The Beau & The Belle
Page 27
“That sounds like a wedding!” I exclaim.
“What?”
“This scenario you’re describing!”
“Ohhhhh…” He laughs like he feels bad for me. “You thought I meant…yeah, I could see how—”
I narrow my eyes. “Ha ha haa.”
He’s smiling, so damn pleased with himself.
“I just like how you look in white,” he says, tearing open the condom wrapper. “And to be fair, most of your days involve some form of cake.”
I’m kissing his mouth between every word just to get him to shuddup. This isn’t a proposal, obviously. We’ve only been dating a few weeks, and I refuse to tell our future children that their father proposed to me when we were naked and tumbling around in the sheets.
We’re still laughing and teasing when he pushes into me all at once, and then I’m so, so full and happy. The two sensations almost overwhelm me.
He holds some of his weight up so he can kiss my cheek and neck. I tilt my head to give him easier access, and I remember the papers I found downstairs in his photo box.
“I wanted you so bad. I knew we couldn’t be together, but…I just wanted to know I wasn’t suffering alone. I wanted to hear your unfiltered thoughts. Was I even on your radar back then?”
He pulls back to cradle my cheeks and his blue eyes dart back and forth between mine. He looks deeply concerned.
“You want to know if I saw you the day you ran in after school in your loose-fitting uniform? You could barely look me in the eye when I thanked you for the tour of that apartment, and you tripped over your words. Or what about the day I moved in? You made me lemonade. I still remember your flip-flops.”
“Beau.”
“How about when we went to visit my mom? You were wearing those damn jean shorts—I nearly drove straight to the state penitentiary. Or what about when I taught you how to dance in your kitchen and you were crying, but you didn’t want me to see? You were so earnest and young, yet I couldn’t help you. I couldn’t beat Preston up, and I couldn’t make him see how beautiful you were—worse, I didn’t want him to see.”
Laughter and tears bubble out of me. “I was so in love with you that day you drove off. How dare you break my teenage heart?”
I’m teasing, and yet it seems some small part of me still demands atonement. With every soft touch, he taps into a long-buried time capsule of forgotten angst. Feelings don’t have an expiration date. Movies make it seem like years of aching are all erased the moment love becomes requited, but it’s not always that easy to hit refresh, because realistically, I don’t want to leave behind the painful moments that formed the basis of this fierce love. It’s the reason it feels so good to be lying here underneath him. It’s why I’ll never take for granted the things in life that can be washed away without notice.
He smiles, but senses a sincerity in my playful question.
“Lauren?”
His hard eyes stay fixed on me until I meet his gaze.
“I love you.”
A tear slips down my cheek and he kisses it away.
“Forgive me,” he begs tenderly.
His hips roll gently, and his movements are just as pleading as his words.
“Forgive me.”
I nod and bury my face against his neck.
He sinks deep inside of me and stays there, kissing my cheeks and chin and neck. When he speaks, his whisper tickles the shell of my ear. “Tell me you love me too.”
A delirious, blissful laugh spills out of me. “Of course I love you, Beau. You were my first kiss.”
“And your last?” he asks teasingly.
I smile. “And my last.”
Thank you to Lance for humoring my compulsion to take a spontaneous road trip to New Orleans, without which this book might not have happened. Also, big ups to Hallie for sleeping most of the way there and back. She can’t read yet, so this is mostly just for show.
Thank you to my mom for forcing me to do cotillion when I was younger. I didn’t learn how to dance, but I did live through embarrassing experiences that make excellent book material.
Thank you to my sister-in-law who inspired my love for New Orleans! As a Louisiana native, she was the first person to spark my interest in Mardi Gras and everything related to Carnival season.
Thank you to my editor, Caitlin, at Editing by C. Marie! Thank you to my two proofreaders, Jennifer and Alison. I’m fortunate to have you all on my team.
Thank you to my agent, Kimberly Brower!
Thank you to all the bloggers who help spread the word about my books! Vilma’s Book Blog, Book Baristas, Angie’s Dreamy Reads, Natasha is a Book Junkie, Southern Belle Book Blog, Typical Distractions Book Blog, Rock Stars of Romance, A Bookish Love Affair, Swept Away by Books, Library Cutie, Hopeless Book Lover, and many, many more!
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From: JosephineKeller@LLDesigns.com
To: LilyNBlack@gmail.com
Subject: Justin Timberlake Nudes!
Lily, you predictable perv. I knew you’d open this email faster if I tempted you with a glimpse of JT’s PP. Well, put your pants back on and grab some bubbly because I have much better news to share.
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From: LilyNBlack@gmail.com
To: JosephineKeller@VogueMagazine.com
Subject: You’re a flippin’ idiot
Good morning my dear, naive friend,
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Five minutes until the interview begins.
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