“A galaxy,” I blankly state, yet can’t hide my smirk.
“Smartass. I’m trying to say that I love you like Pluto because it’s the farthest, and it means there is no farther place to go because we have it all.” She strings a sentence together, only to freeze.
I instantly sit up while not even her lips twitch.
She said it. She loves me.
I fucking knew it. My ears didn’t fail me last time.
“Inner truth escaping ya there?” Satisfaction and a smug grin possess me, trying to keep this casual, but I know I will fail.
Harlow’s mouth closes, only to pop open as she realizes what she just said.
I sit up and hold her hips to keep her firmly in place with no escape. “That’s a good fact to know, considering I already told you I’ve fallen for you.”
“It just… came out… I—” she sputters, still in shock.
“Since I love you too, then I sure hope it wasn’t an accident what that mouth of yours just did.” I’m unable to turn away from her blank face, only to see her relax as a smile begins to form.
“Okay, it’s true. I do love you. I wasn’t necessarily planning on telling you that tonight, but it seems I’ve taken a detour, and here we are on a boat in the middle of the lake with lightning bugs and a possible big fish about to jump up. We’re completely ruining the fact that you should be celebrating your brother’s wedding, and instead we are making this about us and a big step that we just seemed to take.”
I blink a few times to check that I understand her amazing tangent of the night. I laugh to myself as my head falls from this perfect moment. “It’s kind of romantic this way. Plus, if we tip over into the water, then we’ve said it before the killer trout gets us.”
The corner of her mouth tilts up. “Will you stop making me beam so much that my cheeks hurt and shut me up with a kiss?”
Doing my best to ensure we don’t lose balance in the boat, I hold her by her sides and lean in to kiss her the way she deserves, in the middle of a lake under the night sky that she once feared, but that thought has been thrown into another time that will never return.
Our mouths seal with no attempt to breathe because it would break our kiss. It’s placid and tender, making me dizzy in bliss and wondering how in the world I’ve never been able to kiss like this. I’ve been missing out, but it only makes sense that this is possible with Harlow.
We tug and relent until we have no choice but to gasp for air, but we keep our lips close and brush along the crease to keep us connected. Her hum is the perfect sound.
“I’m kind of regretting I did this, I mean the boat. Now I have to row us back, which means we waste precious seconds of me undressing you to show you how much I love you.”
She purrs into my jaw. “You’ll just have to work extra hard then to make up for lost time.” She turns her head, yet she keeps our cheeks smashed together. “The lightning bugs are dancing around us in celebration.”
“Actually, you said they’re magic, and they are. If you see more than one at a time it means that you’re not alone on the journey. And if you see even one, they are a reminder of bravery in darkness.” I’m serious, and she picks up on that.
Her breath catches from the fact. “Is that so?” She swallows.
“Seems like you found your spirit animal.”
I can feel her mouth rise then weaken. “I guess I have,” she rasps.
We let the evening air float around us. Her eyes search around our boat, and her lips press together but the line spreads.
“Come on, I should actually say goodbye to my brother before you and I disappear to our room.” I kiss her one last time near her ear. “Hold the lantern, and I’ll work my strong arms.”
Harlow seems quieter than she was, but not somber.
By the time I make my rounds and Harlow wishes the bride and groom well, we head upstairs hand in hand. Although she’s been quieter in the last half-hour, I have every plan to break her down until she’s underneath me and repeating her proclamation over and over.
A reflective look graces her face when we reach the door to our bedroom, as if he is putting the key in the door to open a gate to possibilities.
“Harlow, Harlow, Harlow,” I tsk. “How am I supposed to let you sleep now?”
Her brow rises, and her eyes fill with lust. “You don’t.”
I’ve never used a key so fast in my life.
