Page 122 of My Ex's Best Friend

"I think we can both agree that I'm the idiot here."

"Maybe we both are," Jake says, taking my hand in his. He turns to face me. "Just two idiots in love."

He puts his forehead against mine.

"I agree with that." I take a deep breath.

"I love you. So much. And I never got to tell you that."

He puts his hands on either side of my face, bracketing my face. His eyes deep in mine. "It's the first time you're telling me. The first of our eternity."

"Jake, do you remember what this place meant for us?" I whisper.

"Of course, I remember," he says. The rays of the dying sun fall on us as it starts to dip between the mountains. It bathes the distant cliffs in a pale, otherworldly glow as the clouds crown the mountains.

"This place knows all our little secrets. It was our own little heaven."

"Isn't it strange that we found our way back to each other here?" I ask.

He sighs, and his warm breath fans my face. "I think it was always meant to happen this way."

His lips touch mine, brushing over them softly. I shudder at the contact. I didn't know how much I had missed his touch until this moment.

I pull back from him. "I’m so sorr—"

"It’s okay. I know damage like that takes time to heal."

"Can you be patient with me? I promise that I have learned from my mistakes. I will never run away from you again. I will face you and talk like the adult I’m supposed to be. God, I’m so embarrassed."

"Baby steps, Kiera. And don't worry, I'm always there with you."

***

We decide to take our time, and for the next two weeks we stay in our parents’ homes and meet three times a day. The times of his routine visits.

My parents met with his, and they had a long talk. Jake held my hand through the entire thing.

It was nerve-wracking, but our families had been friends for far too long to let this be a hurdle.

When we finally decided it was time to go back to the city, my parents were a little skeptical, but they were happy that I was back together with Jake.

He stopped going to the office and started working remotely to make sure that I was okay, and I started working for him as an independent contractor. All my ideas were heard even though I wasn't "officially" part of the team anymore. And everybody at the office welcomed me warmly.

It feels nice to just focus on making something of myself.

And now I’m never alone. Well, I wouldn’t be, not completely. My baby is always with me.

I pad up to the kitchen. Jake is hard at work at the counter.

"What's cooking?" I ask.

"Freshen up," he says, glancing up at me. "I've left a dress on the bed. We're going to have a nice dinner."

“We’re going out?”

He shakes his head. "Just out to the balcony. Now hurry along."

I groan. "My dresses aren't fitting me anymore."

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