Page 65 of Capture The Moment

“Hey. It’s ok,” he said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I just wanted you to know.”

Instead of speaking, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss. “Be careful driving home,” she whispered when it was over.

Nodding, he moved toward the bedroom door, but then he turned back around. “Can I call you tomorrow?”

“Of course,” she said, her voice wobbly. And that time, she gave him what she hoped passed for a genuine smile.

“Goodnight, Harper.”

“Night.”

She waited until she heard his truck rumble away before she got out of bed, yanked on her robe, and returned to her own bedroom—the bedroom she used to share with her husband. Sometimes, she swore that she could still smell him there, like his scent was permanently woven into the threads of the sheets.

She prepared for bed in a fog, her mind reeling with all that had happened that evening. And when she was putting on her pajamas, she realized it was Finn’s scent that she smelled. It clung to her body like a musky perfume, and for a moment, she thought about washing it off. Peering at herself in the bathroom mirror, she sighed. Her hair was tousled, and her cheeks and chin were pink from where Finn’s scruff had scraped against her. And when she tossed her hair back, she spotted a round, red welt on her neck where he’d marked her.

She recalled her nails digging into his shoulders when he’d done it. She’d pulled him in close, inviting him to leave evidence of their lovemaking. And if that weren’t enough, she felt sore in her most intimate place. The place that Finn had explored thoroughly with his lips, his tongue, and his…

“Oh God, Blake. I’m so sorry,” she said, and then unable to look at herself in the mirror any longer, she left the bathroom and tumbled into bed. Curling up in a tight ball, she hugged Blake’s pillow against her chest and buried her face in it. She was waiting for the tears to come when Daisy trotted into the room and then scrambled up on the bed beside her.

Setting Blake’s pillow aside, she held on to Daisy instead. And for the first time in a long time, she slept dreamlessly and soundly through the night.