“Oh,” I say.
“I ran here,” Smith says.
I look down at him and nod. “I see.”
We move to the side so we can talk.
He points to the building. “I’ve been running by it every day too. In athletic clothes, not this. I’ve been commenting your videos too.”
“What have you been saying?”
Smith looks to the sky. “Some version of ‘talk to me.’”
“Oh. I ignore comments like that.”
We stand there, quiet.
“I, um…” we both say at the same time. I then laugh and he motions for me to speak.
“I’m sorry I ran out in the middle of the night,” I say.
“Was it bad or…?”
“No, no, it was great,” I reassure him.
I look down, collecting my words. Be brave.
Looking up at him, I say, “I honestly thought I’d be alone forever. However, being with you, being around you…”
“I know,” he says. “I didn’t think I was ready either. After Daniela.”
My heart seizes. “Are you?”
“Yes.” No hesitation. No wavering. He peers at me, waiting for a reaction. “I’m absolutely crazy about you. I want to see where this goes.”
“Me too. But I’m scared,” I say. He’s silent, deep in thought. My breath catches in my throat as I wait for his response.
“I am too. But it’s worth a shot. With you. How about dinner?” he asks suddenly.
I grin like a fool. “Sounds great.”
“Are you available tonight?” he asks. “I know a place that does a mean crab cake.”
I wonder who told him of my affinity for crab cakes.
There’s no need to play hard-to-get. I nod.
“Great,” he says.
Smith leans in tentatively, like he’s waiting for me to stop him. He kisses me sweetly, like a first kiss at a middle-school dance.
We both look up at the Octavo together. He slides a tentative arm around my shoulders, and I lean into him.
“You know, I’m grateful that the elevator broke down,” Smith says.
“Why?”
“I doubt I would’ve had the guts to declare my feelings otherwise,” Smith says. “I feel like you’re out of my league.”
I almost drop to my knees on the sidewalk. Me, out of his league?
“Stop,” I say with a play-slap to his chest. “Were you nervous?”
He nods with a grin. “I’ve been crushing on you for years, and I was finally single? Oh yeah.”
“How much did you like me?”
“So much,” he says. “I had to make myself scarce the days you wore your black skirt.”
“The pencil skirt?”
“Is that what it was called? It made your ass look amazing.”
I nod once. “It was the pencil skirt.”
He turns toward me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I smell his masculine scent, and I press my cheek into his hard chest. I look up, and he brushes my hair away, framing my face with his hands.
“The elevator breaking down was fate.”
“I don’t believe in that stuff. Although,” I say, looking up into his eyes, “my friend’s boyfriend said the same thing, and then he was seated next to her on an airplane.”
He brushes hair out of my face. “You might be the Buffy to my Angel.”
“Please don’t leave me and move to Los Angeles.”
“I won’t. San Rafael sounds nice, though. But only if you come with me.”
“Oh, already talking about the future.”
“Not now. But maybe soon.”
He leans in again, kissing me, and I wrap my arms around his neck. When I pull away, Smith nods to the hotel.
“Do you want to see if the elevator is free?”
I shake my head violently. “I’ll need at least a year before I even go anywhere near that elevator.”
“Noted,” Smith says.
He kisses me again, and I fall under his spell.
God bless weddings, broken elevators, and pushy friends.
Epilogue
One Year Later
“Where are we going?” I ask, unable to see through the blindfold. Raegan is leading me somewhere by the hand. She’s leaving the city so I met her for lunch at one of our favorite spots. We talked about a new murder mystery docuseries I’m obsessed with, and then she proceeded to blindfold me and take me to an unknown location.
At least she didn’t put me in the trunk.
“Just because you’re leaving doesn’t mean you get to kidnap me.”
“We’re almost there,” she says. Raegan’s work contract is up, so she’s moving back to her hometown next week. I’m devastated.
“Don’t you have a date scheduled with Landon’s old roommate, Henry?”
“Ugh, yes. We’re going to an amusement park next Saturday. Landon and Erin are coming too so it’ll be a double date. They know I’m leaving, but they’re insisting.”
“Maybe Henry is the one.”
“I don’t know. I saw his picture, and I’m not impressed,” Raegan said. “And I do not like roller coasters.”
“You’ll be fine. Are we almost there?”
“Yes, just a little bit longer.” I shuffle against the floor, careful to not trip. I am definitely in a building, and I hear lots of voices and feel movement around me.
“Okay, take off the blindfold,” Raegan says. I pull it down from my eyes.
I’m in the Octavo, and I’m facing the elevator from hell.
Well, at least he waited a year.
My handsome boyfriend stands there, in a black suit with a black tie, holding a bouquet of red roses. His face breaks into a smile, and I know what’s coming.
We ended up not moving slow at all. I moved in with him within a month, and we talked about getting married very early in our relationship. He said “I love you” the day I received my Gold YouTube Creator reward in the mail for reaching one million subscribers.
I’m ridiculously, irrationally, insanely in love with him.
Last month, I accidentally found a ring when I was unpacking all of our stuff for the new house. We finally moved out of the city into a small townhome in San Rafael. It already feels more peaceful and tranquil than San Francisco ever was. He’s been working from home more than usual and we’ve had lazy mornings with coffee outside and it’s been bliss.
I’m happier than I ever imagined.
Now, he is standing here, in front of me, in our elevator.
I cover my face to hide the emotion, but it’s futile. I will be a blubbering mess soon.
“Babe, come here,” he says, holding out his hand.
I take it and join him in the elevator. I turn to Raegan and point. “Please make sure this elevator goes nowhere.”
“The manager assured me this is going nowhere,” she says, holding her phone up to take video.
I turn toward my love, looking into his gray-blue eyes. We had talked about getting married for so long, but now that it’s here, it feels surreal and like it’s happening to someone else.
I thought I would never get married. Until I started dating Smith.
It became clear to me almost immediately that I had nothing to worry about. That I could trust Smith with all of me. That he could trust me too. That he would protect me and I would protect him right back.
Smith drops to his knee and pulls out the blue box I found last month.
“Cassandra Renee Gallagher, you are the love of my life. Please marry me and make me the happiest man in the world.”
I nod vigorously. He stands up and kisses me, framing my face with his hands like he did with our very first kisses. He wraps his arms around me in a tight hug and lifts me. Being in his arms is my favorite place to be.
“Oh you guys are so cute! Congratulations!” Raegan says, hugging us both. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
Smith hits a button, and the doors close. I freeze.
“Babe
, I’m giving this ring back if you get us stuck in this elevator again.”
He laughs and kisses my head. “It’s okay. The manager also assured us there’s been no malfunction since the night of the wedding. I may have also casually mentioned I could still file a claim and he better be sure.”
“Oh, threatening to sue gets me all hot and bothered,” I say, kissing him again. I can taste the need in his kiss. I pull away and nod once.
“I love you, Ms. Gallagher.”
“I love you, Mr. Kennedy.”
I smack the stop button of the elevator, halting it. He laughs as he scoops me up and kisses me again, making the world fade away.
* * *
THE END
Raegan’s story is next! What happens when she gets stuck on a roller coaster during her blind date with Henry? Click here to preorder Raegan and Henry’s romance, For Your Safety!
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Haven’t read the first in the Stuck in Love series, Please Be Seated? Click here!
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Erin, Cassie, and Sarah all first appear in my novel Here. Click here to get your copy for free!
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Acknowledgments
First off, I have to thank my amazing early readers who really helped make this story what it is. Goddess Divine and Erica, thank you so much for pointing out that Cassie was kind of an asshole in the early draft. You also helped me make Smith even sexier, which I didn’t think was possible. I appreciate your friendship and willingness to help this novella shine.
Thank you to my attorney friend, Ashley, who read the manuscript and made sure I didn’t fuck anything up and to confirm that, yes, Smith is a realistic attorney. If I ever come up with the technology to make Smith real, you’re first in line.
Thank you to Megan who lived in San Francisco and read it and gave me some good restaurants and pointed out things only people who lived in the city would know. Thank you.
A special shoutout to all the ASMR artists on YouTube, especially Whispersred.
Kari—this cover is more than I could’ve dreamt of and the salt-and-pepper hair…*chef’s kiss*
Sarah—thank you as always for squeezing me in. It’s always wonderful to work with you.
Angel—thank you for proofreading this to get all those pesky typos.
Lastly and most importantly—everyone who voted in my newsletter for elements of this story, I appreciate you. I didn’t know I needed an older hero and you’re the reason the world has Smith. So, thank you.
About the Author
Jenny Bunting started writing stories as a kid, and romance has always been her favorite. She “published” books by designing construction paper covers and still has a horde of them to this day. Jenny has had over thirty jobs, including working at a newspaper, at the mall, as a substitute teacher, and currently in insurance as a claims adjuster. She loves peanut butter, puns, exercise, reading, brunch, and IPAs. Jenny lives with her husband in the suburbs of Sacramento, California.
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