Wrapping her hands around the back of my neck, she leaned back onto the bed so her bottom rested on her feet, taking me with her. I ran my hands slowly up her legs, starting at her bent knees and moving to her thighs, and pressed my mouth firmly to hers as her fingers dug into my back, trying to fuse our bodies together.
Moving my lips down her body, I gripped her underwear in my hands and hoped she didn’t like this pair as I quickly tore them, then pulled the scraps off her and threw them to the floor. Her breathing hitched when I blew cool air on her wet lips seconds before I sucked her clit into my mouth. I smiled against her when I heard her hands hit the bed and a breathy exhale fill the room, then gave one slow lick before climbing back up her and kissing her before she could make any form of protest.
Placing one hand behind her back, I pulled her with me as I lay back on the bed so she was now lying on my chest, and I growled when she lifted up on her knees enough to bring herself back down on top of me. She whimpered as I slowly filled her, and once she was fully seated on me, I grabbed her hips and pressed her down even more. Kamryn exhaled hard against my chest as she rocked against me, and with a lingering kiss, she sat up as she continued to move on top of me.
Keeping one hand firmly on her hip, I brought my other to her clit and rolled my fingers around the sensitive bud I’d only teased earlier. Kamryn arched her back, and I felt her tightening around me as her movements got quicker and her breaths came harder. Her body trembled above me, and she tightened against me for long moments as I continued her through her orgasm, before she leaned forward to curl her body on top of mine.
Gently rolling us over, I cupped one of her cheeks in my hand, and pressed my other hand against the bed as I moved inside her. Her eyelids were heavy, but her blue eyes were locked with mine as I told her a hundred things:
That I loved her, and would love her even after I died.
That there was no one else like her.
That I would do anything for her.
That I wanted to make her my wife.
That I wanted to spend the rest of our lives making up for the years we’d lost.
But through this, the only sound in the room was our ragged breaths as our bodies moved against each other.
I quickened my pace before stilling above her, and I realized that somehow, with no words, Kamryn and I had said more in that time than ever before. There had been trust, passion, love, and promises. And as I lowered my body and rolled us to our sides, we continued to not say anything as we stared at each other. There was no need. That soft smile that crossed her face just before her eyes closed and she fell asleep said it all.
I love you too, Kamryn.
Epilogue
Two years later . . .
Brody
KAMRYN LAUGHED LIGHTLY and ran her hands through my hair. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who loved that sound. A little hand jabbed against mine, and I looked up at her with a smile crossing my face.
“Laugh again,” I prompted her.
“I can’t just laugh again, it wouldn’t be genuine. She’ll know.”
I smiled again and pressed my lips to her large stomach. “Oh, will she?”
“She will . . . she has laugh-dar or something.”
“Now your mom’s just being ridiculous,” I whispered against Kamryn’s belly. Running my fingers gently across her stomach, I let my lips leave a trail as I continued speaking. “But you’ll keep moving for Daddy, won’t you, baby girl?” Letting my voice drop lower, I spoke softly. “Tatum, baby, move for Daddy,” I crooned and was instantly rewarded with a few kicks.
“Show-off,” Kamryn scoffed, but she smiled widely down at me.
“Nah, she’s just a daddy’s girl.”
“Ugh, gag me,” Kinlee said as she walked into the kitchen. “Can the two of you be any cuter? I’m waiting for you to get out of the honeymoon phase so I can watch the lovely drama unfold of you hating each other.”
I stood and rolled my eyes before kissing Kamryn quickly.
“If I’m not mistaken,” Kamryn began, “you and Jace have been married for five years, and y’all are still in the honeymoon phase.”
Kinlee flipped her hair back and sighed dramatically. “Well, that’s just because we keep it exciting in the bedroom.”
I laughed and Kamryn started gagging. “Gross, Lee.”
“Kinlee told me she’s always telling you to join us, Kam! Even pregnant, I’ll let you join,” Jace said as he walked into the kitchen.
Straightening up, I glared at my younger brother.
“Oh, come on, Brody. You know I’m joking. It’s just what Lee says when she’s drunk.”
My glare didn’t waver, and his smile faltered as he moved to stand next to his wife.
“Still grossed out, losing appetite!” Kamryn gagged again. “Seems to be a recurring theme when it comes to y’all.”
“Pfft, whatever.” Kinlee bounced a few times on her toes and looked up at Jace with bright eyes. “Now?” she whispered.
Kamryn and I exchanged confused glances as she moved to rest against my chest. My hands automatically moved to caress her swollen stomach, and I smiled when I felt Tatum moving.
Jace nodded twice and bent down to kiss Kinlee’s forehead. When he was standing upright, I saw a look I’d never seen on my brother before, but just seeing the way his eyes and smile lit up had me anxious to know what was happening.
“Okay, so, we’re going to be telling everyone at dinner tonight, but we wanted you two to come a little early so we could tell just the two of you first, since you’re not only our family but our best friends,” Kinlee choked out as a few tears slipped down her cheeks, and for whatever reason, Kamryn was already crying too.
Pregnant women. So confusing.
“Well,” Kinlee said, drawing the word out and glancing up at Jace one more time, “we got the call yesterday, and we’re going to be adopting a baby boy in three months!” she cried out and began jumping up and down.
“Oh my God! Are you serious?” Kamryn grabbed at one of my hands, and the other went to her chest as she watched her best friend. And when Kinlee nodded, she moved to pull her into a hug. “Oh my God! I don’t know what else to say except, oh my God!”
Kinlee choked out a laugh. “I know! And you know what this means! We get to be moms together!”
The girls screamed and began talking excitedly, and I tore my eyes from my wife and sister-in-law to look at my little brother. His eyes were bright, and with a choked sob, the tears began falling down his face.
Grabbing his shoulder, I pulled him in to hug him and watched as he wiped at his cheeks when we parted. Squeezing his shoulder once, I smiled and tried to control my own emotions. “I’m really happy for you, man. I know this is something you’ve been wanting for a long time now.”
He just nodded hard and laughed when my very pregnant wife squeezed between us to hug him. I moved around them and grabbed Kinlee up in a bear hug, squeezing her tighter when her soft cries turned into sobs.
“You’re going to be a great mom, Lee. You and Jace deserve this, and you’ll be the best parents. Okay?” She nodded, and I kissed the top of her head. “Love you, Lee.”
“Love you too, you big jerk,” she said with a laugh and punched my arm.
She moved into Jace’s arms, and he pulled her back a few feet as she tried to control her crying, and I wrapped my arms around Kamryn, bringing her back against my chest.
“What are you thinking?” I asked when I caught her staring up at me.
“That everything’s perfect. And how so long ago, I didn’t know how we would ever make it through the beginning. So many things seemed too hard to get past. Hiding our relationship, hiding from my family, trying to get your divorce finalized . . .” She drifted off. “I remember thinking that someday we would be done with all of that, and we would finally get to just live.” Shrugging, she smiled up at me and placed my hands on her stomach. “I just realized we are.”
Leaning down, I press
ed my mouth against hers and whispered against her lips. “We’re living our forever, Kamryn.”
A Note from the Author
FOR SOME, THIS story touches on a very sensitive subject, and for others, I’m sure it’s something that could be frustrating to read. But I wrote this story because I’ve witnessed it firsthand, and I knew others needed to hear the beauty of Brody and Kamryn’s relationship. (I’ve changed their names here.) I won’t lie to any of you. When I first found out about them—but before I had met them—I distinctly told my husband I didn’t want to meet them. I couldn’t believe people in their situation would even tell anyone, let alone would other people be okay with it.
And then I met them, and I got it.
Everything I’d thought about them changed in an instant. I said it that same night after meeting them, and I said it when I watched them finally get married almost two years later: I’ve never seen two people more perfect for each other than them.
I’ve heard their story countless times, I’ve cried with “Kamryn” over it, and I’ve watched them struggle just to be together and be happy. Do I support cheating? No. But I’ll stand behind them and their relationship any day. I can honestly say, I’ve never been more genuinely happy to see two people finally start their forever together, and I hope you all can understand exactly why I wanted so badly to share their story.
Acknowledgments
THERE ARE SO many people I want to thank . . . my closest friends, the bloggers and readers who’ve helped me with promoting this book, my street team . . . but this book is very special to me, and there are a handful of people who definitely need recognition here.
My husband, Cory, thank you—always. But for this story? I have to thank you for introducing me to R & S. If it hadn’t been for your incredible friendship/bromance with R, I would have never met them, and I would have never heard their story, and Sharing You would have never come about. Love you!
My agent, Kevan Lyon, thank you for actually allowing me to write this story. I will never forget our first conversations over this, but I’m so so glad you’ve fallen in love with their story as well! So much love to you for being the most amazing agent ever.
My editor, Tessa Woodward, thank you for being the one to push for this story and for being the biggest believer in their story. I love you! Thank you, a million times thank you!
AL Jackson, thank you for going through at least three different drafts of this story and understanding my need to write it and have it be a certain way. I love you, BB!
Last, but certainly not least, R & S. Thank you for letting me tell your story. Just . . . thank you! I’ve never met two people who were more meant for each other than you two. Hearing your story, and knowing what you went through to be together . . . I still get chills when I remember hearing your story for the very first time. I can honestly say that, other than my own, I have never been more moved by a wedding than by yours. If only for the fact that you two were finally starting your forever together and no two people deserved that more. Cory and I love you both!
An Excerpt from Letting Go
Want more drama and romance?
Turn the page for a sneak peek at Molly McAdams’s next book, Letting Go.
Prologue
Grey
“THEN OVER THERE is where the girls and I will be waiting before the ceremony starts,” I said, pointing to the all-seasons tent just off to the side. “I think the coordinator said she’d get us in there when the photographer is taking pictures of Ben and the boys on the other side house, so he won’t see me.”
I glanced to my mom and soon-to-be mother-in-law talking about the gazebo behind me, and what it would look like with the greenery and flowers, and I smiled to myself. They’d been going back and forth on whether we should keep the gazebo as is, or decorate it, ever since Ben and I had decided on The Lake House as our wedding and reception site. And from the few words I was hearing now, they were still undecided. I honestly didn’t care how it was decorated. I wanted to be married to Ben, and in three days, I would be.
“Grey, this place is freaking gorgeous. I can’t believe you were able to get it on such short notice,” my maid-of-honor and best friend, Janie, said in awe.
“I know, but it’s perfect, right?”
“Absolutely perfect.”
I grabbed her hand and rested my head on her shoulder as I stared at the part of the property where the reception would be. Ben and I had promised our families that we wouldn’t get married until we’d graduated from college, but that had been a much harder promise to keep than we’d thought it would be. School let out for summer a few days ago, and we wanted to move off campus for our junior year . . . together. That hadn’t exactly gone over well with my parents. They didn’t want us living together until we were married. I think in my dad’s mind, it helped him continue to believe I was his innocent little girl.
I’d been dating Ben since I was thirteen years old; the innocent part flew out the window over three years ago. Not that he needed to know that. After a long talk with both our parents, they agreed to let us get married now instead of two years from now.
That was seven weeks ago. Even though Ben had asked me to marry him last Christmas, we’d officially gotten engaged once we’d received the okay from our parents, and had started planning our wedding immediately. Seven weeks of being engaged. Seven years of being together. And in three days I would finally be Mrs. Benjamin Craft.
With how the last few weeks had dragged by, it felt like our day would never get here.
My phone rang and I pulled it out of my pocket. My lips tilted up when I saw Jagger’s name and face on the screen, but I ignored the call. Putting my phone back in my pocket, I kept my other hand firmly wrapped around Janie’s and walked over to where the rest of the bridesmaids were. My aunts and grandma had gathered around the gazebo-debating duo, and were helping them with the pros and cons.
“So what are we going to do tonight?” I asked, hoping to get some kind of information about the bachelorette party.
“Nice try.” Janie snorted. She started saying something else, but my phone rang again.
Glancing down and seeing Jagger again, I thought about answering it for a few seconds before huffing out a soft laugh and ignoring the call a second time. I knew why he was calling. He was bored out of his mind and wanted me to save him from the golf day Ben and all the guys were having before the bachelor party. Normally I would have saved him from the torture of golfing, but today was about Ben. If he wanted to go golfing with all his guys, then Jagger just had to suck it up for his best friend.
Almost immediately after ignoring the call, I got a text from him.
Jagger: Answer the goddamn phone Grey!
My head jerked back when the phone in my hands began ringing just as soon as I’d read the message, and all I could do was stare at it for a few seconds. A feeling of dread and unease formed in my chest, quickly unfurling and spreading through my arms and stomach.
Some part of my mind registered two other ringtones, but I couldn’t focus on them, or make myself look away from Jagger’s lopsided smile on my screen. With a shaky finger, I pressed on the green button, and brought the phone up to my ear.
Before I could say anything, his panicked voice filled the phone.
“Grey? Grey! Are you there? Fuck, Grey, say something so I know you’re there!”
There was a siren and yelling in the background, and the feeling that had spread through my body now felt like it was choking me. I didn’t know what was happening, but somehow . . . somehow I knew my entire world was about to change. My legs started shaking and my breaths came out in hard rushes.
“I—what’s happ—” I cut off quickly and turned to look at my mom and Ben’s. Both had phones to their ears. Ben’s mom was screaming with tears falling down her cheeks; my mom looked like the ground had just been ripped out from underneath her.
Jagger was talking, I knew his voice was loud and frantic, but I was having trouble focus
ing on the words. It sounded like he was yelling at me from miles away.
“What?” I whispered.
Everyone around me was freaking out, trying to figure out what was going on. One of my friends was asking who I was talking to, but I couldn’t even turn to look at her, or be sure who it was that had asked. I couldn’t take my eyes off the only other women currently talking on a phone.
“Grey! Tell me where you are, I’m coming to get you!”
I blinked a few times and looked down at my lap. I was sitting on the ground. When had I sat down?
Janie squatted in front of me and grabbed my shoulders to shake me before grabbing my cheeks so I would look at her instead of where my mom and Ben’s were clinging to each other.
“What?” I repeated, my voice barely audible.
Just before Janie took the phone from me, I heard a noise that sounded weighted and pained. A choking sound I’d never heard from Jagger in the eleven years we’d been friends. The grief in it was enough to force a sharp cry from my own chest, and I didn’t even struggle against Janie when she took the phone from me.
I didn’t understand anything that was happening around me, but somehow I knew everything. A part of me had heard Jagger’s words. A part of me understood what the horrified cries meant that quickly spread throughout every one of my friends. My family. Ben’s family. A part of me acknowledged the sense of loss that had added to the dread, unease, and grief—and knew why it was there.
A part of me knew the wedding I’d just been envisioning would never happen.
Chapter 1
Two years later . . .
Grey
I DRESSED IN a fog and sat down on the side of my bed when I was done. Grabbing the hard top of the graduation cap, I looked down at it in my hands until the tears filling my eyes made it impossible to see anything other than blurred shapes. I knew I had to leave, but at that moment I didn’t care.
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