As we finish up in the kitchen, Jet and Everett join us. I meet Jet’s eyes, knowing he’s been at his parents all afternoon. He smiles weakly at me but when Zoe wraps him in a hug I notice that he holds it for a lot longer than usual. I wonder if Zoe saw her mom today, but don’t want to bring it up. I’m just happy that they can both come back to this, even if the rest of their day was rough.
We eat off the girls’ mismatched plates. I’m surprised by how good everything is—I had no idea what a good cook Zoe was. “Didn’t you already have a meal today?” Ellie asks. “You’re a pig.”
I raise an eyebrow at her plate filled with second helpings. “Hello pot, nice to meet you.”
“Ha ha.” She leans into me, her breath tickling my ear. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you burn off the calories later.”
Of course I immediately want to throw her over my shoulder and take her to her room. I narrow my eyes at her instead. “You’re an evil woman.”
“This is what I’ve been trying to tell you,” she says, popping a piece of roll in her mouth.
Zoe insists that Ellie does the dishes, since she refused to help prepare the meal. I consider telling her she’s on her own, but thoughts of burning off calories later keep me wanting to stay on her good side. So we stand side by side in front of the sink, talking about the day.
“Did it go okay?” she asks. “Without Phoebe there?”
“It was a little sad, but everyone seemed in good spirits. My grandma is a really good cook, and that helped.” I pause, thinking about my mom’s words, wondering what she would think. “My mom said I should have brought you,” I tell her. I’m trying to get better at being honest with her, instead of assuming every serious thing out of my mouth will scare her off.
I see her hands still under the water, but then she continues what she was doing. “She did, huh?”
“Yeah. I told her it would probably be overwhelming.”
Ellie considers that for a long moment. “Maybe next year.”
It’s my turn to still. “Next year, huh?”
She looks up at me, her hair falling into her eyes. I want to brush it away but my hands are too soapy. “Yeah. Next year. You didn’t think you’d be rid of me that quick, did you?”
I grin down at her. “I better not be.”
She smiles, looking away, clearly a little embarrassed. But when I move a bit closer to her, she doesn’t step away. And that’s good enough for me.
Ellie
Later, after everyone’s gone home, I stretch out on my bed. “God, I’m full,” I moan. “Why’d you let me have that second piece of pie?”
Fred flops down next to me. “Oh, yeah. Like I’m going to put myself between you and food. I like my limbs, thank you.”
I laugh, rolling over so I’m facing him. “I think I’m too full for sex.”
“Oh, hell no,” he says, reaching for the hem of my sweater. “You can just lie there, I’ll do all the work.”
I make a scathing noise in the back of my throat, pushing him away. He grabs my hand and pulls me into him, arranging my head on his chest. “There,” he says. “That’s better.”
I close my eyes, breathing in the scent of him. It’s getting easier for me, this whole being in an actual relationship thing. In fact, I’m starting to wonder why I was ever scared in the first place.
“Did you mean it?” he asks, his voice drowsy. “What you said before, about us still being together next year.”
“Of course.” Okay, even if I’m not as uptight about it as I used to be, I’m still glad I’m not looking at him right now. But Fred only kisses the top of my head—if he heard any embarrassment in my voice he doesn’t say anything.
I smile, tilting my head up to kiss his neck. Maybe later, when we’re falling asleep, I’ll tell him that I’ve actually been thinking about what it would be like if we lived together. After he graduates, of course. I certainly don’t want to move too fast, but it’s getting harder and harder to say goodbye to him when he leaves.
“I’m thankful for you,” he says, looking down at me.
“I’m thankful for you, too.”
He grins suddenly, flipping me on my back. “Okay, enough of this cuddling garbage. I was under the impression my girlfriend was a sex goddess.” He narrows his eyes thoughtfully, looking down at me. “What was it you said? The ‘funnest’ girl in the room.”
I place my hands on his chest, pushing him onto his back and throwing my leg across his middle so I’m straddling him. “That’s right, mister. Don’t you ever forget it.”
I reach for the hem of his shirt, but he grabs my wrists, stopping me. “I won’t.”
I move my hands from his grasp, placing them instead on the pillow on either side of his head. Then I lean down so our faces are nearly touching, wanting him to see my eyes when I tell him. It’s funny, the first time I said it I was sure they were the scariest words I would ever utter. Now I can’t get enough of saying them.
I kiss him, gently, before I pull back. “I love you.”
His answering grin makes me think about forgiveness and second chances. A lifetime of adventure. A lifetime of taking chances and letting go. Of standing at the edge of the cliff and having the courage to leap.
“I love you too, Ellie.”
I lean down to kiss him again, ready to take that leap. And it’s not even the slightest bit scary.
The End
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More From This Author
Love New Adult Contemporary Romance?
Don’t miss the first rocker romance book in the all-new Ransom series coming in April 2014.
Interested in reading more from this author?
Her best-selling romantic comedy series are also available for ebook and in paperback.
Three Girls Series
Come along for the crazy ride as Ginny McKensie and her best friends deal with an unexpected pregnancy in Three Girls and a Baby.
Follow Jen Campbell as she struggles to plan the perfect wedding—and find her very own happily ever after in Three Girls and a Wedding.
Join Annie Duncan as she continues her search for the perfect leading role—and the perfect man to go along with it in the third and final book of the series, Three Girls and a Leading Man.
Reunite with Ginny, Jen, and Annie and catch up with Kiki Barker-Thompson as she attempts to create the perfect fairy tale life in The Truth About Ever After (a Three Girls book).
Ginny, Jen, and Annie are back for the next chapter in Three Girls and a New Beginning.
Love Story Series
In Search of a Love Story is the first in the three-book series, in which you meet Emily Donovan, a self-described romance novice, as she searches for her very own love story.
An Unexpected Love Story, is the second in the Love Story series, where we follow along with Brooke Murray as she attempts to save her parents’ inn, find true love, and run a business-all while wearing the perfect pair of heels!
In the final book in the Love Story Series, An (Almost) Perfect Love Story, we learn more about Ashley Phillips. She has always believed in love, but does she have what it takes to fight for love when her perfect love story turns out to be not so perfect after all?
Lovestruck Series
Lovestruck in London
When Lizzie Medina settles in London for a year of post-graduate studies, she’s sure she’ll be able to start a whole new life. But falling unexpectedly in love with up-and-coming actor Thomas Harper causes Lizzie to re-think… everything. When Thomas’s career suddenly explodes to superstar levels, Lizzie finds herself forced to navigate the fame game of red carpets, catty co-stars, gossip magazines, and paparazzi in Lovestruck in London. When she wished for a new life, she had no idea it would be anything like this!
Lovestruck in Los Angeles
Lizzie Medina is living a fairy tale life. Ever since she left home for an adventure in London—and fell in love with movie star Thomas Harper in
the process—her world has become brighter. More exciting. The kind of life she’s always dreamt of. When Thomas is required to temporarily move to Los Angeles for his new movie, Lizzie joins him without hesitation. But it doesn’t take her long to realize than in Hollywood, not everything is quite what it seems. Will she and Thomas succumb to the pressures inherent in their new life? Or will they find a way to create a perfect Hollywood ending of their own?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachel Schurig is the best-selling author of the Three Girls series, available now in paperback and ebook. Rachel lives in the metro Detroit area with her dog, Lucy. She loves to watch reality TV, and she reads as many books as she can get her hands on. In her spare time, Rachel decorates cakes.
To find out more about her books, visit Rachel at rachelschurig.com
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Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Epilogue
More From This Author
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Escape With You Page 23