“I fell asleep,” Charlie said. “You held onto me all night?”
“You’d shiver every now and then. I had my hand on your back the whole time just to check on you, and when you’d shiver, I’d wake up and roll over. I wrapped my arms around you and just held on. You actually scared me that night.”
“I did?”
“You couldn’t get warm no matter what I tried. I’d never seen that before. I thought about taking you to the hospital at one point, but by, I don’t know, two or three in the morning, you finally warmed up and stopped shivering. I knew then that I would always do whatever I had to do to keep you warm. I just wanted to protect you and keep you safe. I interpreted that as close friendship back then, but I think, it was more. It just took me forever to realize it.”
Charlie smiled up at her and placed her hand over Hailey’s on her cheek, closing her own eyes to just feel the skin on skin contact.
“Well, I’ll forgive you for taking so long, as long as I can have you like this forever,” Charlie said.
Hailey didn’t say anything for a moment, so Charlie opened her eyes.
“Because you designed our dream home,” she finally stated with a smile.
“What?”
“That’s one of the reasons why I love you,” she replied, and Charlie rolled her eyes at her, sharing that smile. “Because you don’t get frustrated with me when I use the last of the milk,” she continued. “Because you always wash my hair when we shower together.”
“Are you just going to keep saying things about me?” Charlie asked.
She sat up and patted her lap for Hailey to slide onto. She did and wrapped her arms around Charlie’s neck.
“No, I’m going to make you a box, like the one you made for me, and I’m going to write them all down. You’ll pull them out one by one like I’ve been doing. We’ll do it every day, and then we’ll start over.” She kissed her lips. “I’ve got some catching up to do, as usual.” She lifted her eyes skyward in jest. “But I’ll add an extra two-hundred in there.”
“Hails, you don’t have to do that.”
“I want to, babe. I want you to know all the reasons, Charlie. I want to make sure you never forget them.”
“Okay,” Charlie agreed, loving the thought of them sharing in this new tradition together.
“You know, I’m running out of these,” Hailey said as she turned to pick up the now unfurled scroll and held it out for Charlie to see.
“That’s okay. I’ll just make more.”
COMING NEXT
Love Walked into The Lantern
Summer Taft is a twenty-seven-year-old billionaire, who founded a tech startup with her brother while she was still in college. As that company’s CEO, she feels stuck and underappreciated. She also has to take care of the company while her brother goes off exploring the world, leaving her holding the bag. The company recently opened an office in Chicago, where Summer has met some new friends. As Summer decides to uproot her life and make the move to Chicago, she meets Lena.
Lena Tanner has had no luck in her love life after divorcing her husband of several years before, after finally admitting to herself that she was gay. Lena had been exploring and having fun in the new life she’d made for herself. But now she’s ready to find the one and settle down. After a blind date gone wrong, she ends up at The Lantern where she spots her group of expanding friends and a newcomer.
Lena had never been brave in her personal life. And Summer has difficulty making decisions, small and large. The two women settle into a quick friendship that turns more flirtatious, but is either ready to dive right into something new that could be lasting?
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NOVELS BY THE AUTHOR
Stand-alone Books:
All the Love Songs
Chicago Series:
Introduction – Fresh Start
Book #1 – The Best Lines
Book #2 – Just Tell Her
Coming Soon:
Book #3 – Love Walked into The Lantern
(Available for pre-order)
Just Tell Her Page 34