Javier couldn’t schedule the moving company until next week. My car, my furniture ... everything is still in Georgia. Maybe I should’ve thought this stupid idea through more before I hopped on a plane with him.
At least he paid for my plane ticket. I still need to look for a new hotel since I’m worried that he’s going to hand the bill over to me and I’ll have to pay for it. I can’t afford a month in a hotel. I can barely afford the coffee I bought this morning. Who pays nine dollars for three ounces of liquid and an extra shot of espresso?
I trudge through the hotel, wondering what I’m going to do with my life. Maybe this move wasn’t what I wanted—I miss Oliver already. Once I’m on my floor, I notice someone sitting in the hall, leaning against the door to my room. He’s fidgeting with his phone. I step closer, realizing—
“Ollie?” I say out loud. “Is that you?”
Oliver looks up, standing almost immediately.
“Who else would it be?” he asks. “What’s his face? Juan? Julio?”
“It’s Javier, and no,” I say, scowling.
“So are you ready to go home?” he asks.
I cross my arms. “Go home to what? And why are you here, Ollie?”
“Because you decided that we’re moving to LA,” he says. “I warned you. I’ll follow you wherever you go.”
I can’t help it, I burst into laughter. He stares at me like I’ve grown a second head. I wipe a stray tear from my eye as I settle down, smirking at him.
“That’s ... kinda cute and creepy,” I say. “You spend the entire plane ride rehearsing that?”
He blushes. “Just the last fifteen minutes. I’m not a touchy-feely kind of guy.”
I shake my head, holding back another laugh. “It’s okay. I’m bad with this stuff too.”
“But I want us to talk,” he says firmly. “I don’t want to leave things the way they were.”
I sigh, shrugging as I stare at our shoes. Part of me wants to crawl into a hole and never come out. But Oliver came this far to talk, so it’s the least I can give him.
“Okay. How did we leave things, Ollie?”
“Up in the air,” he says. “I apologized for being an idiot. I thought we were going to work things out. That we were going to start something. That you were going to give the restaurant and me another chance. But I woke up, and you were gone.”
I feel my breath catch in my throat. “I don’t ... know what to tell you,” I admit. “I, uh, thought that was a one time thing between us.”
“If someone tells you he loves you, I think that’s more than a one time thing,” he says.
He’s got a smile that says he thinks this is funny, but his eyes are timid. I take a step closer, shrugging.
“I thought I made that part up,” I say. “I’m a little rusty at being around people who aren’t my employees or Paige. Maybe I just ... don’t know what that word sounds like anymore?”
He closes the gap between us, brushing my hair away from my face.
“Okay,” he says. “Why don’t we try this again? Kaitlynn Blythe?”
“Yeah?” I say quietly.
He kisses my forehead, and then kisses my lips softly.
“I love you,” he says. “I really fucking love you.”
I bite my lip hard enough to feel a bruise already forming. Yep, I’m definitely awake. This definitely isn’t a dream.
“I guess I should tell you that, uh, I love you too,” I murmur.
He laughs like he’s trying to force it. Like he’s trying to keep things casual and easy for me. No, I shake my head. He wants this. For some fucking reason, he wants me enough to fly across the country like some goddamn movie and tell me so himself.
“I really fucking love you, Oliver Tanner,” I say again, with more conviction.
This time, I kiss him. It’s harsh and it’s desperate laden with years’ worth of pining, sorrow, and regret rolled into one. I want him to feel how much I’ve missed him, how much I’ve been dying to have this. Eventually, we have to break apart to get some air. I hear someone laughing. It takes me a minute to realize it’s me. I laugh harder.
He looks at me with a concerned smile. “What?”
“This is nice. Better than I imagined.”
His smile broadens. “Well you deserve to have whatever you want. I’ll show you that as soon as we get home.”
I frown. “Uh, I’m not going back to Knox Ridge,” I say. “I thought I made that really clear.”
“Do you have a plan?” he asks.
“Nope,” I say. “But I can’t live there anymore. How many times do I have to explain that to you?”
“You’re tired because you started with nothing. You came to an already struggling business. Kelsey ran it into the ground before she gave it to you. You paid her too much for what her share was worth at the time.”
I scowl. In hindsight, I know he’s right. But it still stings.
“And your point?” I say defensively.
“It’s not your fault that the restaurant is this way,” he says. “I know you want to pursue your real dreams, and you want to keep Blythe’s open. You shouldn’t have to choose. You deserve both. Let me help.”
There he goes again, I think, promising the world.
“You make it sound so easy,” I say. “Like the soul of that place wasn’t crushed out of it five years ago.”
He caresses my cheek. “We’re not your parents. But we can make Blythe’s work in a different way. You can do your own show from the restaurant without having to move out here. The kitchen will be brand new by next week. We can really make this work.”
I shudder as he kisses my forehead. How can he be like this? So optimistic and determined? Ollie believes in Blythe’s as much as my parents used to—as I did when I took it over. My eyes flicker up to his. They’re burning like embers left over from a fire, refusing to go out. He kisses me again, and I realize something. Maybe all this time he wasn’t fighting for me to believe in the restaurant. Maybe he was fighting for me to believe in ... myself.
I feel something slip from the corner of my eye. Oliver brushes it away with his thumb. I start laughing again because this kind of stuff doesn’t happen to me. People don’t support me, or ask what they can do for me. He squeezes me into a hug, tethering me to the present.
He’s been trying so hard for so long to get me with the program ... to get me feeling alive again. The least I can do is trust him.
“Okay,” I say quietly. “Let’s go home.”
↔
I should’ve never volunteered to do this. Now that the reno is over, I’m in the middle of moving into Ollie’s house. I stupidly volunteered to help organize the shit he never got around to. So of course, instead of unpacking, I’m rifling through his old letters again. I would feel bad about doing this if it weren’t for the fact that we wrote these letters. So there’s nothing I haven’t seen before.
And then I found this:
Kit Kat,
If you’re reading this, I’m already gone. When they asked us to write these letters, the one person I wanted to make sure I said goodbye to was you. I don’t know if you’ll miss me, but I know I’ve been missing you every second of every day since I left. That was too many years ago.
Remember when we used to chase fireflies in my backyard? We trapped them in jars. You used to call them floating night lights, keeping the monsters away as they roamed the darkness. I would keep them on my nightstand, thinking about you. Because you were my own personal light, keeping everything else at bay. No matter what trouble I was in or what challenges we faced, you were always there next to me with a defiant smile.
During my deployments, our memories are my fireflies. They keep me going, reminding me just what I’m fighting for. For our safety, for our happiness, for you.
Every time you see a firefly, I want you to remember that you’re a firefly in everyone’s life. You love so much and bring warmth to every person you meet. I don’t think you realize how much you help t
he people around you. You’re a brilliance in the darkest nights, Kaitlynn Blythe.
Since I can’t be the one to remind you, I hope you find someone who sees that in you. Someone who treasures you for the wonderful, beautiful woman that you are.
I will always love you. I wish I had said it before.
Forever yours,
Ollie
“What are you reading now?” He pulls me into his embrace.
“You wrote me a letter in case you died,” I sniff, crumbling, yet thankful that he’s here, with me.
“Nothing happened. I’m here, Kit Kat. With you, and I plan to stay by your side forever.”
“You think I’m a firefly.” And to think I compare myself to a cicada. “Only you, Ollie.”
“Baby, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You are my light, my lifeline, my everything.”
Epilogue
Oliver
Two years later
The sun sets lazily over Knox Ridge. Spring is rolling over into summer. The days are getting longer as they melt one into one other. As I lie in my hammock, I take in the clouds flying overhead, tinted in reds and purples. Two years ago, I came to Knox Ridge without a plan or a goal. I knew something was calling me. It wasn’t something, but someone. Kaitlynn. My fiancée
After the trip to LA, she came home with me with a different disposition. She agreed to move in with me to save on rent—that was my lame excuse, but it worked. Together, we finished renovating the restaurant and our house.
We worked hard to transform Blythes into a restaurant we could be proud of and that the customers would enjoy. Once the kitchen was ready, Kaitlynn began to record her cooking shows from our restaurant. As her viewership grew, so did our crowd. Daily we receive local patrons and tourists that come from all over the world to enjoy her delicious food.
Blythe’s has become exactly what I imagine Richard and Cindy would’ve wanted it to be. I know in my heart that they are proud of the woman Kaitlynn has become. I’m proud of her, of us. My job at the restaurant is to make sure that everything outside the kitchen works properly. After hours, I work with Stricker and the team of HIB doing private security. Our lives and our business run like a well-oiled machine, and for the past couple of months we’ve been able to take every other night and every Saturday off too.
It’s been a process for both of us, but we’ve learned that life is more than the job. It’s also about enjoying yourself and taking a few moments to be with those you love. I roll over sluggishly, watching Kaitlynn from across the backyard. She’s been fretting over a fucking Instagram photo for ten minutes already. Being a social media icon never ends. There’s always something new and amazing that she wants to share with her fans.
It’s driving me nuts, but what can I do? Kaitlynn always gets what she wants. Not that I could deny her anything after she asks.
The farther the sun gets from us, the more fireflies start to peek out of their hiding spots. My lips twitch into a smile. Kaitlynn’s always beautiful, but these are her kind. She glows more when she’s around fireflies.
“Can you please put that phone away?” I say finally. “We have the night off.”
“Can you be a little more patient?” she calls out mockingly. “I’m trying to get the perfect shot.”
I sit up, curious. She starts walking toward me. Her footsteps are deliberate, determined. Her wedding ring glinting against our porch lights.
“Of what?” I ask, humoring her.
She stops about a foot in front of the hammock. At this point, it looks like that camera’s aimed right at me.
She smiles shyly. “I’m pregnant.”
My heart stops. I hear the camera shutter go off on her phone. She giggles. The sound of it brings blood rushing back to my head.
“#Hesgoingtobeadad #BabyTanner #KnoxRidgelife #Blythes #foodforthesoul #babyfirefly,” she recites the hashtags.
“You’re serious?” I ask quietly.
She nods as she closes the gap between us, wrapping her arms around my neck.
“What do you think of that, Daddy?” she says playfully.
I know she’s trying to tease me. It only makes me smile broader. I kiss the air out of her lungs, saying everything I wish I had the words for. For how much I love and worship her, how thankful I am every morning to wake up next to her, how she fills every corner of my life with light and joy. She’s all I’ve ever wanted, and some days I can’t believe it. She’s too good to be true.
“I think it’s perfect,” I murmur before kissing her again.
There’s nowhere I’d rather be but right here at home, by her side.
Knight of Wands is just one of the many stories in the Cards of Love Collection.
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Until I Fall
Aspen
Scarlett: Where are you?
I sigh as I see a group text from Scarlett and Brynn appear on my screen.
Me: Heading home, you?
Brynn: We’re going to Johnny’s. Do you want to meet us there?
Me: Nope, I have a test tomorrow. Unlike you two geniuses, I have to study so I don’t flunk.
Michael: What have I told you about texting and walking?
I halt, gasping as I read Michael’s text. My lips spread into a wide smile thinking of him, how I miss his crystal blue eyes, his boyish grin and…I sigh. He’s so far away from me, and neither one of us has plans to visit the other until next Christmas.
Me: Many, many …
My heart beats faster, stopping me from typing. I narrow my gaze at the phone, then look up. I find him right in front of my apartment, sauntering toward me. He’s here. Slipping my phone inside my lab coat, I rush to meet him.
“You’re here!” I jump into his arms, my legs hugging his waist, my hands cupping his face as I make sure he’s here—with me. It’s been so long; I can’t believe he’s here. The exhaustion disappears, who needs caffeine? His touch energizes me, that spark of ours is all I need to come back to life. “Why didn’t you call me? I’d cut class for you.”
“Keys,” he demands. He kisses the corner of my mouth. “You look cute wearing that white coat, Doc.”
I hand them over, anxious to be inside my place.
“You can’t call me that yet. It’s going to take years for me to become one.” I nibble his neck. He growls while fidgeting with the lock. “Take us to my room.”
“Where’s the scaredy-cat?”
“Scarlett and Brynn went to one of the bars near campus,” I groan. He’s got to be kidding me. Asking for his sister just as we’re about to have sex. Is he for real?
“Good, we have a few hours to ourselves. I love my sister, but I hate when she interrupts.”
I can’t agree more; my bestie is wonderful until she turns into the third wheel. “Nothing like the present, then. To my quarters, my soldier.”
“I’m not a soldier, and you’re too bossy tonight. I should spank you.” He squeezes my ass with one hand, burying the other between my curly hair, bringing his mouth down to mine.
He kisses me slowly; tasting me for the first time, deeply. Our tongues dance, soothing our souls after all the time we were apart. My fingers grip the back of his neck, I release his waist, lowering myself off him. Suddenly it hits me, why he’s here. Like a sharp stab right in the center of my heart—he’s going on a mission.
“You’re leaving?” He stays quiet, pressing me harder against his body and taking my lips again. I push him away gently. “For how long?”
“You know I can’t say anything, Aspen.”
I lean my head against his chest, listening to his heart. His beat slows like mine. My arms go around his waist and we stay like that for several minutes. Remember the pact. You not only agreed to love him as a man, but to understand who he is. He’s a SEAL. He lives to serve his country, to defend our freedom. A selfish part of me hates it. The rest understands that without men like him, the world would
be a scarier place. Men like my fiancé are the ones who keep this country free. Still, I miss him when he’s away. I fear something bad might happen during those missions.
After several minutes, and once I make my own peace, I straighten my spine, pushing down the fear, the panic, and everything that he doesn’t need from me. He needs a woman who will love, support, and accept him. Most of all, he needs me to wait for him while he fights for everyone. I release him. My hands slide down his chest, gliding down to the hem of his shirt, pulling it off his body, and leaving his well-defined torso bare.
Pressing my hands to his tanned skin, I’m ready to face him with a broad smile and willing to spend the next… “How long are you here for?”
“Less than twelve hours,” he announces, shedding my white coat and growling. “Fucking gorgeous.” He stares at my short sundress, his eyes filled with lust.
“Why didn’t you call?” I help him undo his belt and fidget with the buttons of his jeans.
“My fiancée has a small problem.” He brushes a kiss across my forehead.
“She does?” A grin tugs at my lips. “What is this problem you’re talking about?”
“You worry as soon as I tell you I have a mission.” He caresses my wrinkled forehead, kissing my nose and cheeks.
“Why do you look so gorgeous tonight?” he whispers nibbling my ear. “Hot date?”
“I had a presentation earlier, I could only change my shoes after the class.” Lifting my leg, I show him my light blue converse. The heels are in the trunk of my car. “My hot dates are only with this hot Navy SEAL who’s leaving soon. And only when he’s not saving the world.” I slowly slide his pants and boxers off; his thick cock springs up as it’s released from the plaid fabric. Pressing my lips against his naked chest I trace a line down to his dick, lifting my gaze I lick my lips enthusiastically.
Cards of Love: Knight of Wands Page 9