Chapter Thirty
David
“Ava said the exact same thing to me when I talked to her about you,” I say hoarsely, the back of my eyes burning.
I lift a hand to her face and run my thumb over her cheek.
She’s not just beautiful and perfect for me, but she’s everything I forgot I was allowed to want.
Not just for me but for my daughter too.
“You talked to Ava?” Cat asks, without judgment.
I cradle her face and look deeply into her eyes. “I needed to figure out what was going on in my head and my heart and I couldn’t do it alone. What better way than to talk to my best friend and Fi’s sister.”
She nods slightly and lifts her hands to rest on my wrists.
When I look in her eyes it’s to find them shining brightly and I let myself tumble into the crystal blue depths.
Leaning in, I gently place my lips on hers, when she kisses me back there’s a leap in my chest. Whispering against her lips I confess.
“Falling in love with you was the easiest and hardest thing I’ve ever done. ”
A million emotions run across her face—happiness, joy and then bafflement. Her brows pull together and one of her hands falls from my wrists. “I’m sorry?”
“Let me see if I can explain this a bit better,” I chuckle, smoothing out her furrowed brow and grinning from ear to ear. “When you showed up and wrangled Emmy like a superhero, I was already intrigued by you.”
She rolls her eyes and laughs at me. “It’s not magic, you just need to know what to —”
“But when I realized it was you, Catherine Bailey, and not some random amazing woman,” I murmur, my finger running across her upturned mouth as I smile. “My heart and soul were already opening up to the possibility of loving someone again.”
Her face softens, and her widening smile takes my breath away with how radiant she is.
And then I make a confession that no parent ever wants to acknowledge. “I was pretty certain I’d be using my daughter, and Emmy, as an excuse to see you again.”
A soft laugh floats from her lips and it lands in the center of my chest, branding me. Making me hers at a level I didn’t even know was possible. “But you didn’t have to,” she says.
I shake my head and laugh. “I didn’t have to. Because I ran into you—twice—the next day.”
“Literally,” she giggles, and scrunches her nose. “You were a mess.”
“You have no idea,” I say seriously. “But I was already falling for you, and deep down I knew it.”
Cat’s eyes widen with surprise, and I nod. Trying to gather my next words I gently push an imaginary strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes following my every movement send tingles wherever they touch.
“And then you started to feel guilty?” She asks, searching my face as a wry smile crosses my lips.
“So guilty,” I murmur, looking away. “Every moment I spent with you made me happier and more at peace than I had felt in years. And yet I somehow felt like I was betraying the woman I lost.”
Cat’s hand runs up and down my arm, gentle and comforting, giving me the courage to meet her gaze. The compassion I find there settles something deep inside.
I can feel the bench digging into my hamstrings as I shift position.
“When you told me about needing a husband in order to get your inheritance I jumped at the opportunity way too fast, even though I knew it was crazy. But at the same time it didn’t feel crazy.
I also knew there was no way I was letting someone else fill that role. ”
The mischievous glint that fills her eyes has my mouth lifting at the corner.
“Are you telling me you were jealous, Mr. James?”
I snort. “So jealous. Even Logan noticed it. I denied it, but it was pretty clear to anyone paying attention.”
We just stare at each other, a gentle breeze blows over us and I watch as it ruffles through Cat’s hair.
“I felt it too,” Cat utters so softly that if I hadn’t seen her mouth move I’m not sure I would’ve heard it.
“You felt jealous of Logan, too?” I huff out, trying to keep my expression schooled.
“Yes.” She rolls her eyes. “I mean he is ridiculously easy on the eyes—”
“Cat,” I grumble, narrowing my eyes.
Her eyes sparkle, and she chuckles. “Wow. So you can dish it out but you can’t take it.”
“Can I keep—”
“Confessing all the ways you love me and how you have a jealous streak?” She grins mischievously. “Yes please.”
A grin breaks free and I let my eyes roam over her features. My chest expands and I’m not sure my ribcage will be able to hold in all of the feelings coming up, but then a slow smile creeps along my face because I don’t need to hide how I feel.
“So like I said before, falling in love with you was the easiest and hardest thing I’ve ever done.” This time her brow doesn’t furrow and there isn’t any confusion reflected in her gaze. The only thing reflected back at me is an affection that pulls me in. “Can I tell you something crazy?”
A gleam laces her gaze. “Only if you promise to tell me all the crazy things from this day forward.”
I throw my head back and laugh. “Done.”
She nods, and beams, then pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. I cup her cheek and pull her in for a kiss. She easily comes into me and a lopsided grin forms as I let my lips linger.
When we’re both slightly breathless, she utters. “That’s your idea of crazy?” Then she presses smiling lips gently to mine. “I’ll take that whenever you want to dish it out. Please.”
“What if I told you that I felt like this entire thing,” I motion between the two of us, “was somehow arranged?”
Her head tilts and her eyes narrow, curiosity written across her features. “What do you mean?”
“Aunt Dottie and the marriage contingency. Me adopting Emmy. You working for the Smokies…”
I watch her eyes flash as she mulls over the possibilities. “Are you saying that this, us, is fate?”
I cradle her face and grin. “Or a very elaborate setup by two very amazing women.”
She chews her bottom lip and I keep going.
“I don’t know that I can explain this in any other way, so I hope it makes sense. You were always perfect for me Cat, but then you left. I was heartbroken, and then Fiona came. I had a life with her, a daughter. And then she left.”
“And I came back.” Cat’s eyes shine with unshed tears, her voice filled with wonder.
“And you came back.” Chills run down my spine as the words leave my mouth.
A tear slips down her cheek, and I gently wipe it away. We sit in silence as I give Cat time to consider the possibility of what I already know to be true in my heart.
Her face and eyes are so expressive as she ponders what I just said, and before long a spark lights her eyes, making my heart stutter.
When she lifts her hand to cradle my face, my breath hitches at her touch.
“I was already in love with Emmy when I found her torturing you and Scarlett.” My cheeks pull up as I think about Emmy in that open field.
“I immediately fell in love with Scarlett. But you…” She pins me with her gaze, and my heart pounds like a base drum. “You, I never stopped loving.”
My grin grows impossibly bigger and my insides are about to burst, and then she whispers. “You are my home.”
I gasp, my heart overflowing and warmth erupts around my chest. My gaze drills into hers but the love I see shining back at me never waivers.
A part of me, deep inside that I didn’t know was restless, settles. A knowing, a truth, my soul meeting my mate. The back of my eyes burn and she lifts a thumb to my cheek and wipes a tear.
“Does this mean you want to stay married to me?” The glint in her gaze is full of mischief, and yet at the same time sincere. How does she do that?
“Nah, I just got something in my eye.” She gasps, and shoots up from the bench.
Laughter is ripped from me and I follow her.
When she turns to walk away, a smile is lining her lips, and I pull her back to me.
“If you think that you can stand me for the rest of your life then I’d like to offer my services. Indefinitely.”
She slides her hands up my chest and around my neck, and leans in close before whispering against my lips. “I’m only staying because I think it will be fun to watch your daughter torture you as she grows up.”
I pull my head back just as she goes to press her lips to mine. “That’s not funny.”
“It’s a little funny.” She squeezes her arms tighter around my neck and presses her body flush against mine.
Then her eyes take on an intensity that makes my knees go weak.
And when she whispers against my lips, I fully understand the thing about turning into a puddle at their feet, because I just melted.
“I love you so very much, David James. I’m not going anywhere. ”
I pull her close, craving to be even closer. She clings to me and I hold her tighter. So tight that I’m afraid I might hurt her, but she just smiles wider. The last thought I have before I’m lost in Cat’s kiss: How did I get so lucky twice?
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35 (Reading here)
- Page 36
- Page 37