Page 113 of Loved Out Loud
“I love you, Tyler Stone. And I love you, Stone Tyler. Every version of you is perfect for me, from the quiet poet to cocky rock star. You’re mine.”
He presses his lips to mine again in a long, deep kiss. The kind that feels like a suspension of gravity. The rest of the world might as well cease to exist in this moment.
He pulls his lips from mine but stays twined around me. “So you’re telling me I went to all the trouble of doing this for you when it wasn’t necessary?”
He spins me around and walks me into a living room covered in paper roses. They cover every surface of the room from the mantle to coffee and end tables. There are even little clusters spread around the built-in bookshelves. They cover the baby grand piano in the corner. I reach down and pick one up, finding that they’re made out of sheet music. Then I pick up another and do a double take, realizing that it’s made from one of my books.
“Your words, my music,” Tyler says.
“How did you do this?” I turn to him, so overwhelmed by the gesture that tears prick my eyes.
“I hired someone weeks ago to make you roses since they always make you happy when people give them to you at signings. Then I had the thought that it would be cool to add my music in as well.”
“I love it so much.” I gaze around us. “How many did you have made?”
“Ten thousand.”
“Ten thousand? Paper roses?”
“Yeah. I figure we can use them for decor at our wedding someday.”
“Did I miss a proposal?”
“No.” He gives me a sly grin. “It’ll be unmistakable when it happens. For now, I want to get you upstairs, so I can spendthe next two hours and forty-seven minutes worshipping your body.”
“What happens in two hours and forty-eight minutes?” I follow him upstairs.
“I have to fly back to Portland for the last show before our break.”
“You flew across the country just for this?”
“Yes.” He tugs me down a hallway.
“That’s really sweet, but a huge waste of resources. You’re going to need to do something to offset your carbon footprint.”
He chuckles and pushes me down onto his bed. “I’ll sponsor a rainforest or something.” He reaches behind his neck and pulls his shirt off. “Now stop talking before I fill your mouth with my cock.”
I reach for his waistband. “That doesn’t sound bad at all.”
Epilogue
HAZEL
TWO MONTHS LATER
“Hazel?”
I look up from my laptop at the sound of Tyler’s voice in the other room. “Yeah.”
“Come out here for a second, please.” He sounds hesitant, as if he’s not sure what’s going on.
“Okay.” I hit save on my edits and gently close my computer. My muscles ache as I stand, the change in position long overdue. I really need to get better about taking short breaks to stand and stretch.
As soon as I walk out of the bedroom of the hotel suite, I stop dead in my tracks. Standing beside Tyler are my brother and sister. They both look back at me warily.
“Hi,” I say as I approach them slowly.
“Hello,” Sara says. “I’m Sara, your sister. This is Nate.”
