple now.
Ezra:
Interviewer: Mhmm. Sadie, do you have anyth
ing to say? You’re awfully quiet.
Sadie: I read magazines. I know how you guys twist things, so no I’m not talking to you.
Ezra:
Interviewer:
Ezra:
Interviewer: Ah, yes. We all know how you and your band members feel about your privacy.
Ezra:
Interviewer: Yes, well, I suppose…
Ezra: Do you have any more questions?
Interviewer:
Ezra:
Interviewer:
Here we are yet again and I feel at a loss as to what to say.
I guess the best place to start would be to thank YOU. The fans. The response to this series has been overwhelming and greater than I ever dreamed. Thank you for your constant messages, support, and love of this series (and all of my books). It’s because of you guys that I can keep writing and I’m forever thankful for that. I wish I could hug each and every one of you and tell you in person just how special you are to me. Since I can’t, I’ll settle for this really long and rambling paragraph.
Thank you to all of my author friends who supported me and cheered me on while writing this book. You guys know who you are and I love you!
Thank you to my beta readers Haley, Becca, Stefanie, and Kendall. You guys read my books in their rawest form and you never call me crazy, so thanks for that. I don’t know what I’d do without you guys!
Regina Wamba, no acknowledgements is complete without thanking you for your phenomenal cover design and photography skills. You’ve managed to turn my insane babbling into the perfect representation for my books. You rock!
Michael and Rachel, I have to thank you both for bringing my characters to life! I can’t imagine anyone else fitting these characters better.
Last (but certainly not least) I have to thank my family. All of you. I couldn’t ask for a better support system. I know you all probably thought I’d lost my mind when I said I didn’t want to go to college and I wanted to see if I could make my writing career work, but you never said that. You all supported me and believed in me when at times I didn’t believe in myself. It makes my heart happy to see how proud I’ve made you. I hope I keep making you proud—not just as writer, but as a person.
In Your Heart Page 29
