by Sarah Ready
I nod, urge him on.
He steps forward. “I’ll be me, and you’ll be you, and we’ll just walk. Together.”
He puts his hand gently to my cheek.
My heart leaps. I turn my head and press my lips into his palm.
“Together?”
He nods.
“Where would we go?” I ask.
“Wherever you like.”
“But we’d do it together?”
“That’s right.”
He strokes his thumb over my lips and I look into his eyes. They shine bright with love.
“How long is this walk?” I whisper.
His hand stills on me and he looks at me with all the hope in the world. “Long,” he says. “It starts right now and it goes on for the rest of our lives.”
“That sounds nice,” I say.
Then I drop the flowers and fling myself into his arms.
He grabs me, pulls me to him and captures my mouth with his. He buries his hands in my hair and kisses me. Then he pulls away. “I love you,” he says fiercely. I don’t have time to answer because he’s kissing me again. I’m pulling at his pants and he’s lifting my shirt. Soon, we’re naked. Bare to each other in the daylight.
“My word,” he says. “You’re beautiful.”
“I love you,” I say. “I love you so much.”
I drop to the couch in the corner of his office and he kneels over me. I run my hands over him, and he touches me reverently, strokes me everywhere. Then he covers my mouth with his and settles inside me. I cry out and he catches my cry with his mouth.
This. This I recognize. This I know.
He starts a rhythm that I remember. I move up to meet him and he moves forward to meet me. He pulls away and then comes back. I pull back and rock forward.
I grasp his shoulders, wrap my legs over his back, hang on as he pushes me higher.
He threads a hand through mine and sends his other hand into my hair. I tilt my chin up and capture his gaze. We stare into each other’s eyes as we rock back and forth.
“I see you,” I say.
“I know you,” he says.
“I love you,” I say.
I feel him thicken, pulse inside me, I feel the heat of him coming into me.
“I love you,” he says. “I love you.”
The sound of his voice, the look in his eyes, the feel of him inside me, it’s too much. I cry out, clench around him, the room, already bright, flashes with light. I grasp him, pull him to me and feel our hearts beat against each other as we fall down from the heights of the stars.
He’s still smiling into my eyes when my breathing slows and my heartbeat calms. He places a kiss on the tip of my nose, and over each eyebrow, then a sweet long kiss on my lips.
“I could get used to this,” I say.
“You better,” he says. Then he turns on his side and wraps me in his arms. We lay together and memorize the feel of each other again. After a few hours and a few more rounds of lovemaking, we slip back into our clothing.
“What now?” I ask.
He smiles and holds out his hand. I take it.
“How about a walk in Central Park, some coffee and cookies from a Hungarian bakery I know?”
He stands and I step into his arms.
“Mmm. That sounds nice. And then how about we have pasta and wine on the roof?”
“And then?” he asks.
I shrug. “Shower and bed?”
A spark enters his eyes and I can tell that he’s thinking about skipping the walk and bakery and dinner and going straight to shower and bed.
I grin up at him.
“I’m going to marry you,” he says. “You know that, right?”
Happiness blossoms in me, pure and light. I look down at our linked hands and I thank the twist of fate that brought us together.
“Good.” I smile up at him, the man I love. “Let’s go for that walk.”
Epilogue
Sam
Sooner rather than later…
* * *
The sun spills over the green hills of the Italian olive grove. Veronica lays in my arms in the shade of an olive tree. Bees drone overhead and clouds float lazily in the deep blue Tuscan sky. A picnic basket sits in the grass next us. It’s empty of the bread, olives, fresh cheese and wine that we packed earlier. I stroke my fingers through Veronica’s hair and kiss the edge of her mouth. Then, I stretch back on the soft picnic blanket, gather her close, and smile up at the light filtering through the leaves.
“Do you think,” she asks, “we could do that again?”
I smile. Making love under an olive tree in the Italian sun has its appeal.
“If we hurry,” I say. I look at the height of the sun overhead, then at my watch. “Everyone should be here in thirty minutes.”
Two weeks ago, Veronica and I were married in a sunrise ceremony in the Dolomites. We flew everyone over to celebrate our wedding with us—my family, Veronica’s mom, Chloe, Nick and Ava, and Chloe’s Aunt Erma. Ava, a healthy and happy baby, was the flower girl. I think Chloe spent the entire wedding trying to keep Ava from putting rose petals in her mouth.
“That soon?” asks Veronica. She looks at the long empty drive and the quiet countryside road. Between us and the road is the private seventeenth century villa we’re staying in. It’s a sun-washed yellow with a bright tile roof. There are gardens, an outdoor kitchen and a swimming pool.
We hiked and climbed the Dolomites for the week after our wedding and then took a meandering drive down the coast, exploring villages, wineries and stopping in quite a few empty fields for an hour or two of lovemaking in the sweet grass and sunshine.
Life is better than anything I could ever have imagined.
“Yup. That soon,” I say.
Our family and friends explored Italy on their own and are joining us for one last evening before heading back to New York. Veronica and I are going to spend another week in the villa. Hopefully, right under this olive tree.
Veronica starts to run her hand across my bare skin, down my abs, and then she whispers a suggestion in my ear. I glance at her in surprise and there’s that look in her eyes, the one that she has when she’s planning something especially adventurous.
I swallow. I’ve never been able to resist that look.
“Come to think of it,” I say slowly. “We have plenty of time.”
She smiles and I grin back.
“That’s what I thought,” she says.
I roll her beneath me and get busy fulfilling every whispered request. After we’re done and she’s back in my arms, sprawled on the blanket, looking up at the sun-drenched sky, I lean over and press my lips to hers.
Veronica
* * *
Sam presses his lips to mine and I think about how lucky I am. How loved.
Our family will be here soon, but I want one more minute just taking in the feel of him and the warmth of his lips against mine.
Laying in the Italian sun, wrapped in his arms, I know two things. Love makes you strong and life’s an adventure. And adventures are always better when you take them with someone you love.
* * *
THE END
Get a Bonus Epilogue
Want more Veronica and Sam? Get an exclusive bonus epilogue for newsletter subscribers only.
When you join the Sarah Ready Newsletter you get access to sneak peaks, insider updates, exclusive bonus scenes and more.
Join Today!
www.sarahready.com/newsletter
Also by Sarah Ready
Stand Alone Romances:
Hero Ever After
The Fall in Love Checklist
* * *
Soul mates in Romeo Series:
Chasing Romeo
Love Not at First Sight
* * *
Find more books by Sarah Ready at:
www.sarahready.com/romance-books
About the Author
Author Sarah Ready writes contemporary romance and romantic c
omedy. Her books have been described as “euphoric”, “heartwarming” and “laugh out loud”. Her debut novel The Fall in Love Checklist was hailed as “the unicorn read of 2020”.
Before writing romance full-time Sarah had lots of fun teaching at an Ivy League. Then she realized she could have even more fun writing romance. Her favorite things after writing are adventuring and travel. You’ll frequently find her using her degree at a dino dig site, crawling into a cave, snorkeling, or on horseback riding through the jungle – all fodder for her next book. She’s lived in Scotland, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland and NYC. She currently lives in the Caribbean with her water-obsessed pup and her awesome family. You can visit her online at www.sarahready.com
Stay up to date, get exclusive epilogues and bonus content. Join Sarah’s newsletter at www.sarahready.com/newsletter.