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Later in bed, we lay curled next to each other in a nest of feather pillows. Will was behind me, his hand resting on my hip, stroking my thigh.

“I’m going to shut down the blog,” I told him.

For a moment, Will didn’t say anything, just paused in his hands’ idle movement up my leg.

“Is that what you want? I didn’t pressure you into it?”

“No,” I said. “You knew what I couldn’t admit to myself. That I was holding onto it for the wrong reasons. I know now that that’s why I couldn’t get it to work–at least not without pandering to the things I didn’t want to do. The blog was a part of my past—not my future. I’ll always love it and be grateful for how it shaped my life, but it’s time for a new chapter.”

I think Will knew I was talking about Joe, too. That I’d finally said goodbye.

He flattened his palm against my stomach, pulling me closer against him. “I’m here,” he said. “For all of you.”

We talked then about everything—everything we’d wanted to say to each other but held back on, everything we hoped for the future. It was liberating, sharing these words with Will, and by the time the fireworks went off outside I knew, this was the man I would love for the rest of my life.

Right here, right now, forever.

23

Will

Iwas awoken by the scent of vanilla and caramel. I inhaled deeper, nuzzling my face in Michelle’s neck, my heart swelling.

It was so big, so full, that for the briefest moment, I edged into panic.

My instincts, which I was learning were not to be trusted when it came to this topic, were to stiffen up and hide. To retreat into myself.

But Michelle had made me step past those old barriers. Last night I’d opened my heart to her—my everything. I’d told her all about my fear, that I was destined to be just like my father, and she’d told me not just that I wouldn’t, but when shit came up, that she’d be here to help me through it.

I thought I didn’t deserve her, but the truth was, I would fight to make sure I did.

I rolled onto my back so as not to wake her, my hand going to my cock. Shit. I don’t think I’d sustained a hard on for this long in a decade. Maybe more. Maybe never.

Then my phone buzzed. It was coming from the floor. I vaguely remembered knocking it off the bedside table in a particularly rambunctious spate of fucking. The memory made my cock twitch once more.

“Down boy,” I whispered, as I peered over the bed to see who it was. Stella’s name flashed on the screen. My sister never failed to call at completely inopportune moments. I tossed the phone back on the carpet. She could wait.

I rolled back next to Michelle. A glance at the clock told me it was seven in the morning. Outside the winter sun was only just rising, golden light coalescing on the other side of the valley,

Michelle stirred, stretching an arm over her head, revealing the delicious curve of the top of her breast.

She blinked.

“How are you awake already?” she murmured.

“It’s late,” I said.

Michelle turned to the window, scrunching her face at me. “The sun isn’t even up.”

“It’s after seven! I’m usually out the door by this time.”

She groaned and threw a pillow at my head. “Not me. I work from home.”

I laughed, dodging it.

Then her smile faded. “What if I can’t find another job?”

“You’ll just have to make your own.”