Page 21 of Sloane

It didn’t make sense—wouldn’t I have noticed his six-foot plus frame? And if he made coffee, he’d obviously already been awake, why would he need to sleep on the couch?

No surprise, the couch was unoccupied.

So, where was he?

Looking around the room, as if he might be hiding in a corner, I noticed the pen and a pad of paper on the kitchen table.

Snatching it up, I let out a deep breath and my chest felt instantly lighter as I read the familiar handwriting.

Good morning, sweetness!

You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to wake you, so I went for a run.

I’ll bring home donuts (I know the glazed ones are your favorite).

See you soon.

xoxo,

Sloane

I clutched the legal pad to my breast like a lunatic.

He hadn’t snuck out… he was bringing me donuts!

I might have to admit to myself that I was in love, because what girl didn’t love a man who brought home donuts?

****

Sloane

My steps felt light as I pounded the city pavement toward the beach. It was going to be nice to run on sand that was actually near water for a change.

Yet, the smell of the ocean wasn’t the reason for my good mood. It was the brown-haired beauty I’d woken up next to. She was as genuine in person as she’d been in her letters.

I might have been a creeper and stared at her while she lay sleeping, imagining what it would be like to wake up every day next to her. What she’d look like with my baby inside her.

Slow the fuck down, Sloane. You haven’t even had sex with her.

That detail was hopefully going to be remedied later today.

The rest of it—waking up with her every day, having rugrats with her—I wanted that. She was it for me. I’d thought as much after we’d exchanged letters every day for weeks, but it’d been confirmed when I held her in my arms last night. And the funny thing was that realization hadn’t caused feelings of panic. No, they’d brought a sense of peace.

I was fucking in love with Ashley Youngman.

It’d probably be best if I kept that information to myself for a while. That’s not something I could confess after having been with her in person for less than twenty-four hours. She’d think I was crazy—or worse, lying.

My friends would think I was being rash. They’d probably chalk it up to PTSD or some shit and try to convince me I didn’t really feel this way.

But I did. I felt it in my soul. She was the one.

Chapter Nine

Sloane

I balanced the box of donuts against my hip while I unlocked Ashley’s front door. I’d debated about taking the key I’d seen her use yesterday from the bowl by the door and decided I’d rather be accused of being presumptuous than leave the door unlocked and have something bad happen to her while I was out.

When she wasn’t in any of the front rooms, I assumed she must still be sleeping, so I made sure to be extra quiet when I grabbed clean clothes out of my bag and slipped into the dark bedroom. Tiptoeing past the bed, I silently twisted the knob on the bathroom door and was greeted with a scream by a very naked Ashley. Her hair was wrapped in a towel, and it looked like she was in the middle of putting lotion on her leg. She had one foot resting on the edge of the tub, giving me a front row view of her waxed pussy and her tits hanging down as she bent over. My cock was instantly hard.

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