I laugh. She’s so freaking cute when she’s all worked up. “It’s no joke. We’re going to Case Malbec’s place to watch the band write some new songs.”
And then just like that, her eyes begin to well with tears and she covers her face with her hands.
“Are you … are you crying?” I ask, yanking away one of her hands so I can see her face.
Thick tears slide down her cheeks and I can’t tell if she’s laughing or crying or both.
“Maritza, are you crying?” I ask again. “What’s wrong?”
Dabbing her wet cheeks on the backs of her hands, she peers at me through glassy, chocolate-colored eyes. “These are happy tears.”
Unfastening her seatbelt, she leans across the console, cups my face in her hands, and kisses me harder than she’s ever kissed me before.
“I’ve never been this happy in my life,” she says. “You make me so happy, Isaiah. You’re everything.”
There aren’t enough words in the English language to convey to her just how mutual those feelings are, so instead I kiss her back, slow and lingering, savoring her soft lips and relishing in the fact that this woman, this beautiful, sweet, loving soul … has a heart of gold that beats only for me.
She’s mine.
And I’m hers. God, am I hers.
46
Maritza
“I’m not reenlisting after this.” Isaiah hooks his hands around my waist as we skinny dip in Gram’s pool under a moonlit, midnight sky on an unusually warm spring night.
This marks the first time in for-ev-er that I’ve had Gram’s place to myself for a full week. Melrose is shooting some Lifetime movie on location in Vancouver and Gram decided to tag along before she embarks on a fourteen-day Alaskan cruise with Constance.
“Really?” I ask, circling my weightless legs around his hips.
“Yeah. Really.” He pulls me against him and I kiss his chlorine-flavored mouth. “I think it’s time to start thinking about what comes next.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me.” I hug him, our wet, naked bodies gliding against one another as we bob in the water. “What do you think you’ll do?”
“Maybe I’ll go to school for astronomy or physics?”
“God, you’d be the sexiest freaking nerd I’ve ever seen in my life.” I throw my head back. “Do it.”
Isaiah chuckles. “I’ve got three years to figure it out, but I’m leaning that way. How are your classes going by the way? Finally made it through all those letters.”
I smirk, thinking about how I’d handed him that old notebook from my nightstand where I’d written all those letters I never had the chance to send.
“That was fast,” I say.
“I devoured them,” he says. “And I’m so fucking proud of you, by the way.”
“You are?”
“Yeah. When you thought I’d ghosted you, you dealt with it, you acknowledged how you felt, and then you forced yourself to move on with your life,” he says. “Makes me proud as hell to know you respect yourself like that.”
“Thanks, Corp.” I kiss his wet lips again, my legs cinching tighter around him.
“You keep rubbing yourself against me like that and I’m going to have to take you right here, right now.”
“Is that a threat? Or a promise?” My hips circle against his growing hardness and I wear a teasing smile that I bury in the solid bend of his neck. His corded steel arms wrap around me, holding me tight, and I swear I could live here in this moment for the rest of my life and be perfectly content.
Striding to a shallower corner of the pool and taking a seat on the steps, Isaiah’s hands slide up my outer thighs before gripping my ass and pushing me down onto him.
I exhale as he fills me and I lower myself deeper before tossing my head back and holding onto the back of his neck. He takes a pointed nipple between his lips as I grind against him, rocking slow then fast then slow again.
We’ve got all night.
And all day tomorrow.
And the rest of the week.
Hell—the rest of our lives.
Neither of us are going anywhere.
Isaiah’s rough palms skid along my slick body, the pool water lapping around us, ripples of water kissing our skin as we move.
Dragging my hands along his sculpted shoulders, I lower my lips to his neck, peppering kisses along his collarbone then working my way up to his jaw before finishing at his mouth. I could kiss Isaiah a million times and it still wouldn’t be enough to show just how crazy I am for him.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he says, lips tracing mine as he drives himself into me, our bodies rocking in tandem. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Maritza. And I’m going to spend the rest of my life proving that to you. I love you, Maritza the Waitress.”
My lips curl. “I love you, too, Corporal Torres.”
Epilogue
Isaiah
Three Years Later
Dear Isaiah,
It’s so strange to think that this will be the last letter you ever get from me while overseas. In a way, it’s bittersweet, like the closing chapter of an amazing book you’ve spent years devouring, but mostly it’s just sweet because now we get to start our sequel.
No more goodbyes. No more sleepless nights. No more waiting. No more worrying.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what’s next for us. I’ve always kind of liked not knowing what was next, and I’ve always thought it’d be nice to wing it with you because I can’t imagine any scenario being less than amazing as long as you’re in it.
In your last letter you mentioned that you’d never wanted kids until you met me, and that one night you dreamt we had three kids and it got you excited. To be honest, it caught me off guard because I never knew if I wanted to have a family either. Being an only child with one cousin and parents who were never around all that much doesn’t really instill much for family values, but since I’ve met you, I’ve been thinking …
And I want a big, loud, crazy family and I want it with you.
So yes. Let’s do it. Because I can’t imagine doing it with anyone else.
See you soon …
Yours forever,
Maritza
P.S. I love you.
I spot her from the other side of a high school gymnasium in Burbank, where my troop is making their official homecoming entrance. It’s loud as hell in here, people crying tears of joy and shouting and running into each other’s arms, but there’s my girl, standing under a basketball hoop in a pretty floral sundress, scanning the room.
It only takes a moment until our eyes catch and the way her face lights sends a shock of joy to my chest. A second later, she runs to me, jumping into my arms and wrapping her long legs around me.
“We made it, baby,” I say, holding her tighter than I’ve ever held her before. “I’m done. I’m all yours now.”
She kisses my neck and breathes me in again and again. “I’ve waited so long for this day.”
I think about everything we’ve been through. Our chance meeting. The fact that, against all odds, we somehow couldn’t get enough of each other. I’ve never once believed in fate, but I’ve always believed in karma, and I like to believe I did something right to get an effervescent girl like her to fall head over heels in love with a damaged soul like me.
Maritza slides down, but she doesn’t let me go and she won’t stop looking at me. It’s been six months since I’ve seen her last, but this is my fourth deployment since she’s met me. It never gets any easier and there’s always that unspoken chance that I might not make it home this time.
But I made it home in one piece.
The last few tours were some of the hardest of my life. Turns out things are different when you’ve got someone waiting for you back home, but my stint in the Army is officially over and I’m never going back.
Maritza is my home now. She’s the place I run to when life gets hard. She’s my re
fuge and my solace from the storm. When I’m with her, all my worries and cares and demons tend to fade into the background, sometimes melting away entirely.
“Ian’s probation got denied,” she tells me, biting a smirk.
“Good.” The bastard got caught last year embezzling money from the brokerage firm he was working for in Brentwood. Wouldn’t surprise me if he was another Bernie Madoff in the making, but now we’ll never know because he’s serving time at some white-collar facility on the east coast and once he’s out, he’ll never be allowed to work in finance again.
“Your sister called and told me this morning. Wanted to personally deliver the news. Kind of sad though. Almost feel bad for him.”
“I don’t,” I chuff. “I feel bad for all the people who trusted him with their money.”
“True … anyway, let’s focus on the important stuff. Like the fact that you’re home for good and the fact that I cannot wait to show you my new office space in Riverside and introduce you to my newly hired assistant.” She does a little jump. “It’s so weird being someone’s boss but I kind of love it.”
I kiss her forehead. During my latest deployment, she opened a small PR and web development firm out of some cheap office space in Riverside. From what she’s told me, everything’s going well, but I’ve yet to see it in person. “I knew you’d find your element. Never doubted you for a sec.”
I make my rounds, saying goodbye to all the familiar faces, and then we head out to the parking lot where Maritza parked my vintage Porsche.
“I knew you’d want to drive her first thing when you got back,” she says, handing me the keys, which I gladly accept before stealing a kiss from that sweet mouth of hers. As soon as we get to the car, Maritza flings her arms around me once more. She does this whenever I get back, hugs me and kisses me and touches me a hundred thousand times, like she has to make sure I’m real, that I’m here to stay. “So what next? What do you want to do now?”
Resting my hand beneath her chin, I peer into her gorgeous dark eyes and smile. “First I’m going to marry you. Finally. And then I’m going to buy you a house. And we’re going to fill it with lots of babies. After that, I think I’m going to spend the rest of my life growing old with you. A lifetime of Saturdays. How’s that sound?”
Maritza chuckles. “I meant, like … are you hungry? Do you want to grab dinner? Do you want to stop at your mom’s? But I like your answer. It sounds pretty perfect to me.”
I kiss her, threading my hand through hers and pinning her back against my car.
Our future starts right here, right now, in this high school parking lot, just a former waitress, a former Army corporal, and a lifetime of memories ahead of them.
THE END
Loved the book? Check out Melrose’s story next!
P.S. I MISS YOU
Dream Cast
DREAM CAST
Isaiah – Milo Ventimiglia
Maritza – Olivia Culpo
Melrose – Jennifer Lawrence
Rachael – Rachel McAdams
Gram – Susan Sarandon
Murphy – Murphy Renshaw
Myles – Matthew Gray Gubler
Acknowledgments
This book would not have been possible if it weren’t for the help of the following amazing individuals. In no particular order …
Lou, the cover is absolutely incredible! One of my favorites yet! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Sandy, thank you for being so patient, sweet, and kind over the past several months. I’m so thrilled to finally put your work on my cover! Your talent is second to none.
Ashley, thank you for beta’ing as always. I couldn’t do this without you, and I love your brutal honesty to the moon and back.
K, C, and M—hoes for life!
Wendy, thank you for being so flexible! You’re a dream to work with, as always.
Neda, Rachel, and Liz, thank you for ALL the behind-the-scenes stuff you do. Your service is invaluable and you are a joy to work with!
Last, but not least, thank you to all the readers and book bloggers, whether you’re a longtime loyalist or reading me for the first time. It’s because of you that I get to live my dream, and I’m forever grateful for that.
P.S. I Miss You (Book 2)
P.S. I Miss You
WINTER RENSHAW
© 2018
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She was not for everyone, but she was for me. —Atticus
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Contents
P.S. I Hate You (Book 1)
Important!
Description
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Epilogue
Dream Cast
Acknowledgments
P.S. I Miss You (Book 2)
Description
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
The Complete P.S. Series Page 22