“I know.” She blinks the tears threatening to build in her eyes. “I’m not saying I wouldn’t have ever gotten here on my own—I probably would have in my own time—but being with you has given me something I didn’t have before.”
“Oh?” I arch a brow, unable to hold back my smirk.
“A reason to be the best version of myself.” She grins. “And you were right.”
“About what?”
“The day you crashed my yoga class.” She closes her laptop and slips it back into her bag. Slinging it over her shoulder, she moves around the table and grabs my hand. “You said your kiss lit something inside me. You were right.”
No other woman has ever had this effect on me. I stand, keeping my hand wrapped around Selene’s. I close the gap between us and bring my mouth to the shell of her ear, breathing deeply.
“I love it when you tell me I’m right,” I whisper, my dick twitching, the thrill of playing this game of confessions with Selene reminding me that every bump along the way to get here has been worth it. “But I must tell you, Wallflower, you lit something inside me that day, too.”
Her breath hitches as she leans into me. We’re in a crowded café, but all we’re focused on is each other. All the heartbreak and loss it took to get here has been worth it.
She looks me dead in the eye, her nose touching the tip of mine. “Why don’t you show me then?”
I pop a brow and lower my voice. “You ready to go home?”
“Who said anything about going home?” She tugs on my hand and starts pulling me toward the darkened hallway near the back corner of the café.
I catch a glimpse of her sparkling green eyes once more before she’s leading me into what appears to be a storage room.
I’d follow this woman anywhere.
Once we’re out of sight from everyone inside the café, my hands and mouth are on her—the only woman they’ve ever belonged to, and the only one they will for the rest of my life.
It’s a promise.
THIRTY-THREE
SELENE
Two months later
Springtime in Paris is more beautiful than I ever could have imagined.
The girls and I have spent most of the day walking around the city, exploring the beautiful gardens. We took several breaks, since the aches in my ankles and lower back are growing with every week that I inch closer to my third trimester. I’m nearly there, and the thought of how different my life is going to be in less than four months is insane. When I think back to where I was just last year, it feels like a lifetime ago.
Now, here I am, heading home from having dinner in Paris with my best friends.
“Are we ready to head back to the hotel?” London asks, hooking her arm through mine while leading us down the streets of central Paris. The trees and buildings are decorated in twinkling lights, and I feel like I’m living a dream.
“No,” Julianna groans, hooking her arm through Charleigh’s. “I don’t want to go back just yet. Can’t we find a club or bar to go to?”
We continue walking down the street in the direction of ourhotel as she reaches up and adjusts Charleigh’s bachelorette crown, decorated with delicate pink roses and a white toile veil cascading down the back.
This trip wasn’t meant to be a bachelorette party, but Julianna can rope anyone into doing anything. Charleigh doesn’t seem to mind because she hasn’t stopped smiling ever since we touched down in Paris in Asher’s plane.
Charleigh nods and glances down the row to London and me beside her. “What about you two? Do you want to go out with me and Jules?”
I laugh sardonically, then rest my hand on my stomach. “What am I going to do at a club? I can’t even drink right now.”
London gives me a small smile of reassurance. “They have mocktails, Selene. Besides, pregnant women can go to clubs.”
I toss her a side-eye, then shake my head. “No, that’s okay. I’m pretty exhausted, anyway.”
“We understand,” Charleigh says, reaching out and wrapping her hand around my arm.
