Page 74 of Had To Be You

“Get over here,” he growls. If I wasn’t already in love with this man, I would be now. It’s the singing-in-the-rain type of love, the shout-it-from-the-rooftop kind. The cherry on top of the sweetest, most delectable strawberry, chocolate, banana split in the history of the world kind of love. He skims his fingers over the flesh of my thigh, and it feels like I’m soaring. This feels like a dream. I’m positive it doesn’t get better than this.

“Your negotiation skills are impressive. I can see why you’re unstoppable in the courtroom,” I say into his ear, my arms wrapped tightly around his neck. I feel his lips dust a kiss on the edge of my shoulder.

“I’m unstoppable in more ways than one,” he says as I break the hold I have on him to look him in the eyes. My fingers weave through his thick hair as he flashes me his most devastating smile.

“Hmm, is that so?”

“That is so.”

He stands, dropping the pool towel onto the end of the chair. His abs glisten in the sun, lines and delicious grooves that make my mouth water.

Liam takes note of my drifting eyes, currently seared to his mid-section. He raises a brow then flashes me a like-what-you-see look.

“You are incorrigible,” I scoff, fighting off a laugh.

He doesn’t let up. “You like to ogle me. Admit it. You like my body.”

It never fails. Liam has me on edge. I ache for this man. It feels like I’m free-falling and he’s the only one on this planet capable of catching me. I’m jumping in with two feet. I’m all in.

I stand from my lounger and run my hands up to his neck, kissing him with all that I am because time flies and life is short, and this feels right. I’m not willing to waste another second without Liam by my side because if you’re lucky enough to find that once in a lifetime, earth-shattering love… you better be smart enough to seize it.

Thankfully I am.

Liam

3 months later

The past few months with Ellie have been a blur of dinners on the patio, lazy Sunday mornings in bed and as well as some ridiculous things that she insists couples do together - axe throwing, couples’ massages, cooking classes. I’m not even surprised anymore at the crazy shit this woman has me saying yes to. It’s almost unbearable at times, but the sex she rewards me with at the end of each activity makes it all worth it. And then some.

She’s my kind of crazy in all the best ways. And I fucking love her.

Our relationship has moved quickly, thanks to Ellie’s divorce becoming finalized last month and her officially moving in with me. My house, now our house, has little touches of Ellie everywhere. Her canary yellow throw blanket is draped across the arm of the couch, her porcelain mugs with ridiculous sayings fill up the dishwasher, the fridge is covered with Polaroid photos of her parents’ adventures and those God-awful Cats magnets. And I wouldn’t change a thing.

Surprisingly, none of it drives me insane. Ellie is the furthest thing you can get from a neat freak- she’s all clutter and chaos, the polar opposite of me. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s everything I’ve ever wanted and a million things more, and if it means I need to navigate through boat loads of knick-knacks and tchotchkes to be able to get into bed next to her every night, so be it. Paint the walls purple and string fairy lights across the ceiling as far as I’m concerned. Zero fucks given.

We’ve also found ourselves settling into an easy rhythm together. One of the best things about Ellie is that it’s always easy with her. That’s not to say her easy doesn’t come without a hefty serving of crazy. But it’s entertaining and endearing and has a way of making a hard day at the firm seem easier.

My family loves her as much as I do. She fits in. Effortlessly. We spent a weekend in Cape May visiting Parker and Olivia and have a trip to Canada planned to visit Miles when he films in Vancouver. We also try for weekly dinners at my parents’ place, where my mother and Ellie happily plot against me, thinking up new activities to torture me with. I’m pretty sure that’s where the axe-throwing debacle got started.

I return home after work today to find her in the kitchen in a Yankees ball cap and cut-off shorts, a glass of ice water in her hand and Murphy by her side. When I told her I had to stop by the office on a Sunday, she wasn’t happy. You’re breaking a sacred rule, she said when I kissed the tip of her nose and left her in our bed. Weeks into living together, she made me promise I would take weekends off whenever possible to unwind and try new things, and I’ve kept up my end of the bargain. Until today.

She greets me with a kiss. “I missed you.”

“And I missed you,” I say, pulling her body into mine. “I picked up a few things on my way home. Help me unload the car and I’ll take you for lunch.”

“A picnic on the beach? We could stop by Sammies along the way and pick up lobster rolls and your favorite pressed grapefruit juice,” she suggests, batting her lashes.

“Since when have you known me to eat a lobster roll?”

“Since never, but there’s a first time for everything, isn’t there? Besides, lobster rolls are sent from heaven.”

I tsk her at the ridiculousness of her statement but then relent because I’m powerless to Ellie. Always have been and always will be. “Have I ever said no to you?”

“Never. Come on, let’s do this,” she says, slipping on her sandals, and heading for the front door. I’m right behind her when she opens the heavy front door leading to the driveway.

I know when she sees it because she stops dead in her tracks, causing me to collide with her back. “Liam…” she says, looking from me to the white Range Rover with an enormous red bow parked in our driveway, and then back to me again. “What's happening?”

“It’s yours, Ells. It’s for you.”

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