Page 94 of The Likelihood Of You

“What’s this?” I asked him, tilting my head to reach his eyes.

“A promise," he whispered back, his smile so pure that it forced me to do the same.

I got to work opening the envelope, stacks of butterflies taking flight with each tear and rip my hands made. I pulled out the paper that lay behind it, dropping the remainders of the envelope on the bench, before unfolding the paper, and catching my breath once the words that were typed on there fell into focus.

“This is…it’s…a bakery.”

I read the words one more time, lazily taking in the description of the run-down bakery in the centre of Manhattan, before finally looking up at the man who’s seemingly bought me my own space to open up my bakery.

“Jacob…you can’t…I can’t accept this.” I rushed, trying to shove the lease back into his hands.

“You can, Flo—”

“But, Jacob—’

“This isn't just your dream anymore, Flo.” Jacob pulled me closer, and uttered his next words so softly that I wasn’t sure if I’d heard him correctly. “It’s ours.”

A quiet sob left my mouth, caused by the beautiful words that had left his. I wanted to drop my head; I couldn’t look at him while he said all this; it was too much for me to take in. But his hand skated under my chin and caught me, keeping my eyes pinned on his.

“I want this for you. You deserve this more than anyone. The space is in your name, not mine. It’s yours to bake to your heart’s content and bask in everything it makes you feel. It’s yours to do what you know you’ve always meant to be doing, baby.”

I didn’t think there were many more ways for me to fall in love with Jacob Emerson, but it turns out there were so many more reasons that my heart hadn’t possessed the strength to even dream of.

In that moment, I felt every spark of love and admiration I’d ever felt for Jacob come alive at once- then triple. I basked in it, my heart rolling around in it. I felt it morph into a burning pit in the centre of my chest. It warmed me like his body had. It was filled with all the words I wanted to say to him.

Ultimately, the only thing that could tell him all that at once was by rising onto the tips on my toes and pressing my lips onto his.

His hand remained holding my chin as he kissed me back, pulling me closer. It was crazy how much I’d missed this. How all this time, I’d longed for his lips to be back on mine again, moulding and curving as perfectly as our bodies did. His other hand traced its way up my arm and travelled to the base of my neck, where he tipped my head back, sending me deeper into our kiss.

Our lips parted in a rhythm that made my heart pick up where it had left off, jumping right back into his arms like time hadn’t passed at all. My hands snaked around his sides, returning to the muscles on his back as they had before. It wasn’t long before his hands were in my hair, gently holding my head in a way that made me feel all kinds of safe, like he would let nothing get past his ironclad hold. I wanted to soak up every ounce of that feeling and never let it go.

We eventually slowed down our kiss, my heart telling me not to, as we pulled apart and fell back into each other’s arms. His arms had fallen around my waist, while mine rested where they were. Our eyes held each other as tightly and longingly as our arms did; his were squinted slightly, caused by how his lips formed into a soft smile, my eyes immediately jumping from his to his now exposed dimple.

Looking at it reminded me of the day I met him. How, deep down, I knew he was different. No matter which way we left each other that day, we’d be back, holding each other’s stares sooner or later.

I whispered a thousand thank yous to whoever was responsible for tying us together before we could even realise what it meant to love this way. Because this moment, sitting in the arms of someone who understood me and my heart, and took on my dreams as his own, was a feeling I wanted to chase for eternity.

The likelihood of finding it once was one thing, but keeping hold of it, treasuring it, nurturing that feeling, was something that once upon a time would have had me running.

Not anymore, I whispered to myself.

Chapter thirty-five

Jacob

“Ihave a confession.”

"Spill it,” She muttered, the new smile on her face warming my soul and taking all the weight off my shoulders that I’d held there for so long.

“I’ll tell you if you promise not to make fun of me.”

That smile grew mischievous. “I will make no such promise.”

I fucking love this woman.

I dropped my head and let a low chuckle erupt in the space between our heads. They were so close I was sure I could steal another kiss. Her lips were all flushed and pink, matching her cheeks, practically inviting me to press against them. But I wasn’t going to rush things. I had something a little more stupid but hopelessly romantic in mind that I wantedto do first.

I lifted my head and returned my gaze to those green gemstones I’d missed so much. “The day I met Dorothy, and after spending a few hours talking with her, she told me that a dance class was happening that night in the dining hall.” I kept my eyes on hers, and my hand wandered to the spot under her chin again. “I thought to myself that if you were with me, I’d have dragged you in there, and we would have joined them.”

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