Page 97 of Forbidden Kisses
Grace smiled up at him. “Really?”
“Yeah. She’s a lot like you with one exception. You are the easiest woman in the world to love.”
Grace fought off her tears. “You love me?” she whispered.
“So much.” His finger traced the side of her cheek. Then he dipped and pressed his mouth to hers.
The whole community could be watching right now and she didn’t care. If they were going to try this again, which she really wanted—more than she’d ever wanted anything—then they weren’t going to hide a thing.
A single clap came from the crowd. Followed by another.
Grace slunk back, but Jack continued to hold her tightly.
“Now that I have you, I’m never letting go.”
She melted back into him. “Me neither. I love you, Jack Sawyer.”
He grinned and kissed her mouth. “I like the sound of that. Does this mean you’ll give us one more shot?”
Grace went up on her tiptoes and kissed his lips again. “Third time’s a charm.” Her heart swelled to the point that it felt like it might burst inside her. This was her heart’s biggest desire, not just a moment with Jack, but a lifetime.
And she planned on chasing this desire all the way to her happily-ever-after.
Epilogue
Grace stirred in bed, her leg catching on the warm lump near her feet under the covers. “Hope, move,” she said sleepily, rolling into the other, much larger warm body under her covers.
Jack.
Worried that she was only dreaming, she kept her eyes closed a moment longer, smiling as she scooted toward him.
“Hey, beautiful.”
She loved that deep, raspy edge to his voice in the mornings. Waking up just like this every morning for the rest of her life would be…well, her idea of heaven. Especially if she never actually had to leave the bed.
“Morning.” She finally cracked one eye and looked up into Jack’s blue eyes. Yeah, this was definitely heaven. “What time is it?”
“Five o’clock. We slept in. Up and at ’em.” He rolled onto his side and got up, as if rising before the sun wasn’t the most unnatural thing in the world.
Hope sprang off the bed with him.Traitor.
Grace pulled her body upright and yawned. “This is what I get for dating a fisherman.”
Jack walked around the bed, bent, and kissed her. “I’m a builder now. You only have to keep these hours sometimes. Besides, today is all your fault, so don’t go blaming me.”
A small smile lifted her mouth. “Yeah.” She hadn’t won the East Coast fishing tournament, but her visit to dear old Mr. Tomlin had softened his hard heart. Not long after Grace had gone to see him, he’d gone to see Pete. The two had sat down over a few beers and decided fighting over a girl after so many decades was foolish. Then Mr. Tomlin had offered to sell theBeatriceback to the Sawyer family for a fair price. He hadn’t given it back—his heart wasn’t that soft.
“I haven’t been out on theBeatricesince I was a kid. I can’t wait,” Jack said.
Excitement pushed Grace off the bed. She changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top, walked into the bathroom, and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. “It’s old, though, right? Is it going to sink while we’re out there?” she asked, walking back into the bedroom.
“No. Sam and Noah have been working on it. We’ll be fine. But I’ll be keeping a very close eye on you. No falling off the boat this time.”
Grace held up two fingers. “I promise. But if you want to anchor yourself to me, I’m game.”
Jack slid his arms around her. “That’s not a bad idea.”
She swatted him away. “Come on. Let’s go get a coffee from the Blushing Bay Café before we go. I need caffeine.”
