Page 130 of After All The Wreckage

“I’m filling in for you,” Dad said. “I don’t know how to mix drinks, but I can pour from the tap. River and Audrey can do the hard stuff.”

“And I’m helping Audrey with the tables,” Nan said.

“And India and I are watching Ivy,” Monte added.

I could feel the debate within Gage. He wanted to come with me, but the years of responsibility that had weighed on himmade it nearly impossible for him to just toss it all aside to run away. Not that we were running far, but he didn’t know that.

I pulled Gage’s hand into mine. “Trust me. Trust them. We’ve got you.”

His throat bobbed.

“Go,” River said. “You have your phone. If disaster strikes, we’ll call, but it won’t.”

Gage looked down at me. My anticipation and excitement were all but pouring from me. I couldn’t wait to show him. Couldn’t wait to have a night alone with him again.

But I was also nervous. I’d made some huge assumptions in the last two weeks. I thought I knew what he’d say. I believed I knew him well enough to know he’d want this too. A tiny part of me, that teenage girl who’d been lovestruck by a boy so far older than her and so far out of reach that he might have been the moon, was afraid she’d tried to grab hold of something that was never meant to be hers.

He cupped my cheek, a thumb sliding along my lower lip, causing my breath to all but evaporate. “Okay. I’m all yours.”

Our family cheered, and happiness flew through me.

“Must be some surprise?” he said, his brow rising and eyes heating.

We’d get to that tonight too. But first, I had to show him how I’d made our past and our futures into our present, just like he was determined to live.

Outside, I made my way over to my Rebel. It was cold, but there was no rain or snow predicted tonight, and I wanted Gage to take a ride. I wanted him to remember the exhilaration of being on a motorcycle again. I handed him a helmet, and his eyes widened.

“You’re driving?”

I laughed. “Yes.”

His lips twitched, but he didn’t hesitate. He simply trusted me, giving me control as he buckled on his helmet and I tugged on mine. I swung my leg over the bike, stabilized it, and then patted the seat behind me. He climbed on the back, arms wrapping around my waist, and I started the engine.

Driving with him nestled behind me, cocooned between the heat of his thighs, made it really hard to concentrate. But I did my best, taking us out of town and along the route Gage had taken me when I was fifteen and riding behind him. The wind whipped by, bitterly cold, but the sky was clear and the damp smell of earth and fallen leaves filled the air as we rode alongside the Potomac.

Gage’s arms loosened around me, and he let out a huge whoop of joy. It was full of life and happiness and freedom. It was a repeat of the sound I’d made all those years ago.

And I fell for Gage all over again.

I knew enough by now that there hadn’t ever really been a first time I’d fallen, and there would never be a last. My life would simply be a constant barrage of times where I fell for him. And every time I did, the love would be fiercer and stronger and all the more beautiful.

I pulled off at a vista point along the river. We removed our helmets, left them on the seat, and stood watching the scenery as the sun set behind us. The wildlife was quiet with winter having fully set in, but the slosh of the water on the shore was relaxing. Peaceful. Everything about my life felt that way now that I’d made these enormous decisions. I just hoped he’d feel the same.

Gage pulled me into his chest, nose nuzzling the curve of my neck, breath coasting over my skin, and I broke out in goose bumps that had nothing to do with the frigid air. His mouth trailed over my jaw, and I turned slightly, our hungry mouths finding each other. The lick of those flames that had been tamped down for too many days burst free.

In no time, we were all but consuming each other. I turned into his embrace and let our bodies take over, lips seeking, tongues twining, and hands exploring.

The cold seemed to disappear with the pace of our caresses.

A car drove by, honking, and we lifted our heads, grinning.

“I hope these plans you have end with a bed. Hell, I’d settle for a couch or a floor as long as there’s privacy,” he said, raising a single brow.

I stepped back, grabbed his hand, and drew him to the bike. From my pocket, I pulled out a blindfold. “Do you trust me?”

Once again, he didn’t even hesitate. He took the material and wrapped it around his head, securing it tightly, and my heart skittered. I handed him his helmet, and he pulled it back on, while I did the same.

We got back on the bike and drove through the winding back roads until we got near the town limit. I made a couple of turns I didn’t have to make because I didn’t want him to suspect where we were going. When I finally pulled into the driveway of the Victorian that had once belonged to his family, a wave of panic hit me, making my palms sweaty.