A sob rose in my throat. God, I really was becoming a crier, wasn’t I? Posey had rubbed off on me, I supposed. “Don’t cry,” he murmured, kissing my forehead.
“It’s happy crying.”
“It is?”
I grinned up at him, feeling like my heart was going to burst. “David, I love you, too.”
His eyebrows went up in surprise. “You do?”
“I just drove Jerry’s boat across the bay—all by myself—to get to you. Of course I love you.”
His grin made every bit of that harrowing journey across the bay worth it. I would have done it again a hundred times to see him smile like that. I pressed my lips against his, wondering why in the hell we hadn’t started kissing five minutes ago. He kissed me back, pulling me close to his body. I could feel that perfect heat emanating from him, the feel of his arms already so familiar. Like home.
“Shit, I’m a jerk.” He pulled back to look down at me. “How’d the interview go?”
“Really well. They offered me the job.”
The skin between his eyes seemed to pinch a little, but he smiled. “Well done! Congratulations!”
“I’m not taking it.”
His mouth dropped open, making him look a little dopey, to be honest. It was adorable. “You’re not?”
I shook my head. “No. Because long distance doesn’t work for me.”
“Iris, I don’t want you to give up on—”
I placed a finger over his lips. “It doesn’t work with you or with my family. You’re the one who told me that home didn’t have to be a place, remember? You told me my family stayed on this island for the people. And that I was a part of it whether I lived here or not.”
He nodded, his eyes focused on mine.
“Well, you were mostly right. I do want to be a part of it. But I want to be a part of it here. I don’t want to be away from all the people I love.” I placed a light kiss to the side of his mouth. “And that includes you.”
“But what about work?”
I shrugged, and just like that, it felt like a weight disappeared from my chest. Maybe my job didn’t have to be the most important thing about me. Maybe it was okay to not know sometimes. To take a chance, try something new. Isn’t that what my mom had wanted most for me? For me to be free from the pressure and stress that had almost broken her. She had a point. It felt pretty damn good.
“The good thing about me, David, is that I’m good at an awful lot of things.”
He laughed. “Is that a fact?”
“It is. Today, I drove a boat across the bay all by myself. Tell me that doesn’t kick ass.”
He pulled me in closer, his entire body flush with mine. “It definitely kicks ass.”
“So don’t worry about me,” I whispered. “I’ll figure it out.”
“Iris Holder,” he murmured, lowering his mouth to mine. “I have absolutely no doubt about it.” And then he kissed me again, just to show that he meant it.
The End
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Always You, the second book in the Lilac Bay series, will be available June 24th!
Also by Rachel Schurig
Lovestruck Series
Lovestruck in London
Lovestruck in Los Angeles
Lovestruck Forever
Sofie and the Movie Star (A digital short story)
Lovestruck at Christmas (A digital novella)
Starstruck
Three Girls Series
Three Girls and a Baby
Three Girls and a Wedding
Three Girls and a Leading Man
The Truth About Ever After
Three Girls and a New Beginning
Snow Kissed (A digital short story)
Love Story Series
In Search of a Love Story
An Unexpected Love Story
An (Almost) Perfect Love Story
Ransom Series
Ransom
Release
Redeem
Relent
Rescue
On the Road (A digital short story)
Escape Series
Escape in You
Escape With You
Stand Alone
Persuaded
Where Your Heart Is (Lilac Bay Book 1) Page 27
