"Yes," I say emphatically. Because I do know that.
Wyatt takes my hands in his. "What you probably don't know, though, is that I love you. Have for a while."
"You love me?"
"I do," he says simply. "And I can't stand this long-distance shit. It's eating at me, and I fucking hate it."
I'm still reeling from the fact he told me he loved me, but he doesn't seem to notice. Nor has he given me an opportunity to respond. He just keeps on talking.
"So, I was going to talk to you about me moving here to Pittsburgh... to be closer to you. My plan was to maybe try to get on the police force here, or at the very least, I'm sure I could do some type of private investigative work. Not sure how you feel about moving in together... that would be my preference, of course, but I'd respect you if you wanted to take it a little slower. I wouldn't be able to come right away. I'd need to give some good notice to Nags Head, and then find a job, but I'd bet within a few months, I could make the move. And now... now you tell me about Quantico, and that's even better because it's a lot closer to the Outer Banks, so I could get back frequently to visit."
At this point, I'm staring at Wyatt with my jaw hanging open, a deluge of emotions filtering through me. He'd be willing to move here... or to Quantico to be with me? He'd give up his career, his family, his home and his friends... to be with me?
"I'm sensing this might not have been the best idea I've ever had," Wyatt says quietly, and I can see disappointment on his face.
"Wyatt," I say softly, squeezing his hands. "I wasn't going to take the job at the BRIU. That's what I wanted to talk to you about."
Brows furrowing inward, his head tilting to the side, he asks, "I don't understand. I thought that was your dream?"
"It is," I say, but then I correct myself. "Or, at least, it was my dream."
"Doesn't matter," he says dismissively. "I was willing to come to Pittsburgh and still am if you want."
Again, I don't say anything because he's thrown me for such a loop. I still can't believe this amazing man is willing to give up everything for me.
"You've got that look, baby," Wyatt says as he chucks me under the chin so I look at him. "Talk to me."
I sit up on Wyatt's lap, change position, and fling one leg over so I can straddle him. When we're face to face, I place my palms on his cheeks and look right into his eyes.
When I'm sure I have his attention, I say, "You've said a lot. Now I've got some things to say to you, okay?"
He nods, his blue eyes sparkling... his lips curled up in a patient smile.
"I love you," I tell him.
His smile gets bigger.
"And while it was my dream to work at the BRIU, I've recently come to realize that a person's dreams can change."
I take a moment to kiss him lightly and say, "Mine have changed."
"Oh, baby," he breathes softly.
"What I wanted to talk to you about was an idea I had... one that would let us be together. I was thinking about leaving the FBI and taking the North Carolina Bar Exam. Maybe setting up a law practice in Nags Head. I thought I could move there to be with you."
Now Wyatt is the one whose jaw drops and his eyes go dark. I can actually tell that he's going to nix this idea, so I keep on. "It's not something that would happen overnight. I'd need several months to study for it, and the next available exam would be February. I'd have to keep working here until then, but I would think by next spring, I could make the move. So we really wouldn't have that long--"
Wyatt places his fingertips over my lips to shut me up. He gives a slow shake to his head. "You are not giving up the BRIU. You've wanted this since you were a little girl."
Pushing his hand away, I say, "I'm not letting you give up your career and your home. You have family and friends there. I'm the more mobile of the two of us."
"Forget it," he says. "You join the BRIU and I'll move to Quantico. That's only about four hours from Nags Head. We'll keep my house and visit there on the weekends."
"But seriously, Wyatt," I say... maybe with a bit of a whine. "That's not my dream anymore. You're my dream. I want to be with you, and this is the best way."
"Not going to argue with you about it, Andrea," he says gruffly.
"Of course you're not," I snap. "Because there's nothing to argue. I didn't accept the position."
"You didn't turn it down yet either, did you?"
"Well, no," I say in a small voice. "But only because I wanted to make sure that you wanted to be with me."
"I do," he says. "More than anything. So it's Quantico for both of us."
Jumping up from his lap, I plant my feet on the floor, hands to my hips, and stomp my foot. "No, no, no, no. I'm not going to Quantico. I'm going to study for the Bar and then my ass is moving into your cottage with you, and that's final."
Wyatt stares at me... surprise and amusement on his face. His hands reach out and grab me by the hips, pulling me back down on the couch with him. He maneuvers our bodies until I'm under him and he's planted firmly between my legs, supporting his weight on his elbows.
"We at least agree on one thing, right?" he asks with a grin.
"What's that?" I ask petulantly. "That you're a stubborn mule?"
Wyatt laughs, leaning down to nuzzle my neck. When he pulls back, his face is serious... filled with utter devotion. "No... we both at least agree that we love each other. That little tidbit seemed to get lost in the conversation we just had."
My lips purse and then break out into a grin. "Yeah... that is definitely something we both agree on."
His lips touch mine... whisper soft. I open up, and then he kisses me long and slow. My heart swells with so much love that I feel it might burst within my chest.
Wyatt pulls away from me. His eyes pin me in place. "I love you, Andrea. I think we'll be able to figure this out."
I raise my hand, bring my fingers to his temple, and then thread my fingers backward through his hair. He arches into my touch and his eyes close.
"I love you beyond measure, Wyatt. You're my destiny, so yes, I know we'll be able to figure this out."
Wyatt jerks slightly and his eyes snap open in surprise. "What did you say?"
"That we'll figure this out."
"No... before that?"
"That you're my destiny. Don't you feel it? With everything we've been through together... how we found each other. It's supposed to be."
"Destiny," he repeats with amazement.
"You and I are supposed to be," I murmur. "It's destiny."
He leans down. Another soft kiss. Another sweet smile. "Yeah, baby. It's destiny."
Epilogue
Wyatt
Eight Months Later...
I place the last screw and, with the electric screwdriver, tighten it in. When I lean back so I can make sure the sign is straight, the ladder wobbles on me a bit but then straightens out. I eyeball my work and yup... it's perfect.
I climb down the ladder, pack up my tools, and then push the toolbox across the concrete until it hits the brick wall. Dusting my hands off my pants, I mentally calculate if there's anything else I need to do before Andrea gets here.
Furniture moved in. Check.
Computers hooked up. Check.
Sign hung up. Check.
A car horn gives a short toot behind me, causing me to practically jump out of my skin, and I turn to see Andrea pulling into the storefront parking space. Her eyes are covered by sunglasses, but her smile is big as she looks up through her windshield at the sign I just hung.
The engine shuts off and she's stepping out of the car. She pushes her sunglasses up her face to rest on top of her head and once her eyes are revealed, my heart thumps when I see them sparkling with happy tears.
"Oh, Wyatt... oh, geez... that looks amazing," she says, her voice quaking.
I look up and over my shoulder at the sign.
Andrea Somerville, Attorney at Law
Turning back to her, I say with a wink, "Some of my best work."<
br />
She shuts her car door and steps up onto the curb. Her eyes finally leave the sign and come to me, her face awash with emotion. I open my arms, and she steps into them.
"I can't believe this is actually happening," she mumbles into my chest.
I can't either, really.
It's been a long road.
Eight months ago, Andrea and I declared our love for each other. That weekend was filled with long bouts of lovemaking, followed by longer bouts of arguing about what we were going to do. Obviously, I wanted her to take the job at the BRIU, but she was just as adamant about leaving the FBI and practicing law in Nags Head.
Ultimately, what finally caused me to give in was something that she blindsided me with. I can still remember the conversation, clear as day.
"Andrea," I had implored her. "I don't want you to give up this opportunity."
She was lying next to me in her bed, her head on my chest and her hand lightly stroking the skin over my lower abdomen. She was silent for a long while, and I thought that maybe I had finally reached through to her.
I was wrong.
"Wyatt... let's not look at it in terms of what I'm giving up. I want you to consider the things I'll be getting. A new career... one that I put a lot of effort into getting a law degree. I'd be getting you, which is the biggest prize of all. But there's something else important I'm getting... something I don't have here and I won't have in Quantico either. If I come to Nags Head... I'll be getting your family and your friends. I've never had that before. Not really. Kyle's so far away, and we don't see each other. I've never had friends like Gabby, Casey, Alyssa, and Savannah. So, to me, the sacrifice doesn't seem all that much. What I would be getting is so much more."
And just like that, I rolled.
Her speech was pretty, but she had me when she said that she would be getting my family. Because she would be getting a ready-made family with a new mother and father, sisters, and a ton of nieces and nephews. That was important to her, and when I envisioned our own kids playing with my sister's kids... yeah, well... the decision was made.
She was coming to Nags Head.
The next six months were terrible. She stayed in Pittsburgh to work and studied for the North Carolina Bar. When she took it in February, she passed with flying colors. She tried for a few months to get a job, but the Outer Banks isn't very big and there aren't many law firms, so ultimately, she decided to hang out her own shingle and practice criminal law.
I loved it... she went from catching criminals to defending them. My girl was multi-versatile. And I figured... with me catching the crooks and her defending them, the system would be fairly represented and balanced.
"Come on," I tell her as I pull away, grab her hand, and tug her into her new law offices.
She had rented a small space in downtown Nags Head, ironically just two doors down from Savannah's photography studio. They already had a standing lunch date every Wednesday.
The offices are small with a tiny lobby that had room for just a small desk and two chairs, along with one office that was set up for her, a conference room, a small break room, and a bathroom.
I pull her back through the lobby, down the short hall, and to her office. She had ordered the furniture online, and I took the time to set it up today while she was out shopping for office supplies.
She gasps when she steps into the office and takes note of the cherry L-shaped desk that I outfitted with a green banker's lamp. I also had her degrees framed and hung up on her wall behind her desk, as well as a black-and-white beach landscape on the adjacent wall.
Her eyes sweep the room and then come to mine. "It's beautiful. I can't believe it's really mine. That I'm going to be practicing law here."
"You're going to be fantastic at it too," I tell her. "Now... go sit behind your desk so I can see what you look like. Then maybe I can see how you look on top of your desk."
Andrea rolls her eyes at me but trust me... before we lock up the place for the evening, I'm going to have her on top of that desk. We need to break it in nice.
I follow her around and lean my hip on the edge as she sits in the petite, executive chair covered in cream leather.
Her hands come out and smooth along the edge of the desk, a goofy grin on her face. She's fucking gorgeous and adorable all at once.
"This is so surreal," she whispers.
"I even stocked your drawers with some supplies," I say casually, knowing she'll take the bait because she was just out buying supplies. Her brows draw in and she opens the desk drawer in the middle.
My heart pounds as I watch her face. Confusion to surprise to immediately... tears.
Yup. She's crying.
I can't help but smile.
Her hand shakes slightly as she reaches in and pulls out a black, velvet ring box. Swiveling her head to look at me, her lips tremble into a smile.
I'm not one for tradition, but because I want to be down on her level, I go ahead and drop to both knees on the carpet by her chair and reach out to take the box from her.
I open it up and turn it toward her. Her gaze stays on me for just a moment... so much love in her eyes that my chest aches. Then she drops her face slightly and finally looks at the engagement ring I bought her.
She doesn't move. Just stares at it, silvery tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes.
"Baby," I say softly, and her gaze comes to mine. I reach over with my free hand, cup her chin, and pull her in for a kiss. It's soft, and she sighs into my mouth. "I love you, Andrea."
"I love you," she murmurs.
"So say yes, okay?"
"Okay."
"Say yes," I repeat.
"Yes," she says, her eyes blinking and her smile growing bigger.
"Yes!" I exclaim with a fist pump and pull the ring out of the box. It slides beautifully onto her finger, and she doesn't even bother to look at it.
Instead, she launches out of the chair, smacks into my body, and we go crashing backward onto the plush, burgundy carpeting. Her mouth fuses to mine, and love and lust start an immediate battle within me.
"Going to make you so happy," I say and then growl as her hand comes down to cup me.
"You already have," she says before her lips attack my neck. "Now... should we stay down here on the floor or try the desk?"
"Floor," I mutter as my hips buck against her hand that's squeezing my cock. "It's closer."
"Floor's good," she yelps as I flip her over so she's on her back and I'm in charge now.
Our eyes lock as I hover over her. "It's destiny."
"Destiny," she agrees.
If you enjoyed With A Twist as much as I enjoyed writing it, it would mean a lot for you to give me a review.
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Books By Sawyer Bennett
The Off Series
Off Sides
Off Limits
Off The Record
Off Course
Off Chance
Off Season
The Last Call Series
On The Rocks
Make It A Double
Sugar On The Edge
With A Twist
Shaken Not Stirred (Coming Soon)
The Legal Affairs Series
Objection
Stipulation
Violation
Mitigation
Reparation
Affirmation
Confessions of a Litigation God
Friction: A Legal Affairs Novel (Coming Soon)
Stand Alone Titles
If I Return
Uncivilized
The Cold Fury Hockey Series (Random House/ Loveswept)
Alex
Garr
ett (releasing 2/7/15)
Zack (Coming June, 2015)
Ryker (Coming September, 2015)
The Forever Land Chronicles
Forever Young
Books of the Stone Veil
The Darkest of Blood Magicks
To Catch a Dark Thief
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling Author, Sawyer Bennett is a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. Her husband works for a Fortune 100 company which lets him fly all over the world while she stays at home with their daughter and three big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn't have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.
THE END
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