Page 40 of Falling for Ezra Thomas
She practically throws the dog’s leash at Vivien, bounds down the driveway, and leaps into my arms. I manage to grab her around the waist with both arms and twirl her around to slow her momentum before she clasps her hands behind my neck to kiss me.
The woman doesn’t care who sees or what spectacle we might make of ourselves. She whimpers and tightens her grip around my neck, grasping on to what she can as if she can’t possibly get enough. Her heart pounds so hard, I can feel it against my chest. Or maybe it’s mine. I don’t know, but I ease her back onto her feet and run my hands up her back to settle behind her head.
A breath later, she pulls back and smiles, her eyes filled with tears. “I love you,” she whispers. “I’m so happy you’re here and I can say it to you instead of in a letter or over the phone. I love you, Ezra.”
I tuck her against my chest and breathe her in. “I love you, too, Lorelai. I missed you so much.”
I know my family is getting antsy, but to their credit, they give us our moment. Except for Samson and Judah, who manage to break free from Vivien and Beck and plow us over. Lorelai squeals and I manage to keep her upright, but my brand new Army uniform is covered with hair and dog slobber as they stand on their back legs to sniff and lick me.
This is the cue everyone needs to join the family hug, and soon I’m enveloped in a mass of people. Lorelai’s fingers slip between mine, grounding me. I need it. I need her to anchor me in this moment, because missing all of these people for months, all of that sadness, hits me again all at once. I know I’ve made theright choice, but that doesn’t make it easy to walk away from Coldstone Creek. At least for now.
“Let’s go out back and get this cookout started!” Wilder yells over the laughter and chatter.
The mass migrates around the back while leaving only Beck, Vivien, Lorelai, and me behind.
“I’ll take your bag in. Take your time, son,” Dad says and heads to the front door.
I take a cleansing breath and give my attention to the three people I’ve missed the most.
“It’s been so strange without you here,” Beck says. “I found myself hanging out with those other eight guys.”
“Yeah, he even drove all the way to Charleston to visit Griffin once. It was odd,” Vivien teases.
“Yeah, and he came to Sweet and Salty to annoy me every afternoon.” Lorelai smiles but it has a certain quirk that I know means she’s taunting Beck.
“You know you loved my late afternoon annoyances,” Beck says and flicks her hair over her shoulder in an annoying brotherly gesture.
Vivien stands on her toes and comes in for a hug. It feels nice to have her arms around me, but it’s so different now. The love is still there, but it’s changed. It’s more like family, like a sister in the most real sense, rather than a best friend.
“I missed you so much,” she whispers.
“I missed you too, Vivasaurus.”
“We’ll catch up soon. Lorelai has some fun news to share.” With that, Vivien releases me, takes Beck’s hand, and disappears with him to the back yard.
When I turn my gaze back to Lorelai, she’s already watching me. “You look so handsome. I could get used to this,” she says and runs her hands over the front of my uniform.
“Yeah?” I don’t give her a chance to respond before I tug her against me and kiss her again. Kissing her is euphoric, and I could just let go and drown in her but for the fact that I love her too much to die from happiness.
I groan and pull away. “What’s this fun news you want to share?”
She smooths her dark hair and the front of her dress almost as if she’s about to make a pitch, which worries me slightly but I feel pretty good about us. I’m positive whatever she says won’t derail what we’ve started, but I still brace for impact.
“I got a job offer from one of my old professors. It’s an assistant position at the surgical department at UGA.”
My eyes go wide, knowing this is a major opportunity for her. “Lore, that’s amazing! When do you start?”
“I don’t. I turned it down,” she admits, but she doesn’t seem sad.
“You…turned it down? I don’t understand. Was there something about it that you didn’t like?”
“Well, the salary was great and the benefits to die for, but I realized that I want something slower. I want flexibility. I want to take care of a home, raise my kids myself, homeschool, make bread, paint and draw.”
I blink. There is definitely something she’s gearing up to say, but I can’t figure out how all of those things add up to what she’s getting at.
“While I was in the cabin, I taught myself a lot. I realized I’m good at a lot of things, but I kind of suck at relaxing. Unless, of course, I’m drawing. Which is odd. I’ve never done it before, but Luna says I’m kind of a natural. Anyway,” she says with a wave of her hand. “Luna, Emma, and I are going to write and illustrate a children’s book series together. Luna has some contacts, and she’s positive we can get a publishing deal. I mean, I’ll probablyhave to keep working for your mom while we do the work, but yeah. That’s what I’m going to do.”
“You’re going to be an author and illustrator?” I ask, verifying before I throw another premature celebration.
