Love Me Like I Love You

by Willow Winters

  “Thank fuck,” he muttered and swooped me up and carried me into the bedroom. He planted me on the bed, taking off our shoes and then our clothes, before I lay down wrapped up in a cocoon of Gunner.

  “I need to feel your skin against mine,” Gunner said.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, cupping his cheek with my palm. I’d missed his scruff under the palm of my hand; I’d missed the tickling sensation of it. I’d missed him. “I shouldn’t have walked away. I won’t ever again.”

  Gunner gave me a peck on my lips and brushed his hand down the back of my hair and down my spine until he reached the small of my back. “I need you and Tuck in my life.”

  “We’re there,” I whispered. “Forever.”

  “I love you, Delilah.”

  “I love you, Gunner.”

  We held each other in silence, letting go of any mistakes we’d made. I wanted to move forward with him.

  “I’m sorry about today with Declan’s mom. I didn’t know it was his birthday.”

  Gunner shuddered. “Yeah. This was the first time I didn’t go blank for an entire day. I can’t believe it ended the way it did. I wasn’t lying to her, Declan would hate her for this. I know it.”

  “We’ll get past this together.”

  Gunner nodded and leaned his forehead against mine. “This probably isn’t the best time to bring it up, but what the hell. I found a house I want to buy today, but I want you and Tuck to see it first. It’s perfect for us. I don’t want us to waste another second.”

  “For us?” I asked with a smile. I’d run the gamut of emotions today. I’d gone from low, to extremely low, to high, and now extremely high. Tomorrow would be a new day, and I’d need to take each one a day at a time, but I had all I needed underneath this roof. The roof didn’t matter though, only the people under it. And he was right, we couldn’t waste any more time apart. I should’ve learned my lesson with Shayla instead of running scared. I should’ve known Gunner would always be by my side. I’d never make those mistakes again.

  “Yeah, for us, buttercup. There’s a pool overlooking an insane view. It’s better than Earl’s, which I’m sure you’ll find joy in rubbing in his face.”

  I chuckled and Gunner tickled my side, planting a kiss on my neck. “What else?”

  “A field big enough for a baseball diamond. I’ll have Tuck ready to go pro in no time. Or he can become a chef like you in a kitchen that overlooks the bluffs. The realtor said the stove is some sort of fancy shit, but I figured you’d know better than me.”

  I laughed and hugged him close to me. “I already love it.”

  Gunner wove his fingers into the hair at the back of my head and kissed me, rolling on top of me. I spread my legs and he fell between them. I wrapped my arms and legs around him as he devoured my mouth and then kissed down my neck.

  “There’re no neighbors around,” he muttered against my skin. “And there’s a porch swing, so after Tuck is in bed or with a friend, I can take you while the sun sets or under the stars, and you can scream my name loud enough to echo off the canyon.”

  I chuckled and arched into him, and he sucked a nipple into his mouth. I moaned and raked my nails down his back. “You’ve thought about this, huh?”

  “I’ve thought about you naked on every surface of that house. That’s not all I’ve thought about though.”

  He scraped his teeth against my nipple and kissed his way back up to my mouth. “No?” I asked, completely lost in him and only half hearing his words through my fuzzy mind, begging for an orgasm.

  “Nope. I thought about you pregnant and filling all the rooms with kids. There’re ten rooms including the master.”

  I froze.

  “You want nine kids?”

  “Including Tuck. When you adopt him, I want to adopt him too. And then we can add eight more. Have our own little baseball team.”

  I blinked. And stared. And blinked some more. “Let’s slow this down. Let’s start with one more,” I said.

  Gunner laughed and kissed me at the same time. I smiled and kept my lips against his. I could feel his rumbling laughter quaking through my body. I held him closer and relished it. “Two more,” he whispered against my lips.

  “Deal,” I whispered.

  His tongue entered my mouth again, and all the talk went out the window. We never broke our kiss, and we tangled tongues as Gunner slid inside me. Each slow thrust brought me closer to the edge until I tumbled, calling his name as he whispered, I love you.

  Epilogue

  Delilah—A Couple of Months Later

  Smoke floated through the air off the barbecue pits set up in the truck beds. People were camped in lawn chairs underneath tents, hiding from the sun. It was late March and the chilly days of winter were long gone. Spring was here, but in Texas, that felt like the beginning of summer.

  Everyone we passed was decked out in purple and silver jerseys and baseball hats. I had on a purple jersey with Gunner’s number and name on the back. Tuck was wearing the jersey he’d gotten the day of Gunner’s press conference.

  It was opening day and, just as Gunner had predicted, Tuck and I were here. Jenna was with us and looking better with every day that passed. I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. I’d let Tuck play hooky from school, and we were spending the whole day at the ballpark.

  I turned into the parking lot that held the underground entrance for players and their families, taking my badge out of the cupholder. I rolled down my window as I made it to the security guard. “Hi. Delilah Moreland,” I said and flashed the badge Gunner had given me.

  “Gunner told me to expect a pretty lady coming for him, but you’re gorgeous.” The security guard peeked around me. “You must be Tuck. Gunner said you’re going to be the greatest ballplayer to ever live.”

  “That’s right,” said Tuck and puffed up his chest. Tuck had been living it up since we’d moved in with Gunner, and we’d gone to visit him every weekend we could at Spring Training. Gunner had taken quickly to his new team and locker room. Mr. Owings hadn’t lied that day; they valued family above all else—and they were a family.

  “And how are you feeling, Mrs. Gentry?”

  “Great, thanks. I see my boy has been chatting with everyone.”

  “He’s one proud son of a gun,” he said.

  Jenna had finished her last round of chemo and had been in high spirits. She was in remission, but she had to report to the hospital every six months for the next five years to do a full-body scan and full workup. She’d battled the cancer hard. There were many days that weren’t easy and, as she was finishing chemo, there’d been two hospital stays while Gunner was away. It was hard on him but I stayed with Jenna, and Tuck always kept her smiling.

  I pulled into the underground lot and parked. As we walked toward the doors, Gunner came out to greet us in full uniform. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen him like this, but my heart still stopped in my chest. The tight white pants showcased everything. Everything. And the purple jersey highlighted his eyes. I bit my lip and tried to compose myself, but knew I hadn’t when I saw his grin.

  He swept me up into his arms and kissed me. “I told you you’d be here on opening day.”

  I gave him one more peck and then slid down his body. Tucker had his eyes covered. “Is it over yet?”

  Gunner laughed and flicked the bill of Tuck’s hat. “Yeah, bud.”

  I was working on officially adopting Tuck. As soon as my day before the judge came, we were sealing the deal. I knew Gunner wanted to be his adoptive dad, but that would come later. We had to be married first. That paper wouldn’t change anything. He was ours.

  Gunner hugged each of us before leading us inside and walking through the underground tunnels and back passageways that led to player- and family-only areas. He dropped us off at the family suite and went back to the locker room.

  I was nervous throughout the game, but I was glued to the edge of my seat each time he came up to bat or a ball flew to his part of the field.
His head swiveled toward the family suite when he trotted around the bases after a home run and the sold-out crowd cheered, welcoming him to his new home stadium.

  Tuck was bouncing off the walls by the time the game was over, and he ran down the tunnels to the spot where we were meeting Gunner. He came out of the locker room, still in his uniform. And still sweaty. His cheeks were red, and his blue eyes were shining.

  Gunner grabbed a running Tuck and swung him around as Tuck cheered. “You won!”

  “I think y’all are my good luck charms,” Gunner said and kissed the tip of my nose. “Come on, I want to show y’all something.”

  Gunner grabbed my hand as Tuck trotted alongside us and Jenna took up residence on my other side. He opened a door and the sun burst through, leading us onto the outfield.

  The stadium lights were still shining, highlighting the vibrant grass. I looked around the empty stadium as workers cleaned it and couldn’t believe that, not long ago, this place was packed and cheering.

  Gunner stopped walking and faced me, wrapping his arms around my hips and placing a soft kiss against my lips. “My life revolved around a little white ball with red stitches. Everything I’d ever dreamed of was going to happen on a baseball field. My wildest imagination couldn’t have dreamed you up though. When we were here for my press conference and I saw you and Tuck walking on the field, I knew I needed you forever. I knew you had eclipsed the game for me, becoming the thing I love most.”

  Gunner sank to one knee right in front of me. My hand covered my mouth as I gasped. We’d moved in together, but I hadn’t expected this so soon.

  “Make all my dreams come true. Marry me, Delilah. I’ll spend every moment of forever making sure all your dreams come true and giving you anything you want. I’ll never stop stealing cookies off the cooling racks, but I’ll also never stop loving you. Or Tuck. Will you marry me, buttercup?”

  I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and whispering in his ear the only possible answer to that question. “Yes.”

  Gunner

  “Surprise!”

  Delilah’s back straightened against my chest. I leaned down, kissing her exposed shoulder. “Surprised, baby?”

  “How in the hell did you already pull this off?” she asked, grabbing my head, looking up at me with a bright smile.

  “It’s been planned. I knew I was proposing today, and I knew you would say yes. I wanted all of our friends and family here to celebrate after the game.”

  Her eyebrow arched, but she hadn’t been able to wipe the smile off her face since she’d made me the happiest man on the fucking planet, so her mock scowl didn’t make an impression. “You knew I’d say yes.”

  I leaned down, kissing her and skimming my hand over her hip, encased in tight jeans. Fuck. I was so damn lucky. “Yeah, I knew. And if you didn’t, I’d keep asking until you said yes.”

  “You’re lucky I love you.”

  “Yeah, I am.”

  She melted against me, and I couldn’t resist kissing her again. Our tongues clashed together as I deepened the kiss, forgetting where we were.

  “Uh, guys,” Makenna said. “You’re in front of your whole party.”

  “Tell me when it’s over,” Tuck called, and I knew he was covering his eyes. Delilah and I laughed and entered the party. It was at a local restaurant, in one of their reserved rooms. It was completely blocked off from the restaurant, making it feel intimate, with just our family and friends.

  Makenna and Gayle swept Delilah into congratulatory hugs as her father shook my hand. Colt offered me a beer and held a champagne glass for Delilah. “Welcome to the family,” Colt said.

  “You’re finally coming around.”

  He shrugged. “It’d be easier to come around if you had some tickets for your future brother-in-law.”

  I chuckled, clapping him on the back. “They’re yours any time you want ’em.”

  Foster and Ridge approached with beers in their hands. “Great game today,” Ridge said.

  I nodded my appreciation. It had been a great game. The team had played like a well-oiled machine from the jump. It was one game down and a 161 to go.

  “Woah,” Foster said, staring into the restaurant. I followed his gaze and my muscles tensed. Zoe Boswell. I hadn’t seen her since the night of the fire. I knew she’d been in the hospital too, and then she’d disappeared. I’d never heard a thing about her, but I had known her my entire life.

  She had fallen off the face of the Earth even more than I had.

  “That’s Zoe,” I said.

  “She completely disappeared after the fire. She changed her number. She and her aunt picked up and moved. I tried to get in touch with her for years, but never heard from her again,” Makenna said as we stared at Zoe, approaching the counter at the front of the restaurant.

  “Zoe,” Ridge whispered.

  “Do you know her?” I asked. He hadn’t grown up with us, but I wasn’t sure when he had moved to town.

  “Something like that,” he said.

  “Gunner,” Delilah called, and I excused myself from the group. When I looked again, Zoe was gone. I walked up to Delilah and wrapped an arm around her. I hadn’t been able to keep my hands off of her. I wanted her more and more with each passing day.

  “What’s this?” I asked. She was holding a rendering of a modern barn. It was a white-and-gray wash with windows, right in front of a lake.

  “My parents are building this on the property to start hosting weddings. They wanted to know if we wanted to be the first to be married there.”

  I smiled and kissed her neck. “It’s perfect. A view and you, it’s all I need on that day.”

  Thank you for reading! 100% of the profits from this anthology will be given to the Live A Thousand Lives charity.

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  Bonus Scene

  Want to know if Gunner wins the World Series and see what little surprise is in store for Delilah and Gunner? By signing up for my newsletter, you’ll be able to read this bonus scene. You’ll also be the first to see cover reveals, excerpts for upcoming releases, exclusive news, and giveaways!

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  Acknowledgments

  Thank you so much for reading Ember! The concept for Ember and the Burn series has been rolling around in my brain for a long time, but it took a while for it to come completely to fruition.

  If you are struggling through grief, my heart is with you.

  If you are struggling through addiction or are in recovery, my heart is with you.

  There are never the perfect words to help someone through something we feel so personally, but sometimes we’re lucky enough to meet a person who simply understands. That’s Delilah and Gunner for me. They are whole people by themselves, but together they create a love and understanding that is unique and special. I hope every one of you finds at least one person like that in your life.

  My amazing husband, you are that person for me. I’ve never felt more understood than when you’re wrapping me in a hug and letting me be me. Thank you for all t
hat you do for me. Right now, as I write this, we’re under quarantine. Thank you for braving the stores so we’ll have something to eat. Thank you for caring for me and easing my anxiety. If I had to be trapped in a house with anyone—I’d choose you! Thank you for introducing me to the game of baseball. It’s one of my greatest loves.

  Mom, Dad, Sestra, y’all are the greatest family a gal could have. I love y’all so very much.

  A huge Thank You goes to: Catherine, Grahame, Alex, Steph, Susan, Hang, Stacey, Nina, Kelley, Brittany, Julie, Janice, Carisa and every other person that contributed to this book. It all means so much, and each of you deserves so much more than a thank you. I could fill an entire book expressing my gratitude for each of you. I will always sing your praises from the rooftops!

  Bloggers, thank you so much for all the love and support. I’ve loved connecting with so many of you and hope to meet more of you in the future. Whether I’ve chatted with you or never spoken to you, I’m incredibly grateful for the hard work and dedication you give to the book community. Thank you so much! I wish I could hug all of you.

  The ladies of Emma Renshaw’s Books, y’all are freaking wonderful! Thank you so much for the love and support! Y’all are my favorite to hang out with! Thanks for making me smile and laugh.

  Lastly, thank YOU! I wish I could thank every reader in person and give them a big hug and a slice of cake! Every time a reader like you picks up my book, my dreams come true. You’re magnificent! THANK YOU!

  Also By Emma Renshaw

  The Vow Series

  Vow of Retribution

  Vow of Atonement

  Vow of Honor

  Vow of Devotion

  Vow of Sacrifice

  Vow of Worth

  The Burn Series