She nodded but didn’t say anything. I shook my head. “No. We are not that book. We are our own story. And I want to make sure that this moment belongs to us. I don’t want to replay something I’ve written in the book.”
With that, I tilted my head to the side and leaned in, kissing her passionately. Her arms came up and she wrapped them around my neck, leaning fully into our embrace. The energy and excitement between us was stronger than ever. I felt as if I was lifting off the ground.
Very slowly I set her back down on her feet and nudged my nose against hers. “Thank you, for dinner, for letting me kiss you, for letting me be part of your life.”
As I went to turn, I felt her hand on my arm. I stopped and looked at her, and she bit her bottom lip. Reaching out she took my wrist and pulled me toward the door. I stopped her for a moment, wanting to make sure that it was her choice, her heart. “Are you sure?”
She lifted up on her tip toes and whispered in my ear. “I’ve never been surer about anything.”
Those were my sentiments exactly.
Chapter 16
Rory
I was awake before my alarm, just lying there, watching Christian sleep, wondering how things had shifted so quickly. This time though, I wasn’t scared or pulling away, I felt completely comfortable with the choice that I had made. Sure, I had absolutely no idea if he would stay, if he would go, if we would have a relationship or not have a relationship, or if we would even ever talk about those things. The future was unknown, but that was okay because that was part of love.
I had come to understand that you could write down and engineer your life exactly how you wanted to on a piece of paper, but things always got in the way. Life had this inexplicable talent of throwing you off course at the last moment. It was excruciating most of the time, but in the end, it was what love was about. It was about Clara, it was about Christian, it was about my ex, and it was about me. My own story was so important and that meant taking chances. Tish had been right, if I never took a chance because I was scared, I would never have felt the emotion that I felt standing under the stars kissing Christian the night before. I would’ve never felt his arms around me. I would’ve never woken up beside him. Those were the beautiful moments. Those were the moments that even after you broke up, once all the anger had cleared, you could still look back on and think about how amazing it was.
I let out a silent sigh of relaxation and glanced over at the clock. I didn’t want to go to work that day, but I had to. That was my dream and I couldn’t just abandon it because another one had fallen into my bed. Very carefully I pulled back the covers and slid out, not wanting to wake him. It was far too early for him to be awake after the long night that we had.
As I got ready there was a pep in my step and an emotional happiness that hadn’t let me down since the moment my cat jumped into my arms. I dressed in the bathroom, did my hair, brushed my teeth, and headed down to make some coffee. Unlike normal, the cat didn’t follow me, staying curled up at Christian’s feet. I didn’t blame him, it was the warmest place to be and he had been the guy that saved my cat from my ex. There was bound to be a little bit of a connection. Before leaving, I went upstairs and set a folded note on the table next to him. I smiled at him for a moment, his hair wild, and his body wrapped up in the blankets. Turning, I patted my cat on the head and headed out to work.
When I walked in the door, I hung up my jacket and went right to work. Tish was in the kitchen finishing up the last batch of cookies and poked her head out waving at me. “Good morning.”
I smiled back at her. “Good morning!”
When I turned away from her, I knew she didn’t stop looking at me. Glancing back over at her, she had narrowed her eyes and was studying me carefully. Very slowly she walked from the kitchen, wiping her hands on the towel tucked in the waist of her apron. “Something’s different about you.”
Tish shook her head, staring at me very closely. “No, that’s not it. There’s a glow to you. There’s a happiness here that’s bordering on gross, but fits you perfectly.”
I paused for only a millisecond but she caught it. She pointed at me. “There is something different! Spill it.”
I shrugged. “I got my cat back. It was actually kinda strange because I left here last night and when I was walking home, I found Christian, half bent over in the bushes. When I asked him what he was doing, I kind of scared him and the cat came running out and jumped right into my arms. Apparently, he had gone over to my exes house and, in the dummy’s normal fashion, my ex talked smack to Christian who then apparently knocked him out.”
Tish immediately threw her arms in the air, cheering wildly. She marched back and forth shaking her fist. “That is the most glorious news I’ve ever heard. Please tell me that he got it on video.”
I chuckled shaking my head. “No, but I was thinking the same thing. How satisfying would it have been to see that happen?”
Tish dropped her arms, a smile on her face. “I feel like I should thank him. Not only did he do what I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but getting that cat back, it’s changed your entire personality.”
I cleared my throat, mumbling to her. “I already thanked him.”
There were the narrowed eyes again. “Wait… That happiness is only partially because of the cat. By you thanking him, what exactly does that mean?”
I acted nonchalantly as I went through the mail on the counter. “Nothing crazy. I made him dinner, we talked and laughed, and…”
Tish giggled, gripping my arm. “And?”
My cheeks went red. “And we kissed.”
Tish whistled, shaking her head. “That’s amazing.”
I knew I had to tell her, but I was holding back. Suddenly she reached over me and grabbed my keys, narrowing her eyes at them. “I’ve known you for how many years? Pretty much our entire lives. I gave you a keychain when we were 16 years old and you put it on your house key. When you moved into your new house you put it on that keychain as well. Where is that key?”
My shoulder stiffened and I slowly looked over at her. She lifted an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips tapping her foot. I chuckled nervously. “What? I had to leave it for Christian so that he could lock up the house when he woke up.”
The squeal that radiated from Tish was ridiculous. I was shocked that she didn’t break all the windows in the place. She clapped her hands and jumped up and down shaking me from the back. “You did it! You moved on! You leveled up! You had sex with the hot author!”
I laughed, trying to shrug her off. “You are ridiculous. Yes, we had sex. And yes, before you ask, it was amazing. Now, can you please get back to work? You know we have the rush coming in today.”
Tish giggled wildly, saluting me and grabbing the cookie tray. “This is just wonderful. I knew I didn’t make a poor choice living vicariously through you.”
As she walked to the back, I shook my head, my eyes rolling. I wanted to be excited like she was, to let it all out, to jump up and down squealing in happiness, but I was still a bit reserved. The romance of the night before was still lingering in my mind heavily, but so was the fact that Christian wasn’t from my town and eventually he would have to go back.
I pushed the thought from my mind as soon as the first customer walked through the door. It was a crazy morning, with people coming in and out, us selling out of cookies, and four people placing orders for cakes of different varieties. It wasn’t until around 2 o’clock that I stopped long enough to realize that Christian hadn’t brought my house key back. I shrugged it off at that point, figuring that maybe he had forgotten his charger, hadn’t seen the note, or even was still asleep. Things have been very stressful for the both of us over the last couple of weeks and I was sure that he had to have been exhausted.
Continuing through my day, I would check the clock every now and then, texting him a couple of times to see if he would respond. He didn’t send anything back. When the days rush was almost over, I stood behind the counter, cover
ed in flour, and kind of exhausted. Hilda and her crew had come in for their trivia night and were arguing over answers on the other side of the room.
Tish walked up to me and hip checked me. “What are you thinking about? That hot author body?”
“You really need to get a life,” I replied with a laugh. “I was actually thinking about how it’s getting pretty late and we’re almost closed, and Christian hasn’t brought my house key back yet. I left him a note by the bed to make sure he would lock up and bring it over to me.”
Tish shrugged. “Maybe you exhausted him so much he just couldn’t even get out of bed, which would be amazing. You can leave with his naked body and come home to his naked body. What else could you ask for?”
I glanced over at her. “A best friend that isn’t so crude?”
She scoffed. “That would be boring.”
Just then, the door jangled and we both looked up to see Christian walking in. Tish elbowed me as I stood up straight, trying to brush some of the flower off the front of my shirt. I wasn’t sure why I was so nervous, the man had just seen me completely naked. A little bit of flour was not going to shock him. My eyes shifted over to Hilda and the crew as they all went silent watching him with dreamy eyes as he walked over to the counter.
“I thought maybe my cat had killed you,” I said with a smile.
He chuckled, shaking his head. “No, I think we’re getting close. I think he likes me.”
I lifted my brow. “He’s faking you out. When he knows that you finally let down your guard, that’s when he’ll slice you in your sleep or attack you in the hallway. He’s pretty sneaky that way.”
Christian smiled at me, an intense but warming look on his face. He reached in his pocket and pulled out my key holding it out to me. “Sorry it took me so long. I hurried over when I realized I had the house key.”
As I reached out to grab it, a chorus of cheers erupted from Hilda and her crew on the other side of the room. I closed my eyes, holding onto it for a second and sticking it in my pocket Christian laughed, and shrugged his shoulders. Turning toward the ladies he gave them a bow. They all cheered louder and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t encourage them. You’ll only make their powers stronger.”
“She’s a keeper,” Hilda yelled out. “But remember, if you two don’t work out, there’s always the tire swing.”
Christian and I both wrinkled our noses. I patted my hand in the air. “I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to forget even if he tried. In fact, we’ve all been trying.”
Tish walked around the counter snapping her towel in the air. “Hilda! Don’t make me get the tranquilizers.”
Hilda snarled that Tish, waving her off. We both laughed and I turned back to Christian, his eyes bright and shining, his lips curled into what seemed like a permanent grin. He looked like what I felt on the inside. There was this cloud nine kind of reaction to everything, but I was trying desperately to keep my feet on the ground. All day I had kept reminding myself that I had to be careful. But in the end, standing there in front of him, all of that restraint faded. I was tired of fighting it, the man had grabbed me by the heart and I was becoming very fond of the fact that he wasn’t willing to let it go.
Chapter 17
Christian
There was no question about it, with everything that had gone on, with how Rory had touched my life, I couldn’t leave. Going back to the Hollywood lifestyle seemed pointless and almost depressing. At first, nothing made sense, but after the long cold nights in that small town, it was all becoming clear to me. I used to think that falling in love gave you kind of a haze, unable to really think about what you wanted or what your goals were. But standing in my hotel room staring out the window, my mind couldn’t have been clearer. In fact, it was clearer than it had been in years.
The town had a kind of magic to it, unseen, but you could definitely feel it. Sure, you could blame it on the sparkling lights at the park or the chill in the air, but I knew exactly what it was. It was a small-town baker, a woman who had no idea what she wanted, and for some reason enjoyed being around me. When she wasn’t changing her mind every five seconds, Rory was exciting and funny. She made me laugh about the stupidest things like I was a kid again.
I knew it could be the town, I wasn’t naive, but I also couldn’t ignore the fact that it could be love as well. People fell in and out of love every day, that was half of what my books were about, but the feeling that Rory gave me put a spark back into my life. It made me understand at a small level what Clara was thinking as she sat day after day on the cliffs. You wait and you wait, sometimes your whole life to be with the person that you love the most, and I felt it would be stupid to just give up on that for no reason whatsoever. I had never had the chance before, but my characters in my books had, and once I began to feel it for Rory, I knew that I couldn’t pass it by.
All day I had been thinking, pacing the floor, wondering if I was making the right choice. Then my mind started to do something that it hadn’t done in a very long time, creating scenarios in my head of ways that I could end my series. At first, they were just trickles of ideas, but as I mixed and mashed my personal life with the lives of the characters in the books, the trail to the end became clear. It was the first time since I started writing the books that I felt I knew where things were going.
Glancing over at the desk on the other side of the room I could see my ideas written out on paper. They were strewn everywhere. Small pieces of receipts, torn out notebook pages, and a pad of hotel paper filled to the brim with ideas. But they weren’t just ideas, they were synchronized into an order that would lead me through every single chapter of my book. Whatever came of me and Rory in the end, she gave me one thing back that I had lost years before, my drive, my imagination, and my will to finish the enormous project that I had started when I was young and naïve.
Everyone always said that my characters grew through the books, but it wasn’t just them that grew, it was me as well. That last book, by the time I turned it into the publishing company, would be the end of a period of my life where I learned more that I lost. It felt like a closed chapter, a period of my life that, now that I met Rory, wouldn’t come back again. I would be able to look back on it with fondness and some slight embarrassment, and take everything that I had learned to move forward into the future. Where life would take me after the book was done, I had no idea. I wanted to say that I would stay there in the small town and be with Rory, but ultimately it was up to her.
Everything had become clear to me, but I knew she was still struggling with things. She might have her cat back, and she might never have to talk to her jerk ex-boyfriend again, but that really had nothing to do with what she wanted. In fact, her and I hadn’t even had a chance to talk about what she wanted.
Taking a deep breath, I stretched my arms over my head and rolled my shoulders, preparing to begin writing. I hadn’t been that excited about writing since the initial idea had come to me in the first book. But I was ready, bound and determined to create an ending that not only displayed the kind of creativity and emotion that I put into the beginning of the series, but also that showed that a new series of my own life had begun. These books had done me well, but I was ready to create something new, and not just with my work, but with my life as well.
As I started to walk toward the desk, my phone vibrated in my pocket. A thrill went through my chest wondering if it was Rory, hoping that I be able to tell her about the notes that I take that day and what I was about to do. However, as I opened up the messages, I realized it wasn’t from her at all. They were from Rachel and started out bitterly as she was pretty angry at me for not texting her back the other night. She asked me when I was returning, and though I knew I shouldn’t tell her, I did anyway. I had hoped that it would deter her from continuing to contact me.
“I don’t think I’m coming back for a while,” I texted. “This place suits me and fortunately for me, being an author, I’m not tied to Hollywood.”
I wasn’t quite sure what kind of man she thought I was. I had never been one to fall for that typical diversion, and I was tired of playing games with her. I knew if I didn’t stop things then, it would just continue, and eventually it would get in the way. I had led her on and that was my fault, but it was time to undo that.
Gathering my courage and my willingness to be chewed out, I called her.
“It’s hard to send you pictures when you’re calling me,” Rachel said.
I let out a long deep breath. “Rachel…”
She interrupted. “That doesn’t sound good. Look, I know you’re in some sort of crisis over there but it’ll pass and you’ll realize how much you miss the sunshine, and of course me. All the big parties are coming up and who am I supposed to go with if you’re not here?”
I squeezed the bridge of my nose, closing my eyes for a minute. “I need you to listen to me. Things were fun, they really were. We had some laughs, some drinks, and some great sex, but this can’t continue. It’s my fault that I led you on the other night, and I apologize for that. I let my loneliness get the best of me. But the truth is, we’re not right for each other. We’d do nothing but bicker for the rest of our lives if we continue doing this. You’re beautiful and talented, you’ll find somebody who fits the bill for what you’re looking for, but it’s not me. We barely even have conversations when we’re together.”
Promise Me Forever Page 9
