Hope Falls_Cookies & Kismet

by Mayra Statham

  He could see she would be an amazing mom when the time came. He found the thought of being the other half to her future children didn’t scare him.

  It felt right.

  Somehow, fate had made their paths cross not once but twice.

  Kismet.

  Had to be what led him to her.

  They returned with a bag in hand and bright, happy smiles.

  “Can we go play games?” Massey asked, her huge brown eyes looking up at him.

  “Yeah. Of course,” he answered and watched Angie happily shake her head.

  They walked over to the booth where Freddie and Nena were looking at posters, then the five of them headed to the game booths.

  Nathan made sure they hit up all the games, even winning Angie a cookie-shaped stuffed toy that made her gift him the biggest smile he’d ever seen on her face.

  Afterwards, they met up with Elena for dinner at Sue Ann’s. He enjoyed seeing Angie with her family. He could easily picture her with his sisters and their families. His parents would adore her. Hell, his mom was already coming out of her skin wanting to meet her.

  He had made time this week to see her and drop the news to both his mom and dad that he had met the woman of his dreams. They both listened, quietly, letting him tell them all about her. About the way he had met the one. How he had met her on the island and how he had messed up. How Lindsay had helped him find her.

  By the end of his spiel, his dad cleared his throat suspiciously, and his mom was in tears.

  “You’re in love with her,” she whispered, and he nodded.

  “More than I ever thought possible. But this means I—“

  “Have to leave. Have to move,” she’d answered for him, his dad patting him on the shoulder, giving him their full support.

  Now, he just had to take a moment and tell her all about his plans and hope kismet was on his side again.

  ***

  “Thank you, Nathan.” Nena waved with a smile.

  “Thanks, Nate!” Freddie patted his shoulder.

  “Nae, that was fun!” Massey said, giving him a hug. He felt their appreciation, but more than anything, he was grateful for having spent the day with them.

  “It was. Thanks for hanging out with me!” He hugged and waved good night as the kids all headed to the guest room and went to bed.

  “Let me get them all settled and down for the night. I’ll be right back.” Angie smiled at him, and he nodded.

  Walking around the living room, he found himself standing in front of the tree Angie and he had decorated.

  His eyes locked on an ornament that hadn’t been there the week before. A ceramic heart with Our First Christmas written under it. Inside the heart was a picture he had snapped with her phone under the Christmas tree.

  “I was at the bookstore and they had it there,” she said over his shoulder. He turned around. “I got you one, too.” She handed him a small giftbag that was swinging from her fingers.

  “I love it.” His voice was gruff in his own ears.

  “You probably have a tree at home, or a palm tree,” she joked, and he grabbed her hand, smoothly pulling her into his arms. “So, I thought, you might like this.” She beamed up at him, while he stroked her face.

  “I wanna talk to you about something.” His voice was soft and calmer than he felt.

  Nerves were bubbling up inside of him at what he was about to do. Part of him was yelling at him to take a breath and wait till tomorrow, and pray they had a moment alone, but seeing the ornament she had chosen, the idea of seeing it year after year with her hit his chest and he knew this was the time.

  “Hmmm… Good or bad?” she asked with her usual sass, and he smiled.

  “I’m really hoping you will consider this good.” He ran his fingers through her soft hair; the scent of it wafted into his nose. It was a soft, clean scent mixed with cinnamon, and together it just smelled like home. She was his home.

  “Of course, I will.” She grinned. The way her eyes sparkled made him skip two steps ahead in the speech he had prepared.

  “I love you,” he blurted out. Those three words hung in the air as he watched her eyes still. When he couldn’t read her, he swallowed hard. Had he read the situation wrong? “I love you,” he found himself repeating. “It might be crazy, but—“

  “I love you, too,” she said quickly, almost in a whisper, but it wasn’t because she was lying or afraid to tell him. No. Her eyes sparkled as brightly as the lights on the tree behind her. She meant it. Her words were right there in her gaze, and he needed to get closer to her. He leaned his forehead against hers. “I love you so much, Nathan,” she repeated, and he grinned.

  “Thank fuck,” he whispered, his lips lightly touching hers.

  “This is insane.”

  “A good insane, though.” he muttered and kept talking, “With that, you know how I have been going back and forth?” he brought up. He was doing this backwards and needed to turn it around before she thought the worst.

  “Yeah?” Her face pulled back, and he could see she already was.

  “I think—“

  “Aunt Angie!” Freddie called. “Can I have some water?”

  “Yeah, Bud. I’ll get it for you…” She stepped out of his arms. He didn’t like that one bit. “I should—“

  “Baby.” He grabbed her hand, and she looked at him.

  “You should go,” she put out there. His heart thundered against his chest. “I … I get it, Nathan. I do.”

  “If you’re telling me to go, Angie, you really don’t,” he stressed.

  “Aunt Angie?” Freddie now stood at the hallway in his PJ’s. “Can I have water?” he asked again, looking back and forth between them.

  “I’ll get it for you, little man. Come on,” he offered on a small smile, walking with the kid to the kitchen. He filled a glass, and Freddie thanked him before he walked back to the guest room.

  He found her standing in front of the window that faced her backyard, holding her body stiffly. “Are you ending this after telling me you love me?” she asked, not looking at him.

  He could feel the vulnerability radiating off her and quickly closed the space between them.

  “Hell no,” he confidently said into the crook of her neck, his arms wrapped around her waist.

  “Then what is it?” she asked, still staring out the window, not looking toward him.

  If the men he worked with saw how she had him stumbling over himself, they would never believe it. He was the kind of man who always had a plan. The kind of man who never tripped over his words. But with her, he couldn’t seem to stop.

  He let go of her waist and did what he should have done from the beginning of the conversation.

  Angie

  My heart ached. But I wasn’t crying because his embrace anchored me. Then I felt his arms let go of me, and I missed them more than ever. I tried to blink away the tears that were threatening to spill. I took a fortifying breath knowing I had to face whatever the hell he was trying to say to me. Only to be as surprised as not even my wildest dreams could have prepared me for.

  “Nathan,” I whispered, not believing my eyes.

  The sight of my huge, sexy man on his knee with what looked like a black ring box in his hands took my breath away. If that wasn’t enough, he started speaking.

  “I love you. I love you in a way I had only heard of and never believed was possible or true.” His steady tone told me. Tears rolled down my face. “The thing is, I don’t only wanna see you on the weekends, Ang. I want to be there every time you open your eyes in the mornings, and be next to you at the end of every day, baby. Marry me. Marry me and make me the luckiest SOB in the world.” Marry Me.

  “Nathan,” I whispered again and gasped when he opened the box. I didn’t want to look, but with the way the beautiful solitaire sparkled, there was no way I could look away. It was beautiful.

  “Don’t say no,” he whispered, and I met his eyes head on. I could see the worry flash behind them. />
  “The thought never crossed my mind,” I admitted as I found myself kneeling in front of him. “I love you. I love you the same way. I want you here all the time.”

  “Then marry me,” he pressed, and a burst of awkward laughter came out of me.

  “Where would we live? How would we function? Would—“

  “Shh, pretty girl.” His finger fell on my lips and his eyes filled with hope. A hope so big and beautiful it was blinding and painful not to watch. “First, answer me.”

  “Yes,” I answered without a doubt in my mind that it was the right choice.

  “Yes?” His eyes filled with hope, and I nodded.

  “Yes.”

  “Yes!” He grinned, pulling me in. My lips crashed down against his. It was a beautiful, deep, quick kiss before he pulled away.

  We both stood, and he swept me off my feet and carried me to the couch, where he continued blowing me away. “I sold my business and penthouse.” I opened my mouth then closed it.

  “What?” I finally asked as we were settled on the couch.

  “I’m moving to Hope Falls.”

  “Just like that?” I asked, so many questions running through my head.

  “Just like that.”

  “Nathan—“

  “Lindsay’s coming here, too.”

  “What?” I grinned at the idea of having my old friend back and around.

  “I love you, Angie Lopez. Miami…” He shook his head and took a deep breath before continuing, “I got back that first Sunday and knew it wasn’t home anymore. I left your house knowing that.”

  “That’s what all the important meetings were about?” I guessed.

  “Yep.”

  “You’re really coming here?”

  “Yes, and look, I know this is a lot. We can have a long engagement or a short one. As long as I’m with you, I don’t care. I just know I want to be with you.”

  “I want that, too,” I beamed, cupping his face. His beard felt soft against my palms.

  “I know how crazy it all is.”

  “Really crazy,” I whispered with tears in my eyes and so much joy in my heart I was almost sure I was going to explode.

  “I can get my own place, if you wanna slow it down. Moving in together is a huge deal. I talked to this woman named Lauren form the real estate company in town—“

  “No,” I answered, shaking my head. Now it was his turn to be surprised. “Why slow down now, right?” I laughed and felt his body shake with a silent chuckle as he wiped away the happy tears running down my face.

  “I’m serious.”

  “I am, too. I …” I looked around my small house then back at him. “I love you here. I don’t want to lose that.”

  “Good.”

  “Though, I think it would be better to not, like, go and run off and get married tomorrow. I think a little time there would be a good idea.”

  “Longish engagement?” He playfully frowned, and my lips twitched. I couldn’t believe this was happening. It was as if every wish I hadn’t let myself make was coming true.

  “How does a year sound?” I asked, and he scowled.

  “How about six months?” he bartered.

  “Deal.” I held on to his face and kissed him.

  Every touch, every taste was full of beauty and hope and a great beautiful future in front of us.

  Chapter Twelve

  Nathan - December 18th

  “This is so weird,” she whispered. Her hand was between his chest and her cheek, and he loved how she felt there.

  “Why’s that?” he asked, his fingers in her hair. It was slightly tangled and wild, but damn if his woman didn’t rock it. He glanced down to where she was cuddled up close to him.

  “It’s sunny.” He turned his head and shook it.

  “It is.”

  “It’s bright and warm,” she pointed out, not telling him anything he didn’t know.

  “You do live in California, baby,” he reminded her softly and felt her roll her eyes.

  “But it’s December. Literally a couple of days away from Christmas,” she pressed, obviously trying to hold back her own laughter.

  “It happens.” He shrugged and felt her shift in bed, and he let her. The soft bedsheets shuffled and drifted off them as she straddled his body with her completely nude one.

  “I was hoping you would get a white Christmas,” she told him, and damn, she killed him. Her eyes were warm and melty. He knew if she could give it to him, she would,

  “No one can control the weather.”

  “True,” she huffed, her delicious body right on top of him. They had just had made love not even thirty minutes before, but he felt his body start to come alive again already. “When do you think the movers will be here?” she asked, her fingers drawing doodles on his chest. He grabbed her hands, bringing the tips of her fingers to his lips.

  After he had proposed, they had gone back into her bedroom and had celebrated as quietly as they could in the shower. The next morning, her sister had surprised them by stopping by to pick up the kids early.

  With wide eyes, Elena had been speechless. Something Angie shared hardly ever happened. In the silence of her speechlessness, he had taken advantage to tell Elena how much he loved her sister. What their plans were. When he was done, Elena had pulled him in for a hug, mumbling a wet, “Welcome to the family.”

  With school out and Angie officially on vacation, they had made the best of their time. With her as his personal tour guide, he had gotten to know Hope Falls even better. From spending long afternoons in town going here and there to enjoying endless nights tangled up in the sheets with her.

  “I love you, Nathan,”

  “I love you,” he replied. Her hands went to his face. Her fingers in his beard rubbed up and down, and he knew exactly where this was going. He shut his eyes when her hips rocked on his now hardened length. Her dewy wet heat slid back and forth in a beautiful tease.

  “Angie.”

  “I need you,” she whimpered. There was no denying her. His hands on her hips, he lifted her up. Her hands dug into his shoulders with anticipation.

  “This what you need, Angie?”

  “Yes,” she hissed. He bent his head, his eyes gazing down her beautiful body, and brought her down on his shaft. Her moans mixed with his as she stretched beautifully around him. She grew wetter and wetter with every grind of her hips. She undulated this way and that way, and he let her work him. God damn, there was nothing more beautiful than feeling her over him, the sight she made. When he cupped her breasts, rolling her beaded nipples with his fingers, their breathing picked up.

  “Nate,” she cried, her mouth on his neck, and he felt it. Her body tightened and then convulsed around him. Her wet core milked him. His arms wrapped tightly around her, his hips thrusting upward into her, prolonging her orgasm and sending him over the edge of his.

  Breathless, he looked up at her, her face soft and so damn beautiful he felt it in his chest. He couldn’t believe he was lucky enough to call her his for the rest of his days.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Angie - December 24th

  I woke up early and walked around my house. No. Our house. The movers had delivered his things two days ago, and we had worked on getting Nathan moved in.

  I had never lived with a guy, not even as a roommate, and had been slightly worried, but there had been no reason for it. His things surprisingly mixed and meshed well with mine, and as of last night, Nathan had officially moved in, the last box broken down and recycled.

  He had just left for town with a naughty gleam in his eyes, going on about having to pick up a last-minute gift.

  Tracing his things in the living room as I walked past them, I couldn’t help but grin. My cell phone rang, and I went to get it from the kitchen table, smiling at Nate’s flashing face.

  “Do you miss me already, or did you get lost?”

  “Babe, I don’t want you to freak out,” he ominously answered, and I frowned.

&
nbsp; “What’s up.”

  “My crazy family.”

  What?”

  “They’re in Hope Falls and are going to be showing up—“

  The doorbell went off before he finished his sentence. My eyes felt like they popped out of my head.

  “Nate!”

  “Shit, they’re already there.

  “I’m in your shirt,” I cried, hurrying to my bedroom in search for yoga pants or leggings.

  “That’s hot. I love you in my shirt.” His voice went silky smooth, and I felt a jolt between my thighs.

  “Nathan Sharpe! Do not get me all flustered before I gotta open the door for your family!” I scolded. pulling up a pair of black leggings.

  “Baby—“ The doorbell rang again.

  “You better be on your way here!” I whispered softly before glancing and wincing at myself in the mirror. “I look like a mess.”

  “Not possible.”

  “They’re going to hate me.”

  “Again, not possible, Angie.”

  “I don’t know.” I tried to smoothen my hair down before pulling it up into a messy bun on the top of my head. “You left Florida to move here.”

  “They’re going to love you. Why do you think they flew here on Christmas Eve to meet you? My mom is beyond excited, and Dad couldn’t rein her in. Luckily, it was too short notice for her to rile my sisters up into coming, too.” His sisters, too? I swallowed hard. Not that I hadn’t expected to meet them. I had. Just not on such short notice.

  “I love you,” I whispered.

  “I love you, too. I’ll be there as soon as I can get my ass there, okay?”

  “Okay, just drive safe. I got this,” I softly told him, now at the front door before ending the call. Sending a silent prayer his parents would like me, I opened the door with a smile on my face.

  “Hi.”

  “Oh, my God!” A pretty woman around my height exclaimed. “You’re beautiful!”

  “Of course, she’s beautiful. Your son has his father’s taste in women,” the tall older man who looked a lot like Nathan, just older and a total silver fox, said with a wink. Looking at him made me think of Nathan in the years to come, and I couldn’t stop from smiling at all the good things to happen in our future.