“Same, baby.” I nipped at her lips before aligning myself with her entrance. Deliciously, I rubbed my cock up and down her slit, teasing us both. “This is gonna be fast,” I warned before plunging inside of her, filling her until our bodies were flush.
“We’ll do it tomorrow and the day after that and the day after, old man,” she moaned. “We have time, I promise.”
I chuckled, thinking back to when she ran off that first night we met. “Oh, not you and the promises again. Don’t promise,” I teased, swiveling my hips, hitting the spot that made her eyes roll.
“More,” she groaned, thrusting her hips upwards. Grace didn’t have to tell me twice.
Happy Valentine’s Day to us.
CHAPTER 42
Grace
“We’re goingto have to break apart at some point, buddy.” I playfully shoved his body to the side before I threw on his T-shirt from the heap of clothes in the bedroom.
As if on command, Caleb’s stomach growled, and I couldn’t help but laugh as I strolled over to the adjacent bathroom.
At some point throughout the night, we made it to the bedroom after showering together. To conserve water, of course. I had only managed to grab a T-shirt from his dresser before we got tangled up in one another again. I wasn’t complaining though.
When Noelle insisted on me coming back to Grand Haven, I wasn’t anticipating reconciling quickly with Caleb. I knew it was going to be a work in progress, but I also knew I wanted to stick around and fight. Something I never did before.
Caleb forgiving me, after confessing the truth, surprised me, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was a testament to the man he is and his unwavering ability to love. To love me. I wouldn’t take it for granted again.
I knew I needed to be the first one to be brave enough to sayI love youafter our reunion. He said it first when we initiallystarted dating, and I was always the person with one foot out of the relationship. No longer would I have him questioning my status in his life.
I turned on the faucet to the sink, proceeding to splash some water on my face.
Just as a chill ran down my spine from the morning brisk air, Caleb’s strong arms engulfed me from behind. “Missed you, Grace. Seriously.”
I could see how serious he was based on how he stared at me in the bathroom mirror.
“I love you, Caleb,” I murmured, overwhelmed with the emotions brought on by our reunion. I cursed myself and proceeded to cover my mouth with my hands. I wasn’t sure how he was going to react.
Caleb’s eyes widened for a split second before he recovered, his warm, boyish grin splitting his face, his eyes twinkling with excitement, his arms tightening around my waist.
“Say it again,” he whispered, his eyes trained on my own in the mirror.
I swallowed hard, a lump in the back of my throat as I proceeded to remove my hands from my mouth. “I love you, Caleb. I don’t really think I knew what love was before you and Noelle. But I love you and I’m ready.”
“I love you so much. You make me better. Noelle loves you. The only thing that can hurt us is you leaving.” Caleb spun me around, hoisting me up and onto the bathroom counter. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear you say that. I just wanted you to be ready. I know this town isn’t what you’re used to, but I think it could continue to grow on you.”
I could feel how happy a part of him was growing, and I wasn’t about to ruin the moment.
I shook my head. “I love you and this town. I love Noelle, and I want to be here for her, in any way you let me. I want to be a part of it all. But I’m not running. I’m choosing to stay.”
I had a choice, and my choice would always be Caleb, Noelle, and Grand Haven. The life I left behind back in the city was gray, sterile, and colorless. Now, I had an assortment of wild, vibrant colors around me. I couldn’t go back and I didn’t want to.
“Well, we are never letting you go, either,” Caleb muttered as he crashed his lips to mine, stripping me of his T-shirt and making me scream before we had to be hushed when Noelle came back.
When I first ended up in Grand Haven, I was taken aback by most everybody’s friendliness. Their openness and sheer willingness to help with zero ulterior motives. Only now, the people in town I’d become closest to were apprehensive and untrusting of me. Ironic. I caused this mess and I now needed to get myself out of it.
Once the snowplows cleared the roads, Caleb rushed over to grab Noelle and stop by the bar to set things up for the post-Valentine’s Day crowd tonight. Caleb wanted me to come with him and hang out at the bar with him and Noelle, but I had to try to make amends with Fiona first. Ms. Kenzie, surprisingly, was much more forgiving. Fiona came into the bakery one day when I was there and even Ms. Kenzie said, “Fiona, give it up. The poor girl made a mistake.”
But I understood Fiona’s anger. She’d welcomed me into her life when she typically hated everyone. We had a bond of the misunderstood people, and I broke it by running out on her and the town. Fiona felt betrayed and rightfully so. But like Caleb’sand my relationship, I would fight for the friendships I forged over my time here.
I walked on the pavers toward the small cottage behind the inn. The crunch of the snow was just as loud as my heart beating out of my chest. I pushed the doorbell, hearing the sound of a rabid dog. Fiona insisted it was her security system. Not that you needed one in a town where everybody looked out for one another. I heard a faint, “Come in.”
I automatically got hit with the smell of those artificial fragrance plug-ins that I told Fiona were toxic, to which her response was “I don’t give a shit.”
