It had been almost two months since I’d driven away from Myrtle Beach and Kyle. I remembered tears had threatened to fall the whole flight back home to Nashville. I fulfilled my promise to call him the minute I got home. In fact, we’d talked every single day since then. He’d come to visit me as well—twice since I returned home. I also talked to each of the girls a couple times. I was so happy for all of them. It seemed love found everyone in Myrtle Beach.

Checking the clock, I realized it was almost time for my evening call to Kyle. I dialed his number, but frowned when it went straight to voicemail. I waited a few minutes and tried again, to no avail. Still voicemail. I left a message and figured he’d call me when he got the chance. When he hadn’t called me by midnight, I started to worry. I tried one more time without success. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep picturing every worst-case scenario in my head. He was in a horrible accident. He was dead. He found someone else and didn’t want to be bothered with me anymore.

Several loud knocks on my front door startled me. I glanced at the clock, which indicated it was 1:00 a.m. What the hell? Nothing good came from middle of the night visits. I peered through the peephole my father insisted I install and squealed at the sight on the other side. I hastily turned all the locks and threw open the door. Standing there, looking more handsome than I remembered, was Kyle. I threw my arms around him and felt his hands circle my waist, pulling me closer. I leaned back and looked up at his face.

“What are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night, Kyle. Good grief, come in.”

I pulled him inside and shut the door behind us. The second I turned back to him, he had me in his arms, and his mouth crashed down on mine. He kissed me as though he never wanted to stop. I absorbed the heat of his body and let the sensations take over. Barely breaking the kiss, he lifted my top up and over my head. He deepened the kiss as his hand reached up to cup my bare breast. He mauled me in a way that felt as though he was claiming his property. I loved it. His passion ignited mine.

“I need you now.” Kyle’s words flared the need in me. Quickly, clothes were discarded, and I suddenly found myself on my back on the couch. I barely had time to breathe before I felt his weight on top of me. I gasped as he entered me. Moans of pleasure and soft voices sounded in the dark of the night as we frantically made love. He touched every inch of my body, and my back arched as my climax hit, followed closely by his. He inhaled his name on my lips with a kiss.

Kyle collapsed on top of me in exhaustion, but still managed to keep his full weight off me. Not that I would have minded. I felt safe and loved in his embrace. Once he recovered, he stood. I heard water running and felt a warm cloth as he cleaned me up. When he was done, he went back into the bathroom. I sat up on the couch and waited for him to return. He sat on the couch and turned to face me. He reached out to clasp my hands in his.

“I’ve missed you Callie. I love talking to you on the phone every day, but it’s not enough.”

My heart stopped beating, and a boulder dropped in my belly. Blackness clouded my vision, and I thought I was going to throw up. I couldn’t breathe. He must have sensed my distress, because he reached out to cup my face in one of his hands.

“Baby, what’s wrong? Talk to me.”

I finally gasped air into my lungs as I stuttered out, “Are—Are you breaking up with me?”

He scooted closer and tightened his grip on the hand he still held in his other hand. “Oh my God, no! Whatever made you think that?”

“You said I wasn’t enough.”

“No, baby, I said talking to you on the phone wasn’t enough. I need to see you in person every day, not just hear your voice. I want your face to be the last thing I see when I go to sleep and the first thing I see when I wake up. Callie, I love you. I want to marry you.”

As I sat there stunned, he reached down into his pants that still lay on the floor where he’d thrown them. He fumbled in the pockets, and when he sat back up, he held a small velvet box in his hand. Numbed shock settled deep inside me. When I finally began to process what was happening, my whole body shook.

I whispered, “Yes.” Then my voice gained strength, and I couldn’t stop. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”

He opened the box and pulled out the ring. He gingerly reached for my hand as though fearing my reaction. My hand trembled in his grasp. He almost dropped the ring when my hand started shaking so badly. I used my right hand to hold my left one steady as he finally placed the ring on my finger. I threw my whole body against him, and this time, he was the one who fell back onto the couch. I covered his face in kisses.

“I love you so much, Kyle Chambers. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life you.”

“I love you too, Callie. You’ve made me the happiest man on Earth. I want babies with you. I want everything with you.”

I crawled off him and led him back to my room where we spent the night making love. I’d never been this happy before, and I couldn’t wait to see what the future held. I was finally whole.

---