by Skylar Hill
“What if love isn’t enough?” Nat asked, feeling and sounding so damn small. That was her fear. What if it wasn’t enough? What if she leapt and he caught her, but then they stumbled? What if it wasn’t a sure thing? What if he resented her for being so stubborn? What if she resented him?
“Sometimes love isn’t easy,” Maddy said. “Sometimes love takes a little more work. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth every second of that work. If the last few years have taught me anything about love, it’s that it’s worth fighting for. Carter’s love changed my life. It didn’t change me, but it made me more me. Free to be me, I guess. And when I saw what he was willing to do for Olivia, I realized that I had just started to scrape the surface of loving him, of learning what love is. Not all sacrifice is bad, Nat.”
“I know,” Nat said, thinking about how Carter had given up a kidney for his little sister. “I just feel so lost. I told myself I had this all under control, but then he kissed me and I was gone.”
“That good, huh?”
“You can’t even imagine,” Nat said sincerely.
Maddy laughed. “It’s like that with the right one,” she said. “I felt like my head was about to blow off during my first kiss with Carter.”
“Is he okay with you spending all this time with me? You two just got back.” Nat said, realizing she’d been totally hogging Maddy. She knew now that her best friend was married, things were going to be a little different. She wouldn’t have as much free time. That’s why Nat was so grateful they worked together now, so they’d get to spend more time together than typical best friends.
“Oh, he’s still sleeping off the jet lag,” Maddy said. “He’s terrible at re-setting his clock. He’ll probably be awake at three a.m. again, making dinner.”
Nat smiled at the mental image, so, so glad her friends were back. The last few weeks without them had been… eventful.
There was a knock at the door. “Food!” Nat said. “I’ll get it. I think I am actually a little hungry.”
She climbed out of the blanket fort and walked to the door, opening it without looking in the peephole.
“Oh,” she said, when she saw it wasn’t the delivery boy.
It was Rhett.
Thirty-Two
Nat
He had Zeke on a leash beside him, held a suitcase in his hand, and he was the best damn thing she’d ever seen.
“Rhett,” she said, wanting to run to him, to kiss him, to apologize, and tell him she never, ever meant it.
“Can I come in?”
“Yeah, of course,” she said, stepping back. As she did, she realized he’d never been to her place in the city. They always met at concerts or bars or restaurants. He’d never been in her space. He looked impossibly big in it as he strode into her living room, just as Maddy’s head popped out of the blanket fort.
“Rhett! Hi!” she said, her eyes sparkling. “I was just leaving!”
“Maddy—” Nat protested, not sure if she wanted her friend to leave or not. What happened if they were alone again? Would she be able to resist him?
Space… you need space to get your head right so you can go back to resisting him.
“I’m just gonna grab Peaches,” Maddy said, scooping up her cat and placing him in the carrier she’d brought. “And we’re gonna go! Bye, you two!” Maddy trilled, trotting out before Nat could stop her. The door shut with a resounding click, and Nat crouched down, scratching Zeke’s head as she tried to think about what to say.
“You left me divorce papers, but you didn’t sign them,” he said.
She hadn’t been able to bring herself to sign them. It had felt so final. But she couldn’t tell him that.
“What’s with the suitcase?’ she asked instead, rising to her feet as Zeke began to sniff around, exploring.
“I made a decision,” Rhett said, walking farther into her living room, looking around. “I like your place,” he said. He stroked a hand along the back of her 1950s couch. “It’s very you.”
“Thank you,” she said, confusion mounting in her. “Look, Rhett—”
“Aren’t you going to ask me what my decision is?”
There was a strange light in his eyes. An intense sort of burning that was doing all sorts of things to her body. She could feel her breath quicken.
“What’s your decision?” she asked.
“I’ve decided to stop,” he said.
“Stop what?”
“Stop resisting,” he said. “Ever since I met you, ever since that first day I walked into your office, I’ve been resisting the pull I feel toward you. I almost gave in, you know, in New York. Before Eleanor called me to tell me she wanted to invest in River Run, I was minutes away from leaving the airport and coming and finding you. Because that one kiss, it shook me in ways I never thought possible. You were a force of nature then and now and always. And I am done leaving you, and I am done letting you leave me.”
“Rhett…” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.
“I love you,” he said, and finally hearing it from him was the most precious give she’d ever been given. She felt frozen to the floor as the words echoed in the room. “I am in love with you. I’ve been in love with you for years. I’m never not going to love you, Nat. You are it. You’re my one. My wife. You are the best part of my day. Talking to you, laughing with you, knowing that I get to see you. I don’t want to live without that… without you.”
She pressed her hand against his heart, her fingers curling, like she could cradle it within her palm. Tears trickled down her cheeks as emotion swamped her. “I can’t make you change for me,” she whispered. “And I’m not sure I can change.”
“Well, lucky for you, you’re not making me change,” he said. “I’m offering. Because I love you. Because I have the freedom to. And because right now, you’re at a place in your career where you have less freedom and more places to climb. So my job is to support you through it, just like you supported me through all of River Run’s problems.”
She looked up at him, unable to believe it. Could he really be offering her what she thought he was? Could he really be that selfless, that good?
“Look,” he said. “I know in the movies it’s always the girl who shows up on the guy’s steps, like, a thousand miles from where she lived at the start of the film. In the movies, she’s the one who gives up everything and changes her life. But this isn’t the movies, Nat. And I am a grown-ass man with a multi-million dollar business. I can delegate more. I can commute a few times a week. I can be here some of the time and you can be with me in the mountains some of the time, and if we want, if we try, we can make this work. You are worth it, Nat. We are worth it. We can build a beautiful life. A rich one full of you and me and the best of both our worlds. If you want to.”
If she wanted to? Of course she wanted to. But could it work?
He was offering her the world. Her dream that she hadn’t even dared to dream. He was offering her himself, all of himself, his heart, his body, his mind, his devotion, his time, and his effort.
Her heart was so full with love for him, she could barely speak around the feeling.
“Say something, Nat,” he said, his eyes so earnest, so worried she’d say no.
She couldn’t say no. She could never say no. She was his one, and he was hers.
“We’re gonna have to get a house with a yard if we want to keep Zeke,” she said, embracing hope, embracing change, embracing the beautiful possibility of the future and them and what they could build.
His face opened into the most beautiful, joyous smile. He whooped, grabbing her into his arms and spinning her off her feet, their lips meeting in the kind of kiss that was all delight and triumph and finally.
“So, you love me?” he asked when they finally parted, his hand still wound in her hair, Zeke barking excitedly at their feet.
She pressed her forehead against his. “I love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love someone,” she whispered.
&nb
sp; He lifted up her left hand, his finger tracing the ring on her finger. “And you’ll keep wearing this?” he asked.
She kissed him, her fingers twining with his.
“As long as I get to get you one to wear, too,” she said.
He smiled, kissing her again. “I’ll never take it off. I’ll wear it always.”
And he did. And so did she.
Always.
Want to get a special bonus epilogue from ALL LOVED UP featuring Nat, Rhett and the bear cubs as ring bear-ers (get it? :P)?
Click here to subscribe to my newsletter and get the bonus epilogue for FREE!
Six Impossible Things
A steamy sneak peek
“I don’t think it’s silly,” Luke said softly.
“It’s fanciful,” she said.
“Hopeful,” he countered. “It speaks to your heart.”
She sighed. “But there I go again, listening to my heart over my head. I need to focus on sticking to my new rules. ”
“This is the first time I’m hearing of rules. I think you should let me know what they are, so I can help you break them.”
“You’re a bad influence!” She laughed, that beautiful, bell-like sound ringing through the empty street.
“My new leaf is all about being practical,” Nora said with a determined nod. “Thinking things through. Possibly making lots of pro/con lists.”
“Did you make one about going out with me?” he asked, half-joking, but then when she turned bright red, he laughed. “Really? Now I’m really interested what was in the con column.”
“All the cons were about me, not you,” Nora said, looking relieved he was taking this so good-naturedly. How could he not? She was great. Funny and smart and just a little quirky.
He liked unique women. And Nora Phillips was definitely a singular one.
“What about the pros?” he asked.
“All the pros were about you,” Nora said. “Well, at least, what I knew about you from Margaux and Hunter.”
“And what did they tell you about me?”
“That you were nice and funny and handsome and absolutely fated to be my soulmate,” Nora said with a wink that made the pull he felt toward her so hard to resist. He wanted to grab her hand and give her a little twirl as they walked down the street, slip his hand around her waist, so his fingers were resting on the soft curve of her hip. “You know, all the things people say when they’re setting you up.”
“I am absolutely all those things,” he said with a deadpan expression. “Especially the soulmate part.” And sure enough, it made her laugh again.
He loved making her laugh.
“This is me,” she said, nodding her head toward the dark blue Volvo parked on the curb. “Thank you for the lovely evening. And the walk to my car.”
She hesitated, a shy, unsure look crossing over her face, and heat lanced through him as he realized she didn’t want to evening to end.
A slow smile spread across his lips. Oh sweetheart, he thought. You and I are going places.
“If this wasn’t a first date, I’d kiss you right now,” he said.
Her head tilted. For a moment, he thought he’d pushed a bit too far, because her eyes flickered and he could see nervousness there. But then, oh, then… her lips—that perfect red cupid’s bow of a mouth—curved.
“Kiss me,” she said softly.
It was an answer and a question wrapped all in one. A request, and maybe a bit of an order.
And when his hand settled on her waist and his lips closed over hers, something clicked into place deep inside him, like a key fitting in a lock. Her mouth opened beneath his, and the heat and taste of her—ladyfingers and coffee and whipped cream—pulsed through him like the best kind of sugar rush.
One step, and he could press her against her car and angle her head, taking the kiss deeper, hotter, wetter. And for a moment, God, it was all he wanted to do. He wanted to take her home and spread her out on his bed and worship her until dawn was streaking the sky.
Slow down, cowboy, he thought, forcing himself to break off the kiss. But he couldn’t quite force himself to fully retreat, so for a moment, they stood there, their foreheads pressed together, breathing each other in. When he opened his eyes and saw her looking into his, it took his damn breath away. Made his heart skip a beat like he was a prince in a story. Just being so close to her, caught in her gaze, was more intimate than some kisses he’d experienced.
“You make it hard for a man to walk away, Nora,” he said softly, his voice rougher than he liked. “But I’m going to. For tonight.”
Start the Serial Today!
Also by Skylar Hill
The Purely Pleasure Series
All Worked Up
All Dressed Up (A Purely Pleasure Short)
All Loved Up
Steamy Standalones
For Keeps
Six Impossible Things
Part One: The First Date
Part Two: The Four Corners
Part Three: The Lake House
Part Four: The Photo Shoot
The Exile Ink Series
James & Cam:
Something New (Book 1)
Something Right (Book 2)
Something Real (Book 3)
Exile Ink: James & Cam (The Complete Trio)
Aiden & Lydia:
Just One Night (A Exile Ink Short)
About the Author
Skylar Hill writes steamy romance about once-in-a-lifetime love.
She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her very own lumberjack/soulmate. When she’s not writing, she’s hiking one of the trails around her beautiful city, or in a cafe, drinking chai lattes and eating way too many cinnamon rolls. She has several tattoos, but in places only her husband gets to see!
She is currently hard at work on her next steamy story.
For sneak peeks, bonus scenes, updates, giveaways and truly decadent hot cocoa recipes, sign up for Skylar’s Newsletter here.
To connect with Skylar
www.skylar-hill.com
[email protected]
