To my amazement, after getting in a few more licks, the obedient dog trots over to the doggy door and lets herself out.
“I keep forgetting I'm not in my twenties,” Liam says.
I chuckle and sigh. "Me too, me too. You didn't break a hip there, did you, Gramps?"
"Oh no, you don't. We don't use the G word around here, don't you know that?" We laugh some more, the sound blending in such beautiful harmony I’m reminded of what I want to say. At least, I think I want to say it. Why not?
I’m about to shrug my way off of him, but I decide to take advantage of the position instead. I hold his gaze, knowing he should probably be the one to say this first, but it's already halfway off my lips.
"I'm in love with you." My heart pumps so fast it makes me dizzy. I look at him, waiting, hoping but not quite knowing if he feels the same.
Liam wraps his solid hand around the back of my head and pulls me in for a long, sensual kiss that douses out my fears in the most intoxicating way. He pulls back for just a breath, his masterful lips lingering on mine, and speaks in the heated space between us.
"I'm in love with you too, Ashley. So in love,” he adds between kisses. And then he kisses me again. His lips are strong, his pace measured, and his method puts me in a spell like it does each and every time.
But now that we’ve exchanged sentiments of love, I sense something new in the give-and-take motion of his heavenly kiss. The blessed push of his strong lips is more intimate, intense. And the slow, lingering pulls that follow are laced with vulnerability and need.
We’re in love, and we’re not so young anymore. With all our years behind us, we know how to make the most of each sensual touch and taste.
Savoring.
Lingering.
Loving. Loving each other with an expression so instinctual and pure it bonds us in an entirely new way.
When we’re tempted to do more, we slow things down and spoon for a while, talking about what a future together might look like. Fifi joins in on the cuddle by curling against my chest, her tail happily flopping as I scratch her neck.
“I almost said it yesterday,” Liam admits while nuzzling his nose against my neck.
I lift a brow. “Said what?”
He uses his chin to nudge the strap of my tank top to one side, the short scruff teasing my skin, then kisses my shoulder. “That I’m in love with you. It hit me yesterday when you were telling my family about what happened to your teeth at camp.”
I grin, enjoying the tidbit like a sappy schoolgirl. “The lemon dessert did it for me,” I tease.
Liam responds by tickling my sides enough that I squeal and twist onto my back.
“Right where I want you,” he says. We kiss some more, celebrating our love for each other, building on it. Enhancing it.
I’m in a state of utter peace. Bliss, even.
Here, I’ve been worried about the elephant in the room this whole time, and it turns out it was never there. Or perhaps it was there at first, but it faded away because it didn’t matter. Neither of us is hung up on the past; we’re just ready to embrace our future and, of course, enjoy the present along the way. As they say, the present is called the present because it’s a gift.
When I realize how late it is, Liam walks me out. The Camry’s parked in the driveway of his gorgeous beachside home. Andthough I can’t see it from this side of the house, I can hear the ocean from here. It’s restless tonight, a series of one shoreline crash after the next. For a moment, I feel its energy inside me—a random rush of adrenaline that sets me slightly off-kilter.
Liam slips his fingers through mine. It’s all I need to feel even once more. Only it doesn’t do the trick for long. In fact, I sense an odd sort of tension beneath his grip. Or maybe it’s simply coming from Liam altogether, humming just beneath the surface.
It gives life to the streak of fear skittering through me as we walk beneath the porchlight’s glow. I glance up at him, but don’t catch his gaze. His eyes are set on the pavement, and there’s a deep furrow in his handsome brow.
Oh no,things are too perfect, aren’t they? Something’s about to mess it up, I can sense it.
Liam rubs a thumb over my knuckles, but even that feels off. His palm goes clammy. Or maybe that’s mine.
My next breath comes out shaky.
I drop my gaze as well, watching as we take slow steps in turn, first down the porch steps, slightly down the driveway, and alongside my car at last.
I glance up at him a second time, but he still doesn’t meet my gaze. More than that, he looks decidedly away.
