I wrap my arms around her. “He can keep his millions because I got the girl.”
“You really did.” She carefully traces the flowers etched permanently on my arm. “I’m sorry it took so long.”
I think about all the people we both hurt. The peopleIhurt. The relationships I cut short, the ones I never gave a chance. All of it leading to this very moment. And while I’m not proud of some of my choices, they all led me here.
In a way, I don’t regret them, not anymore. I do, however, wish I had handled things better. Been a little kinder. “We’re here now,” I tell her, taking her hand and kissing the tips of her fingers.
She shifts again, sliding closer and pressing our chests together. “I love you.”
“Yeah?”
“So much, in fact”—she rolls me onto my back—“that I let you defile me in your childhood bed.”
I laugh. “Defile you? Is that what we just did?”
She hums, settling on top of me and pressing her hand between my breasts.
I grab her ass and pull her farther up, eliciting a quiet moan. The sound washes away the creeping exhaustion.
“I’m not complaining.” She drags her fingers down my stomach and rests them on my hipbone. “In fact, I want you to do it again. And again. And again.”
“I’ll make love to you for the rest of my life.” It’s the easiest promise I’ve ever made. One I have no intention of ever breaking.
She sighs, almost as if she’s relieved. “Good, because I don’t want anyone else.”
I lift my head to kiss her just as my hand slips between her legs.
There’s no one I’ve ever wanted more.
Chapter Thirty-One
Julia
“I’m going to miss you so much.”
Chloe squeezes me so tightly, I’m barely able to breathe. But it doesn’t matter. I squeeze her back, finding it hard to let go. “I’m going to miss you, too.”
“And you.” I can hear thewhooshleave Alex’s mouth when Chloe flings herself at her next. “You better take care of her,” Chloe warns in a loving kind of way.
Alex wraps her arms around her. “I will.”
Chloe pulls away and wipes at her eyes. “It’s weird that I’m the one going, and you’re the one staying.”
Alex sniffles, and I can tell she’s struggling not to cry. “Yeah, I kind of like being on this side for a change.”
We share a smile.
The airport is busy, and we’re blocking the drop-off lane, but I don’t care. The last time I said good-bye to Chloe was when we were heading off to college. Yes, it was emotional, and yes, we cried like a couple of hormonal teenage girls, but we knew we were a few hours’ drive away. This? This feels heavier. A more grown-up, serious kind of good-bye. We can’t just hop in our cars when we’re missing each other. Seattle is “you need a plane ticket” kind of far.
There’s a big difference.
My lower lip quivers, and another tear escapes. “You’ll call me all the time?”
“All the time,” she promises. “And you’re both still planning on coming to visit this June?”
“We wouldn’t miss it,” Alex promises.
Chloe tries to smile, but it looks more like a grimace. “I’m going to miss you both,” she says again.
