And by the time they finished, and were walking back down the aisle towards the party tent they’d set up on their new property, Mae was making her way towards him.
Their eyes met for a moment, a genuine smile growing across her face as she hooked her arm through Sloane’s and walked towards the reception.
Mae eyed the cupcake table again. She’d already allowed herself one of Emma’s incredible carrot cake cupcakes with the most divine cream cheese frosting. And, of course, she couldn’t pass up a lemon blueberry one. So, that just left her trying to decide between the red velvet or the triple chocolate…
The music on the dance floor slowed, and Mae’s heart skipped a beat. She recognized the song instantly, the first three notes transporting her back to her favorite television show.
Her eyes left the dessert table and she scanned the room, but couldn’t find Stone.
“Could I have this dance?”
Mae turned to look over her shoulder, and she could feel the heat creeping up her face. She would never get used to seeing the guys in their dress whites. It was something so special, but with Stone, it took her breath away. He no longer sported his facial hair, now a clean shaven face greeted her as he held out his hand for her to take.
“Did you ask for them to play the Dr. Quinn theme song?”
He nodded. “It’s kind of our thing.”
Mae slipped her hand into his outstretched one, laughing. “I seem to remember it wasmything. But I’ll let that slide. You know I can’t resist dancing.”
His eyebrow quirked up. “Even with me?”
“Especially with you.” She let herself admit. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“Michaela, I?—”
“Can we pretend?”
“What?”
“Can we pretend, just for tonight, that things aren’t weird. That there isn’t this undeniable pull that I’m fighting against. The one that tells me I was wrong for leaving. That I was so wrong for staying away.”
“I don’t want to pretend.”
The song crescendoed behind them, a beautiful reminder of the winding and wary road they’d both traveled on to get to that moment.
“I haven’t felt like this in almost a year,” Mae admitted.
“Like what?”
“Safe,” she sighed, and his hold on her tightened. “We haven’t seen each other in almost a year, Stone, and yet, every time you look at me, all those stolen glances we’ve had over the last week, all those tiny moments our hands have brushed over each other as we pass during different events, I still feel your love for me. And every cell in my body still remembers the love I have for you.”
She tipped her face up and watched as his eyes drifted closed. His face moved down towards hers, and she instantly knew he was going to kiss her forehead. But Mae didn’t want that. She just wanted to be Michaela and Sully. She wanted to be the two people who’d found their way back to each other again.
So she did the only thing she could think of. Mae stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. And it waseverything she remembered it could be. Warm and soft. Safe and comforting. She wasn’t just kissing a memory, or a hope, or an answer to her prayers. She was kissing her forever. Her always.
Her broken past and her bright future.
“Mae…”
A tear slipped down her face as the music ended.
“Take me home, Sully.”
Thirty-One
“Ithought you were taking me back home?” Mae’s brows furrowed as he held his hand out for her to take. The SUV was about the same height off the ground as his truck had been, but Mae was in heels, and the driveway was uneven gravel. The last thing he wanted before he got her inside was for her to twist her ankle or break her leg.
“I did.”
