Instantly, I crash my lips onto hers, as if the weight on my shoulders fell off a cliff, never to return. The present that was hanging by my fingers falls to the ground. I’m not sure who is smiling more, which interferes with our kissing skills, by the way, but we don’t stop our kiss. I pick her up and twirl her around, only to set her down and seal our lips together right where we left off.
When my head angles to scrape my lips along hers, I murmur, “I’ll buy you five coats, and if you’re a good girl, then I’ll get you boots too.”
Her head falls back in laughter, and I take the opportunity to kiss her neck on offer. “I love you,” I repeat a few times between kisses.
“You’ve mentioned. Remember, you fell first?” She’s teasing me because I see that mischief in her eyes, but she’s oh so right.
My eyes rocket up as I lightly groan for how I got it all wrong, and hope vanished to relief.
“Stone?” Harlow waits until I draw my eyes up with a goofy smirk.
“Harlow?”
“I love you, and I’m sorry it’s taken so long to end up here with an answer, but you’re not just the guy who healed me. You scared me in the best possible way and made me believe a forever with someone was possible. And it turns out that I’m strong enough to close the map since I’ve reached my destination.” Her voice is fragile but so firm at the same time, the perfect magical chemistry that seems to be possible between two people.
“Itisvery possible.” I cup her face between my hands, and with the pad of my thumb, brush along her jawline. “I thought you came here to end things. Your email sucked.”
Her face screws up. “I guess… I’m coming to Lake Spark and we need to talk was a bad choice of words,” she reflects.
“No shit.”
Harlow's eyes drift down to the ground and puzzles as she notices the envelopes. "What's that?"
I'm quick to pick the gift up. "It was yours in case I needed to convince you or give you a parting gift." Her fingers trace the string. "It's every email we've written to one another, printed out on fancy paper with traditional writing, because that's the magic of modern times. Every letter… except your last one because that was just brutal."
She laughs, and her eyes glaze with love. "This is special. I'm happy it's not a parting gift."
"Me too. Me too, Harlow."
We get caught in a confirming look until she begins to giggle. “In a way, I wanted to surprise you with this life-altering news, and you’re still the one to surprise me. We should probably head out of here."
"Agreed."
"Obviously, we need to figure out how to actually move stuff. But you know… seriously, I did pack extra in my suitcase, and it weighs a ton,” she informs me.
“Good thing I have strong arms then.” Then it dawns on me. “Really, I was a mess the past few days, and when I heard you made a reservation at the Dizzy Duck Inn, then?—”
“What?” She looks at me blankly.
“You made a reservation for a room at the Dizzy Duck Inn?”
Harlow’s mouth quirks out. “No, I didn’t. I called to see if we could get a table in the restaurant for a little celebration dinner.”
“But Stuart told Holden—” I groan. “Fucking Stuart. Completely incapable of doing his job.”
“Or just making your life hell.” Her closed-lip smile stretches.
I kiss the tip of her nose. “Love the idea of dinner, as you’ll need to refuel for what’s about to go down in my bedroom.”
“Oh yeah?” She has a sultry voice. “Does my new roommate like to play games in the bedroom?”
I scoff a sound as I lead us with my arm draped around her shoulders. “You mean your new bedmate? Yeah. Yeah, he does.”
“What a coincidence. So do I.”
We grab her luggage which is no joke a workout in itself, then drive back to my place with our hands perfectly interlaced on the middle console.
I’m lucky. More than.
