FOR THE FIRST TWO DAYS after I arrived in North Carolina, I honestly admit that I did kind of stare at my phone in hopes that Matt would call or text. Jace ended up taking my phone and hiding it so that I’d stop looking at it and have fun. I was a routine kind of girl, so it didn’t take long to develop one. The weather was hot and sunny, so I went shopping on my first day and bought a ton of little sun dresses since it was hard to wear them at home with the cooler weather.
Each day I watched Jace work, and once sunset came I’d walk to the pier that was only a little over half a mile away. Sometimes Jace would come with me, but most of the time I preferred to take the walk myself.
The highlight of my week was watching Jace act on film. His lead was a beautiful red-haired female with creamy skin and a dash of freckles on her cheeks that gave her a natural glow. Her name was Allie and she had the cutest southern accent I’d ever heard. One thing was for certain, her and Jace’s chemistry during the love scenes was epic. I honestly didn’t think Jace could pull it off.
“So what did you think of the ocean scene?” Jace asked, sitting down on the towel beside me.
The ocean scene was a romantic one with his leading co-star taking a sunset dip in the water where they gave in to their urges and made love in waves. The whole sky was bathed in the beautiful sunset colors of reds, oranges, and pinks. I had never seen a more beautiful sunset in all my life, or a more beautiful kiss for that matter.
“It was amazing, Jace,” I breathed, staring out over the water. “I swear you have to be one of the best damn actors I know. The way you look at Allie and the way you connect on film is phenomenal. In a way, it felt like I should cover my eyes when you two were out in the water. It all looked and felt so real.”
“That’s because it was real,” he admitted sheepishly.
“Wait, what?” I gasped, jerking my head in his direction. “What do you mean by real? Are you saying you two were actually …”
Grinning, Jace waggled his eyebrows and chuckled. “Hey, it worked, didn’t it? It’s supposed to look real so we made it real. Do you remember a couple of weeks ago I said I had something I needed to tell you?”
Thinking back to our conversations, I did remember him telling me that on the phone right before everything blew up with Matt. “Yeah, I remember,” I told him, “but I don’t understand. Are you trying to tell me you’re not gay anymore? Does she know any of that?”
He nodded. “She knew from the very beginning because I told her not long after I met her when we started hanging out. The more I was around her the more I wanted … more. During our first love scene I think we were both a little nervous, but the second I kissed her it was like everything just changed.”
Reaching for his hand, I squeezed it and murmured, “That’s usually how it goes. I felt the same way about Matt.”
“Do you still feel that way about him?”
“Of course, I do,” I told him. “Even though I love it here it kills me to be so far away from him, but I actually don’t want to talk about me right now. Tell me more about you and Allie.”
I had never seen Jace so excited or full of life like he was at that moment. Never in a million years would I have imagined that he would go to North Carolina and return home straight.
“All right, well I told you about the first love scene. Our second one was even more of a challenge. My dick got so hard while we were messing around, and I could see in her eyes that she wanted more. Later on that night she showed up at my room, and one thing led to another. I haven’t known her long, but I swear I think I’m in love with her.”
“Wow,” I gasped. “I’m literally speechless.”
“This won’t make things weird with us, will it? You know I love you like you’re my own sister, and I don’t want you thinking I’m going to try and sneak into your room or some shit like that.”
Rolling my eyes, I smacked him on the arm and laughed. “Jace, I know you’re not going to do that. I’m just glad you’re happy.”
“I am,” he marveled, gazing down at his phone. “So are you walking down to the pier this afternoon? It’s going to get dark soon.”
Brushing the sand off my legs, I nodded and slipped on one of my new sundresses over my bikini; it was a strapless, pale yellow that went perfectly with my new tan. “Yeah, I need to get going so we can go eat dinner. Do you want to go with me this time?”
Jace got to his feet and helped me pack up my things, which I had scattered across my towel. “I think I will,” he agreed.
The walk to the pier was more adventurous with Jace alongside me. Every time I kicked a stream of warm, salty water his way he threatened to just throw me in. I was pretty sure he would do it, too. However, we had plans to go out to dinner and I couldn’t very well go looking like a wet dog.
Once we trekked the whole way to the pier, Jace had an incoming call he said he had to take and told me he’d meet me at the end of the pier in a few minutes. All along the sides of the pier there were men and women with their fishing rods and little children excited to see what they would catch. There were benches at the end of the pier that I sat in each night where I’d close my eyes and let the wind blow every single doubt out of my body.
As much as I loved California, there was a part in my heart that longed for the sweet serenity of North Carolina. It was beautiful. Leaning my elbows on the rails, I watched as the last little bit of the sun finally retreated below the horizon. Jace nudged my arm and stood right beside me.
“Is it bad that I’m starting to think I want to live here?” I asked with a sigh.
“Yes, that is bad considering that you’d be moving away from me, but I would follow you anywhere,” he answered.
Almost instantly, my heart sped into overdrive and I gasped, swaying on my feet as the shock of the surprise had me dizzy and elated all at once. He caught me in his arms, and that was when I looked up. He was really there … it was Matt. His hypnotic green gaze bore into mine and his lips were pulled back into that sexy smile of his that won me over countless times.
“Matt,” I breathed, “what are you doing here?”
Wearing a light blue Outer Banks T-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts, I couldn’t help but notice his skin was more tanned and he had a mischievous look in his eyes like he was in on a secret that I was not.
“I’m here for you, angel. I don’t think I can spend another moment away,” he murmured, cupping my left cheek in his large, warm hand. Something was different with him and I could see it in his gaze. There was no anger or resentment … only love.
Closing my eyes and leaning into his touch, I placed my hand over his and sighed. For the past two weeks all I wanted was to feel him hold me again and to hear his voice. My heart hurt being so far away from him, but yet, it felt like he was close by because he had always been a part of me.
My eyes started to burn, and when I opened them, Matt wiped away my tears before they could fall and leaned in to kiss me. It was soft at first, just a gentle pressing of his lips to mine, but I wanted more … a lot more. Locking my arms around his shoulders, I pulled him in harder against me and deepened the kiss, moaning lightly when his grip tightened around my waist and the taste of his lips consumed me.
“I can’t spend another minute away from you either,” I cried, leaning my forehead against his. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you, too, angel.”
Our moment of reunion was interrupted by the sound of Jace’s roaring laughter. “Uh … I do believe that’s an understatement,” he teased. “I swear these past couple of weeks have been torture.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked while Matt and Jace both started to chuckle.
“He’s talking about me,” Matt confessed. “I might have been a little on the annoying side. I called him every day that first week just to see how you were doing.”
“And then he followed us here the day after we arrived,” Jace added with a smirk. “He was determined to get you back, but I told him to at least give you a week of rest once we arrived here.”
Wide-eyed, I gasped and glared at them both incredulously. “So you two have been conspiring this whole time?” To Jace I asked, “Is he the one you always had to leave the room for when you got a phone call?”
Sheepishly, he nodded and smiled. The whole time I’d been in North Carolina, Matt was there as well. No wonder it felt like he was close by. It was because he was.
“All right, so now that you know, I’m going to go and let you two catch up and do your thing,” Jace said. “Allie and I are going out tonight so I won’t be around.” Turning on his heel, he peered at me over his shoulder and winked before completely disappearing down the pier.
With my arms crossed at the chest, I playfully narrowed my gaze at Matt and pursed my lips. “So you’ve been here this whole week, huh? What all have you been doing?”
He shrugged and tilted those lips up into a devilish smirk. “Nothing much, really. Just making sure no guys laid a finger on this certain beach bunny who looked amazingly hot out on the sand every day in her sexy bikini.”
Smacking his arm, we both laughed together as he held me close to his body, his hands rubbing smooth circles into my back. His scent engulfed me and I breathed him in along with the salty sea air and sighed, fully content with the fact he was back and he was mine.
“Where do we go from here?” I asked softly.
The fingers he had caressing my back stopped and he stepped away, gazing down at me with unabashed longing and a heated desire so strong I could feel the tremble all the way down to my core. I missed him so much.
Slowly, he bent down on his knees and took my hands in his, keeping his gaze on mine the entire time. Mouth gaping open, I stared at him in complete shock as he reached into his pocket and slid the small diamond ring onto my finger.
“I know it’s not much,” he added with a smile, “but there was a time ten years ago when I knew you were the one for me. I had planned to give you this ring the day after you left, but then …”
I gasped, looking down at the ring in amazement. He kept it this whole time?
“Oh my God,” I breathed as tears sprang to my eyes. “I can’t believe you kept it for so long. It’s beautiful.”
It was a simple white gold band with a half carat, round diamond in the center. At that point in our lives, Matt didn’t make that much money. The ring probably cost him a fortune, and after I left he could’ve sold it, but he didn’t.
“I plan on getting you a nicer one when we get back home, but for now I thought this ring would get my point across. For years I kept it, not really knowing why until now.” He got to his feet and held my hands tight, bringing them up over his heart. “Deep down, I guess I always hoped that it wasn’t over. I kept thinking you would come back one day, but then the years passed and you never did. There was still that feeling inside of me that told me not to let it go … not to give up hope.”
“Matt,” I murmured, gazing down at the ring, “I don’t want another ring. This one is perfect just the way it is. The significance behind it means more to me than any four carat diamond ever would.”
“You mean that?”
Rising on my toes, I nodded and kissed his lips. “With all my heart,” I cried.
“Well, then I guess that leads me to my next question.” Taking a deep breath, he let one of my hands go so he could bring it to my cheek. “Shelby, I love you so much. I know we’ve been through a lot the past few weeks, but even so, my love for you has never wavered. When I first met you I swear I thought you really were an angel. You saved me so many times and you were always there when I needed you no matter the consequences. In one way or another, you helped me find my way and helped me become the man I am today. I have never doubted that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, and I’m determined to see it through. So will you, Shelby Dawson, please find it within your heart to overlook my wrongs and spend the rest of your life with me?”
“I want you to be my wife so I can spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy. I can’t promise we won’t have our ups and downs, but I would risk everything just to have the privilege of your love every day. I want it all, Shelby. I want the chance to have my own family, to watch our kids grow, and to have the house you always wanted and dreamed about.”
Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a piece of paper that was folded over and handed it to me. “What’s this?” I asked, opening it up. When I got the paper opened, I saw that it was a picture of the one house I really wanted when Matt and I discussed moving in with each other.
Confused, I narrowed my gaze and looked up at him. “Why are you showing me this?”
Biting his lip, he smiled and tapped his finger on the paper. “This, angel, is our house. I already bought it. It’ll officially be ours next week.”
Averting my gaze back to the picture, I swallowed hard and pressed my lips firmly together. It almost felt like I was in a dream and I would wake up at any moment. “Please tell me this is real,” I whispered.
He lifted my chin with his finger and smiled down at me. “Believe me, angel, it’s real. If you need time to think about all of this that’s fine, but if—”
Immediately, I stopped him with a finger to his lips. “Matt, I don’t need time to think. In my heart I never let you go and I don’t ever plan on it for as long as I live.”
“So is this a yes?” he asked, mumbling the words under my finger with a twinkle in his eyes.
Dropping my finger, I nodded quickly and wrapped my arms around his neck before pressing my lips firmly to his. “Yes,” I answered with all of my heart. “Yes, to all of it.”
Lifting me in his arms, we both laughed together and I squealed as he swung me around in a circle on the pier, probably drawing every bit of attention to us. When he set me back on my feet, I glanced down at the ring and the paper in my hands before lifting my gaze to his.
“All right, so I have the ring and we have the house. When exactly do you want to make this official?” I asked.
“You know, it’s funny you should mention that,” he pointed out slyly. “There was an idea brought to my attention the other day and I really think we should consider it. How about we add another first to our list? That is, if you’re up for an adventure.”
“It sounds intriguing,” I answered curiously. “What exactly would we be doing?”
A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest when he put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in tight as we started down the pier. “I promise to tell you all about it,” he murmured huskily, “but right now I think there’s something else we need to be doing. I might have time to tell you tomorrow.”
“Might? What else do you have to do tomorrow?” I asked incredulously. Surely, he wasn’t going to be spending it away from me now that we were back together, was he?
Stopping us on the pier, he caged me against the rail and pressed his body so close to mine I could feel his cock getting harder with each word he spoke.
“Angel,” he whispered in my ear, “as soon as we get to the beach house I’m going to lay you out on the bed and kiss every single inch of your body … at least fourteen times to make up for the two weeks we spent apart. I’m going to make love to you over and over, all night long, and in every position imaginable. I have a lot of energy built up and I don’t anticipate being done anytime soon. So when I say I might have time tomorrow, I wouldn’t count on it. My tongue’s going to be too busy between your legs and sucking on those sweet nipples of yours to be able to speak. You can wait a few days, right?”
A few days?
Already my underwear was drenched and I had an insatiable throb between my legs. I could definitely wait a few days. With hooded eyes, I bit my bottom lip and gazed up at him, wanting so desperately to wrap my legs around his waist and have him take me on the damn pier.
“I think I can live with that,” I whispered seductively. “And who knows, maybe we can make it a week. We could always aim for another first to add to our list, you know.”
Leaning down, he kissed me on the soft, tender spot behind my ear, making shivers race across my skin even though the summer heat had me burning on the inside.
“Then let’s do it,” he murmured. He slid his hand down my cheek and grazed the side of my breast until he settled it on my hip. “I can’t wait any longer.”
Neither could I.