Page 19 of Sweet Summer
“Of course I do. I have for a long time, and I decided the moment I saw you that this week I was going to make sure you knew this time.” He runs his fingers through his hair. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to be going back to New York or if you were really going to think about moving here, but it didn’t matter. I wanted to make sure you knew that I love you. Wow. It feels great to say it out loud finally. I. Love. You, Freya Fredericks.” He steps closer, taking my hand.
“Well, I love you, too, Wyatt Hogan.”
“Can I finally kiss you now?”
“You’d better, cause I’m done waiting.”
Wyatt lets go of my hand and then raises his, and I feel his fingertips comb through my hair. He cups the back of my head, tilting closer so our noses brush, his lips trailing their way along my jaw until they slant across mine.
Finally.
I close my eyes, Wyatt’s lips press against mine, and I breathe him in. Sliding my hands up his chest, I let them snake their way around his neck, tugging him closer into my body. This kiss is better than I could ever have imagined. It’s the kiss that says we’re more than friends. It’s a kiss that tips its hat to our history, but also steps back to allow our future. This kiss tastes like pink cotton candy, the sweetest lemonade from the county fair, and caramel covered apples all rolled up into one.
This kiss is the kiss I never knew I was waiting for.
Wyatt holds me close, the strength of his embrace safe and warm. I pull away and extract myself from our lip tangle, resting my cheek on his chest. He kisses the top of my head and nuzzles his way into the crook of my neck, kissing that sensitive part that trails from the back of my earlobe down the nape of my neck. Oh, this boy is going to be the death of me…and I’m happy to pick out the coffin.
Wyatt Hogan is mine. And I’m his.
He pulls back, still keeping me wrapped in his arms but craning his neck to look down at me. “So. Are we in this now for an adventure? For a meal?”
I open my mouth to answer, and a loud POP! sounds off. Startled, I step back, and another loud BANG! echoes on the lake and resounds across the water. Looking up to the sky above, I remember it is the Fourth of July. We’re treated to the most magnificent and extravagant fireworks display I think I’ve ever seen. Of course, it could be because Wyatt just kissed me. I’ll take it.
Wyatt stands behind me, pulling me close to him, and holds me against his chest so tightly I can feel the rise and fall from his breathing. I let my fingers dance along his forearms and caress his biceps. My imagination runs wild with the things I want to do to him, and I love it. I love him.
I turn my head and lean back, falling harder into Wyatt’sbody. I lift myself onto the very tips of my toes and press my lips close to his ear. “I’m in this for a lifetime.”
Grinning from ear to ear, Wyatt turns me around so we’re facing one another again. “Yeah? You sure about that, Fredericks?”
I place one hand on my hip and step back. “You don’t think I’m being serious?” Wyatt raises an eyebrow, then steps away, stripping off his shirt. “Whoa, wait a minute. I mean, wow—” I stare at his chest. His lickable, glistening, ripped…
“Come on, Freya. Quit eyeballing me and get over here.” Wyatt’s still in his fire department issued shorts, striding to the end of the dock. “If you’re in it for a lifetime, leap with me.”
“I’m fully dressed!” The man can’t be serious, but judging from the look on his face, he is.
It’s the moment I know I’ve been waiting for and that our relationship has come to. Grinning, I stroll over to stand beside him, kicking off my shoes as I go. He reaches out a hand and his fingers find mine, threading themselves together as if they were meant to be.
I look down, staring at the velvet dark water that reflects the brilliant and dazzling display still firing off in the sky above us. That’s some dark water. Pitch-black.
I can’t see anything, but I do know one thing: with Wyatt by my side, it’s going to be okay.
I look over at the man beside me. The man who was once a boy who lived here, in my hometown, and is my friend. My best friend. The person who I want my forever to be with. A warmth floods through me as I squeeze his hand and do the only thing that’s right.
I leap.
CHAPTER 9
Wyatt
While today was planned with only Freya in mind, I made sure we had a few other friends around to help me out. It’s crazy to think back to a few months ago––I not only managed to finally get the girl, but I also helped that girl move back home. In a matter of three days time, Freya’s life in New York City was packed up and we’d moved her back to Lake Lorelei and into the farmhouse with Maisey.
“Does Freya still think she’s meeting you here for dinner?” Maisey asks as she walks out of the kitchen of the Red Bird. “And how are you doing? Ready for this?”
I didn’t have to think twice before nodding. “Everything is a go and I’m more than ready.”
Maisey grins as she looks me up and down, one hand on her hip. “Good, because there’s about twenty five people on the back patio waiting to celebrate with you.”
“Did Freya’s parents make it?” They’d been gone for months traveling the United States in their RV, but made a u-turn and headed home the day I called and asked them for permission to marry Freya. I know, a bit old fashioned, buthey…there’s something super romantic about being old-school, you know? I was also hoping for bonus points with her dad, in a not-so-shameless way.
