“Miss Matthews and Mr. Holmes. Can you please refrain from speaking during the class and focus?”
I met Jared’s gaze, grinning widely. I could see the glances other women threw at us, and it was hilarious.
“Sure. Sorry,” I replied, but I didn’t feel sorry at all. It was difficult to keep a serious face when Jared rolled his eyes and attempted doing head-to-knee forward bend again with no success.
“If I survive this,” he whispered, several beads of sweat sliding down his temples. “I deserve a medal for putting up with this. This woman is stricter than a sergeant.”
“You can do it, love. Just like everything else.” My gaze turned soft, and my heart swelled with love. I loved him so much.
“Only with you, Claire.” He returned my smile, his loving gaze robbing me of my breath. “Only with you.”
After our yoga class, Jared took me out to dinner at a restaurant at the top of a building that overlooked a beautiful beach. I was wearing a purple cocktail dress—one of my favorites—and a pair of sandals. My blonde hair was loose, decorated with a flowery hairpin above my right ear.
Jared couldn’t take his eyes off me when I got out of our bedroom—I’d moved into his place a few months ago—and twirled around to show him my dress. We almost didn’t make it in time for dinner, because Jared had insisted on a quickie. I didn’t complain, of course.
Tonight we were celebrating Jared’s company’s success. In just six months, Jared was able to expand, having gained a huge profit in the start. The income from his assets almost doubled last month, which was incredible. He showed time and again he was a good decision maker, his great business skills opening many doors for him.
“Cheers,” he said.
“To your success.”
“To our success, Claire. Your clinic has gained a lot of popularity recently.”
A smile formed on my face before I took a sip of my champagne. “Yeah. It appears some people found it interesting that we were almost forced to move out until a mysterious benefactor showed up and provided a solution. After that, we had a sudden influx of new customers.”
“At least something good came out of that mess.”
I looked around the luxurious restaurant and then through the floor-to-ceiling windows, admiring the view below. It was official. This restaurant was now my most favorite.
“I just love this place. The view is beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful,” he said softly, and I turned my head to look at him. His eyes were devouring me, and my heart began beating faster.
“Just like you.”
“No. You’re even more beautiful.”
I took a swallow of my drink, glancing sideways. For some reason, a slight blush had crept up my cheeks. I felt like he was giving me a compliment for the first time. There was something special in the way he looked at me now—like I was the only woman in the room, the only beautiful girl he’d set eyes on.
“Thank you.”
He took my hand and planted a kiss on its back. “I can’t even tell you how much you mean to me, Claire. These last six months... They were the best months of my life. I told you that you’ve changed me, and I mean it. Before I was too angry, too anxious to even consider how wrong I was, but you helped me realize my mistakes.”
My insides warmed at the memory of our first meeting. It had been a disaster, yes, but it showed me just how much Jared had changed. So in a way, I cherished it.
I grazed his cheek with my knuckles. “I’m proud of you. It’s easy to follow the comfortable path, but you were strong-willed and brave. You were strong to get out of the place that confined you and follow your dreams. Not many people can leave their comfort zone and do something that can potentially ruin them. You took the risk, but it was totally worth it.”
“It seemed hard at that time, but now that I know how it feels when you create something on your own, I wonder why I haven’t done it a long time ago.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore.” I cupped his cheek. “You’re on the right path now, and I’m sure you’ll achieve much more.”
“You’re right. This is just the beginning.” He covered my hand with his, never breaking our eye contact. “I love you so much. Thank you for everything so far.”
“No, thank you. Thank you for showering me with love and for saving my clinic. That is something I’ll never be able to forget. I love you. So, so much.”
Our lips pressed against each other across the table, and the familiar heat coursed through me. I agreed with him. This was just the beginning, and I was sure many great things were about to come our way.
“If you keep kissing me like this, I’ll take you to the nearest restroom and fuck your brains out,” he muttered into my lips with a husky voice. We were both panting, both easily influenced by our kiss.
“Maybe I’ll do just that.”
He groaned. “Don’t tempt me.”
“I always tempt you.”
“True,” he responded and brought his lips back to mine, and I knew there was no way he could restrain himself from doing exactly what he’d told he would do.
I guess we’ll leave yet another dinner unfinished.
Also by Krista Carleson
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