“Me, too, baby girl,” her father added.
“You guys are making me blush,” Anna giggled nervously, and sure enough, her face was the color of a tomato.
“You’re so modest,” Ronnie teased. “You created all these amazing pieces. Own it!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Anna said, and I could tell her nerves were getting to her. Her shoulders had gotten more and more tense as the minutes ticked towards 7:00.
“Why don’t you all have a look around before it gets crowded in here. There’s some champagne on a table near the back.”
As the crowd dispersed, Anna leaned into my side. “Thank you,” she said, her voice low. I kissed the top of her head and held her, knowing that was all she needed from me in that moment. “Thank you for everything. For being there for me when I didn’t deserve it and for never letting me go.”
I looked down into the hazel eyes I fell in love with fourteen years ago. “You deserve everything.”
“I want to show you something,” she said, pulling away from me and taking my hand. She led me around a corner to a wall that held only one charcoal sketch.
“When did you do this?” I gasped.
She shrugged a shoulder. “I snuck a little in here and there when you were at work.”
“It’s amazing.” I was looking at a black and white sketch of us—Anna and me—as kids, lying on the grass, looking up at the stars. The intricate details of the piece made it look like a black and white photo, not a drawing. It was titled “I Love You.”
“This was when--”
“I first told you I loved you,” I finished for her. She smiled and squeezed my hand. “I’m buying it.”
Anna chuckled. “I didn’t expect anything else.”
I faced her, palming her cheeks and looking into her eyes. “I love you. I’ve loved you since I was fifteen years old, and I love you even more today. Thank you, Anna. Thank you for being my best friend, my lover, my wife, the stepmother to my daughter, and the mother of my son. Thank you for everything, and thank you for never letting me go.”
I leaned in and kissed her then, repeating all those things I’d just said using my body instead of my words. Later tonight, when we got home, I’d do it again.
And again.
And again.
THE END.
Playlist
Here Without You – Three Doors Down
Closer to You – Adelitas Way
My Heart I Surrender – I Prevail
Last Stand – Adelitas Way
Out of My Head – Theory of a Deadman
Pass Slowly – Seether
Acknowledgements
I’m always afraid I’ll leave someone out, so I’ll start from the beginning…thank you Judi Perkins of Concierge Literary Designs and Photography for the beautiful cover that helped inspire the book and the title long before it was ever written. Thank you to my sister Tracy and brother-in-law Chris for answering my random Navy questions. Thank you to my betas—Nicole, Autumn, and Ginni—for praising this story when all I wanted to do was press delete, delete, delete. Thank you to my editor, Aimee, for doing such awesome work, for reading my mind, and for making me laugh—Pocket Jill, it’s been a while! Thank you to Natasha for proofreading and for listening to every single b*tch and moan that comes out of my mouth. Seriously lady, you’re a rock star. Oh, and thanks for tolerating me throughout the promo process! Read Review Repeat takes such good care of me! Thank you to Colleen and crew at Itsy Bitsy Book Bits for taking care of the review tour—your well-oiled machine had me resting easy. To all the readers and bloggers on my review team, you all rock! Thank you for taking on this assignment. Thank you to the bloggers who shared the reveal and the release. And finally, to all the readers who took a chance on this story, I hope you enjoyed Anna and Ryan.
xoxo Jennifer
About the Author
Jennifer was born and raised on Long Island, in New York. She relocated to North Carolina in 2002, where she met the love of her life. They got married and live their happily ever after just outside of Charleston with their fur-kids: a spoiled rat terrier, a cat who thinks he’s a dog, and a cat who think she’s an MMA fighter. When she’s not reading or writing, she works a day job in an office, and is an evening graduate student, pursuing a degree in clinical counseling. She enjoys amateur photography, travelling, and music…it’s a bonus when she can combine all three. She independently published her debut novel, Our Moon (JACT 1), in June 2015.
Connect With Me
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.jenniferlallenauthor.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jallenauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorJenniferA
Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/b4LjgD
Also by Jennifer L. Allen
JACT Series
Our Moon
Hearts in the Sand
Wildflowers
Second Chances Series
Change of Heart
Right Place, Right Time
Table of Contents
~ Prologue ~
~ 1 ~
~ 2 ~
~ 3 ~
~ 4 ~
~ 5 ~
~ 6 ~
~ 7 ~
~ 8 ~
~ 9 ~
~ 10 ~
~ 11 ~
~ 12 ~
~ 13 ~
~ 14 ~
~ 15 ~
~ 16 ~
~ 17 ~
~ 18 ~
~ 19 ~
~ 20 ~
~ 21 ~
~ 22 ~
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~ 24 ~
~ 25 ~
~ 26 ~
~ 27 ~
~ 28 ~
~ 29 ~
~ 30 ~
~ 31 ~
~ 32 ~
~ 33 ~
~ 34 ~
~ 35 ~
~ 36 ~
~ 37 ~
~ 38 ~
~ 39 ~
~ Epilogue ~
Playlist
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Connect With Me
Also by Jennifer L. Allen
Here Without You Page 18