Page 62 of Runaway Bride's Guide to Love

Emmett gives my hands a squeeze. “Don’t ever apologize for saying what you need to say. Ever.”

The waitress has perfect timing as she comes over with the bill. I try to grab it—I feel like it’s the least I can do since I forced him to stay on this vacation with me—but I’m not fast enough.

“You really think you’re paying, Tiger?” He shakes his head with a smile as he slides in a credit card. “You don’t pay. Ever.”

Don’t think ever means forever…

He didn’t mean it like that. Ever is short. Ever for us has an expiration date. Five more days and counting. In five days I go back to Nashville. In five days this vacation getaway is over. In five days Emmett and I will go back to normal—whatever that means.

Which is what I need. I need to get back to, and figure out, my life. I don’t need any extra distractions.

But what I do need right now is my nightly sweet treat.

“Yes,” Emmett says without me saying anything.

“What?”

“Yes, we’ll go get ice cream.”

My smile is huge as the waitress comes back with the receipt and we both stand from the booth. “Say what it’s really called.”

He rolls his eyes as he pulls me in to him, his hand immediately going to the small of my back. “A sweet treat.”

I can’t help but smile as the words leave his mouth. “I think you’ll like this one.”

“Oh really? What flavor tonight?”

I raise up on my toes so I can get closer to his ear, which isn’t possible even in my three-inch wedges.

“You.”

The low groan that I feel vibrating from him sends a shiver through my body.

We have five days left, and I’m going to make every one of them count.

18

emmett

I’ve always beena fan of consistency. Monotony is okay in my book. As long as you’re enjoying it, why rock the boat?

I just never knew monotony could be this…exciting. Or maybe it’s just because every night with Stella is the same, but each night somehow tops the last.

Take tonight, for example. We weren’t even inside five seconds before I had her pressed against the wall, kissing her like I’d die if I didn’t. Before either of us could catch our breath, we were ripping each other’s clothes off and I was fucking her in the entry way.

Most nights are like this—each of us so desperate for the other we barely make it inside before things escalate. I don’t know what it is about her. But each night when we come back to our respective houses, it’s like I can’t wait anymore. The need to touch her is overwhelming. The pull to kiss her is too strong to fight off.

And I don’t want to fight it off. I want as much as I can get for however long I can have it. Which in my case is two more days.

And that fucking sucks.

I’m not ready for this to be over. Not even a little bit. And as Istand here in front of the open freezer on the mission to get us ice cream, all I can think about is how I’m on a running clock. It’s the countdown I never want to end.

Before Stella, I’d never woken up next to a woman, but now I can’t imagine not seeing her first thing in the morning. I’ve become quite used to the feeling of her head on my chest and her arm slung over my stomach as she sleeps. Sometimes in the middle of the night I’ll reach for her, because I can’t sleep without holding her.

And it’s not even just the physical that I’m going to miss. I’ve gotten used to our nightly sweet treats. Or lazily watching television together. Or the boring days we spend lounging around the house or at the beach. Hell, I’d even go shopping with her again. While I’d never personally spend that much on a pair of shoes, I’d buy her a hundred pairs to see the pure joy on her face when she put them on. I’m going to miss her laugh. Her witty sense of humor. And her blush when I catch her looking at me.

Fuck….I’m going to miss all of it.

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