Chapter 65

Those three little words hung in the air. My stomach fluttered, and my breath caught. "What?"

"You heard me."

I pulled back to gaze up at him. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? The look in his eyes told me all I needed to know. I felt myself smile. Unable to resist, I teased, "But wait. You told me you'd never say such a thing."

"Me?" He gave me a sheepish smile. "Nah. I didn't say that."

I gave him a playful shove. "You did, too."

But Joel shook his head. "That was Cigar talking. Not me."

It took me a moment to realize that he was referring to that dreadful nickname, the one that had been inspired by a phrase I'd come to hate. Close, but no cigar. 

The way it looked, those days were over. And finally, Joel was accepting the fact that good things could happen for him – really good things, judging from his current prospects.

I smiled up at him. "So, no more cigar, huh?"

"Forget the cigar," he said, pulling me close once again. "Now, tell me what I wanna hear."

Feeling suddenly shy, I said, "What?"

"You know what."

But before I could respond, he said, "Wait. Let me say it right." He lowered his head and brushed his lips against my forehead. "Melody?"

"Hmmm?"

"I love you."

I melted against him. "I love you, too."

His arms closed tighter around me. "You bet your ass you do."

I burst out laughing. "Well, aren't you the cocky one?"

"Nah. I just know a good thing when I see it." His voice grew quiet again. "You're my good luck charm, you know that?"

It was a nice sentiment, but he was giving me far too much credit. My own voice grew quieter, too. "No. It's all you."

I felt his hands in my hair and his lips on my forehead. "Sorry, but you're wrong. Before you? My life was shit."

"Oh come on," I said. "There had to be good things, too."

"Maybe. But they all ended the same way."

"How?"

He gave a humorless laugh. "In flames." He pulled back. "And as far as your question…"

"What question?"

"About guests," he said. "There's only one I want." He grinned down at me. "The rest can piss off."

I couldn't help it. A giggle escaped my lips. "Oh yeah?"

"Damn straight." His gaze warmed. "Because I don't want anyone here but you."

I felt my gaze shift to the floor below us. In the guest house there was a bed. And it was freshly made with clean sheets.

When I looked back to Joel, he was still smiling. "What?" he said. "You want me to prove it?"

I did, in fact.

A minute later, we fell, laughing, onto the double bed in the guest house. Something in Joel had changed. I could see it in his eyes, and I could feel it in his touch.

We were still fully clothed – me in shorts and a thin tank-top, and him in his tattered jeans and white T-shirt, with all those streaks of dust.

Maybe I should've cared. I had, after all, just washed the comforter.

But I didn't care. I couldn’t, especially when he trailed his fingers along the side of my face and whispered so sweetly, "I love you."

I wanted to burst with joy. "I love you, too."

I didn't care how many times we said it, it would never be enough. We were laying side-by-side in the quiet room, simply gazing into each other's eyes.

It felt like one of those moments, a scene from a dream, where everything stands still, like a still image, to be remembered always. I heard myself say, "I can't imagine life without you."

He smiled. "Good, because I'm not going anywhere."

I smiled back, wanting to savor this moment, along with the certain knowledge that this was the guy I wanted forever, and the way it sounded, he felt the same way.

How wonderful was that?

Afternoon sun streaked through the gaps in the pale curtains, lending an unearthly quality to us and our surroundings. We undressed each other slowly, carefully, taking our sweet time in removing each other's shirts, and then the shorts in my case, and the jeans in his. Soon, we were wearing nothing at all.

Gently, almost reverently, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tight against him. Already, I was slick and ready. And as for his readiness? I felt it pressing hard against my pelvis as we lay there, still and silent, like two lovers about to take a vow.

He was my lover. And he was my friend. And, in the most unexpected way, he'd become the family that I'd been longing for.

Someday, I hoped we'd be adding to that family, filling the house with all the love and laughter that had been missing for far too long.

When he entered me at last, I felt a surge of such love and devotion, I almost wanted to cry. But I didn't. I was way too happy, even for that.

Side-by-side, and wrapped in that blissful embrace, we moved against each other, making his hardness surge and dance inside me, as we ran our hands along each other's backs, through each other's hair, and down each other's sides.

It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever experienced – from the sweet beginning to the wonderful end, when we reached that lofty peak and tumbled over, with words of love and the unspoken promise of forever.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a hazy blur of sweetness and love, and even some unpacking, when we could spare the time. When dawn broke, we were still awake.

It felt like the beginning of a wonderful future. And maybe it would've been, if only a mistake from the past hadn't come crashing in at the worst possible time.